Musical Influence

Music's Influence on Popular Culture

Michelle Barillas

  When I think of pop culture I think of music. There is so much music out in the world today. Many people are influenced by music they listen to. Mostly because they want to copy their favorite artist or because they feel that’s a way of expressing themselves and fitting in with the people that are into the same music. It’s also a way to find similar things to other people who listen to different music.

  Teens my age are mostly into hip-hop and R&B. Hip-hop I believe is the most popular type of music that is listened to by the public. Nelly for example is an R&B artist and he wears Air Force Nike’s, big jerseys, and Sean John fashion. When you look around in my school you tend to see many boys wearing the same thing. Another artist is also Fabulous who likes to wear fitted caps, and many boys are wearing the same kind of caps. Now people who tend to listen to pop music like N’Sync and Britney Spears tend to wear shell toe sneakers and dress sort of preppy with light colors. People who listen to alternative music like Papa Roach and Slipknot tend to wear big baggy pants and baby pins on their bags with very colorful hair.

  Another way people let music influence them is the language or slang they use. For example Nelly is an artist from St. Louis, and because of his accent, he says here it sounds like he is saying “herre”. The way guys call their friends “dog” and “nigga” are also uses of slang that hip-hop artists use. With pop music there’s more of an accent when they speak like a preppy, peachy, happy sound. Alternative music is usually harsh and people who listen to alternative music tend to have a hard tough accent with much more cursing than usual.

  Another way that people become influenced by their music is what seems to interest them. People who listen to hip-hop are mostly interested in the “ice” (jewelry) “gear” (clothing) and “ride” (car). People who tend to listen to pop music, who are mostly girls I would say, are interested in the mall, and bleaching their hair. It’s not usually very accurate, but I’m just talking out of my experience.

  So many people do know what I mean when I say that music influences the way people act and the way people carry themselves. I know that not all is true but most of the time people copy artists just to feel good and be able to fit in with other people, because the truth is nobody likes to be alone.