(Turning the Sound)ing Off on Rap/Hip Hop
Throughout my life I have seen an evolution in my musical tastes. As a child I loved the Raffi tapes that my parents would put on during a long road trip. I still don’t know what would drive them crazier, me and my sisters complaining, arguing and fighting or “Baby Beluga” on repeat. Of course, I eventually grew out of this phase, and began to explore a few other musical genres.
Throughout the nineties, there were a number of one hit wonders that I was enamored with. Whether I was “Tubthumpin” with Chumbawumba or “MMMbopping” with Hanson, I was always trying to listen to as much music as possible. After many of these one hit wonders and boy band fads finally died out, I was truly able to find music and genres that I consistently liked.
It wasn’t until I left for college that my music taste hit it’s full stride. Perhaps it was a result of living in the extremely rural city of Champaign, but I really took to Country music. It was constantly being played in the local establishments and on the radio stations that I couldn’t help but embrace it. However, within the locker room setting I was exposed to another genre, rap.
With a centrally located jukebox dominated by the seniors on the team, I didn’t have much say in what got played. Most of my teammates usually turned it up to whatever the most recent rap/hip hop songs were available. As I sat in my locker listening, I could hear many of the same things that were discussed in the documentary we had discussed. The one that stood out the most to me was the poor treatment they would express towards women. Having two sisters myself I find myself to be very protective and respectful towards women. I was brought up with core values that go against what I heard in a lot of these rap songs and usually opted to bring my ipod to avoid having to listen to something that I couldn’t relate to.
