In this generation, hip-hop has been a music genre in which artists have pushed boundaries sonically, socially, and politically. However, the reputation of hip-hop is of a genre that facilitates problems that plague the black community. Which begs the question: Why does hip-hop’s reputation suffer so badly? The answer to this is that its reputation stems from a misconstrued view of the genre perpetuated by mainstream media and institutional prejudice against hip-hop artists.

A majority of the negative outlook on hip-hop has to do with the vilification of the genre by the media. CNN’s Don Lemon is one of the main perpetrators, once saying that hip-hop provides “a culture that glorifies…thug and reprehensible behavior.” In his article The Color of Hope, Bill O’Reilly denounces Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, saying they “make millions rapping about dubious behavior. Sometimes they even glamorize it.” I wonder if he is even listening. In fact, West shows he is the antithesis of that statement in his song “Family Business” when he raps, “A creative way to rhyme without knives and guns, keep your nose out the sky, keep your heart to God.” It would be fictitious to say that there isn’t a segment of the hip-hop community that does glorify problematic themes such as drug use and violence, but it is also just as wrong to generalize hip-hop and say that it is all about those subjects.

O’Reilly goes on to question why hip-hop artists “don’t lead the charge to improve things on the south side of Chicago and other places under siege?” The problem with his question is that they do; mainstream media just fails to acknowledge it. West founded the charity foundation Donda’s House, which “provides youths with artistic direction through various classes and programmes.” Jay-Z is a notable supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Chicago’s Chance the Rapper worked with the nonprofit The Empowerment Plan on their initiative called the Warmest Winter, in which they distributed winter coats to many of the homeless in Chicago. When media outlets like CNN and Fox News neglect to acknowledge the positives of the genre, and instead focus on blaming it for problems that plague the black community, a majority of the American population is exposed only to what they are being told about the genre, and not the reality.

Another reason for the suffering reputation of hip-hop comes from the neglect the genre receives from the Grammys. No hip-hop song has ever won Song or Record of the Year. Only two hip-hop albums have ever won Album of the Year. Since 1999, the Grammys have nominated 90 records to contend for Album of the Year, and only 11 of those records have gone to black hip-hop artists. The elites of the music industry have made it clear they do not support hip-hop, and as a result, hip-hop fails to garner the spotlight needed to rid itself of its unfair reputation with Americans.
Unfortunately, hip-hop is an easy target. To blame a genre dominated by African-American artists as the reason for why blacks suffer in today’s America is easier than accepting the blame or taking a truly close look at history. When our media and musical institutions facilitate misconstrued views of not only hip-hop, but also the black community in general, and the public buys into these views; everyone loses.