see the negative impact 21st century hip hop has had on society. Fashion has become more materialistic and less about personal expression, lyrics have become more derogatory towards women, and the quality of music has declined. It's important for us to recognize the roots of hip hop and the positive impact it has had on society in the past. We should strive to bring back the original essence of hip hop and use it as a tool for positive change in our communities. importance of materialism and violence, but also promotes a culture of failure. Young people, especially those who can't spend a day without their music, are the ones who are most influenced by it. As an artist, you want to sell albums, but you also need to consider the audience you're attracting. Rapping about drugs and murder gives kids the idea that it's okay to do it because their favorite rapper does it. Instead, artists can still keep it real and rap about what they know, but they would benefit more if they talked about the issues of drugs and murder. Rapper Chief Keef appeals to young black males, especially in the city of Chicago where he hails from. The violence in Chicago is ridiculous, because young black males kill other black males. These young black males listen to Chief Keef all day and he has no real message behind his lyrics other than to kill others. With the impact he has on the kids of Chicago, he should want to be more influential in their lives and encourage them to become someone in the future instead of dying before the age of eighteen. Last summer, he tried to host a hologram concert in honor of one-year-old Dillan Harris and twenty-two-year-old Marvin Carr, who died in a shooting. However, the police immediately stopped the concert, because how can you host a concert in honor of someone who dies when you yourself talk about murder in all your music? In the article Hip Hop Studies in Black, critics Williams and McWhorter state that “hip hop is a culture of failure that poisons youth and holds blacks back” (Saucier and Woods 283). Today's young people are the future and the path they are taking right now is not going in the right direction. Hip hop culture is poisoning young people because it not only teaches the importance of materialism and violence, but also promotes a culture of failure.