In my thesis I am going to examine both the positive and the negative effects of rap from the birth of the genre to these days. I will show how hip hop culture came into existence from poverty and how one of its elements, that is emceeing, became the basis of a whole money-making industry and started to mean a way for the inner-city youth to break out from harsh conditions and gain wealth and fame. Furthermore, I am going to write in detail about the responsibility of rap performers and the significance of their genuineness. I call the attention to the importance of the way they describe their lifestyle, since their songs can form the identity of listeners, primarily impressionable teenagers.