Existence of Racial Tensions in Hip Hop

                                   EXISTENCE OF RACIAL TENSIONS IN HIP HOP


      Through the past several decades, there has been a constant debate of racial tensions that have existed within the hip hop community.  The common foundation for this premise is based on the idea that it is believed that it has been created mainly by the African American community.  In many hip hop songs, there are lyrics placed that expletive, including use of racial words such as the n word.  There are two sides to this discussion: one states that the African American community has caused a sense of segregation through music and African American individuals believe that the disregard for this type of music is a sign of racism from the white community.

     According to the text, "The idea of racialization or race formation is founded on the argument that race is a social construction and not a universal or essential category of biology (Barker, 253)."  Through the creation of hip hop lyrics, there is a belief that a form of segregation has been created.  Constantly, there is an exposure to the fact that hip hop is meant for individuals who have had a tough upbringing in an impoverished community and has a comeback story.  However, I do not believe this was the original meaning for the creation of hip hop.  The true meaning of hip hop is meant for individuals to tell a narrative and allow for people outside in to their personal lives.  This notion of segregation is something that has risen due to the creation of personal opinions in society.
 These three hip hop artists, Lupe Fiasco, Nas, and Talib Kweli took to social media and talk shows to open up about racial tensions that exist in the United States and the hip hop community.  There is a desire for collaboration of people of all races and ethnicities.  Through hip hop, these artists seek to create lyrics that display the problems that exist within our country and provide a call to action to fix these problems.  This aids in transitioning to my second point about this topic.  Racial tensions exist between members of the white and black community.

     Why do these problems exist?  Due to the magnification of issues that exist in America through the media, certain things are heightened and are made into larger problems than they actually are.  Hip hop has been written off due to tasteless lyrics and questionable statements.  I agree, the majority of modern hip hop can have quite suggestive lyrics.  However, there are artists that exist that seek to promote positive action and call for social change.  We, the United States of America, are supposed to be the greatest country on the planet.  It is the 21st century and these problems of race have existed since the time of our ancestors.  Measures have been taken to make our society a better place for all races and have equal opportunity.  However, more needs to be done.  Hip hop has turned into a form of racial tension due to social construction.  It is seen more as a place to be able to tell their story and a place to vent.  People from the white community, like Eminem and G-Eazy are popular in the hip hop community so it blows my mind when statements are made that African Americans are at the forefont of racial problems that exist within America.  This needs to stop.  Let's not worry about race but rather about collaboration of people of all races to make this society a better place to live!