How Did Islam Influence Hip Hop

In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.

Blacks of the entire universe, linked up with one determination, that of liberating themselves and freeing the great country of Africa that is ours by right”(Meader). He motivated others to get their education and own their own business, because

Slavery: Effective on Slaves and Slaveholders In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass recounts his life in slavery to reveal to his readers the horrors of the American slave system. To effectively inform his readers of the corrupt system, he publicizes the slaveholders’ hypocritical practice of Christianity. Although he himself is a Christian, Douglass’s narrative is a scathing commentary on the ironic role of Christian religion in the Southern slaveholding culture. Throughout his book, the author expresses and exemplifies his perspective on religion by illustrating the falseness and hypocrisy of the Southern people. To start off, Frederick Douglass suggests that the Southern people’s religion is false and insincere.

Muhammad approaches all of his subject matters from a very unique perspective. He approaches it much differently then other sociologists. Muhammad looks at racist’s attitudes in the fields of sociology and in the North. This shows how pervasive racism was at the time and it is an encouragement for other historians to look beyond just the South when dealing with racism. An excellent example of this is when Muhammad discussed how whites thought of blacks as unequal, so they were uncomfortable with blacks living next door.

Evangelical preachers, in keeping with their social doctrine that targeted the disadvantaged in society, attempted to convert slaves and Native Americans. Prior to the Awakening no one had made a serious effort at their conversion for fear that Christianity was “a step towards freedom” (357). Slaves attended evangelical sermons en masse, wary of the Anglican ministers who supported their masters. Evangelical Christianity offered moments of release and equality from the perpetual suffering of a slave’s life. This did not mean, however, that the evangelists actively opposed slavery.

According to Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming service, hip-hop is the world’s most popular genre of music. This is an amazing feat from a genre created less than fifty years ago in New York City. Modern day hip-hop deviates from its original purpose of providing a voice for underrepresented groups as hip-hop spread throughout the country and became overly commercialized. Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, created hip-hop at a Halloween party in the Bronx of New York City in 1973. After noticing positive reactions from the crowd, DJ Kool Herc used a groundbreaking turntable technique to elongate the drum breaks in songs (Blanchard).

There came to be more African American individuals who we’re in different professions, and fought for equal right. There was the religion which appeared with the Nation of Islam in the black community. This was not really seen in the other chapters religion was not really focused on but at the same time at the beginning the black community was not as educated, and was at the first stage of change. The Nation of Islam fought for equality, and from it came Malcom X who fought for change being one of the reason the Nation of Islam was successful.

Hip Hop was the wildfire that started in the South Bronx and whose flames leapt up around the world crying out for change. James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet focuses on his personal interactions with the development of Hip Hop culture and his changing interpretations of the world wide movement. Many of his encounters and mentions in the text concern young black males and his writing follows an evolution in the representation of this specific social group. He initially portrays them as arrogant, poor, and uneducated but eventually develops their image to include the positive effects of their culture in an attempt to negate their historical misrepresentation.

Africans who were already enslaved saw conversion to Christianity as a road to freedom, and many others who were not already enslaved believed conversion would protect them from becoming

Although Banneker (1797) was not a slave he always referred to himself as one, he believed that he was on the same level of his people and felt the need to fight alongside them. Banneker (1791)cannot comprehend why the people of religious beliefs do not take a stand with the people of darker complexion, he acknowledges that people of lighter complexion are entitled to their rights of human nature more than the people of the darker complexion (p 51).Banneker (1791) says “ I hope you cannot but acknowledge, that it is the indispensable duty of those who maintain for themselves the rights of human nature and who profess the obligations of the Christianity to extend their influence to the relief of every part of the human race (p 51)”. Banneker (1791) desperately wants for people of religious beliefs and lighter complexion to stand up against slavery and in essence practice what they

Frederick Douglass’s “What the Black Man Wants” captures the need for change in post Civil War America. The document presses the importance for change, with the mindset of the black man being, ‘if not now then never’. Parallel to this document is the letter of Jourdon Anderson, writing to his old master. Similar to Douglas, Mr. Anderson speaks of the same change and establishes his worth as freed man to his previous slave owner. These writings both teach and remind us about the evils of slavery and the continued need for equality, change, and reform.

Have you ever thought about how the hip-hop culture affects the society? The negative influence of Hip-hop on society. Hip-hop culture has been identified by the lifestyles of many. Hip-hop encouraged violence throughout society.

The Impact of Hip-Hop Ever since its birth in the 1970s in West Bronx, Hip Hop has been known as “Gangsta” music and most commonly associated with black culture. Since its creation it has become a fast growing genre of music and has growing fame all over the world. The popularity of it has increased to all races, age and gender. However the growing popularity of hip hop has come with several controversies among scholars. Some scholars argue that the growing popularity of the genre is very helpful to low income families who can use this as their outlet into going to Universities, on the other side some believe associating the genre to black culture is bad for the culture as a whole and they should not be associated together.

Bob Marley’s song ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ and Ice-T/Body Count’s song ‘Cop Killer’ both deal with aspects of antiauthoritarian behavior towards law enforcement. This attitude has been seen and popularized throughout modern culture in both reggae and hip hop music. But in order to understand the varied reaction to this kind of material, you have to evaluate the historical and social context behind both songs. With ‘I Shot the Sheriff’,

After returning home to Jamaica, Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement Association or UNIA which promoted African nationalist ideas by supporting the creation of a modern state in Africa for African Americans (History.com). The organization grew rapidly, expanding to contain over thirty branches and two million members by 1919 and almost four million members a year later (John Simkin). While the organization protested examples of racism in the U.S such as Jim Crow laws, it pushed to do so by promoting racial segregation in the U.S, encouraging African Americans to live in Africa, and by promoting economic self-sufficiency and racial pride (John Simkin). After founding the UNIA, Garvey toured the U.S in 1916, promoting his African nationalist ideas. In addition to founding the massive organization of the UNIA, Garvey also established the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company in 1919 and subsequently purchased two steamships (John Simkin).