In today’s society the image of male
rappers have changed dramatically. In the early years of rap, males wore tight
erotic clothing that showed off their muscles and things that were appealing to
women. As time went on, those look evolved into a new type of style. Many
rappers today are now starting to wear female clothing or clothing that fits
similar to women's clothing. I personally do not have a problem with this.
However, they contradict their selves while wearing these clothes as they
degrade the same women they are starting to dress alike. It’s a little ironic
that they are dressing like them but choose to disrespect them as well. Now I
am not saying all male rappers are starting to wear female clothing and
accessories but a majority of them do. And to go along with that, not every
male rapper disrespect females. Let's view Lil Wayne or A$AP Rocky and even Lil
B who all wear things such as leggings, big flashy earrings and even pearls
which are frequently found in women wardrobes. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong
with the way they dress if it is something they enjoy and an expression of
self. Rappers try to portray a tough image through their lyrics and songs but
wear feminine clothing, which is the most contradicting thing. A few years ago,
a show called “The Boondocks” had an episode on how male rappers style of dress
have dramatically change over the years. The author of the article goes into
depth about how rappers' style have changed while also bringing back some of
the older styles such as bright and loud clothing. The article also states how
rappers in the 2000's were all about how flashy they were and wore big diamond
chains and fur coats as well as expensive animal skinned shoes and
clothes. There are still some rappers who wear looser clothing and do not
portray a physical image of a female. They do still dress as flashy as possible
with large chains and name brand clothing. The actions of male rappers have
also changed from the 90's to the 2000's but not as dramatically as their style
of dress.
I agree with your point of view of rappers in today's world. There are a lot of contradictions amongst their images, especially in terms of the way they dress, act, and what they rap about. Most rappers claim to be from the "gutter" or the "hood" and even claim allegiance to a gang but their actions say otherwise. Like if most rappers are really doing most the things they claim to have done or used to do, the last thing they would be worried about is keeping up with the latest European fashions. Another image of rappers I'd like to bring up is the often contradiction of their life and what they rap about. Most rappers present the image that they still "move bricks" (traffic ridiculous amounts of cocaine" and "catch bodies" (kill people" when most have never taken part in either of these acts or at least not to the extent they're portraying in their songs. The most famous example of this is rapper Rick Ross's history of being a probation officer in miami and having affiliations with law enforcement yet in his raps he describes himself as having connections with cartels and still selling large amounts of cocaine. Ross's past was called out by the hip hop aficionado DJ Vlad. Vlad was later assaulted by some of Ross's men and Vlad sued for $500,000 but I believe settled for $25,000. An example of rappers who are a representation of their raps are rappers Kendrick Lamar and Bobby Shmurda. Kendrick Lamar tells of his life in Compton, California and how he witnessed the drugs and violence in his neighborhood and how he had to resist temptations to involve himself in these activities so that he could be successful in his own way and influence the youth to do the same. Bobby Shmurda on the other hand talks about "catching bodies" with his "GS9" gang and was recently arrested for weapon charges. In his song "Hot N***a", the famous line is "Mitch caught a body bout a week ago" and in his arrest files, there is a man named Mitch who was arrested with Shmurda and is facing a murder charge.
I agree with your point of view of rappers in today's world. There are a lot of contradictions amongst their images, especially in terms of the way they dress, act, and what they rap about. Most rappers claim to be from the "gutter" or the "hood" and even claim allegiance to a gang but their actions say otherwise. Like if most rappers are really doing most the things they claim to have done or used to do, the last thing they would be worried about is keeping up with the latest European fashions. Another image of rappers I'd like to bring up is the often contradiction of their life and what they rap about. Most rappers present the image that they still "move bricks" (traffic ridiculous amounts of cocaine" and "catch bodies" (kill people" when most have never taken part in either of these acts or at least not to the extent they're portraying in their songs. The most famous example of this is rapper Rick Ross's history of being a probation officer in miami and having affiliations with law enforcement yet in his raps he describes himself as having connections with cartels and still selling large amounts of cocaine. Ross's past was called out by the hip hop aficionado DJ Vlad. Vlad was later assaulted by some of Ross's men and Vlad sued for $500,000 but I believe settled for $25,000. An example of rappers who are a representation of their raps are rappers Kendrick Lamar and Bobby Shmurda. Kendrick Lamar tells of his life in Compton, California and how he witnessed the drugs and violence in his neighborhood and how he had to resist temptations to involve himself in these activities so that he could be successful in his own way and influence the youth to do the same. Bobby Shmurda on the other hand talks about "catching bodies" with his "GS9" gang and was recently arrested for weapon charges. In his song "Hot N***a", the famous line is "Mitch caught a body bout a week ago" and in his arrest files, there is a man named Mitch who was arrested with Shmurda and is facing a murder charge.
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