Imagine a teenager just like you listening to rap but not just rap that deals with negative parts of society — instead, rap that has meaning to you.

In today’s society rap has meaning to different races and both genders.  Rap has drastically changed over the years from the ’80s rappers like Tupac, Notorious B.I.G. and, of course, NWA to today’s lil pump and 21 Savage, among many others.

Interviews conducted on Trinity’s campus shows a variety of listeners, from those who see rap as more of a hobby to those who listen seeking to find an escape from today’s society.

Sophomore James Moore thinks of rap as more of an escape than a hobby. He said, “Rap is an outlet for me and many other teens in society today.”

Rap has many different genres. There is trap rap, which originates from Chicago. There is also hardcore rap, which has hard beat drops and a lot of bass.

Moore prefers more of the softer approach to rap. Some of his favorite artists are Frank Ocean, J. Cole and Childish Gambino.

Junior Jake Saylor is a fan of more of the hardcore version of rap. His views on rap vary. He said, “Some rap moves too fast for people to understand.”

Senior Jack Wolfram spoke about how some people stereotype the person behind the mic. He said people think “there’s usually a black person behind the mic, but we need to break that barrier.”

Wolfram said that kids who grow up in tough neighborhoods are exposed to even more negative influences when they listen to rap that promotes drugs, guns, or degrading women.

Rap is like any strong music — bad can be taken from the songs, but  we can also take many positives from rap.