Elvis Lives...

Elvis could have been considered a hip-hop artist to today’s standards. Though Elvis was considered a “Pop artist” now and when he was alive, if you were to examine his lyrics they speak on the same topics that many hip-hop artist rap about. In exploring the song, “In the Ghetto”, Elvis is singing from an onlooker’s perspective of people being born in poverty situations i.e. the ghetto. Every verse in the song progresses from a baby being born to young man dying in the streets with a gun in his hand. Towards the very end of the song Elvis concludes that ghetto situations seem to be a cycle. Many hip-hop artists who have lived in ghettos themselves have rapped about the same situations, especially since hip-hop and rap music were born in the Black American urban ghettos.

Lyrics to “In the Ghetto”

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray chicago mornin
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
cause if theres one thing that she dont need
Its another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

People, dont you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or hell grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way

Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he dont get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray chicago mornin,
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto


Apart from his songs you can also compare Elvis’s facial remarks to one of a hip-hop artist. For example, Elvis has always been known for a lip curl when singing. Though many people adapt attributes that they often see from celebrities, T.I has tailored the same lip curl that made Elvis a sex symbol. It seems as though if T.I was to adapt a characteristic from someone it would be from a successful rap artist, not a pop legend. Also, in comparison with T.I and Elvis, T.I is the self proclaimed King of the Dirty South, and Elvis is known as the King of rock n’ roll. The hit accessory with hip-hop artist is bling. Looking through magazines and watching T.V there isn’t a rap artist that isn’t sporting a diamond crusted watch or a $10,000 necklace. When Elvis performed he always had over the top jewelry and gem studded jump suits on, he was wearing the bling of the 50’s and 60’s.

Even though Elvis is very much of a pop icon, it is evident that he has shown many hip-hop attributes before they have even become popular. I do think that it could be argued that Elvis had some hip-hop status and just didn’t know it yet.