A Change for the Better

People listening to the rap music today probably feels like there is a big difference between what used to be rapped about and the topics today. A lot of songs you hear on the radio have to do with the good things in life now that the rappers are rich and famous. They all talk about partying, smoking and drinking, or getting women all the time. People lose respect for the rap genre because of everything they seem to stand for. It only seems like they are degrading women and glamorizing drugs. Instead of focusing on words and meanings behind songs, people are focusing on the beat and the cool dances that go along with it. Even with all these new songs and artists rising up, there are still some people who stay true to the meanings and want to speak their minds.
Popular artists like J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar speak the truth about what they feel is wrong with society. They feel like the African American community is still being segregated against even in a time where equality should exist. Songs like This is America by Childish Gambino calls out everything that he feels is messed up with America. He sees that people get distracted by these trends all around them. People want to follow these dance trends that they see these African American do to these rap songs, but they ignore the present day struggles that they still face. These rappers are talking about the oppression that they still see and want to change. Kendrick Lamar raps in his song The Blacker the Berry that there are traits that people look at when they see African Americans that set them apart from other people. There are traits that they can't help, these traits have been passed around from generations before that show the differences they were segregated from in the past. Many rappers call themselves different racial slurs or relate themselves back to slavery to show that even today, African Americans are still oppressed.
People still have these strong feelings that they want to let out. Songs like Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone have the same strong emotional appeal that get people thinking. Songs like these get people mad for a reason, they get people to want to see change in society. So overall, yes rap has changed. It may have become more superficial and some songs may focus on things that not everyone agrees with, but some songs still have meaning. Some rap songs are sill created to have a purpose and stand up for the rights of people.