Talking Points #6

An interview of Tricia Rose, an expert on hip-hop by Tavis Smiley
Kaitlyn Paolino

1. "Of course it matters because its on the one hand a profound cultural force, I mean you just can't look in American society today and not see its impact everywhere: marketing, advertising, representation, images."

I agree with this hip-hop and other types of music do matter. It is a force in our culture and sociey that is everywhere. Its a major influence on our society and some people still don't understand why it matters.

2. "It also matters because we have a whole generation of young people, not just African Americans, who see themselves as apart of something called the 'hip-hop generation.'"

I also agree with this. There is the generation that see themselves as the 'hip-hop' generation. Many people don't think it matters, however, when a whole generation is influenced by something then it really does matter. Hip-hop is all around and a major influence to a lot of young people.

3. "Remember the blues and jazz were just completely ignored by higher education for decades and decades and in fact music departments today, you only get a very small slice of these traditions taken seriously. So, theres an effort to change that and again, African American studies are at the heart of that change in the academy there not the only ones but its very important we take seriously the world we are living in and take seriously all human beings cultural creativity."

I feel that it is important to take all people and their cultures seriously. I remember learning very little about music genres, such as jazz and the blues, and it's nice to see that people today are talking about the genre of hip-hop because it is a major influence in our society.

This was an intersting interview. I always thought music was important but this interview made this thought even stronger. It is extremely important for the people of our society to learn about differnt cultures. Music is a great way to do this because within a song are lyrics that usually tell a story and give background on a culture. Furthermore, people need to be more open to different types of music especially when a genre is almost defining certain generations and making a big impact on society's youth.