Personal Narrative Essay: The Origins Of Rap

I feel the thunderous bass reverberate throughout my entire body. The treble intertwines with the bass line producing a simple, yet enticing rhythm. The crisp and cunning lyrics follow, laced within the melody. I fall into a sort of trance, absorbed into the piece. The song continues, transitioning from sharp lyrics to a smooth and subdued chorus. This sudden transformation stimulates my senses and captivates me.

Rap music is often associated with vulgar language, violence, and drugs; many news stations and magazines have even accused it of being the cause of increased hostile behavior in teenagers. When I first heard rap music, I was also among the group of critics. I couldn’t understand much of the lyrics, and what I could understand was expletives. The materialistic and degrading messages of the songs appalled me and I …show more content…
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, artists such as Tupac Shakur, Public Enemy, and Ice Cube addressed the issues facing their community: urban, poor, and primarily African American. In the beginning, rap was a voice for this community. It was an outlet for an underrepresented population to express their thoughts and grievances to the rest of society. Rap allowed this community to convey their thoughts in a positive, dynamic, and awareness-raising way. In the song “Changes”, Tupac illustrates the adversities faced by the African-American community, epitomized in his verse, “I’m tired of being poor and even worse, I’m black.” Tupac continues to expound upon the socio-economic problems his community encountered; however, he never calls for any sort of malicious action. Instead, he interposes an optimistic chorus in between his provocative lyrics. “That’s just the way it is.” By merging his contentious lyrics with a cheerful chorus, Tupac is able to address a serious and disturbing problem while still inspiring positivity. Only through an art form like rap could such an admirable feat be

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Personal Narrative Essay: The Origins Of Rap

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