By: Dalia Perez
Hip-Hop has served as a source of expression for many individuals facing hard times in their life since the 1980s. According to Wikipedia, hip-hop “formed during the late 1970s in New York City” (wiki) but it did not truly develop until the late 1980s. During the 1970s, hip-hop served as a voice for those unrepresented and marginalized in America and as the years go on hip-hop continues to give people a voice to express the pressures they are facing in America. According to the article Still Fighting Power by Theresa Riley the author of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation Jeff Chang expresses that if you were a fan of hip-hop “you could listen to artists from different cities and find out what was happening in those cities” (Riley,202). This shows that hip-hop artist used their music to express what was going on in the world in terms of what they were going through in their own life. For example, an artist by the name of Toddy Tee released a hip-hop song about police brutality in black neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Overall, hip-hop has given people the ability to express what they are experiencing in the world in terms of critical issues that people should be worried about like police brutality. Two examples of hip-hop songs that express critical issues people are facing like police brutality and racism are This is America by Childish Gambino and The story of O.J by Jay-Z.
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