Hip Hop Narrative

"Hip Hop Narrative" is a creative project that interviews 20 undergraduate Arizona State University students, ranging in races, ages, grades, majors, and hometowns. The project is comprised of two elements: profiles plus headshots of each student, along with a video compilation. The profile interview questions were meant to uncover why undergraduate Arizona State University students listen to hip hop; more specifically, what they listen for in a beat, if they notice the lyrics, and if hip hop affects their lifestyle. For the video portion of the creative project, each student was asked to write what hip hop means to them in one word on a whiteboard and hold this word up; the goal of this activity was to challenge each student to concisely summarize a subject they frequently enjoy. Seven out of 20 respondents used the word "expression" to describe hip hop in one word. This project also exhibited interviewee's personality through responses and content. Although the interview questions stayed the same, each student responded differently. The profiles captured the essence, passion, and rawness behind the student's opinions of hip hop. The interviewed ranged from five to 20 minutes, with each one sharing a unique perspective of how hip hop has impacted them personally. This project did not have a hypothesis prior to execution. However, once the project was completed, five observations of general consensus were made about language, gender, the use of the N-word, beats, and lifestyle. Respondents did not find that hip hop language offended them enough to stop listening to the genre. Both female and male respondents were not offended by gender roles in hip hop. There were mixed opinions regarding the use of the N-word in hip hop songs. Hip hop did affect the way student's behave, dress, and talk, with the exception of a few students.