Outline Genre Project Podcast – Dylan Merchant

This is a informational podcast  

Intro music starts 

I. Intro

My name is Dylan Merchant, I have been a fan of rap music for as long as I remember and before this project, I have always questioned whether rap is positive outlet for black people or not. Many people believe rap music to be detrimental towards black communities in America. For valid reasons there are countless songs where artists base their music on poor source material or just negativity. Are they promoting violence? Or simply rapping about the things they go through? Was rap always like this since the beginning of the genre in the 1980’s? Or have things just began to change? Rap has evolved significantly since it became the top selling genre in 1999 does it still serve the same purpose? 

(there is different old school rap music songs playing in the background as I’m talking) 

II The middle part  

1. How rap music started. (with pictures and sounds of old artists)  In the 1980’s after the Black arts era, expanding off of the path our leaders made for us with the Harlem Renaissance, Black people were looking for other ways to express themselves and have fun while doing so. Rap music helped with tackling many different subjects in rhymes, with real messages like the problems with class, race, gender issues and political issues in the Black community, using their platforms to speak out for black people. coming straight out of Harlem and the south Bronx .

2. Get deeper about why new rap music is viewed as detrimental to black people   hip hop has evolved into a very

3. Acknowledge some of the things that people are right about in new age rap (including news documents) 

4. Note the beginning of the shift from hippity hop rap to different sub genres or rap or struggle rap 

5. Point out the positives and all of the good coming from rap before  

6. Point out the positives and all of the good coming from rap now 

7. Talk about the dangers of criminalizing rap  

8. Might add more expanding on the topics listed here 

III: the outro  

Over the years rap has made itself a staple of American culture and especially black culture. Writing it off because of some negative influences will be even more of a detriment to black people than this genre has ever been. Countless good things have come from rap and it is one the few ways all of our people can unite. If we generalize rap as bad and people are frowned upon for it, that will prevent others from having an expressive outlet. Of course, rappers can sometimes promote drug use and violence in their music but, if that is what they were raised around and what their life is, then they have every right to express that. Rappers don’t deserve to be penalized for making something out of their trauma and thriving against all the odds placed against them.  

Outro music plays  

(I didnt receive the sheet in class and i will complete it after I do and submit it)