Is Hip Hop a Cancer or a Cure?

The speech I watched was a Ted Talk presented by one of my favorite music artists, who just so happens to be a Christian rapper.  This rapper’s name is Lecrae Moore, but he just goes by Lecrae.  Over the past five years or so, Lecrae has been able to break out of the small box that Christian music and Christian rap have been put in, and he has been able to get his music out to all types of crowds.  So I was actually pretty excited when I saw that he had spoken at a Ted Talk in Nashville.  The speech he delivered was titled, “Heroes and Villains: Is Hip-Hop a Cancer or a Cure?”  In this speech Lecrae talked about how it is easy to look at certain people in history and label them as heroes or villains, but he talks about how not everyone views historical figures the same.  Lecrae started off by defining where we get the words, “Hero” and “Villain”.  Knowing the origin of these words really gave good context for what came to follow.  He then went on to explain the history of hip-hop.  While acknowledging that rap is one of the most dark types of music today, he explained that it was not always this way.  Lecrae talked about how in rap’s earliest forms, it used to be about struggles, persecution, and trials that many people, mainly disenfranchised African Americans, were going through.  Raps initially were written to tell stories of where African Americans were, but as time went on, it became more about glorifying themselves.  This is when Lecrae made a point that really hit me hard.  Lecrae said he had seen many family members, including his father, lose their lives due to drug use.  He talked about how African Americans were certainly not forced to turn to drugs to make an income, but after all the racial tension, it was hard to make money any other way.  He then mentioned how to some, Ronald Reagan is revered as one of the best president’s, but to him and his family Reagan was a villain. The War on Drugs had a big impact on Lecrae’s family, and on those who were struggling to survive, so in response Lecrae and his family are not big supporters of Reagan.  He finished by saying how Hip-Hop still has a chance to be used for good and how everyone should listen to the stories everyone has to tell.

There are a lot of rhetorical techniques used in his speech.  One thing Lecrae did a good job at was giving context and historical background.   Lecrae also did a good job at defining things that were important to the topic. He also used quotes from rap songs and relevant people who gave great input.  Lecrae really went all out for this speech.  When it comes to ethos, pathos, and logos, logos stood out to me the most.  He used logical reasoning and points to explain his opinions on why he thought that though hip-hop has had ups and downs, especially right now, he believes it can go back to being the positive and helpful music it once was.  He also used ethos to show how he has seen changes in African American culture and hip-hop culture.  When Lecrae mentioned his family’s struggles and concerns, he was really able to make the audience feel understanding of the side he was on. Overall this speech was very informative and it really opened my own mind.