Rap, particularly "gangsta rap," is perhaps the most controversial music there has ever been. Stanley Crouch concludes that rap "encourage young people toward illiteracy, brutishness, hatred of women, whorishness and mindless materialism," while Authur Lawrence Cribbs, Jr. claims that gangster rap ...

Rap for Freedom of SpeechIf you were a songwriter and all your thoughts and efforts were put onto a piece of paper, would you want "big brother" to come and tell you that half of the subject matter is inappropriate and must be censored? Censorship can be defined as a banning of literature, music, a...

Recently we have been hearing a lot about the need for censorship of television and recording industries. Whether it is the cartoon Beavis and Butthead, the controversial television drama NYPD Blue or rap recording artists, someone always s eems to arguing about their negative effects on society a...

Rap Not Rest in Peace (12/01/98) In this day in age rap has changed in so many more ways then one. From its start in the 80s on the East Coast, to its explosion and transformation on the West Coast. Today RAP has earned itself a first name, and as you all may know its gangster RAP. Gangster Rap...

When I hear people say "you get wiser with age", the hairs on the back of my neck start to tingle. Really, the older you get, the more ignorant you get to the changes the world is going through, and the more stubborn you get to accepting these changes when they are brought to your attent...

Many rappers and actors have come and gone throughout the years who have made significant contributions to the industry. However, none have even come close to what Tupac Amaru Shakur has done to revolutionize this controversial business. His love for rap music and his brilliant talent brought him fa...

Music lyrics have undergone dramatic changes since the introduction of rock music more than 40 years ago. This is of vital interest and concern for parents .During the past four decades; music lyrics have become increasingly explicit, particularly with reference to sex, drugs, crime and violence.Rec...

Snoop Dogg, the gangsta rapper from the West Coast shows how rapping helped to straighten out his life. From the very start Snoop had it pretty rough living on the streets and all. He had done some rapping with his friends, but it never really went anywhere until the right person had heard him. ...

CensorshipRecently we have been hearing a lot about the need for censorship oftelevision and recording industries. Whether it is the cartoon Beavis andButthead, the controversial television drama NYPD Blue or rap recordingartists, someone always s eems to arguing about their negative effects onsocie...

"Murda, Murda, Murda, and Kill, Kill, Kill...", these are the lyrics to one of the songs written by Tupac Shakur. Amidst all the controversy surrounding his personal life, this artist has managed to overcome all obstacles and spread his hope/hate message to a surprisingly receptive audience. Tupac...

Wonder why they call You Bitch? In today's times the popularity of the hip-hop culture immerses us, a black community, in Fashion, Culture and Language. Every where you turn some form of this empire is in your sights, It has its grips holding tight on to anyone whom it can entrances with it's melodi...

Tupac Shakur, in death was a celebrity and in life a revolutionary. Or at least Armond White's biography of his life seems to lead me to believe this. Tupac lived an amazing life according to this book, and I will try to use as many examples from this text as possible to summarize his life. His l...

Tupac Amaru Shakur, arguably the most talented man of the 1990's, was born on June 16, 1971 in New York. Shakur compiled an extraordinary resume consisting of various forms of entertainment before passing away at the age of 25. Tupac Shakur accomplished more in his short lifetime than most pe...

Tupac Shakur, in my thoughts, is the best rapper there is. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. He was born in New York. Tupac Amaru are Inca words. Tupac Amaru means a "shining serpent." Shakur means "thankful to God," and that came from the Arabic language.When Tupac was 12 years old, his...