From the beginning of time, music has been a cornerstone to every culture. Recently, music genres such as rap and hip hop have been the main music influences over today’s youth similarly to how they were in the late twentieth century. Rhythm and Poetry, better known as rap music, has exponentially shaped society in both positive and negative ways, causing many people to polarize over rap music. Rap music has caused tumultuous controversies, and in some cases even death; however, it has more importantly brought minorities together, given outcasts a sense of belonging in the world, given struggling young adults a sense of hope, and voiced opinions that needed to be heard.
To truly understand rap music, you have to look back into to origins of the genre. While hip hop was being produced in the early to mid-70s, the music did not take off until The Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. This was a milestone in the African-American community, as it spawned a sense of unity (“‘Rapper’s Delight’: The One Take Hit”). This was such a big deal because, during this period, the African-American community was widely under attack from white supremacists and some law enforcement officers. Originally, the Sugarhill Gang wrote “Rapper’s Delight” lightheartedly, and it was not until years later when people began interpreting the song as anti-police. From then on out, nothing was the same.
“Rapper’s Delight” is often times seen as the song that made hip hop popular. Following its release, many people began to come out with rap songs and hip hop albums that were topping charts and making history across the nation, bringing the African-American community closer together. This is where rap began to positively influence the nation. Beginning in the Bronx, rap music gave people who felt they did not belong a sense of security and a feeling of confidence. Artists like LL Cool J began hitting the charts around the wo...