Opening Your Mind: The Truth Behind Rap

David Mercado

Professor Patterson

English 102

June 8, 2016

Opening Your Mind: The Truth Behind Rap

        Music is a universal language through its rhythm and lyrics. It’s understood all over the world. Music defines personality and has the ability to portray emotions better than any other means of expressions. This is because music is stories with a beat. Rap music, especially,  is packed with stories. Stories that cover subjects so similar to the negative and positive aspects of life in today’s society, rap gives people something which they can relate to.  Most are blinded by two stereotypes when it comes to rap music. One, rap music causes problems today by the way rappers portray drugs, alcohol, and money to be something they are not. Two, woman are degraded by the lyrics. There is no way to avoid it, rap simply does do these two things, but that’s not all. People must look past the typical stereotypes and see the beauty behind rap. Rap is a powerful way to tell a stories, stories that need to be heard.

        Johnathan Gottschall is an American literary scholar specializing in literature and evolution. He composed a book titled: The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. In this book Gottschall attempts to solve the mystery of the power stories possess and the affect they have over humans. Gottschall pulls from the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology to solve the mystery of storytelling. Gottschall presents many theories that attempt to explain why we are affected by stories so much. One theory in particular has to do  with stories having the ability to change the world. How? Gottschall claims that stories “shape our behaviors and our customs, and in so doing, they transform societies and history.”(Gottschall 144)  Gottschall is correct. Rap does influence it’s listeners in the negative way that is said, but rap also has many positive influences— that most are unaware of. The iconic Ice Cube once said, “Music is a mirror of what we're going through, not the cause of what we're going through.” Ice Cube was surrounded by gangs, drugs, and violence in his childhood. Yes, he did rap about those things, but it was real life events, he didn’t choose to be in that situation. Ice Cube could've easily have fallen into any of those things, but he didn’t. Instead he decided to create music. Rap shaped his behavior, rap gave him a way out of his harsh reality.  Most don’t understand, that rap is so much more than what it is set out to be.

        Rap is a reflection of the composer’s reality. N.W.A created a classic song entitled “Fuck tha Police”. At first glance of the title, your first thought is the song is going to bash the police and be all about violence. To some extent this song is about just that, but you must look between the lyrics to see that there is a deeper meaning. In this song, Ice Cube says,  “A young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown/And not the other color so police think/They have the authority to kill a minority.” This song, is violent, but only because N.W.A was forced to this point of aggression. Police in the 80’s were very racist, physically abusing blacks simply because their skin was a different color. If the government wasn’t corrupted there would have been no need for this song. N.W.A could easily have gone and beat or killed police officers, but they didn’t. Instead they decided to let everyone know what was wrong with the world—how they felt. By N.W.A expressing their feelings, others were able to relate to those feelings. Which, then shows the power of rap because of stories. Their story was able to move people enough to do something about it. Rap songs are stories because according to Gottschall, “Just about any story-comic, tragic, romantic is about a protagonist’s effort to secure, usually at some cost, what he or she desires.”(Gottschall 52)  “Fuck tha Police” is a powerful story about blacks being discriminated against by the police. N.W.A is the protagonist attempting to get equality, but have to suffer through violent mistreatment to obtain it. Racism cannot go unheard. People related to N.W.A and essentially were tired of mistreatment. Rap does influence violence in minds, but rap also has the ability to tell the story of those who suffer from violence.

        Gottschall is also right that the “most popular brand of music tells stories about protagonists struggling to get what they want.”(Gottschall 10) This couldn’t be any more true. Sure, all the rap songs that have to do with drugs, money, and sex, do sell and are popular, but when you look at the numbers the top selling artists all rap about real life. One of those artists is Eminem. Eminem is one of the best selling artists to ever exist. He didn’t get there by glorifying drugs, money, or sex. He got there by telling real stories, stories that can touch one’s soul. “Sing For The Moment” is one of Eminem’s greatest masterpieces. In this song he describes what rap really is. In the third verse he says, “They say music can alter moods and talk to you/Well, can it load a gun up for you and cock it too?/Well, if it can, then the next time you assault a dude/Just tell the judge it was my fault, and I'll get sued” In this part of the third verse, Eminem is addressing the affect his music has on his listeners. People say that rap lyrics cause listeners to influence to commit violent actions. Although they might, Eminem is clarifying that even if rap does influence violence, you should not take the lyrics so literal. In the next section of the third verse Eminem says, “See what these kids do is hear about us toting pistols/And they wanna get one cause they think the shit's cool/Not knowing we really just protecting ourselves.” Here, Eminem is addressing the fact that a lot of rappers glorify guns in their lyrics. If kids grow up thinking that carrying a gun is cool, they aren’t going to see the downside of owning them or the risks that come with them. In his next lines Eminem says, “We entertainers, of course the shit's affecting our sales/You ignoramus.” This line is very important to the whole issue with rapper and their violent lyrics. Since gangsta rap is becoming more and more popular. Bragging about a gun in your raps is a good way to make money, even if it isn’t sending a good message to the youth. “but music is reflection of self/We just explain it, and then we get our checks in the mail.”  This is one of Eminems strongest lines. Even though critics will pick apart artists that rap about guns and violence in their songs, music is intended to be a description of what goes in that artist’s life. So if someone grows up in an environment where they are surrounded by guns, why shouldn’t they rap about it? Their music should reflect what goes on in their life.  These next few lines demonstrate the power behind the stories in rap. “That’s why we sing for these kids who don't have a thing/Except for a dream and a fucking rap magazine/Who post pin-up pictures on they walls all day long/Idolize their favorite rappers and know all their songs.” Eminem targets kids who have difficult childhoods like him and who use rap to escape from their troubles. Since Eminem found light in dark times by listening to his favorite artists when he was a kid, he hopes to be able to do the same for this generation through his music. After some research was done, these lines were paying homage to Notorious B.I.G. and his song “Juicy” where Biggie raps about his difficult childhood and how his only escapes from his rough path were reading rap magazines and hanging up posters. This speaks to the power of influence in hip-hop. Eminem was influenced by Biggie when he was younger, and now his music is going to influence the next generation of rappers just like how older rappers like Big influenced him. One of the biggest reason I listen to rap is to cope with problems. Eminem realizes this when he says, “Or for anyone who's ever been through shit in they lives/So they sit and they cry at night wishing they'd die/’Til they throw on a rap record, and they sit and they vibe.” Eminem knows that some people take rap so seriously they find it strong enough to live for. Music is moving, and a lot of artists really put a lot of emotions in their music (pain, depression, joy, guilt etc.) If you can relate to what they are saying that makes the music that much better. And in this case it is deep enough to make someone stop wishing they were dead, after simply putting on a rap record. To end his iconic song Eminem says these deep words, “ And maybe they'll admit it when we're gone/Just let our spirits live on/Through our lyrics that you hear in our songs, and we can…” Biggie and Tupac were viewed as negative influences on the youth when they were alive, but all it took was an unexpected death to catapult them to legends. Now people see them as some of raps “realest” rappers. They really are, personally I have learned so much because of those two genius men. Eminem has taught me so many things as well. One being, no matter where you come from, no matter your situation. If you want to strive, all you have to do is make an effort and never give up. Through his songs he has shown me how he came from nothing to becoming one of the greatest rappers of all time. Also through his songs, Eminem has shown me that his life wasn’t easy, he struggled just as much or more than we do. He didn’t have a perfect relationship with his mom, he didn’t have a father, he was exposed to drugs and violence. This influences me to not give up because I have a much better life than he did, so if he could do it, I can too.  People might view Eminem as a pill-popping, homophobic now, but eventually they will recognize his dedication to his craft, recognize the ability he had to move people through his lyrics. Even if it isn’t until after he dies.