Elevating Hip-Hop to Enforce a Change

Amber Harris

Dr. Tabitha Jones

English Composition 003 -02

8 February 2016

Elevating Hip-hop to Enforce a Change

​In Kendrick Lamar’s song, “Mortal Man”, from his second debut album, titled, To Pimp a Butterfly, he engages in an imaginary conversation with his musical icon, Tupac Shakur. It is asserted that the young generation, namely hip-hop artists, should take the responsibility to transform American society, regarding the disparity of blacks. They should initiate equalization among different races, preferably blacks, within society because hip-hop is a good way to connect with today’s youth. It can be safe to say that the roles of hip-hop artists are the very mouthpieces of sociopolitical change. Being a change agent is a risk that black youth should take because if more people continue to express their feelings regarding black mistreatment, the sooner a change can occur. With that being said, their goal is to have their music heard, so it would be best to introduce a message that is important to promoting a change in American society.

​When one becomes older in life, a majority of the things you did when you were younger, don’t always tend to happen the same way when you reach a certain age as an adult. When you reach the age of your 30’s, you are much more advanced at life, and have responsibilities that need to be taken care of. In Tupac’s verse, he asserts, “Cause once you turn 30 it’s like they take the heart and soul out of a man/Out of a black man in this country/And you don’t wanna fight no more/And if you don’t believe me you can look around/You don’t see no loud mouth 30-year old muthafuckas”. When you’re young, you have a young mindset, and you have the ability to think outside the box. There aren’t too many responsibilities you have to worry about so much like taking care of your family, or being cautious of your actions because you can’t afford to lose your job. Adults have the rationality to reason because they have been through a...