"...for 1995, 1999 and 2001, for both adults 18 to 34 and for all adults. For both groups, the percentage of recent rap buyers who are white was about 70% to 75% for all three years."Bialik does, however, talk about how some parts of the research could be flawed due to various reasons (these can be found in the link above). No matter how accurate or inaccurate the research may be, I've seen for myself how popular rap is among my white peers and I've always wondered why. Much of rap is about lifestyles that are so different from the ones people live here in suburban Chicago so logically, why would people gravitate towards something so different? I do not disagree with this trend, but am only curious to understand plausible reasoning.
In an essay written on Magazine Americana's website or www.americanpopularculture.com, the author, Fiona Mills discusses her experiences researching this idea in rural Vermont. She says, " the hyper-masculine aura which surrounds rap music appealed to their [young men she talked with] adolescent desires to rebel against the constraints of their parents and white society, in general." Mills goes on to explain that her informants said they most often listened to rap music with friends, usually in a group, which could elaborate on the idea of masculine pride being a driving force as to why young, white males listen to rap.
Mills mentions that in the cases of the people she talked with, their like for rap declined as they grew older. This adds to the argument that rap music's different culture and often more prolific themes appeal to the individualizing, growing mind of a teenager growing up in what can be called a stifling, mainstream society. Overall, Mills found that it is often the case that teens want to prove their parents or their society wrong by liking something so different from what they're used to.
I find these themes of rebellion and power to the individual fascinating parts of American culture. People all have different reasons for why they like or dislike rap, but the reasons Mills discussed above somewhat align with what I believe to be fundamental American themes. Very much in the same way that American patriots rebelled against the overpowering British Empire, kids try to escape what they feel smothered by. It may be a far stretch of an analogy, as many of the reasons for the American Revolution were rooted not in a desire for individuality as much as a desire for change, but the idea of rebellion holds true. The question is, however, is it right to make your own path and seek out new things or to play it safe? How American do you feel revolution from the norm is juxtaposed to being more conservative and secure by following the "rules" a bit more?
As a rap fan, your post made me think of why I like rap, and I completely agree that in a way it's because rap is rebellious. Looking back, popular music has changed dramatically from generation to generation, and I believe this is because teenagers like to prove their parents and old society wrong. So, I'd definitely say it's a common theme in America that new generations want to establish their own culture to bring about a change in our society, and this is proved by the new emergence of rap music.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting in this post was the simple statistic that the majority of the people listening to rap are white. I like rap, and I certainly know very little about what it is like to be living the life of any of these rappers. I think white people like rap because they cannot relate to the stuff being written in the song. The reason you don't find TV shows about average Joes is because people are not interested in watching something they live through every day. People want something new and something different, so white people's attraction to rap makes perfect sense.
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