America Is the Melting Pot

America is the melting pot of the whole world, the New World, seen by the rest of the world as the land of opportunity, the land of the free, the green pastures, and the crossroads where virtually all nationalities and races meet. This problem would not have aroused studies and researches a few centuries ago. This study would not have been conducted in other countries because almost all the world's countries and their people possess unifying attributes that make them distinct and unmistakable for any other nationality, race, culture and language. Only America possesses the probability of encountering this problem because of countless causes - immigration, preservation of heritage of immigrants, racial and ethnic differences, and cultural differences to name a few. "If a person was born anywhere between the 1980's to the 1990's, he or she is considered a part of the "Hip Hop Generation." Music is a gift that has been given to us, but the question is, "where is hip hop music going?" Hip-hop is now one of the biggest and fastest growing businesses in the world. it's creativity in sound, and its lyrics have impressed and empowered many of today's youth. But is hip-hop music taking today's youths where they need to be? Lyrically, some of hip-hop's most popular songs and musicians have negatively influenced violence, drugs, alcohol, sex, disrespect for authority, and disrespect for woman. For many young children and teenagers, this type of music can create an environment that can become detrimental to their lives and education. Parents teach their children to say no to drugs but the rappers whom children look up to are rapping about using drugs and imply that it's okay to use them. Therefore, children will listen to the side that has the most influential power to them. Many who constantly rewind a song and memorize the lyrics, are equally influenced just as if they were placed directly in front of the violence and sex and observed them. Statistics has proven that many nightclubs that have had violence occur in them have been playing "violent" hip-hop music. Hip-hop is like a strong tornado that constantly sweeps us up and spits us back out. But whom it's sweeping up are the ones who cannot handle the fall once they are thrown back out. Hip-hop will become better once the artists not only think of their pockets but their listeners, who after all, are listening the most" (the Effects of Hip Hop Music on Today's Youth).

Along with fighting for civil rights and education, African-Americans did not receive a lot of credit in music until the twentieth century. For example, Scott Joplin, the father of ragtime music kept his music going even though the popularity of it was not as huge as he wanted to be, or as it should have been. It is believable that some people did not like it because it was different from a black man, which was not supposed to be recognized in society. Despite these beliefs, Americans have made a difference in history through culture, music and other aspects of life.

Since Joplin's music became popular during the 1970's, other successes came after that, which indicated that the composer was finally appreciated for his style. As a result of this was that Joplin's music suddenly achieved unprecedented popularity. It was performed by popular artists and in concert by classical performers, which made it clear that it was a music that could be appreciated by everyone, and Scott Joplin's faith in himself was vindicated (Berlin, 1996). From there, it is apparent his music became accepted when classical music was added in a time that allowed diversity to be in the mainstream, meaning when blacks were allowed to be recognized for their talent.

From there, the blues music had become a part of the African-American culture in the early twentieth century. "Blues music reflected the new status of blacks. Slaves' newly acquired freedom, Booker T. Washington's teachings, and the Horatio Alger model, which asserted that the individual molds his own destiny, influenced this form of personalized music. According to historian Lawrence Levine, "there was a direct relationship between the national ideological emphasis upon the individual, the popularity of Booker T. Washington's teachings, and the rise of the blues. Psychologically, socially, and economically, Negroes were being acculturated in a way that would have been impossible during slavery, and it is hardly surprising that their secular music reflected this as much as their religious music did." (Levine, Lawrence W., Black Culture and Black Consciousness) as a consequence, it was the emphasis on the individual that influenced the blues personalized form of song" (McElrath). Blues music opens doors for other music to emerge from African-Americans such as rap and hip-hop. With that, the African-American culture has greatly impacted history through music. Even though from the below graph seems to show hip-hip and rap sales have decreased some, African-Americans have an impact on the music industry since it has reached a diverse group within the last decade, which makes it historically influentional.

The "hip hop culture" has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its enormous cross-over appeal, the hip hop culture is a potentially great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the street, hip hop's influence has become worldwide. Approximately 75% of the rap and hip hop audience is nonblack. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Indeed, McDonald's, Coca Cola, Sprite, Nike, and other corporate giants have capitalized on this phenomenon. Although critics of rap music and the hip hop culture seemed to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers us a paradigm of what can be. The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. In the 1950s and 1960s the "Beat Culture" challenged the status quo in ways that unified liberals and prompted change. In the same vein, the hip hop culture has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals (particularly youth) across a rich ethnic spectrum (Reese, 1998).