Rituals & Stereotpyes in Hip Hop Music

Hip-hop Music: Rituals and Stereotypes

            Having been around since the inception back in the 70s, hip-hop music has created rituals and  stereotypes with some being positive and some negative. I will explain some rituals of hip-hop music and some of the stereotypes people have with hip-hop music.

            One ritual that came from the pop culture hip-hop music is the annual BET awards program. The awards program began in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Network. This award program celebrates music and other venues by African Americans. Among the many attendees is a large population of hip-hop artists where awards are presented for their contributions to hip-hop music industry (BET Awards, 2016).  Another ritual is the yearly World Hip-hop Dance Championship which is an international hip-hop dance competition with many international companies. In 2015 about 3,000 people participated from all over the world (World Hip-hop Dance Championship, 2016).

            Even though both positive and negative stereotypes have been associated with hip-hop music, there are more negative stereotypes than positive stereotypes.  One positive stereotype is hip-hop is filled with stories about personal and professional struggles and how the artist overcomes them. Unfortunately many people stereotype hip-hop music into categories that degrade women and encourage drugs, violence, and sex. Some videos portray African American women only as booty poppin people and men as gangsters and criminals (Simmons, n.d.).    

In conclusion, yes hip-hop has rituals and stereotypes. The insight I have gained from applying the theories of stereotypes to hip-hop music is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I always considered hip-hop music BAD music but the more I learn about its history and positive impact the more I am open to listening to it. 

References

BET Awards (Wikipedia, 2016). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BET_Awards

Simmons, R. (n.d.). Six Reasons You Should Let Your Child Listen to Hip-hop. Retrieved from

            http://rosssimmonds.com/leadership/children-hip-hop/

World Hip-hop Dance Championship (Wikipedia, 2016). Retrieved from 

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Hip_Hop_Dance_Championship