Rap Music and Deviance in American Culture

Music critics said rap music wouldn't last. Record companies said it was too harsh and black-oriented. In twenty years, rap music has grown from its street beginnings in Harlem and the South Bronx. It now comprises a dominant media pattern through traditional music medium such as cassettes and CDs, as well as television talk shows and Music Television (MTV). Rappers can be seen in concerts, advertisements, and movies. Rap music has become a popular American culture, so why is it so bad?

Rap music started in 1979 with Rapper's Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang. Ever since, it has been criticized, praised, and censored. Rap music can be defined as the style of rhythm-spoken words across a musical terrain (Chuck, 1999). It was originally part of the African American culture, which refers to the man's purpose of winning the sexual affections of a woman (Smitherman, 1997).

Hip-hop emerged from rap music. It is the term for urban-based creativity and expression of culture (Chuck, 1999). It is the backing music for rap, which is often composed of a collage of "samples" from other songs (Farley, 1999). Hip-hop sampling is a way to revisit Black musical tradition. It may sound like imitation, but it is really just reworking earlier music. The sampling of rappers represents an artistic continuity and connection to Black cultural roots (Smitherman 1997). Hip-hop proved its staying power by reaching into and affecting every corner of society. Rap's exemption to geographic and economic boundaries has made it rich. But with the strength that comes from diversity also comes disunity. The Hip-Hop Nation has become like its mother country: widespread with decision. Suddenly too complex to move as one, hip-hop is discovering the dilemma of power.

Rap is seen as an icon of resentment to the white status quo. As in any situation where an icon such as rap or hip-hop is attacked, there is always the potential that the attention will grant the music even further symbolic power, and increase the number of listeners.