Minstrel Shows and Hip-Hop the Degradation of the African American Culture Essay Example
Minstrel Shows and Hip-Hop the Degradation of the African American Culture
For the y2k generation, Hip-Hop Music has been the center of popularity and interest. In the late 1800’s Minstrel shows served the same purpose. Throughout the various generations music and theatre have had a large impact throughout the community. However this impact is not always positive. What was originated as positive became negative very quickly. The minstrel show, which was originally intended to be harmless entertainment for the masses, came to be viewed as a form of propaganda that degraded and dehumanized African Americans; similarly, today’s hip-hop serves the same purpose by glorifying bigotry and degradation.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a Minstrel as “any of a troupe of performers typically giving a program of black American melodies, jokes, and impersonations and usually wearing blackface,”[i] Thomas D. Rice is believed to be the first Minstrelsy in blackface. Rice modeled his minstrel after an older disfigured black man entertaining himself with song and dance wearing unkempt clothing. His most popular minstrel was “Jump Jim Crow.” "Jump Jim Crow" became the first popular minstrel song, but in reality it was a mockery of African Americans and an exploitation of their culture. Unlike Rice’s sole contribution to the origins of the minstrel show, Hip Hop has had many contributors: DJ Kool Herc, Keith ”Cowboy” Wiggins, Grandmaster Flash and the Fabulous Five, Chuck D and Public Enemy, and Run DMC are some of the most remarkable contributors. These men are most remarkable because at the rise of the Hip Hop movement, Hip Hop was not centered around violence, drugs, weapons, and sex as people like to think. It was just mere entertainment or a political message with songs like “Rappers Delight” (see Figure 1) and “Fight the Power.” (see Figure 2)
Davy D of Davyd.com tells us that: “Hip Hop is an art form that includes deejaying [cuttin' &
For the y2k generation, Hip-Hop Music has been the center of popularity and interest. In the late 1800’s Minstrel shows served the same purpose. Throughout the various generations music and theatre have had a large impact throughout the community. However this impact is not always positive. What was originated as positive became negative very quickly. The minstrel show, which was originally intended to be harmless entertainment for the masses, came to be viewed as a form of propaganda that degraded and dehumanized African Americans; similarly, today’s hip-hop serves the same purpose by glorifying bigotry and degradation.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a Minstrel as “any of a troupe of performers typically giving a program of black American melodies, jokes, and impersonations and usually wearing blackface,”[i] Thomas D. Rice is believed to be the first Minstrelsy in blackface. Rice modeled his minstrel after an older disfigured black man entertaining himself with song and dance wearing unkempt clothing. His most popular minstrel was “Jump Jim Crow.” "Jump Jim Crow" became the first popular minstrel song, but in reality it was a mockery of African Americans and an exploitation of their culture. Unlike Rice’s sole contribution to the origins of the minstrel show, Hip Hop has had many contributors: DJ Kool Herc, Keith ”Cowboy” Wiggins, Grandmaster Flash and the Fabulous Five, Chuck D and Public Enemy, and Run DMC are some of the most remarkable contributors. These men are most remarkable because at the rise of the Hip Hop movement, Hip Hop was not centered around violence, drugs, weapons, and sex as people like to think. It was just mere entertainment or a political message with songs like “Rappers Delight” (see Figure 1) and “Fight the Power.” (see Figure 2)
Davy D of Davyd.com tells us that: “Hip Hop is an art form that includes deejaying [cuttin' &