by Keeshler Pittman

Created on: June 19, 2009

Hip-Hop has a tremendous influence in our society. I see many of the youth today imitating hip-hop artists. Some hip-hop fashions are in good taste. However, some are very tasteless. Hip-hop is a multi million dollar industry. There is hip-hop music. There is hip-hop fashion. There are hip-hop movies. There are even hip-hop sports drinks. Go figure. I thought all rappers drank was 40 ounces.

Hip-Hop was once a very positive influence. I was once very interested in hip-hop music. I do like the sound of hip-hop gospel. Hip-hop secular music has taken a turn for the worse. It promotes drugs, violence, and sexual promiscuity. Many parents do not realize the subliminal messages many of todays hip-hop songs send. Morality is very rarely found in hip-hop today.

In the 80's, when hip-hop was just jumping off, there were many truly gifted hip-hop artists. Run-DMC started a fashion trend with the Addidas with fat shoestrings. Slick Rick influenced the big gold chains and blinging rings. Salt n' Pepa wore bamboo earrings. Some rappers made jheri curls popular. Yes, jheri curls, with activator. Mc Hammer came in the early 90's with Hammer pants. Kid n' Play had cool haircuts and their own dance.

There was a movie called Crush Groove. I never saw it, but it seems that rappers in movies blew up after that. There was New Jack City with Ice T. There was Boyz in the Hood with Ice Cube. There was Juice with Tupac. There was Belly with DMX.These movies were pretty good movies. The majority were very good movies. There are now more acting roles available for people in the hip-hop industry.

There are some very iconic figures in hip-hop. Unfortunately, it speaks volumes that the most revered hip-hop artists are deceased. They were the victims of violent crime. They were friends who became enemies. Anyone who knows hip-hop knows Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. They both died in their twenties. They lived lavishly and died savagely. These two men had talent that could have sustained them into their early 40's. Unfortunately, the desire to be gangsters led to their demise.

Lauryn Hill is extremely talented. She has not released an album in awhile, but she seems to be very rooted and grounded in her beliefs, which is very admirable. Jay-z has set an important example. He entered into marriage which is not popular with most hip-hop fans today. Some young black males will be inspired to enter into marriage based on his example. That is admirable.

There are pros and cons to the hip-hop industry. However, it is a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, more people will use it for good rather than evil.

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