Cover Letter

  Second phase of the course mainly focused on our writing skills, on expressions and research, needless to say these skills are vital in our lives, whether it’s a job, just daily life or college. Course syllabus mentions “Engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes” and “Locating research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias” which indeed were big part of this phase. Looking back at my first assignment from phase two and comparing that to this, last essay personally I see a big improvement that also leaves room for learning even more. I really improved my skills when it came to citations, such as in-text citations and bibliography pages (“Works cited”) and I am happy that now I can properly cite and give credit to the author of the resources that I used and will be using in my future assignments and works. 

Saba Khatchapuridze

ENGL 11000

REE

                               Hip-Hop – Art of Expression or Agitator of Aggression?

     21^st century is era of digital, modern technology and with the advancement of science, humans these days are able to be online every second of the day, some even doing their jobs remotely, this all specifically showed during the Coronavirus pandemic, where all in-person contact was put on pause and the world became digital. Beginning from the 70’s and Sony Walkman, through present day with Airpods, Hip-Hop music became one of the most listened genres of music, especially among teenagers and hip-hop’s influence even made it so far that words used by the artists have found their way into our daily conversations, changing the literature and the way we speak. Conversations are without doubt, one of the most important part of our lives, whether we are out with our friends, in college or at work, we speak to our peers and strangers, therefore words and slangs we use are indeed important, This essay will be exploring whether Hip-Hop is a way for people to express their emotions, feelings and in general themselves with the spoken words used by rap artists in millions of songs or is it something that motivates people to be more aggressive or claim lifestyle that they don’t really live. Personally, I have been listening to Hip-Hop since I learned what music was, I grew up on artists such as Mac Dre, E-40, Eminem and indeed, some of the lyrics were aggressive, that’s the trait of hip-hop music, but deep down there is a hidden meaning behind every song and lyrics that exist In those songs offer many options, starting from new vocabulary ending with encouragement to speak up against prejudice. Controversy around rap music has been present since 80’s, since Hip-Hop music got associated with African-Americans fighting for their legal rights, since they started speaking up against injustice, movements started by 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G and other well-known African-American artists sometimes turned into violence, some of the experts were quick to jump to conclusions, labeling Hip-Hop music only as something that is aggressive and prompting violence, forgetting all the perks it has, beginning from new vocabulary words, ending with its power and effect on minorities and how encouraging it is for millions of teenagers, how it can be a way to bring people together, unite them for one good reason and push them for a change, Hip-Hop indeed is an art, a way for people to express themselves, rather than commit crimes and promote violence.

          There is important research that examines the social significance of hip-hop music. While some experts in the field labeling rap music as violent, others recognize it as a way for minorities to raise their voices and impact our culture Becky Blanchard, a Stanford University graduate majoring in Poverty and Prejudice, explains her views in “The Social Significance Of Rap & Hip-Hop Culture” She writes, “Hip-Hop music is often regarded as CNN for black people” (3) and “If rap music appears to be excessively violent when compared to country-western or popular rock, it is because rap stems from a culture that has been seeped in the fight against political, social, and economic oppression” (5). Those two lines perfectly sum up her point, which is that hip-hop music, at times is the way certain communities receive information, and it’s also often the only voice for some African-Americans.. Just because rap music originates from black communities, it does not mean that it is promoting aggression in any way,  Furthermore assuming that hip-hop has a negative influence on teenagers is wrong, once again underlining the fact that hip-hop music is used as a way to fight prejudice against African-Americans.and it’s human nature to answer oppression and aggression with aggressive words, whether one is black, white, Hispanic or Asian. These exact lines perfectly match with the argument that this essay is making, Hip-Hop music is an art of expression, not something that promotes aggression and oppression.

         The work of other journalists shows the effect of hip-hop culture on our literature, daily conversations and slang,. One such article, written by an experienced blogger for Business Insider, focuses on teenage (Gen-Z) behavior and culture,. Dominic-Madori Davis’s, article, “21 Slang words teens and Gen Zers are using in 2020, and what they mean” perfectly shows how significant rap industry is on modern-day conversations and how some of the words made-up by hip-hop artists actually spread their roots in conversations and found their meaning. To prove his argument, the Davis defines slang words and explains their origins, for example word “Periodt” is defined as, “Periodt: “Periodt” is a word used at the end of a sentence, meant to add emphasis to a point that has been made” (1).  This word is originating from gay African-American hip-hop artist Lil Nas X who brought word back to life (he himself heard this word in southern gay black community, where someone rapped it). This source connects to my thesis, supporting the argument and also supporting the first source used, showing that there is no promotion of violence in hip-hop community, even more, it unites people, awakens and gives a new breath to the common history and enriches our culture. 
             Famous American writer and educator Rosina Lippi-Green in her academic work English with an Accent outlines numerous expert opinions focusing on how flexible English language is, in other words, there is no such thing as one set group of English words that are being used by every English speaker. There is no such thing as perfectly spoken language, she writes: “We are all subject to the aging process; no one is exempt from those changes over time. Thus our Sound Houses do change over time but in ways which are outside direct control” (12). Her claims are directly supporting the idea which was discussed in previous paragraphs, English language is indeed flexible and whether the person is a teenager, adult or even elder, their language or in other words “sound house” can be easily changed by their peers or other surrounding circumstances and this process can’t be directly controlled by anyone. In this scenario, music in general and specifically hip-hop music can act as a factor that prompts the change with the new lingo that will eventually go viral and find their place in our daily conversations.

           Social justice education scholar and nationally renowned speaker Jamila Lyiscott in her moving TED talk 3 Ways to Speak English talks about hardships she had to face just because she was using different lingo, she outlines that just because she speaks differently it does not mean that her English or she, as a person is in any way different from others, although her language is unique and it has a long history which she pridefully accepts. Lyiscott in her TED talk proves the point that any language, even musical, hip-hop language can be used to speak to people about the issues, it can be used to encourage, to fight against prejudice and push for a change.

         In conclusion, all the sources connect to multiple ideas introduced in the beginning. First, English or any other language is very flexible and can be easily changed, especially in modern day era, in which we all use digital technology, such as music players to listen to our favorite artists for hours, whether it’s hip-hop, jazz, pop, rock, words we hear get engraved in our memory and this is happening very broadly, tens of million people having same words in their memory means that these words coming into our daily conversations is just a matter of time. Like that our daily conversations and our dictionary is changed and as Lippi-Green mentions this is happening without us having direct control over it. Hip-Hop music specifically is leading genre of music that has most of the new words, so therefore modern-day conversations and slang consist of many words originating from rap. Second, hip-hop music as shown In Lyiscott’s TED talk can be historical, it can be art. In other words, a way to express concern, encourage others or even speak up against prejudice and inequality. Third, to be logical about it, something that motivates people and pushes them for positive change, can’t in any way be aggressive or something that causes violence, it’s just a human nature to respond to aggression with aggression, therefore labeling hip-hop music as a something encouraging violence is wrong and as shown in all the sources, Rap music is only enrichening our dictionary, encourages minorities to speak up, changing our daily conversations and along with all modern day factors, just making our lives more diverse than it ever was.

 
Works Cited


“THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RAP & HIP-HOP CULTURE.”

Blanchard, Becky. “THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RAP & HIP-HOP  
  CULTURE.” THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RAP & HIP-HOP CULTURE, Stanford University, July 1999, web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/socialsignificance.htm.

“21 Slang Words Teens and Gen Zers Are Using in 2020, and What They Mean.”

Davis, Dominic-Madori. “21 Slang Words Teens and Gen Zers Are Using in 2020, and What   
   They Mean.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Jan. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/slang-words-terms-teens-current-2019-8.

“English with an Accent: Language, Ideology and Discrimination in the United States”

Lippi-Green, Rosina L. English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States. Routledge, 2012.

“3 Ways to Speak English”

Lyiscott, Jamila, director. Jamila Lyiscott “3 Ways to Speak English”. TED, TED, 2018, www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english?language=en.