Also referred to as the pop culture, popular culture is defined as the set of beliefs, practices, and objects that are considered ubiquitous or dominant in various manners in a given time (Alvermann et al., 2018). The definition of popular culture also encompasses the feelings and actual activities that are produced as an outcome of interacting with the principal objects in mainstream society. The integration of popular culture among the current generation in the various parts of the world has been enhanced by the existence and effectiveness of mass media in passing the word around regarding the practices of the pop culture (Alvermann et al., 2018). Pop culture has been efficient in having the members of the society feel or react in a particular way to the various topics revolving around its objects, beliefs, and practices. The category of pop culture that will be discussed in the paper is the entertainment section with a keen focus on rap music in the twenty-first century (Alvermann et al., 2018). Rap music as part of the favorite music genres worldwide has promoted various artifacts that have had critiques opening new chapters in their analysis of the objects and their possible effects on the current generation (Alvermann et al., 2018). The artifacts have ranged from pictures to videos and songs that may be considered offensive and misleading to the young generation as well as the other people in the different age brackets.
An image sourced from the famous social media platform, Twitter, has explained the disagreements that two rap musicians, Drake, and Meek Mill have been having (Lipshutz, 2015). According to the information given, the beef between the two rappers began when Meek Mill allegedly tweeted "Stop comparing Drake to me too…He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out!" in 2015 (Lipshutz, 2015). From the tweet, it was clear that Meek Mill was calling out Drake for what he described as being reliant on the other rappers and composers, which indicated lack of originality of Drake's side. A further investigation into the tweet reveals that Meek Mill called Drake out for nit promoting Meek Mill's album popularly known as Dreams Worth More Than Money (DWMTM) (Lipshutz, 2015). Also allegedly, Drake is said to have used a ghostwriter for his rap music as reported by Meek Mill and his teams. Meek Mill did not stop spreading the hatred through; he went on to compare Drake to other rap musicians such as Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole stating that Drake is way out of the league of genuine and determined rappers. Meek Mill said that had he known that Drake's lines were not his, he would have taken out his verse off the DWMTM.
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The following is the link to the picture that illustrates the beef between Drake and Meek Mill.
https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/rap-beef-7-uproxx.jpg?quality=95
One of the stereotypes perpetuated in the artifact is that the lack of a reaction to a fellow friend's work is a sign of hatred and needs to be called out in the open. An in-depth look at the issues that Meek Mill identified with as he called Drake out on twitter concludes the reader that Meek Mill was bitter for Drake not responding to the tweets regarding his DWMTM album in 2015. The other stereotype that the artifact has perpetuated is the beliefs that rap musicians are engulfed in dangerous rivalries that always lead to enmity. The beef between Drake and Meek Mill may portray the negative attitudes that the rap musicians may have against one another and especially when they realized that they are not attracting as much attention as they thought. The other bias that has been perpetuated by the artifact is that rap music breeds violence among the young generation. With the two musicians openly attacking one another on Twitter, the society members may assume that their children will follow the same traits and be disorderly in the future. The use of the social media platform, precisely twitter, by Meek Mill to critic Drake is another factor contributing to the stereotype that social media is an entirely negative force in today's generation.
The activities associated with the popular culture, such as regarding the role of rap music in society may lead to harmful and incorrect stereotypes among the different members of the community (Ellis, 2016). The rap musicians have been continuously viewed as successful people in their fields and have many fans across the world judging from their social media followership such as on Instagram and Twitter. However, society has developed a stereotype against the successful rap musicians associating them with drug trafficking and devil worshipping (Ellis, 2016). Physically, most of the rap singers such as Drake, Meek Mill, and Rihanna and Chris Brown have visible tattoos on their skins. The tattoos have generated various ideas among the mainstream society members with those conforming to the pop culture finding them attractive while those against it associating the tattoos with different undesirable traits (Ellis, 2016). The presentable aspect of the rap musicians has been part of the factors that accelerate the generation of the stereotypes. Looking at the pictures the celebrities in the rap music industry post with near nudity, dressed in see-through clothing and lingerie, the society may have more than just a bias against them (Ellis, 2016). The showiness of the musicians has been considered one of the reasons why the members of the mainstream society are biased towards them.
The first recommendation for how people can identify and correct views that are considered incorrect or harmful is to acknowledge that generations are different (Kruse, 2016). Comparing the present and the past, the role of traditional folk songs and folk dances has continually been insignificant in the modern societies and especially with the increase in the use of technology that advocates for current issues such as globalization; adoption of other cultures from across the world. In that line, rap music has been a relevant tool in the spread of the culture with musicians covering various issues in the modern society in creative and artistic manners. The other recommendation is the acceptance of the different cultures in the ways they are (Kruse, 2016). Research has indicated that all cultures in the world have strengths and weaknesses. To that end, the members of society can come up with innovative ways of reducing the negativity associated with aspects of pop culture such as entertainment. The mainstream society will also need to acknowledge that the rise of civilization in the various parts of the world has attracted more attention to the pop culture among the current generation (Kruse, 2016). The members of the older generation could give the civilization the benefit of the doubt to realize its advantages to every member of the societal group.
The beef between Drake and Meek Mill as depicted on Twitter may bring up biases in how the various members of the society look at both of the rappers' fans. For instance, there was a possible increase in enmity between the fans of both pop singers due to the beef they had on social media regarding Drake's rapping. The artifact can be redesigned to alter the way other people could view the population. For instance, the picture of Drake and Meek Mill as seen above could have the two rap musicians looking normal without the sign of a fight between the two. The change of the picture to such a form would lead to the reduction of the negative bias that the society had already drawn against fans of rap music and especially those of Drake and Meek Mill.
References
Alvermann, D. E., Moon, J. S., Hagwood, M. C., & Hagood, M. C. (2018). Popular culture in The classroom: Teaching and researching critical media literacy . Routledge.
Ellis, K. (2016). Disability and popular culture: Focusing passion, creating community and Expressing defiance . Routledge.
Kruse, A. J. (2016). ‘They wasn't makin’my kinda music’: a hip-hop musician's perspective on School, schooling, and school music. Music Education Research , 18 (3), 240-253.
Lipshutz, J. (2015, July 22). Meek Mill calls out Drake: 'He don't write his own raps'. CNN . Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/22/entertainment/meek-mill-Drake-feud-twitter-feat/index.html
