Rap Music as Cultural Artform
Rap is the most important popular music to emerge in America since the 1980's to the 1990's. Yet rap is more than music or entertainment. The words rhythmically recited, chanted, or sung over music by the likes of Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Arrested Development, and many more represent a sense of identity and belonging for young people in America and throughout the world. Rap is the voice of a population that has been ignored by mainstream leaders and institutions, until now. Within the past couple of years rap has began to emerge into the pulse, thoughts, values, and experiences of youth worldwide. Even though rap has become more popular today, than ever there are still many people who are unaware of the history and roots behind of the music we celebrate and love so much. Rap was around long before it was actually called rap. Rap started out as an oral form of storytelling and the telling of ones history by the social commentator, also known as a Griot. The griot was a historian, storyteller, comedian, reporter, mediator, social commentator, and sometimes performer of religious ceremonies and rites of passage. Griots had to possess musical abilities. Griots often accompanied themselves on a harplike instrument calle
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Middle Passage, Louis York, Bambaata Bronx, Arrested Development, York City, Uncle Luke, North Atlantic, Philly Philly, World War, Native American's, atlantic slave, slave trade, atlantic slave trade, sugar hill gang, slave dealers, religious ceremonies, east coast, talk jive, west coast, african-american oral, north atlantic slave, north atlantic, black kids,
Approximate Word count = 2196
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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