Meagan Bens

With my research project, I want to bring about awareness concerning rap music
stereotypes and their consequences on society. People who listen to the music, whether black or
white, rap along because it is a popular genre, but not everyone considers the power behind the
words. Whether it be walking around campus, at parties, or just hanging around, students can
hear rap songs blaring from speakers. People also may not realize that a majority of rap musics
consumers are suburban youth, also shedding light onto discrimination. Through my experiences,
it seems as if rap music containing these stereotypes are for the enjoyment of white people. From
my personal experience, people will use examples from rap to solely create the image of
blackness. People believe this single representation covers the whole black community, but that
is far from the truth. The hip hop culture was created in Bronx, where poor black and hispanic
families accompanied with crimes, drugs, and violence lived around the 1970s. DJs and rappers
emerged at block parties, and rap started as conscious rap, rap that publicly speaks out against
issues. Conscious rap moved to the underground, and gangster rap moved to the top of the
charts due to its popularity. This gangster rap overshadows the origins of rap and ultimately
undermines blacks in society today.
My intended audience is the rap-listening audience, whether they are black or white.
White people who read this will be more educated and realize the consequences of their actions.
They will hopefully realize how much rap and hip hop culture affects their perceptions of blacks
and that these stereotypes stem from the days of Americas establishment, highlighting that racial
discrimination is still an issue. Also blacks who listen to rap will be more informed about the
motivation behind the music today and understand the consequences they face due to the musics

prevalence in society. People who will lose support are rap music producers today. Music
producers tend to focus on gangster rap because it sells, considering their main desire is to profit.
I want my audience to be persuaded that the music that we nonchalantly rap along has a lasting
impression on societys perception of blacks.
I imagine starting with a background consisting of the hip hop culture and how rap music
emerged. From there, I will address the transformation of rap music back then to the rap music
popular now. I then will address the common aspects of rap: violence, misogyny, and drugs, all
contributing to the perception of extreme masculinity today. Then I want to dive into the
stereotypes individually crafted in the music, and then reveal common preconceptions whites
have today. I want to highlight the effects each stereotype has on blacks and how it prevents
them from living just as normally as a white person. After going through the common stereotypes
and effects, I want to leave the audience more aware of their actions. Considering a majority of
rap listeners happen to be from the suburbs, they do not experience or witness what gangster rap
describes. They merely take what is thrown at them through music and assume it is applicable to
all blacks. Also being the youth from the suburbs, the majority of rap consumers do not consider
how these stereotypes will affect others since it does not pertain to them. I ultimately want to
highlight this ignorance throughout my paper.
Sources I have found so far explain the history behind the evolution of rap music. One
source comments on the effects of white peoples interpretations of the music. Another source
comments about white peoples new masculine desire has given rise to popularity in gangster
rap. One source also comments on the new black youth culture resulting from the music and
racial issues that stem from the stereotypes. I want to continue finding sources that prove how
the stereotypes I am focusing on affect blacks on a daily basis. I want to find stories and results

from surveys revealing initial thoughts white people have concerning blacks and what they form
these stereotypes from. I need these stories, psychological survey results, and statistics to prove
the dominance and consequences of the stereotypes, hopefully dismissing my audiences reaction
to point at the news or current events in disagreement. Those who believe that rap music is just
for enjoyment and results in no consequences for blacks will have to be convinced through
outside research. My outside research needs to stress the prevalence of the stereotypes and how
they are no different from stereotypes created years ago in respect to affecting blacks lives.
While writing this paper, I do not want to get caught up in reporting the history of rap and
its evolution. So far, it has been easy to find information concerning the common stereotypes
people have due to rap music. Finding information about the specific consequences of these
stereotypes and how it affects blacks daily lives may be harder to find. The consequences are
clearly displayed through current events and news, so it is definitely an arguable and relevant
topic. I just need to find credible sources to support my argument. My last concern is about the
stereotypes I am exploring. I want to cover a few effectively and not get lost in the endless list of
negative stereotypes. I am afraid it will turn into explaining all the negative perceptions and not
explaining the consequences. Without the consequences, my paper is more of a report than an
argument.