Hip Hop and Rap Music Often when people hear about hip hop/rap music, they paint a picture in their head of black men swearing, guns, marijuana, lots of gold, and girls who look like prostitutes. Parents and teachers put the image in their children's heads that rap music is "bad" and don't want their children to be influenced by anything negative. Given the way rap music is promoted in the United States, I would have to agree, looking at it from the perspective of an average parent. But what people don't know is that HipHop isn't just a type of music, it's a culture. It is a culture full of original elements, and it is also a place where people can show others what they have and who they are. Within this original society called Hip Hop, there are basically four main elements: MC, Break, Tag and DJ. And each is represented by millions of people around the world. When the four come together, Hip Hop music is born and people experience the music instead of listening to it. MCing is what people know as rap. The main purpose of an MC is to make the audience enjoy your music and send them a message. Unlike most lyrics on the market today, hip hop contains meaning and sends a message to listeners. While these messages might contain profanity and show images of socially wrong things, that's actually what's happening where they're coming from, and that's who they are. Their music represents their area and their people, and is no different than a farmer singing about his cows and chickens in Idaho. Also, "Gangster Rap" is not the only type of Hip Hop music, it's actually just a small sect of everything. Many rappers post lyrics about what they believe in, the... middle of paper... It's definitely not just about gangs claiming areas, and it's not just about vandalizing other people's property. People have to admit that New York City wouldn't have the flavor it has today without all those works of art, and there are many artists who put their pieces on display just so they can show others what they have. It is a way of communicating in the form of Hip Hop. Many other types of music can also be a culture, and each person feels whether it is a culture for him or not. If music means culture for that person, they probably experience that uncomfortable feeling of going to bed without music, of riding the train without the walkman and feel that anger towards vacuum cleaners. Music is also a form of communication when there is a type of society where people understand each other through it. That creates influences on others and makes the music grow.