It's a summer day in 1974 in the neighborhood of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York. The grass is flaming, the air is fresh and the children are screaming with joy. This is where it happened. DJ Kool Herc appeared in his new record playing smooth jazz and blues rhythms with the integration of the Jamaican sound, creating a new genre that would soon sweep the nation. He called it Hip-Hop. Some would call it “black noise,” but for urban African Americans, it was music they could own; music that they could learn to appreciate and love. Facing afflictions such as racism, oppression, drugs and more, they used this new hip-hop to express their thoughts and feelings. Today, we try to understand where this passion and this substance of rap escaped from; whether it were left to wither in the flaming grass or blow away in the fresh air. Today we try to understand what hip hop is and why it is becoming the "black noise" we once denied. Since rap's official emergence in the 1970s, there has been a negative reaction from critics; even when rap had meaning and substance and consisted of people telling their stories. Now that rap has become more derogatory, critics have begun to question what rap actually is. It is clear that the themes have changed: but when? And how? And what impact has this had on black people and their image, who dominate the rap industry. In conclusion, while the themes of mid-20th century rap were known to revolve around aspects such as politics and unity, rap has currently undergone a drastic change, now producing themes that promote violence, between other things, and ultimately painted a negative image of African Americans. .Even before the party in the Bronx, rap music was making its mark. Some say it originated from Jamaican Middle of paper......mages of Violence in Rap Music Lyrics: 1979-1997 » Journal of Public Health Policy, Vol. 30, no. 4 (December 2009), pp. 395-406J. Cole. Run away. Roc Nation, 2013. MP3.Keef, chef. 3hunna. Interscope Records, 2012. MP3.Nicki MInaj. Great bass. Young Money Cash Money Entertainment, 2010. MP3. Public enemy. Fight the power. Motown Records, 1989. MP3.Queen Latifah. UNITY Motown Records, 1993. MP3.Salaam, Mtume ya. “The Aesthetics of Rap” Afro-American Review, Vol. 29, no. 2, special issues on music (summer 1995), pp. 303-315 Shakur, Tupac. Keep your head up. Interscope Records, 1993. MP3. Smith, S. L. (2005). From Dr. Dre to Layoff: Assessing Violence, Sex, and Substance Use on MTV. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22, 89-98.Wood, Joann. “Rap music.” Nova online. CT Evans and J. Wood., April 2004. Web. May 3 2014.