In the trends of the African- American society, the hip-hop culture has evolved into a society on its own. As with the older generation and society as a whole was in uproar of what is good and what is so destructive about it. Starting out in the early 70's and late 60's the African - American society was in an uproar about its youth. Introducing a new trend of style, art, and language to the forefront of America, the hip-hop nation was a movement all on its own. Introducing a new kind of music, that was not understood by the majority and mislead by most; rap was introduced along with the art of break dancing.
Young people crowded the corners with cardboard boxes that was used as mats to do their fluid like moves as they moved around to the bass of the radio, that was blaring out this new rap. Rapping was the new language and it came along with new ways of thought and expression from the streets of young black oppressed men who was tired of holding in their feelings and just wanted to have something of their own---A Freedom! A freedom to express their anger and pain to the world that did not care for them, to a world that had them caught up in a struggle and they could not understand why they were there. Hip-hop was their freedom; a trend that most thought that would only last for a minute, has taken the world by surprise and has caused more controversial attack upon itself than an electoral debate.
In the act of rebellion a new way of living was created and born, hip-hop became a living force; a lifestyle with all the toppings, from clothing to dancing, to rapping and of course the violence and mayhem that came along with it. Most would argue that the violence was the threat to society along with its abusive language, violent messages, and the influence it has over the youth, but being outside looking in, “Who wouldn't argue the point against this Urban Hip-Hop society?” In the late 60's you could here the words of the SugerHill Gang's “Rappers Delight” blaring from some street corner with young people break dancing on that corner. Introducing the era of break dancing; moving your body fluidly to the voice of some person lyrics as music is played along, a time that some would call “The good ole days”. In those early times rap was innocent, it was all about the struggle and finding your own way of freedom. Hip-Hop gave the youth a way to express themselves in a way that would allow them to fully express themselves through the art that they knew as life, life without the struggle or the thought of life being so oppressing.
As time progressed and the industry of entertainment understood the lifestyle of hip-hop, it was brought to mainstream America, a America that that did not want it, but through trials, tribulation, death, exploitation, and political attacks hip-hop still stood under this extreme pressure and is now one of the most popular subcultures within the world. Many years later, like the late 70's and early 80's hip-hop was on its way, evolving from innocent to a more brutal and aggressive force within many communities, which brought out angry leaders and political outrage from the white house, congress and the media. Evolving into a more aggressive phase, hip-hop was under attack from within and without. A new group called “N.W.A.”(Niggaz Wit Attitudes), rap was targeted towards the government and young angry men was reminding and speaking out their anger through music of violence. In the turn of the century since its arrival to mainstream, the hip-hop nation has lost a lot of good artists and has had a lot of negative feedback due to the reaction of the public and the misrepresentation of the youth in general.
It's very relevant to say that the hip-hop nation did bring along with it much destruction and negativity, being a tool of influence towards the youth and a message to the world. Many lives were lost from these violent lyrics of rebellion and disrespect for the law and government, but in retrospect to this effect, hip-hop was not in a matured phase and did not have any direction. When asked of the overall opinion of the hip-hop nation from my peers, their point of view was that, “The hip-hop nation is a bunch of young stubborn kids with no respect blaring out violence and destruction”. Facts are known on both sides and it has been very positive and even considerably favorable to society as a whole. Today the hip-hop nation is one of the biggest subcultures in the world and has even been taken in by other cultures throughout the globe, ranging from Japan all the way to Africa. Giving its guidance to fashion, film, and social arena's, hip-hop has made an enormous impact on the world and has brought a lot of positive ways of life to society.
Through the hip-hop generation, there is now classes that can be taken to learn the language of the streets which is called “Ebonics”, a slang of words that is cut short as shorthand and coded to be understood by street people. This practice has been used within the government for law enforcement agencies to understand what is being said and communicated through the streets. The hip-hop community has donated much of itself in being understood and has flourished itself in many arts and forms of expression. Many has taken this expression and incorporated it in their business as advertisements, some have even used it in their religious life, and even political leaders have manipulated the world in the fashion of hip-hop towards the young generation.
This is an argument that shows both the good and bad of a subculture that was thought to be some kind of phase, yet has turned out to be a great attribute to the American culture and way of life. Even with its withstanding of attacks, the hip-hop culture is stronger than any other; hip-hop is here now as it was back then. What seemed to be something brought about by young African-Americans for themselves, has turned out to be a global venture entertaining the world and has been adopted by other cultures and not just the American way of life. Hip-hop is not just a subculture to African-Americans; it's a subculture to the world.
