Hypermasculinity

Learning about hip-hop and hyper masculinity in class gave me a better understanding of why rappers have a gangsta image. I am a big fan of rap music but I never quite understood why some rappers were completely different in real life than what they portrayed to be in their songs. In class discussion I found out that you have to personify your gangsta image to get respect from your peers and to increase your fan base. Many people criticize rap and hip-hop because of its promotion of hyper masculinity. Rappers use hyper masculinity to emphasize how they are players, tough and rugged, heartless and above the law. This can come off offensive to many people and it creates a negative perception of the whole culture of hip-hop. I started listening to hip-hop because it gave me motivation to get through life's obstacle course. Many of the rappers rap about how tough it was growing up in poverty stricken neighborhoods and what actions you might have to take in order to live another day. I feel like that this is missing from today's hip-hop culture because now it's all about how much money you have and what drugs you're into. A lot of the hip-hop music today is using autotune, which in my opinion is not even music. I think that if hip-hop went back to it's roots it might save its reputation and remove that bad boy stigma. A lot of people also need to realize that today people will do anything that will make the money even if it does not have any other value. Tupac Shakur would be turning in his grave if he knew what the hip-hop world has turned into.