natinal geographic

The music that is reaching urban and suburban youth is full of violence and sexual context, however the truth remains that it is sending a message and the bigger it gets the harder it is to ignore. Youth all over the world express hip-hop attitudes for example in France, the Middle East, Africa which s where the hip-hop culture arguably originated.
I did not know that the sugarhill gangs first song was produced by Sylvia Robinson who ran All Platinum Records in Englewood New Jersey. She got all the rappers together and made them make "Rapper's Delight" using other people's lyrics made a lot of money off it and never paid due to the real rappers that created those lyrics.
The Last Poets are considered to be the first rap group speaking of their "revolution". They seemed to scare many people because their lyrics spoke of things that most people didn't want to. They were the first musical group to use the N word on a record. They embodied black power. Their records consisted of percussion and spoken-word rhyme. Their debut recording sold 400,000 copies in three months.

Wendy Day and the B-boys

well, this seems to be my issue with the music industry today. it is all business. what will sell, sell, sell. but that's the problem with a lot of independent artists and labels. they don't have the money or means to get their music out there. but what is so irritating is that they can't have their freedom until they "earn" it, so they have to do stuff they are told to do in order to do what they really want. my problem with that is first off they are thinking about their pockets and not their truth or originality or love, second they seem to get too comfortable with doing what makes so much money with a phat beat and catchy hook that they lose what they originally had. it is very hard trying to put an artist on the scene who people have never heard of or who may not be what people are used to listening to. that is why promoting and marketing are so important. there are so many talented people out there who don't get their fair chance because they are not what the public is accustomed to. but does that reduce the amount of substance or quality in their rhymes? of coarse not. it just isn't known. the industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and like she says in the article, if a record does not sell 500,000 copies it is not considered profitable. that is crazy. the amount of money that is made from that many albums selling at a price anywhere from $13-$18, if you're going to a regular mainstream retailer, is amazing. it is profitable for everyone. however that is where the business side of hip-hop i feel interferes too much with the true meaning of the music itself. breakdancing seems to me from the article that it was just noticed, picked-up, seeing that it was such a great form of entertainment and then used to make that money. People who thought of it as a fad were so ignorant to the fact that it was a 300 year old african form that warriors used to show solidarity. that is amazing. no fighting, killing, cursing, just dancing. now using it to make money is a different subject, but seeing how the public i think is more intrigued by the moves and how can they do this or that, not really knowing the history maybe, that it was used as a form of battle opposed to fighting, i think good for the b-boys and b-girls. as long as you are out there spreading that truth, let them make their money!

Hello, my name is Guitta, I am 26 years old, born and raised in Arlington Virginia. I left Mason to take a semester off and make some money and find my way, however four years later returned to finish what I started so long ago. I have always loved hip-hop considering it wa the first type of music I really was exposed to and liked. I had an older sibling that taught me a lot. anyway, i guess that's it!

http://gmu.eduok so thinking about our discussion last week about hip-hop and there being no difference in age range in the music, is that because of the kids listening to what they shouldn't be or the quality of the music. I can't appreciate some of the music I hear today because I feel like it's kind of immature. I don't know really half the time if it's real or not, or if it is just like "this is easy I can say nothing relevant over a beat and I will make millions of dollars" Maybe I am ignorant to it and just don't know, but it doesn't give me a reason to want to know. I don't feel like I used to hearing a song on the radio and saying "yeah this is nice, who is this?" I don't really get that feeling that I used to get. Now don't get me wrong I definitely think that kids are listening to things they shouldn't be and reacting to it which does have a lot to do with the home front, but we also have to look at how much substance is in this music. I feel like it is targeting kids.