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When I was in high school I really liked the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. I felt they were underground, and were making truly unique and beautiful music. At a certain point, though, I could see that hip-hop was becoming increasingly mainstream and was emerging as a strong market to commodify and commercialize to sell to an eager and hungry audience. I could also see that this marketing was done, not with the artists or hip-hop culture in mind, but with incredible profit in mind. Radio stations were playing music, not because it was popular or even good, but because it was selling the best. A Tribe Called Quest were becoming less underground, exponentially more popular and were losing a tambre, a certain quality that made me like them in the first place. I was also seeing that this marketing was not isolated to the radio. Marketing and advertising was having an effect on hip-hop culture, bringing it to the mainstream. I wrote this paper, my undergraduate individualized studies thesis, as a part of my reaction to this phenomenon and its effect on youth culture. Welcome to princessmarisa.com, the current residence for my undergratuate thesis project, THE COMMODIFICATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF YOUTH CULTURE |