Hip Hip Matters: Pages 143-186

Summary:
Hip Hop’s evolution launched a revolution in youth culture. For instance, hip hop has an impact on music, fashion, style and general purpose. Whether it has been the pro-women statements made by Queen Latifah or the crazy lyrics by Kayne West, hip hops echoes has led to some of the most memorable moments and images in recent American culture. Because hip hop is so widely based on Black and Latino culture, there is an agreement that racial politics will be a major part of the mix. Then things started to change when Eminem entered the picture. In addition to coming to terms with the changing racial makeup, worries of how political agenda will be made began to develop. The desire to develop a more urban political sensibility with hip hop movement began to expand rapidly. This sense of urgency and anxiety caused people to feel like hip hop was ready to make its mark on the world.

While all this hip hop conversation was being discussed in the west coast, the hip hop scene began to explode. Rappers began to use melodic grooves, gansta rhymes and thug life antics to attack a younger crowd. Rappers like Tupac Shakur, Snoop dogg, Ice Cube, Ice T, and Dr. Dre were some of these new kinds of rappers. These rappers rapped about the real life experience they had with the streets. These rappers were both controversial but loved by many. They were what the hip hop scene needed at the moment. Unfortunately these rappers related too much to the youngsters of the US. On May7, 2000, California passed the proposition 21. This allowed prosecutors rather than judges to decide whether a young person would be tried as adult, reduced confidentiality protections for juvenile offenders, and increase penalties for gang related crimes. In 1991, 93,655 kids were imprisoned. By 200, that number dropped to 16,000. This new passed law was working.
Quotation:
"Ain't no power like the power of the youth,'cause the power of youth don't change!(BOOK NOT BARS 163).
Reaction:
I do agree that the youth have the most powerful influence overeverythng. The youth control are future and they have the ability to change anything they deem necessary. I've come to realize that the youth are very stubborn with their beliefs and i think that why the author of this qoute said that their views don;t change. If you look back in history, it has been the youth that has controlled most of the descions made. If I would have been able to vote during the year 2000, i would have voted yes for the proposition 21. I think any way we could help encourage the youth to behave better and live a better life is necessary. Like I stated before, our future lies in the hands of the youth and it is up to the elders of the world to lead them in the right direction.