Rappers are Poets!!

rhyme, flow, wordplay, metaphors, subliminal messages, slang, bragging,humor... these are all characteristics of Rap Music...

But rappers especially like to brag about how good they rap...

In the society Poets and writers are highly valued because they write and people listen and respect what they say. So rappers brag about how good they rap to show the people that they have good oral skills which should be valued. they compete about who uses words better in order to be the most respected rapper of all. Most of the songs are about rhyming and they are rhyming in comparaison to others.

Rappers also love to brag about all the fun stuff they get to do and all the cool people they get to meet. And why wouldn't they? I'm sure having hoes in every area code is way more awesome than having a mortgage on a three-bedroom home in the suburbs or whatever other mundane achievement normal people strive for...

Drake-Headlines

" I might be too strung out on compliments
Overdosed on confidence
Started not to give a fuck and stop fearing the consequence
Drinking every night because we drink to my accomplishments "

Humor is also an important characteristic in Rap music.When you laugh it releases tension. there are some things in life that you cant control so to liberate themselves from the hardships they have they laugh about themselves. 

Playing the dozens is when 2 people have a battle in which they laugh about each others family, in particular about theirs moms. --> it's a very common way to produce humor.

Science reveals why we brag so much

"Self-disclosure is extra rewarding," said Harvard 
neuroscientist Diana Tamir, who conducted the experiments 
with Harvard colleague Jason Mitchell Bragging gives the

same sensation of pleasure as food and money. 

The same areas of the brain are activated, scans show.

"All I do is win, win, win no matter what
Got money on mind, I can never get enough
And every time I step up in the building
Everybody hands go up"  -  Dj Khaled

Robert Moses and the Cross Bronx Expressway

Moses is responsible for the cross Bronx Expressway which is in a big part responsible for Hip-hop

Now how is this all linked to one another?? 

"Robert Moses was the "master builder" of 20th century New York City, an advocate of a controversial style of urban planning that favored the construction of new highways over the preservation of existing neighborhoods."

He had a vision about progress and modernity. His vision was to make NY even bigger than what it was and one of his ways to do that was to destroy the Bronx neighborhood and built the cross Bronx expressway. In other words he was 'destructing for improvement'

Now why did this bridge have such an impact on the creation of hip hop??? 

When the construction started all the houses near the high way lost their value because people didn't want to live near a highway, so if they could they left. which meant that the only people that would live there were the ones that couldn't afford to live anywhere else. It was like a warzone, teenagers were fighting against each other, and they were forming gangs in the neighborhood.

But this is when the beauty started. The gangs started to have dance battles instead of fighting and started to rap against each other instead of insulting each other. 

A new culture was starting, this new culture was created out of destruction, the way all these people were coping with their terrible situation was by expressing it in Art.

This destruction that was transformed in to art is HIP-HOP.

From the Bronx all the way to Mainstream

What uppp?? it's Michal Roth I write about hip hop. This blog represents hip-hop's culture and it's current affairs!

Hip-hop began in the streets of New York City and has gone through tremendous changes up until now. The hip-hop artists have their roots in the margins of society and are now part of the mainstream artists.

Here’s a little introduction to the world of hip-hop...

Hip-Hop emerged in the 1970’s upon the arrival of a one Kool DJ Herc. He migrated to the United States from Jamaica and settled in the West Bronx of New York. As rap music stretched all over the metropolitan community of New York, many people began to use it as a form of expression that offered unlimited boundaries.  There were no rules, except to be original and to rhyme to the beat of the music. 

“Well, a lot of people within government and big business are nervous of Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists, because they speak their minds. They talk about what they see and what they feel and what they know. They reflect what's around them.” Quoted by Afrika Bambaataa who is responsible for spreading hip hop culture throughout the world.

The society was going through a vast cultural change; Before hip hop started it was all about African-American music. They would adapt their music to the white public they would straighten their hair and wear evening suits.

Today hip-hop is integrated in the culture; there is no need to adapt to the white public. It is what it is and is accepted for it.

I’m sure ya'll all heard about the reigning hip-hop king of the world: Jay Z.  It is hard to imagine a more perfect success stars than Jay-Z’s. He has had a remarkable ascendance to the top of the rap industry after a challenging childhood in a Brooklyn neighborhood, where he also worked on the streets as a drug dealer.

Hip –hop has evolved from a New York inner city past time to one of the biggest business in the world today. now let's admit it, it's quiet fascinating!