Introduction
The general consideration of hip-hop poetry is the rhyming of fast tempo and associating it with words crafted into music. Music is regarded as poetry due to its association with most of the qualities of music. The compiled terms may refer to a broad subject and spectrum of social, political, and economic issues within the society. An artist’s ability to be regarded as a hip-hop artist lies in associating their narrations with rhythm, which can be accompanied by beats. Hip-hop has been an identifier of specific groups since it was founded in New York City in the 1970s. From its founding, the music grew as different communities defined their experiences using the same flow and rhythm and adopting similar lifestyles (Flores 2). Music has been a unique identifier of the African-American culture since its founding. The representation of the music was to address the collective issues in society. As popularity increased, more genres were developed to include more specific details of societal problems (Harris 5). The scope of the music increased its popularity as the demonstrated lifestyle was preferred.
The article has been used to discuss the rising conflict of hip-hop music in East African culture. The development of the region’s music heavily relies on imitating its original ideas. The consideration of music, in general, has been associated with vices such as drugs and substance abuse, social and economic discrimination, and sexual immorality. Such vices have been condemned in most East African cultures. Children refrained from associating with such music as the emulated behavior was a menace in society. Increased exposure has broken the boundaries as everyone has easy access to platforms with such music. Local artists are trying their best to copy the genre of the music to ensure retaining its originality and popularity. The original context of hip-hop music has changed even from its origination in Black American culture. Sensitive issues considered a norm to be discussed and mentioned are openly sung in hip-hop music. The essay will demonstrate how local artists have adopted the erosive hip-hop culture into their various forms of lifestyle in social settings and their music. The interpretation will help track the development of the hip-hop culture and the measures that must be implemented to ensure that society benefits from the context. The literature benefit of music is the development of culture, entertainment, and representation of the broad spectrum of society. The music has refrained from its original ideas to achieve self, political, and economic interests.
The Extent of Heretical Forms of Hip-Hop Poetry
The specification of the origination of hip-hop was in the description of the form of music associated with drug users in the American culture. The formulation of the genera was used to validate the subculture of drug users commonly referred “addict rap” due to overuse (Alridge and Stewart 194). The representation has always associated music with a drug and substance consumption culture. Drug use has been one of the most contemplated vices in East Africa. Despite efforts to curb drug and substance abuse, local artists have also been associating with using the same context in their music. The various campaigns that have been established have not yielded much fruit due to the erosion of the context of the music. For instance, an artist such as Paul Julius Nunda, better known by his stage name Jua Cali from Kenya, has used hip-hop to describe the lifestyle of the urban societies in Kenya. The requirement of hip-hop is tied to the moral responsibility to demonstrate the effects of drug use. Instead, his music has shown no adverse effects that can be associated with assisting youths in fighting addiction or drug use in the first place. The lifestyle depicted in the music videos offers flaunting and captivating lifestyles, with drug use being the central theme of the songs. The description of the culture cannot be effectively represented in the fast-rising form of music due to contemplating ideas on drugs and substance use. Poetry can be described as misguiding from the bedrock of African cultural identifications.
The deconstructive portrayal of hip-hop has been evaluated to encourage violent domains and misogynists in lyrical presentation. The case evaluation is the increased number of destructive lifestyles described with violence and deconstructive living forms (Armstrong 112). The research done in this context has tried to explain why the high rate of violence is associated with the condition of music. Most lyrics have been interpreted as the patriarchal hegemony, demonstrating increased gender-based violence. The music has encouraged superiority complexes interpreted in the music by East African artists. The initial East African culture recognized a man as a controlling unit of a home. Progressive interpretation of the context of a home has seen the need for the incorporation of roles of house members in equal measure. East African societies are becoming more inclusive, which should be represented in modern hip-hop. On the contrary, local music has disrupted the dynamic as women and men seek controlling power in homes and society. The demonstration of a case is the music by a local Tanzanian artiste, Judith Wambura (Lady Jaydee), whose music aggressively seeks inclusivity in the home setting. The context of the music can be used to form a base for personality complexes as one party seeks more roles. Although the artiste primarily addresses issues of love, society’s interpretation of the context can be complex since most communities are different. The expectations derived from the music about relationships are extreme and textbook to the actual issues. The oversimplification has resulted in increased violence, rape, and at extremities, murder. The generation of the extern of dissident hip-hop poetry is the oversimplification of societal issues. Wrong interpretation is common as different individuals try to emulate their situations to the one described in the genera. In this case, hip-hop is a dissident genre as it has failed to address societal needs in the chase for popularity and financial gain.
A central identification of hip-hop music globally includes many women in the general lifestyle and music videos. Does the context of the piece have to be associated with such designations? This has been associated with sexual immorality. The engagement of the rise of hip hop is its description of its context in a spiritual and religious disclosure. The critical evaluation of the ideas of the gospel hip-hop is in the representation of its originality. Using a large group of women in music videos can defeat the whole purpose of the designated message. The secular form of music is allowed to use such ideas to promote its popularity despite the song’s theme (Hodge 1). East African cultures condemn immorality. What has been the role of hip-hop poetry in undermining cultural identifications regarding immoral behavior? The immoral tendencies have been tracked to local artists in East Africa in their form of music or lifestyle. A Kenyan artiste like Eko Dydda is a perfect example of the contemplating context. The context of their music is driving and refining, to be referenced as constructive content. Their lifestyle, however, gives a contemplating idea. The general inclusion of a large group of female dancers in music videos defeats the entire theme of the song. The audience contemplates between deriving the message or the sexual excitement of such content. The critique of the extent of genre influence is the need to retain the original context of hip-hop poetry. The ideas used and the fame gained are associated with the increased immorality in society.
Conclusion
The article has addressed the various ways hip-hop has influenced the presentation of East African culture. The definition of the type of genera reformed with the inclusion of context to define the society’s cultural, social, political, and economic expressions. But the artists expressed in the article have been used to represent a different story. They tend to copy the context to retain the originality of the genre. The significant representation should be in the use of the hip-hop genre to define the cultural and social expectations of the individuals within the society. The content and visual narrations should represent the designated theme of the genre. The conclusion of the description of the essay is defining the extent of the dissident of the hip-hop genre to be misleading for local and the rest of the artists globally.
Works Cited
Alridge, D. K. and Stewart, J. B. “Hip-hop in history: Past, present and future.” The Journal of African American History 90.3 (2005): 190-195. Article.
Armstrong, E. G. “Gangsta misogyny: A content analysis of the potrays of violence aganist women in rap music, 1987-1993.” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 8.2 (2001): 96-126. Article.
Flores, L. J. “Hip-Hop is for everybody: Examining the Roots and Growth of Hip-Hop.” Inquiries to Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities 4.5 (2012): 1-2. Document.
Harris, S. “Foreword: Funk What You have Heard: Hip Hop is a Field of Study.” Journal of Hip Hop Studies (2022): 1-10. Article.
Hodge, D. W. “No Church in the Wild: Hip Hop Theology and Mission.” Missiology: An International Review 41.1 (2013): 1-12. Article.
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