Music is a Drug... The Hip Hop Life of Youth in America
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Posted By: Jasmine Spence on July 16, 2008 *Now this is a story all about how*… Music is a drug: The hip hop life of youth in America. *My life got flipped turned upside down*… Music contains a certain quality that influences the actions of its listeners. *And I’d like to take a minute just sit right there and let me tell you how*… sounds, vibrations, and the patterns of melody’s can create the fundamentals of what youth love the most_ the aspirations of music. Music… is everywhere, from video games, to cell phones, to television… so how can it not be addicting when its location is always near? *Have you ever been *to your local doctor’s or dentist’s office and got so profoundly bored because of your long wait? What do you notice? Few more patients waiting to be seen, a couple books and magazines here and there, and maybe even a small window in the corner…but who can u pass up the unusual musical selections that is softly pouring out of the near by speaker that’s posited right above you?.. *Welcome to the good life*… Music… is everywhere: grocery stores, carnivals, restaurants, waiting areas, so it’s only natural for a typical teenager in America to get adapted into a cultural society of music. The essence of music reflects a person’s individuality, creating something of a drug that portrays to its listeners a memorable captivating quality… *so welcome to the good life*. Ever since the mid 1970’s and the origin of hip hop, music has evolved into its own society that not only benefits, but also dominates the lifestyles of America's youth. *And I aint gotta tell you that*, In Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, music is defined as the science or art of combined tones in a composition with structured melodies, while a drug is defined as a substance that can cause an addiction and possibly even cause a slight change in a person’s mental status… This is the process of how music can become a drug to its listeners. Setting the tone for inspiration, teens often use music to gain knowledge and information about the mysterious and hidden messages of this unknown social world. *I get so weak*…music portrays a freedom of expression that entertains, relaxes, and even excites its listeners. Listening to a song’s melody and lyrics can define the characteristics of a situations that sometimes a person can not quite handle, creating music to be a self-explanatory instrument. For the times when *its just those rainy days*, or maybe when *I wanna be like those girls in the movies*, to make you want to *stop with straight shots and then pop bottles*, music is a temple that possesses certain definitions, that may or may not be different from its actual meaning…So if you just feel like *slappin somebody today*, or if you found love to the point where *its just to good to be true,* Youth use sounds and melodies as passage to escape from their reality into a fantasy world. *Just one of them days*… Youth tend to use their music to enhance or intensify their moods; affecting their emotions unknowingly, music is an active tool that continues to express the feelings of their daily activities…*I hate you so much right now*…In a case study that was examined in 1999 by the Roper Organization, music was considered to be the most popular way to relieve stress, with such information, why is music such a problem by most when it comes down it its youthful listeners? Over the past decades the rhythms of hip hop and cultural music has been portrayed by the public to be negative, putting down the music itself as well as the teens who listen to it. Not liking the fact that *I’m so hood *and that I just maybe want to *Party like a rock star*… Music is merely a mechanism that functions throughout the process of expressions. *Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore but some day’s I sit and wish I was a kid again*... Do you remember as a child learning the easiest rhymes? Research shows “that music dramatically enhances the abstract reasoning skills of children.” Although it may be quite awkward that it seems as if a numerous amount of kids don’t know their ABC’s or 123’s may know how to *get it shawty*… *Take me there, I wanna go there*. In another case study that was examined in September of the year 2000, the Federal Trade Commission noted that music was the most popular interest for kids as well as teens. *Ayo I’m tired of using technology*… Is America's youth really influenced by one of the mass media’s? With so many forms of technology like the internet, video games, ring-tones, and ring-backs, the advancement of music provides its listeners with the aspects of expression. *Is you rollin?*…So what is music really for youth? Is it a definition substituted for a drug? Or is it really what it appears to be; you know the science or art of combined tones in a composition with structured melodies? So the next time if you feel like you *cant leave it alone*…just run to your *b-u-d-d-y*, and let them know that *this is the way I live*... from the aspects of teenagers, *just share my world, don’t you leave*…Music truly is something of a drug that makes teens just wanna *snap ya fingas*! ... Music is a drug: the “life” of youth in America.... Music is a drug: the “hip- hip” life of youth in America....Are you addicted? If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Jasmine Spence
From seattle, WA Wilberforce University class of 2010 Member Since May 2008 |
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