Straight from the depths of urban America emerges a new form of music. I am of course referring to Rap (aka Hip-Hop), a cultural phenomenon that within the last 25 years, has taken the world by storm. Rap music originally emerged as "a way for inner city youths to express their everyday life and struggles" (Shaomari, 1995, 17). Rap is now seen as a subculture that includes a large number of middle to upper class youths, that have grown to support and appreciate rap music .
The earliest known origins of Rap music began amongst the youth of South Bronx, New York in the mid 1970's. Rap pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash and Kool Herc became increasingly popular throughout the rest of the decade, single-handedly clearing the way for later acts such as The Sugarhill Gang, whose song, "Rapper's Delight" is considered to be the very first commercial success with a Rap song. The presence of Hip-Hop's popularity continued only to gain momentum well into the 1980's, with the birth of such acts as, RUN-DMC, De La Soul, The Beastie Boys, Ice-T, and LL Cool J. .
RUN-DMC was among the first rap groups to climb the pop charts in a major way, they also were among the first to make incursions into the Rock-n-Roll element, when they teamed up with Aerosmith's Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry for the single, "Walk This Way." The beastie boys on the other hand, were White ex-Punkers gone Hip-Hop, and with their raucous style and rebellious behavior, managed to bring Rap music to a whole new group of listeners. White Middle-Class America. This exposure opened up a whole new can of worms, that of which still to this day is a major concern within the music industry, as well as modern-day America.
With a beat that rattles your bones, and the "in-your-face" lyrics, Rap music has countlessly been accused of contributing to the decay of modern society. Rap lyrics are often times about the problems and struggles rappers have encountered throughout the course of their life, such as (but not limited to) poverty, crime, violence, racism, drugs, alcoholism, corruption, and prostitution.
