And Thus, a HipHopocracy Was Formed

Jenna Rousseau

English 125.093

November 29, 2010

Brown

And Thus, a HipHopocracy Was Formed

When I first read the CTools description of this course, I was, let’s just say, skeptical. HipHop music has always been something that I listened to on the radio, at parties, or high school dances; it was never really my go-to genre—which my ITunes library can prove. If I was ever listening to rap on the radio with my mom, she would say, “turn that trash off! The words are terrible!” My response was always, “I don’t listen to the lyrics, just the melody and beat.” This was strangely true even though I had memorized all the words. Is it possible to know the lyrics to a song, sing them repeatedly, and never think about any deeper meaning? My answer is yes, because I did it for years. This class has opened my eyes to an entirely new world in which lyrics to songs are relevant. They are purposeful and have meaning. Words are not just strung together to make a sick rhyme that follows a beat; they are artfully linked to express intense emotion, and social protest. For me, “fuck the police” was just an expression my friends and I playfully used to joke about our suburban teen angst toward the overbearing police force in Troy, MI. Now this seems even sillier because I see the circumstances this expression emerged from and the true meaning it has. This class has been a challenging, and mentally stimulating experience that has opened my eyes to the greater world of HipHop.