Hip-Hop Is Not The Problem
Hip-Hop Is Not The Problem
Much of the criticism of commercial rap music — that it's homophobic and sexist and celebrates violence — is well-founded. But most of the carping we've heard against hip-hop in the wake of the Don Imus affair is more scapegoating than serious.
Who is being challenged here? It's not the media oligarchs, which twist an art form into an orgy of materialism, violence and misogyny by spending millions to sign a few artists willing to spout cartoon violence on command. Rather, it's a small number of black artists — Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and 50 Cent, to name some — who are paid large amounts to perpetuate some of America's oldest racial and sexual stereotypes.
But none of the critics who accuse hip-hop of single-handedly coarsening the culture think to speak with members of the hip-hop generation, who are supposedly both targets and victims of the rap culture. They might be surprised at what this generation is saying.
In his recent PBS documentary "Beyond Beats and Rhymes," filmmaker Byron Hurt made clear that rap music can be as sexist and homophobic as it can be positive and enlightening. Marginalized young women and men have found their voices in hip-hop arts, gathering to share culture at b-girl conventions around the world or reading for each other in after-school poetry classes. Hurt's film pointed the finger where it needs to be pointed — at American popular culture, which has trafficked in racist and sexist images and language for centuries and provides all sorts of incentives for young men of color to act out a hard-core masculinity.
If all the overnight anti-hip-hop crusaders really cared about the generation they want to save, they would support the growing Media Justice movement led by hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and such outspoken women activists as Malkia Cyril and Rosa Clemente. The group contends that such media powers as Emmis Communications and Clear Channel have corrupted hip-hop radio.
The critics would engage young public intellectuals like Joan Morgan ("When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost"), Gwendolyn D. Pough ("Check It While I Wreck It") and Mark Anthony Neal ("That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader"), who are defining what they call a new hip-hop feminism.
The gap between the programming on Viacom's MTV and BET and young people's interests seems never to have been bigger. According to the Black Youth Project, a University of Chicago study released in January, the overwhelming majority of young people, especially blacks, believe rap videos portray black women negatively. That's one reason rap music sales declined 20% last year and remain down 16% this year.
Yet sales are a poor indicator of what is really happening in hip-hop.
Local hip-hop scenes are thriving. Great art is being made not just in music but in visual arts, film, theater, dance and poetry. It can be seen in the works of Sarah Jones, Nadine Robinson, Rennie Harris, Kehinde Wiley and Danny Hoch. Hip-hop studies is a rapidly growing and popular field at colleges and universities, with more than 300 classes offered. In hip-hop after-school programs, voter registration groups, feminist gatherings and public forums, the future of hip-hop is under discussion. These hip-hop thinkers want to take the culture that unites many young people and channel it toward political engagement. In 2004, voter registration campaigns using hip-hop to target youth produced more than 2 million new voters under the age of 30.
To confuse commercial rap made by a few artists with how hip-hop is actually lived by millions is to miss the good that hip-hop does. If hip-hop's critics paid attention to the hip-hop generation, they would learn that the discussion has already begun without them and that they might need to listen. Then a real intergenerational conversation could begin.
Jeff Chang is the editor of "Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop." Dave Zirin is the author of the forthcoming "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports."
© 2007 The Los Angeles Times
21 Comments so far
Show Alli love everything in rap but i hate some rap songs the in every word fuck - fucking - mother fuck ......... what is this shit the one who is with me send a message to daywaker_387@hotmail.com
Gyptian ?WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!!?? I cant believe people openly supporting these rappers who degrade women in that way,have you listened to some of these lyrix? & Russell simons has nerve to call them "poets" what a joke. That is why other races like whites have not respect for black people, we do not even have respect for ourselves. Why should you exploit black women to make money. i have nothing against hip hop music. i just hate the way some of it just portrays black women as stupid ho's and bitches. I am GLAD Don Imus called that basket ball team "nappy headed ho's" if rappers sing about it and it is acceptable then anyone should be able to say it and get away with it. What makes you as a rapper so special to say it and get away with it? but when a white man says it now it is bad. that is a double standard. You dont ever here white men degrading white women in their songs. So if black men degrade their women then dont get mad when other races start to look down on them. I think it is a bunch of BS to say it is because these people were rased poor and it is a relfection of ther hood blah blah blah bullshit. Just because it happens does not mean we should celebrate it! I think everyone should boycott buying cd's of rappers who degrade women and act like idiots. I know i will never buy those Cd's and i have started a campagne in my area to get people to stop supporting that bull by buying that disgusting shit they call music. Make music but dont exploit black women for the sake of money.
Hello everyone! I am working on developing a seminar with a friend on the interconnectedness of hip hop and public administration. This topic was put on my heart because I felt hip hop was getting a bad rap at the National Forum for Black Public Administrators' conference that I recently attended. It is also getting an unfair shake as of late in the media. I believe that public administrators, who work with the community and see the plight of the poor, should have a better understanding of the culture...but I also think that hip hop's image is getting in the way.
I just wrote a blog about how hip hop has a bad name and needs a PR Manager. My second theory is that if it had a better image then it wouldn't have such a hard time finding supporters...or finding people that would take the messages in the music and use it as a catalyst for change. I would love to get your feedback on my viewpoint, but also hear your views on hip hop and its negative image. Is it getting a bad rap (no pun intended) or is it deserved?
I would like to use your comments to develop and present during our workshop. Please forward this email to your friends, family, co-workers...the more the merrier.
Without further discussion, I present: Wanted: PR Manager for Hip Hop (http://www.brandiwilliamsapr.com/journal/2007/5/3/wanted-pr-manager-for-hip-hop.html)
And who cares if Oprah doesn't like hip-hop? I don't think she'd like what I'm into either.
Gyptian, I was just stating my opinion is all. Not everyone has to like hip-hop. People act that way. As if there's nothing else out there worth listening to or is current or cutting edge. Yes, it sounds artificial to me. I don't like samples and scratching and music that sounds like it was made by a producer. But that's just me. I wasn't savaging anything. I doubt most of the people posting here would enjoy what I listen to.
I used to like some rap music way back when Run DMC first hit the scene. After that I lost interest in it all.
peipalm - I would still say Oprah is a tool. Like you I read that letter to her from Saul Williams. Do you really think she'll publish it, or acknowledge the video of her on You Tube dancing to 50? Or better yet - will Oprah have what we call radical left people on her show like Tim Wise? Judging by her actions I don't think so. And she even attacked Common on her show about Hip Hop. That says a-lot. Let's see her attack the corporate backers of the stuff they play on the radio then maybe I'll be convinced.. lol
Hip Hop is a reflection of all thats happening in the hood. You can blame the social conditions that permit inner cities to crime hubs but you cannot blame the voices that arise from there as a response.
Thanks for the article, even though its PR.
It needed to be said that Hip-Hop has a positive side and that its doing positive things for kids growing up w/o guidance or direction. Yes, there are a lot of socially responsible rap artists doing wonderful things for the community.
I strongly disagree, however, that rap is somehow being used as a scapegoat. All the positive rap artists in the world can't cover the damage done by past and present "gangster" rap thats been responsible for having kids BELIEVE that their neighborhood is a war zone meant for smoking and selling drugs, killing rivals, indentifying themselves "Blood or Crip", many times pitting family members against each other.
The bad hip-hop in the past (and present!) was largely responsible for inspiring the mentality that it was o.k., and even cool, to carry a gun and kill someone.
Anyone whose 31 years old and grew up in NYC will tell you the same.
Just b/c some rap artists are doing things to counter the hate and negativity they saw and continue to see in rap music, doesn't excuse all the damage done.
iwarrior ... yes ... Miles' album 'On The Corner' was genre defying at that time and is considered a precursor (along with others) to Hip Hop.
As for your 'beef' with hip Hop, this discussion is based on the scapegoating of Hip Hop by the illustrious imus and his cohorts and not your personal likes and dislikes. I suppose you should tell us your music preference which we can then savage appropriately.
Yeah its overexposed ... its marketed to death and all that, but thats missing the point. It took a good two decades before Hip Hop was considered profitable enough to market and overexpose for which you can blame the record companies (mainly owned by white people who would expose overexpose their dearest ones to make a buck).
It sounds artificial to you ?!! Wow ... im speechless! Ignorance is bliss.
BTW it is the hottest thing going. Maybe you should step out of your closet occasionally.
White people have always co-opted Black music (Blues, Jazz, Soul). There is nothing wrong with White people listening to Black music. Music or Art is not the sole preserve of any particular race.
A piece of advice ... borrow some cans and dig into Tupac or Nas or a host of other artists before you pass random jusdgement.
Btw, didn't Miles Davis experiment with hip-hop on one of his final albums? Doo-Bop I think.
Gyptian, not everyone is into the same kinds of music. Some people like everything, others just like a certain type of music. A lot of is just due to people's personalities. Some music "fits" people better than others. Don't worry about it. :) People hate my music too. That's just how it is.
I mean, I don't get New Age or electronica or trance. Actually, I kind of do. It just doesn't suit me.
My main beefs with hip-hop is that a) it is way overexposed. I don't even listen to it and am sick of it. People call it the voice of a generation. Well duh. Chamber music would the voice of young America if it were marketed to them like hip-hop is. b) For some reason it sounds artificial to me. c) people act as if it's the hottest ting going and use it as some sort of litmus test for "hipness", as if you're a lame-o because you aren't into it. d) Watching white folks co-opt the culture, language, slang, etc. I'm sorry, but I find it silly. Especially when soem of those same white people don't even like black people. Call me what you will. e) And yeah, the whole sexism and glorification of crime and poverty, since it just helps maintain the status quo. Not that all hip-hop is like that, but that kind of stuff is out there. I've heard it myself.
But then again, people have a lot of beefs about the music I like also. Ya can't please all the people all the time.
Hip Hop is the voice of the new generation. If Miles was alive he would totally get it. To dismiss Hip Hop as crappy poetry is sheer ignorance. Maybe if you immerse yourself into Hip Hop for a bit you may change your mind. But then again you need to pull your head out of the .. sand.
Hip hop is an amazing organic culture, that has blosomed around the world. It is a global community with a common understanding of what humanaty means!
check out these artests; Mos Def, Jurasic 5, The Coup, Lyrics Born, The Roots, Luaryn Hill, Ozomatli, Spearhead, KRS 1, The Goats, Erykah Bado, Arrested Development, Black Eyed Peas, The Fugees, Les Nubians, Public Enemy, just to name a few!
By the way, i am a 30 something white man with two kids, and I love all forms of music. From the discussion i'm hearing I think everyone needs to open up your minds and hearts!
On The Move!
When I lived in a college town, iwarrior, I was constantly forced to hear boomboxes blaring that stuff, and I hate it. It seems like drums of war that penetrate into one's being. One night some idiots were parked near where I lived with that sound blasting, and in my robe I went downstairs (it was after midnight) and asked them to turn it down. They said, "You don't have to be so rude." I answered, "Do I make YOU listen to Miles Davis, or God forbid Mozard? I don't want to hear yours!" Apparently a rather enlightened JUDGE in Lake City ruled against these type of sound-blasters and straight out of A Clockwork Orange, made the offenders listen to classical music! As far as I see (hear/feel) it, the boombox is Hiroshima's revenge!
"Has anyone considered that the problem with rap or hip hop is that it is just crappy poetry put to worse music?"
Well, I think it's just a matter of taste. It's not my bag either, in fact I get annoyed with it a lot since every other male under the age of 40 with a car or truck feels compelled to blare it for the world to hear, but then again, I don't expect everyone to like Satyricon either.
Btw, classical music puts me to sleep as does opera. Country, at least the stuff I'm subjected to on the radio, turns my brain into cookie dough. Blues is rudimentary to me. I could go on and on about all the music I don't care for.
To opeluboy:
Yes, the rap music that you hear on the radio and on television is mostly "crappy." To me its BORING. But as someone who appreciates great music with soul, I urge you to try to listen to some truly innovative hip hop music that has created new sounds and lyrical techniques that defy pigeonholing genres.
For example: The Roots (full live band), Common (he featured the Last Poets on his last album), De la Soul, Blackalicious, Aceyalone...the list goes on.
Don't be so quick to dismiss an entire genre that is incredibly diverse. There's a new generation of exciting artists who are marginalized by the "crappy poetry put to worse music" that you and many others unfortunately equate with an entire music and culture.
Hip-hop has an underbelly just like everything else. I'm not into the music, but I think people need to be aware that there is socially-conscious stuff out there. Unfortunately though, controversy sells records.
I think the negative stuff is often just a reflection of what's going on in the community though. It's not really a cause. The problem is that too much time is spent shining the light on the negative aspects of it.
Don Imus and his defenders are imo, just trying to pass the buck when they blame hip-hop. As if Imus listens to rap. As if there wasn't any misogyny prior to The Sugar Hill Gang.
I wish they'd start blaming metal again. We need the exposure.
Has anyone considered that the problem with rap or hip hop is that it is just crappy poetry put to worse music? As someone who grew up on Motown and was influenced early in life by stellar Black musicians — in jazz, soul, funk, gospel and rock — hip hop is a sad pinnacle to reach. And there is noting more pathetic than seeing an icon of Black music being forced to pretend that rap is really, really great stuff.
But if you must listen to rap, I suggest going out and getting anything by The Last Poets, the original rappers. They ain't pretty, and their songs (or poems) are hardly airplay, but they made a statement that at the time was daring and today would be instructive.
And please don't tell me about all the great hip hop artists out there with serious social/political messages. I liked Ali as a boxer, and a human being, but a poet he was not.
"Since it consists mostly of black males, who are biologically prone to commit crimes,"
And I suppose white males are biologically predisposed to commit genocide and bomb the rest of the world to pieces !!!
I wouldn't say Oprah is a tool of the media. She has the power and ability to do much better than she did on this show.
I wholeheartedly agree with the article. Its frustrating that those within hip hop who have been working for years for positive social change are so marginalized by the mainstream media.
By the way, here's a great letter to Oprah from the poet Saul Williams.
http://www.counterpunch.org/williams04192007.html
He would have been a great person to have on her forum.
Hip Hop is the convenient scape goat. Since it consists mostly of black males, who are biologically prone to commit crimes, the media feels that it can market rap anyway it feels. And selling rap as the boogie man takes the heat off of the vilent history of America. And the media can use tools, like Oprah, to convey the message to make it seem as if it isn't a race issue. Just my random thoughts..