Hip Hop and Social Issues- Research Paper. History and propagation of US hip hop globally

Hip Hop and Social Issues
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Hip Hop and Social Issues
The US has been quite vocal about social and other political issues happening in other countries all over the world. In the spirit of ‘making the world better,’ the US has gone to the extent of invading some countries and using force to make sure that their agenda or will is upheld. Well, as this has been happening, artists continue to paint a different image of the country and some of the issues it has within its borders. Artists like Ja Z and Childish Gambino have been using their music to tell tales of how the US has certain issues which have refused to go away. Issues of racism in the country, as well as gun violence, have a long history and whenever they are mentioned, endless debates ensue. The songs The Story of OJ and This is America are loaded with many elements which represent some of the issues the US has been grappling with since the founding fathers went to war for it. Aside from racism, the songs dig deeper and approach other topics including gun violence and lack of financial education and freedom among the black people. Additionally, there are also many aesthetic issues in the videos of both songs and these form the main approaches of this paper.
Childish Gambino’s video of This is America starts with a man strumming a guitar and before the first minute elapses, he shoots the man and gives the gun away to another man who wraps it in a red cloth. Gun violence is a not a new topic in America, and with each passing day, the discussion of gun violence takes a new and different turn. After the shooting happens, Gambino goes on with his dancing as if nothing has happened to show how people have become accustomed or complacent to the issue in the country. Like in any other shooting, people get worked up and invested in the topic and immediately move to other issues and other aspects of their lives when the dust settles. However, like Gambino, the responsible individuals always get a clean pass. Moreover, here the responsible individuals are not the people who pull the trigger, but those who manufacture and sell their guns to every Tom, Dick, and Harry. These individuals continue to make money and enrich themselves at the expense of other people’s lives, but just like in the video; they walk away unscathed.
Coming to Jay-Z's song The Story of OJ, nothing about gun violence is mentioned, but from the start, one can say that something regarding color will be handled. His lyrics at the start are:
Skin is, skin is. Skin black, my skin is black. My, black, my skin is yellow.
Light n****, dark n****, faux n****, real n****, poor n****, house n****, field n****, still n****, still n****.
These lines are quite indicative of his feelings and the topic that he intends to discuss it throughout the music. The race is not an easy topic to talk about in the US. People come up with many skewed and seemingly viable ideas and statements which continue to increase the complexity of the topic. However, in his song The Story of OJ, Jay Z looks at it from the black man’s point of view and how some African Americans get to certain points when they believe they are beyond their color and race. The second line above looks at all black men, and regardless of their position in the society, Jay Z says that they are still considered black first and everything else later.
While the start of the two songs has nothing in common, as they continue, one can notice certain similarities or themes and approaches to topics that overlap. This is America, the video takes place in a drab warehouse and looking closely; one notices that the foundation, as well as the support systems, are mostly white. This is one aesthetic issue that comes up and fits into the American narrative quite well. From history, the founding fathers of this great country are all white, and while some African Americans did play different roles in the country’s belief system, many are never mentioned or given the credit they deserve. Showing the foundation and the support system of the warehouse as white helps to paint a picture of how US’s history is often skewed to fit the narrative of the white people being the dominant race. In The Story of OJ, the cartoon video shows Jay Z raping in a cotton field alongside other black people who are picking cotton with a burning cross as a background. The burning cross, of course, represents the KKK, which was and is still quite famous for their hatred of African Americans. Again, the black man is given another disparaging role with the white man looking down on him. The white man still comes out as the strong one and just like the warehouse and its support system.
In the US, the burning cross was indicative of the KKK, and this was and still is a known fact. The burning of crosses was warning black people in their yards and later killed. KKK’s actions were often condemned, ...