The Continuation of Hip Hop

Summary:
In order to be in the Hip Hop business, you have to know how to dress, have many talents, but most importantly, a person needs to know a lot about music. Hip Hop is all based on music; the beats and the lyrics to go with the beats. Throughout this part of the book, Coleman Young, Detroit's Mayor, is mentioned. He was elected in 1973 and was a political figure up until 1973. Young was an African American male who showed great improvement in the nation especially since in that time era, there was still a lot of racism and segregation going on. Even after Young was done being part of the politics, the race of the police force was more than half of African Americans. With this being said, it is quite notable to say that Young made great changes in Detroit at that time. Other then talking about the wonders Young did, this section also talks about the two eras of rap music videos; the before-Hype and the after-Hype. Hype, a cameraman, knew how to capture people's beauty in their music videos. He often filmed them from low angles so that they could look large and make them seem as if they have more power or control. Hype did wonders with any artist, it did not matter who they were or what their gender was. Missy Elliot for example, had a round body and was not seen fit for the business of Hip Hop. Usually people expect really attractive people to be on top, but anyone should be on top if they have what it takes.

Quote:
"Her rotund body did not fit the conventional standards of pop beauty considered crucial in the marketing of female performers" (Watkins 213).

Reflection:
This quote shows the importance people put into a person's physical appearance. Artists are supposed to look certain ways in order to impress everyone. However, in reality no one's perfect so no one is ever going to be satisfied with what a person has and they even ask for more sometimes.