The diversity talk was a way AWC honored Black History Month by acclaiming the legacy others achieved for American individual freedoms, said Maria Aguirre, AWC cultural program coordinator.
Aguirre said she thought hip-hop was a great topic to explore because many students may not be aware of the beginnings of what is so mainstream today.
"We may not always agree (about music) but it's important to understand how hip-hop makes us understand our own history. We should never close our minds to so many different individuals' interpretation of this art form."
Whitaker noted that rap and hip-hop, often used interchangeably, are really not the same but rap is a part of hip-hop culture. Rap is hip-hop's highest level of extemporaneous communication.
"Everything in the human experience you'll find in hip-hop. But 30 years ago this forum could not taken place on a college campus."
Yet jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll were also tarred with the same rebellious pejorative, he said. They, too, were formerly underground art forms that have merged into the mainstream.
Hip-hop is also a lifestyle that embodies five basic elements: deejayin', b-boyin' (breakin'), emceein', beat boxin' (making musical sounds with the mouth) and graffiti art, he noted.
What genres are similar? What genres overlap, commonality?
*Rap is hip-hop highest form of communication.
Hip-hop is also a lifestyle that embodies five basic elements: deejayin', b-boyin' (breakin'), emceein', beat boxin' (making musical sounds with the mouth) and graffiti art, he noted.
The night's theme came from the melding of two of their favorite hip-hopgenres, crunk and hyphy -- thus creating "cryphy." They also dabble in Baltimore club, Miami bass, Chicago juke and electro house. They'll often throw in a hard-hitting Top 40 track such as T.I.'s "What You Know" just for fun. Horgen, Tom
Counter arguments, anticipate q's and explain!
Recent studies of popular music by other researchers reveal that nearly half of rap/hip hop songs mentioned alcohol as compared to around 10 percent or less of other popular music genres. Nearly two-thirds of rap songs mentioned illicit drugs as compared with one-tenth of songs from other genres. Rap and rock music videos depict violence twice as often as other music genres.
Young people who listen to rap and hip hop music are more likely to have problems with alcohol, drugs and violence than listeners of other types of music, a new study shows. The link to these problems raises serious questions about the alcohol industry's use of rap and hip hop to market products, the study author said.
"Rap Listeners Are Prone to Violence." Rap Music and Culture. Ed. Kate Burns. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2011.
