How does the Ideal of Beauty Perpetuated by the Fashion Industry Influence Hip Hop Culture?

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank almighty Lord for granting me the capability to proceed successfully. I would like to thank my supervisor, colleagues, and all those who helped me in completing this thesis, without their assistance and guidance this could not be possible. Last but not least, I would like to dedicate my thesis to all those who believe in the richness of learning

DECLARATION

I adjudge, the content of this dissertation is completely collected and done by unaided effort and the material in it, has not been published ever before. The opinion that is reflected in this dissertation is purely my opinion and does not represent any University's opinion.

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ABSTRACT

In this research study, the aim is to find out whether fashion industry influences beauty within the hip hop culture or not. Hip-hop culture represents a form of expression for youth around the world making hip-hop their weapon against local issues in their community, in researching the localization of popular music. For this research study the qualitative secondary research was used. Thus, it was proved that fashion industry influences beauty within the hip hop culture but in a different way. The hip hop beauties do represents themselves as a sex symbol but in a way different fashion style and body shape than the fashion models.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Research1

Problem statement4

Research Aim and Objectives4

Aims4

Objectives4

Layout of the Study5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Production of Culture in the Music Industry6

Fashion and Fashion Industry8

Hip-Hop's Culture9

Ideal is Thinner over Time11

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY13

Research design13

Secondary or Textual Approach Research Methods13

Qualitative research method13

Literature Search15

Keywords Used15

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION16

Secondary research findings16

Perception of beauty in hip hop videos18

Analysis of selected videos20

Missy Elliot-rain20

Remy Ma-conceited21

Snoop Dogg ft Pharrell- beautiful21

Nelly, P Diddy and Murphy Lee-shake your tail feather22

Analysis of the fashion text22

Discussion25

Fashion influence hip hop25

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS27

Recommendations29

REFERENCES30

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Research

Throughout the 20th and early 21st century, music and culture have had tremendous influence on fashion (Henderson, Henderson, Hoffmann, 2001, 1407). One style in particular, known as, “hip-hop” has become synonymous with sound, subculture, and style (Harris, Hynes, 2003, 45). Hip-hop music, also referred to as rap or rap music, is a style of popular music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, only to become a large part of modern pop culture by the 1980s (Bolino, 2003, 75). As a musical genre, hip-hop consists of four main components: (a) rapping, which has become the most prominent aspect to emerge in hip-hop; (b) graffiti, a social movement that first began in New York during the late 1960s, including spray painted murals, as well as identity “tags” such as names and symbols to claim territories; (c) DJing (audio mixing and scratching), which was the central element of early hip-hop; and (d) breakdancing, which consists of numerous types of dance moves including popping, locking, and up-rocking (www.zulunation.com). Hip-hop has grown to have a significant influence on music, dance, and art (Breward, 2003, ...