Finding Hip-Hop's Place in Culture

Hip-Hop's Place in Culture

When you look at the recently played tab on my Spotify, you’ll find tons of Kendrick Lamar, some Childish Gambino, J Cole… and Christian Contemporary playlists and artists.  A lot of people might find this confusing and conflicting.  The messages conveyed in these two genres can be very conflicting at times.  But I think the thing that draws me to these two seemingly opposite genres is the passion that both put forth.  It’s a recurring theme in my life that I can’t remember the exact words of a quote or conversation, but I can vividly recall how things made me feel.  The passion that I hear in these raps and these praise songs can bring forth the most vivid and deep emotions for me.  But even though rap can conjure such emotion in so many people, it is still considered a lower form of art.  If you really dig deep into hip-hop, though, I believe you can find some of the most moving, inspiring, real, and eye-opening art of this generation.  

If you’ve ever listened to hip-hop, you’ve heard it.  The claim that “rap saved me,” that rap “got me off the streets,” so on and so forth.  Numberless rappers have explored this idea-that the art itself, and the devotion to that art got them out of trouble.  Yet the things they rap about are often deemed inappropriate, trivial, or unworthy of a listen; more than that, some people think listening to rap is dangerous, or rebellious.  So does the dissonance come from delusional artists who overestimate the good influence of their artform? Or does that dissonance come from a delusional mainstream attitude to hip-hop and the many diverse cultures that were born from it and are associated with it.  I think it’s a mixture of both of those things.  Like anything else, there is tons of variance in hip-hop.  In my personal opinion, listening to Kendrick Lamar vs listening to Riff Raff is like eating a delicious blackberry (Get it… The Blacker the Berry) vs eating a pile of garbage (Get it… like any Riff Raff song).  But overall, I believe hip-hop can be an influence for good in society, and I think it is important that we search for those artists and groups who promote that kind of influence in the genre of hip-hop.  

Hip-hop has a way of speaking on social issues that is almost impossible for any other kind of art to replicate.  The sincerity and passion displayed in many rap songs comes from the artist actually living through the experiences.  The song “m.A.A.d City” by Kendrick Lamar is a perfect example of this.  On the surface it might seem like Kendrick is endorsing gang violence and the lifestyle that he grew up in.  But in actuality, he is telling the story of his life growing up in Compton and the dangers that he had to face everyday.  He speaks on his friend packing a “9” when he was only 9.  He speaks about the first dead body he ever saw, and who he suspected did it.  After telling his story of growing up, he then almost confesses to his audience and asks if they still want to “ride” with him.  He then turns anti-drug for the last couple of lines of the last verse.  “...they vandalizing/ The option of living a lie, drown their bodies with toxins/ Constantly drinking and drive…”  I think this is such a profound line.  It comes right after Kendrick talks about whether or not he killed someone when he was 16.  He is saying that instead of drowning his body in toxins (drugs and alcohol), he needs to accept real life.  Accepting the things that he’s done is living his real life.  Trying to run from them using drugs and alcohol is living a lie.  

This is something that all society could benefit from.  Everyone feels shame for things they’ve done.  The ability to accept those things and continue to live a “real” life, instead of running from those things is crucial to happiness and peace.  Any kind of addiction feeds off of shame.  But shame disappears when we fearlessly accept who we are.  Step 4 of the 12 Steps in Alcoholics Anonymous is to “make a searching and fearless inventory of your life.”  This song, in a sense, is Kendrick Lamar’s inventory.  Hip-hop is a way to express yourself, and just like any other form of self-expression, it can be good or bad.  But it is our responsibility to find the good in everything.  We, as a society cannot ignore or brush off a whole genre.  And rappers like Kendrick Lamar are giving us reasons not to.