8 Mile Analysis

Music and the Impact on Youth in America
Film: 8 Mile
Florida International University

Synopsis 8-Mile Film

The film begins in the rugged streets of the 8-mile section of Detroit, Michigan. A young man by the name of Jimmy aspires to become a rapper. The odds are stacked against him because of the complexion of his skin as well as the fact that he is a product of his own environment. Jimmy, realizing that his life has not really changed much since high school shows signs of frustration and as such blames others for his setbacks in life. Set against Detroit 's Hip-Hop scene in 1995, Jimmy struggles to find his voice. The people of Detroit know 8-mile Road as the city
's perimeter. It is also a psychological dividing line between what it is urban and what it is suburban, between black and white, between where Jimmy is and where he wants to be. In Detroit, survival is key, and for many in 8-mile, the emotional life preserver is Hip-Hop music. In the absence of nurturing parents, Jimmy and his friends, the cool and the very charismatic Future, optimistic dreamer Sol, aspiring activist DJ IZ, and the slow but steady “Cheddar Bob who shoots himself in the leg with his own gun,” have created a circle of friendship, and unbreakable bond, their own family. (Eminem, 2002) Jimmy and his "crew" which they call themselves (Three One Third), live on hopes of getting their "big break" while struggling to sustain a living at their everyday dead end jobs. As the nightlife comes to life, Three One Third feed their dreams in the Hip-Hop clubs where the city 's best rappers battle each other with abusive rhymes, slick words, and derogatory remarks that are wielded like weapons. In the rap battles words are meant to wound and victory belongs to the quick-witted. No matter whom we are, no matter where we live, borders bind us all but it’s the music that frees and connects us all. (Lovine & Hanson, 2002) Many of us are content to live within these borders--others are simply forced to exist within them. For Jimmy, the end of simply being forced to exist comes to end as he shows his lyrical prowess by winning the rap battle against the big bad Free world.

History of Hip-Hop & Influence It has been almost 30 years since the introduction of Hip-Hop.
Over time, Hip-Hop’s become immensely popular, not just in America, but also worldwide. Hip-Hop has expanded itself into music, fashion, advertisement, movies, and more. It’s given rappers, and those associated with Hip-Hop the chance to branch out into other ventures and create their own brands, for example Bad-Boy Records and Sean John. Also, it has allowed them to bring Hip-Hop to other communities through organizations and fundraisers as well. As of today, Hip-Hop has become an international phenomenon that ranges from music to a lifestyle. Hip-Hop has gone through many evolutions that some people do not agree or identify with. It has impacted a lot of things in the world from fashion to politics. Hip-Hop music has been used as a means to create songs that deliver somewhat negatives messages such as sex, drugs, violence, and the degradation of women (“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash), police brutality (“F**k the Police” by NWA), poverty in America (“Heard Em’ Say” by Kanye West), and the degradation of women (“Wonder Why They Call You B*tch” by 2Pac) etc. (Chang & Kool Herc, 2005) But Hip-Hop has also been used to advocate more positive messages about “being whatever you want to be” (“I Can” by Nas), a father son relationship (“Just the Two of Us” by Will Smith), HIV/AIDS awareness (“Let’s Talk About Sex” by Salt-n-Pepa), poverty and how women should be treated (“Keep Ya Head Up” by 2Pac) etc. Overall,
Hip-Hop has had its share of praise and scrutiny. The Hip-Hop economy increases at an astonishing rate. Hip-Hop is, according to Forbes, an industry that garners 10 billion dollars a year. Advertisers see rappers as an opportunity to sell their brands because of the impact they have on the younger generation. It is reported by the NPD Group, that more than 50% of people who purchase Hip-Hop albums are either teens or in their early 20s. (Allers, 2005) Young fans gravitate towards the images that they see of the Hip-Hop lifestyle, the cars, jewelry, expensive clothing, etc. For that reason, when seeing a rapper associated with a particular brand, they are more inclined to buy a certain item in order to be a part of that lifestyle. For example, when Busta Rhymes, “Pass the Courvoisier Part Two” was released, sales for Courvoisier cognac increased. For these reasons, rappers such as Jay-Z (Rocawear), Nelly (Apple Bottoms), Sean “P’Diddy” Combs (Sean John, and various vodka brands such as Ciroc) are examples of showing a desire to create their own brands. Hip-Hop began in 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in the South Bronx in 1973. DJ Kool Herc, recognized as the originator of Hip-Hop, hosted various parties at this location, mixing a variety of different musical sounds. Other things associated with Hip-Hop include beat boxing, breaking, break-dancing, and many more. During the 70s, Hip-Hop was not recognized by America, believing that it was only a fad and that it would create the impact that it has today until the introduction of the song “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, a group composed of Michael Anthony “Wonder Mike” Wright, Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson and Master Gee, assembled by Sylvia Robinson. A major hit, “Rapper’s Delight” moved more than eight million units worldwide. Soon, rap’s popularity and style began to grow. During the 80s, NWA (N***as With Attitude) was introduced to the world as the personification of gang violence, sexism, and hedonistic values. NWA’s lyrics were very harsh and straightforward, so much to the point that there song “F**k tha Police” raised concerns amongst the FBI, warning them to watch out or face trouble. This song protested against police brutality against minorities, this message was somewhat ignored. It was simply a message to insult the Police Department, until it was later seen with the eruption of the L.A riots. Hip-Hop, over the years, has made a name for itself and has managed to spread its influence all around the world, impacting people with its messages and images in some way shape or form. Hip-Hop has expanded itself through the media with fashion, movies, and global export. It has also allowed other rappers access to other ventures such as acing, screenwriting, entrepreneurship, etc. Despite this, many individuals continue to carry their individual opinions about Hip-Hop, some of them negative, some positive, and some are simply undecided. Like all musical styles, some are more popular then others, and some soon do not have the same they used to back then. But Hip-Hop will continue to remain within the influence of the media, continuing to impact the individuals within and outside of the U.S. and, while its popularity may fluctuate, will not disappear.

Hip-Hops Influence on Education/Students Twenty years ago you asked a child growing up in the American School System what he or she wanted to be when they grew up and answers would vary from astronaut, to doctor, to firefighter, to President of the United States. However, times have changed! Teenagers are growing up in a society where media has a great impact on their daily lives. Due to this major influence children now grow up wanting to be athletes, rappers/musicians, or actors. These young kids are spending extensive amounts of times listening to music or watching music videos idolizing the life of those rappers/singers because of how the media personifies these individuals. Individuals such as Drake, Lil Wayne, J-Cole, and Jay-Z are mainstream major artists that these young people want to emulate because of what they have and what they show in these music videos. What teenager or young adult not want to be a successful young, rich, sex symbol? as in the words of the rapper “The Birdman.” I grew up in the era of Hip-Hop where the music was plagued with beef between certain rappers. Rappers like 2Pac screamed, “West-Side!!!” as the beef between Hip-Hops greatest rappers of all time feuded for greatest rapper of all time. With everything in life Hip-Hop can have a very powerful effect on society, but it can also be very destructive to those that listen to it. So destructive that both rappers Tupac Shakur (2Pac) and Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) were gunned down within a 6 month time span from one another. Rap music has changed since then as the industry has not wanted to commit the same mistakes. In a class of 11th graders at my school, I inquired on whether they felt that Hip-Hop has been a positive influence in their lives. In order to understand their answers, one must understand their background. The school is located in Hialeah, where most families are from the poor class. Most students are of Hispanic origin and African American origin. The class was divided in terms of whether Hip-Hop had a positive influence or negative influence. Students in my class stated that Hip-Hop expresses knowledge is power and as such they must empower themselves and educate themselves in order to make a mark in this world. Take into account when Kanye West came out to the rap world and stated that he had dropped out of college and as such named one of his albums "College Dropout." The students in my class stated that education is no longer the traditional idea of going to a college or university. They felt that education could be on the job training, street knowledge, and life lessons. The idea of education is no longer the gauge for measuring who is and who is not successful. This example to me was a bit contradicting because even though I agree that knowledge can be acquired in many different ways, the jobs on the global market require these degrees that come from the traditional university setting. The second point they stressed was that Hip-Hop has taught kids from a poor socio-economic background to deliver their creativity not through the usual means of art, poetry, and painting, but through the use of instruments, a beat, and quick-witted word play. The negative influence according to students was that Hip-Hop and its lyrics serve as a distraction from their real world.
This makes me understand that the stance that rappers take with regards to their lyrics and their bragging of what they have, what they can buy, the women they can get and sleep with, drinking, and drug abuse distorts certain realities for these young minds in America. Much like the movie we saw in class "Regeneration," as much as these students enjoy Hip-Hop music they have become apathetic towards that lifestyle because of the fact that they see it as something that might be unattainable. Another point a student made is that Hip-Hop in its purest form is not what Hip-Hop is today. The student called it Bragonomics. All these rappers do on these songs is brag about the things they have, buy, attain, and do. He stated that when Hip-Hop started it had more substance in the sense that they spoke about things that were important in the community. However, little by little, this form of rhyming found its way into the rap game and that 's the music that’s being delivered to America’s youth. Very few lyricists today within their lyrics talk about societal issues. The young ladies in my class came up with the next negative influence that Hip-Hop has had with regards to women. They were hesitant at first to share, but I made it an open forum, and soon they began sharing their views on Hip-Hop and young women. The young ladies stated that certain
rappers, in their lyrics and music videos, degraded them as hoes, sluts, and other derogatory terms. These young ladies were highly insulted in the sense that they felt not all girls want to be groupies or video vixens. The conversation got much better with the next statement! One of the girls stated that how can they compete with the girls in those videos when their body types are not even close to looking like those girls. These rappers are making it so that they have to have certain measurements in order to be attractive and/or meet certain standards. Rappers are painting an unrealistic picture of what true beauty is, and its unfair to them to have to live to those kinds of expectations. This is a universal theme in America that certain body types are the pictures perfect view of what beauty is and these young ladies feel as if it is an unrealistic goal to look like them. These are a few of the many influences that Hip-Hop has had over students as well as the educational system in America.

Work Cited

Lovine, J. (Producer), & Hanson, C. (Director). (2002). 8 Mile [Motion Picture]. U.S.A: Imagine Entertainment.
Allers, K. (2005, August). The New Hustle. Essence, Retrieved February 22, 2014, from http://www.essence.com.
Chang. J., & Kool Herc, DJ (2005). Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York, NY: Picador.