Jesse Jaramillo-Camacho Essays (967 words) - Music,

Jesse Jaramillo-Camacho PB #1 Both the article, "The Social Significance of Rap Hip-Hop Culture" by Becky Blanchard, and Fox News commentary on the 2015 Kendrick Lamar BET performance, are on the topic of the effects of rap on black culture. Yet the two texts differ in opinion and analysis, with Fox News being more negative on the subject, and Becky Blanchard expressing a more positive and in-depth analysi s of the subject. "The Social Significance of Rap Hip-Hop Culture" is an analytical essay that uses the history of Hip-Hop to analyze current Hip-Hop and explain its rooted meanings. There are many markers that show us that the genre of this text is an analytical essay. The text is organized in paragraphs typical to an essay. There is an introductory paragraph, many body paragraphs , and a conclusion. The structure of the text tips off part of the genre, an essay. The contents prove that it is an analytical. The following quote shows that there is thorough analysis happening within the text , " While rap's history appears brief its relation to the African oral tradition, which provides rap with much of its current social significance, also roots rap in a long-standing history of oral historians, lyrical fetishism, and political advocacy. " This exemplifies the analysis used to support the central argument. Therefore, we can say with confidence that "The Social Significan ce of Rap Hip-Hop Culture" is an analytical essay aimed to argue in support of Hip-Hop's political statements. The Fox News commentary is a discussion on a news program about Kendrick Lamar's performance on the 2015 BET Awards where he rapped on top of a vandalized police car. On the program there is a panel of Fox News contributors discussing how they feel about the performance. The genre is clear here, people on a televised news program have a discussion, which makes it a News Commentary. The main reporter that leads the discussion calls upon individuals to contribute to the conversation by saying their name in a statement or question that sets up what that individual is going to say. For example, the main contributor states, "Geraldo, not helpful with those song lyrics." Then Geraldo Rivera begins his spiel with "To say the least, not helpful at all." This shows us that there is one discussion leader that is in charge of segueing the discussion with the individual panelists and giving them time for their own opinions. By having a discussion leader, it allows the entire co nversation to be structured, organized, and timely, which is exactly what news programs want to do to fit in all their segments into the runtime. The purpose of the analysis essay, "The Social Significance of Rap Hip-Hop Culture" is to provide historical context for the political statements made in rap and Hip-Hop. The essay's audience is college students who are typically young liberals. We can figure out the intended audience by the site it was published on, Stanford.edu. With the concluding statements, " despite the blame placed on rap for the prominence of violence in American society, hip-hop music is a symptom of cultural violence, not the cause . [] it is necessary to look at it as the product of a set of historical, political, and economic circumstances and to study the role it has served as voice for those subjugated by systematic political and economic oppression. If the issue of violence in rap music is to be effectively addressed, the root of the problem--disparity in resources and opportunities for urban minorities--must be aggressively dealt with. " The author tells us to dig-deeper and analyze before we criticize rap and Hip-Hop for being violent. This plays to the young liberal scholar that may listen to rap and is most likely analytical themselves. The purpose of the Fox News commentary is to portray rap and Hip-Hop as detrimental to the youth. Fox News is a conservative news organization , naturally their audience is typically white conservatives that don't listen to rap or Hip-Hop. To further cast rap music and rappers in a negative light, they show a clip of the performance where Kendrick is on a vandalized cop car and highlight