The Stereotypes Of Rap

My portal has been something that I could take anywhere with me, and within minutes or even seconds, I could be transported back to the world I know. My sleek, white earphones were always stashed away in my pocket, just in case for whenever I had some free time or felt the need to escape from the daily grind. After unraveling the tangled mess, plugging it into my phone, and pressing play, I was taken to another world through the music of various artists, particularly those of rap or R&B. Whether I was taking my daily train ride to school in Oakland or resting on my bed in the late evening, my pocket cradled my portal to the melodies, the rhythms, and most importantly the voices of many artists. Wherever I was, my earphones could instantly take me the worlds of those artists. My phone
Although frequently demonized by many, rap tackles various significant themes outside of its stereotypes of being overly explicit and violent. From Kendrick Lamar reflecting on the loss of a close friend in “u” to Chance the Rapper recounting the difficulties of growing up in his neighborhood in “Summer Friends”, various rap artists often describe personal life events or issues. Listening to their music through my earphones enlightened me on the series of unheard struggles that occur outside the relatively blissful bubble of my own life. I enjoyed R&B for the mellow flow and the soulful vocals that merged to form music that often felt like an audible daydream. R&B also tackled various themes often involving love and relationships, which can be found in songs such as Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” in which Ocean reminisces the feelings he had with an ex-lover or Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” in which Tiller narrates his own shortcomings in a relationship through the perspective of someone