Growing a Rose in a Concrete Garden
As an old school hip-hop head with kids of my own, I gotta keep it real: I’m conflicted over the whole Don-Imus/gangsta rap “debate.”Hip hop has grown from what critics were certain was simply a fad - like disco - to a global cultural phenomenon the world hasn’t seen since rock n’ roll, whose existence owes as much to the African-American blues tradition as does “rap music.”
On the one hand, I’m not sure I agree that Imus should have been fired. That’s the libertarian in me talking - my primary reference point in assessing music, art and other elements of free expression.
On the other hand: how did hip hop become a part of the conversation?
A white political commentator utters a blanket racial put down in the political arena and, instead of talking about the persistence of anti-black scapegoating, pundits have quickly shifted their scorn to hip-hop entertainers?!
Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote recently that instead of analyzing white racism, it would be better if the no-‘ho’ language “were to reach the places where the word ‘ho’…is frequently used. Black hip-hop artists have been denigrating the women of their families and neighborhoods for years with terminology that reduces all women to receptacles for men’s pleasure.”
Well, I’ve never heard a “black hip-hop artist” use the phrase “nappy headed hos” and, just as there’s a difference between heavy metal and soft rock, there’s also a difference between hip hop and gangsta/pop rap.
Of course, some rappers refer to women as “hos.” Two reasons: One, sex sells. Two, there are such things as “hos,” many of whom hang out around celebrities. And they’re not all “nappy-headed.”
If we’re going to talk about the commercialized off-shoot of hip hop known as pop gangsta rap, which began as social commentary on the underbelly of American society before it morphed into a modern-day minstrel show, shouldn’t we also talk about the mostly white corporate executives who mass produce and sell it to mostly white kids?
I’m not trying to knock the hustle. I mean, if baby-boomer America thinks gangsta rap is scary, just imagine what all of those so-called gangstas would be doing without hip hop.
For all of its vulgarity and lasciviousness, hip hop, like Tupac said, is a rose that grew out of the concrete, created as a way for poor blacks in New York City who didn’t have access to musical instruments to make their own music. Hip hop pioneers dug in their parents’ record crates, sampled pieces and bits of old gems and created something new.
Sampling from long-forgotten musicians is not only a way to transmit the African-American blues tradition to a new generation but also a way to resurrect their careers and provide a pension of sorts to over-the-hill artists who never got paid by white corporate America the way hip hop artists do today. George Clinton or the ghost of Rick James and James Brown can tell you all about it.
Most importantly, hip hop has done more for improving race relations from Gen X on down - by creating a shared egalitarian cultural space - than all the Bill Bennetts, C. Dolores Tuckers, Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the world put together.
So, it’s annoying that whenever hip hop is criticized, the worst examples are held up for ridicule. Ever heard of Rakim, Little Brother, the Roots, KRS-1, Dead Prez, Mos Def, Talib Kweli? Maybe it’s because they’re critical of what corporate America is putting out or because they have something interesting to say.
Talking about pop gangsta rap as if it were synonymous with “black hip hop” is like talking about Kenny G as if he were jazz, with no reference to Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, or Miles Davis. That’s not a real conversation.
Rappers are not a special case but a reflection of the violent, super-macho, consumerist, gangsta culture on display that goes far beyond hip hop. Here we are telling the world that we’re the only ones who can have WMD, that we can invade whatever country we damn well please if it is in our “interest” and we’re talking about rap music?! Bush’s whole philosophy is gangsta - shut your enemies up, with violence if necessary. Now, that’s gangsta!
Sean Gonsalves is a Cape Cod Times staff writer and a syndicated columnist. E-mail him at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com.
Sean, for all the good points you bring up, you’re still evading the heavy sexism that like a bad drug is injected into youth culure via the articulated sentiments of too many of these “artists.” Please read the entry by Cesar Chelala on today’s commondreams for a little “education” on the subject. When the Academy Awards gave the best music Oscar to a DISGUSTINGLY misogynistic tirade, well, it shows that culture is defined by the lowest of common denominators: what sells. When boys where their pants under their tushes, and that’s considered fashion, it’s just another example of the sheeplike behavior. People go along with all kinds of trends to “fit in” with what is considered cool. US culture has produced so much sewer-style trash, that swimming in this pool of distortion has in turn distorted a great many. I have GREAT admiration for many Black artists, and jazz and blues and soul come to mind. But screaming hate lyrics directed at anyone is NOT art. My belief in free speech would inhibit my asking it be stopped, but that doesn’t mean I like what it is or what it has done to how young women view themselves. Those who feel powerless like to assert power over whoever they think they can. The “ho” thing just asks women to be the stepping stones to insecure men who have long had their sense of power stolen away. Every human being is part of the web of life, so any denigration on the part of one for another, be it by racism, sexism, torture, misuse of power, etc inevitably impacts the whole. Our world is a broken fabric, and this is the time when either we learn to work together to overcome the true threats (like global warming), or this great Divine experiment gets set back on the timeless dial of the universe, the elementals step in through climatic chaos to clear the slate, and eventually as the evolutionary chain reconfigures itself, Creator imparts SOUL again to matter. Anyone in the mood to wait that long? LIFE as dancing DNA is the UNION of yin and yang, if the male can’t see in his counterpart the face of Divinity, then there is no hope for healing our wounded planet.
Finally an articulate addressing of the truth surrounding the use of “ho” and who sells it, along with who is buying it. Thank you Sean G. For too long too many people have criticised the use of language in rap music. Given that the purchasing crowd of this music is primarily white and middle class, or upper middle class, it is no wonder that it is mostly white upper middle class boys who are caught up in rape cases in colleges across the country. In the business world it is generally the white male population which exhibits maltreatment of women in the workplace as well.
I have to disagree on firing Imus, though the libertarian in me also says just change the channel. We hear all about accountability these days and see none. Bush is now looking for a war Czar, he is commander in chief isn’t he? What about the corporate sponsors of all the sexist advertising for these shows though? You cannot watch a sporting event or anything else during prime time without some scantily clad people running around in sexually implicit situations using sexually implicit language? I mean really what the hell are cheerleaders for in professional sports? I’m a big fan of the WNBA and even they have female cheerleaders. What gives?
The reality is that gangsta rap comes from the African American community of young men who feel there is nothing for them in our so called system of justice. No way out except through sports or entertainment, no real jobs or career options for them. So upper middle class white kids who listen to it seems to me a bit like the chicken coming home to roost to me. Sadly though, if Russell Simmons wants to stop the use of such language on his recording label’s I applaud that. At least he is taking this opportunity to stand up and be courageous.
Hey Siouxrose,
I love your posts, they are always thought provoking. We definately have to take a stand somewhere and begin to give women the treatment they deserve. Would anyone of the guys who use this language regarding women use it in reference to their own mothers or sisters? No, as a matter of fact, most of them would just as soon cut my throat if I said anything bad about their mothers or sisters. Unfortunately I see young women everywhere today pining for the attention of young boys as if their very existence depended upon getting that attention. Nothing could be further from the truth. Women need to be raised differently than we are presently raising them. Women need to be taught the same sort of independence young men are taught. Our cultural emphasis on outward beauty neglects the inner development of the spirit and soul. It is teaching our children to look outside of themselves to find happiness. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Women have an important role to play in the next world which we are now entering into. We do not have anything that resembles a balanced yin and yang in our culture regarding the male and female. We have spent the last 2000 plus years essentially slaughtering the female part of life. Witness the over 3 million (the low end figure) women burned, tortured and killed in Europe for witchcraft and heresy.
Neoconned, thank you very much. I feel it takes courage to stand on one’s truth, especially when it’s not what the mainstream validates, and in many instances has done its best to damage and/or demonize. Given your enlightened outlook, I hope you are raising daughters (or enlightened sons, for that matter), and have an appreciative partner. I told my two daughters that MY generation fought to gain greater equality, but their generation will start to reap the benefits. I compared the “journey” with that which must have faced the early frontier women, who whether to become brides of men on the outskirts or themselves enamored by manifestdestiny, crossed the continent meeting inclement weather and the indigenous Indians none too thrilled to have their land usurped. The world would be a better place if we loved each other, and the first taboo, that of sex has been used as a wedge between the genders. As a friend of mine said (gentlemen, I will reveal no names on this one), “good sex is a straight shot to God.” Indeed. As Rajneesh shared when he came up against American prudishness, that India had a heritage of using sex as a means to higher states of consciousness. This is called Tantra, and all across India old temples were sculpted with odd figures of “the shivalinga.” It is a depiction of genitals combined as DNA’s own whirling helix. Rajneesh explained that the Christianization of India included the temple guides being embarassed by these images. “Hush. It is a private matter.” The very notion, and Dr. Alberto Villoldo deserves much credit for insight on this subject, that Adam and Eve were THROWN out of the garden for what, enjoying nature? Their own natures? Sexuality, of all “sins.” That negative lie has cost mankind and women dearly… and in my view constitutes the ultimate chasm, the great divide, the psychic wound to the human race that has led to unbalanced relationships, a dearth of love and reciprocal love of war, etc. I have friends who like to say the baby boomers were worthless etc, but I think the Woodstock nation planted the seed of FREE love as a spiritual Renaissance potential. THAT the clock has rolled back to the point that we as a humanity, led by the US gone astray, are fighting the Dark Ages (return), the reunion of church-state (John Dean nailed this heinous development in his book, Conservatives without Conscience), a sort of pre-enlightenment view of science, and if Gonzales’ idea of a justice department came into power, I would not rule out Inquisitions, burning of witches, etc. The good news, apart from Nature playing ultimate equalizer… that every wave rolls under itself to gather forward momentum; thus, this, too shall pass… not happily, easily or without enormous growth pangs… but The Great Spirit planted evolution into every atom of creation, and as all things come full circle, they also spiral into greater levels of expression. THAT is the metaphysical corelation to the tangible evidence of evolution on the biological level.
Mr. Gonzales has a couple of good points regarding hip hop, (not gangsta), as a medium for those who had no access to expensive instruments, etc. But, as both SiouxRose and Neoconned point out, there is no justification for the continued denigration of women through the lyrics. The contempt for women in general is what is heard by those “white boys” who have adopted “brotherhood” and therefore, those “nappy headed hos” must be fair game whether or not they are black, white, yellow, red, magenta, lime or purple. Women are undervalued as persons and upheld as “wanting” those thuggishly aggressive men and thier continual rape fantasies. Women are every bit as good and as equal to men. If we are all “hos” then all men must be “pervs and johns.”
While I agree with and support thiswoman’s point that contempt for women is bad, anyone who listens to hiphop knows there is also plenty of contempt for men. There are basically two elements to most hip hop raps: bragging about yourself and tearing down your enemies. It’s an angry genre and it’s hard to be a dope MC if you aren’t, or don’t pretend to be, one angry mutha fbomber.
But what I think Mr. Gonzales, and Tupac, were trying to point out, is that “a rose blooms in concrete” when angry young men make records instead of acting out - against women, against society, against themselves - with more direct violence. Maybe if somebody had listened to Mr. Cho’s plays, he wouldn’t have acted out in Blacksburg.
It is possible to work towards a society that creates fewer hateful young people while at the same time recognizing that artistic sublimation of violence is a hell of a lot less messy than the real thing. Jaw Jaw is better than war war and “got 99 problems but a bxxxx ain’t one” is a lot better than some poor woman in Queens with a broken jaw and two black eyes.
Forget everything I said and read this article by a great poet, Saul Williams:
http://www.counterpunch.org/williams04192007.html
sample:
“Hip Hop is simply a reflection of the society that birthed it. Our love affair with gangsterism and the denigration of women is not rooted in Hip Hop; rather it is rooted in the very core of our personal faith and religions. The gangsters that rule Hip Hop are the same gangsters that rule our nation. 50 Cent and George Bush have the same birthday (July 6th). For a Hip Hop artist to say “I do what I wanna do/Don’t care if I get caught/The DA could play this mothafukin tape in court/I’ll kill you/ I ain’t playin’” epitomizes the confidence and braggadocio we expect an admire from a rapper who claims to represent the lowest denominator. When a world leader with the spirit of a cowboy (the true original gangster of the West: raping, stealing land, and pillaging, as we clapped and cheered.) takes the position of doing what he wants to do, regardless of whether the UN or American public would take him to court, then we have witnessed true gangsterism and violent negligence. Yet, there is nothing more negligent than attempting to address a problem one finds on a branch by censoring the leaves.”
People, please try harder to make the distinction between Gonzales and Gonsalves because I’m starting to get confused.
When topics like this come up I always apply Occam’s razor. Is the misogyny in rap the result of “kiss up, kick down” or a symbolic lashing out at social oppression, repression and suppression? Hmmm, it’s a no-brainer.
As W.H. Auden said “Those to whom evil is done do evil in return” Does the “evil done” excuse the “evil in return”?
A high-brow boomer’s rationale shouldn’t trump the practical needs of young women and intellectually developing youngsters.
Siouxrose: Your post spurs thoughts of “Passage to India”, where the young woman is rocked by the tantric carvings — then then, what?, accuses an innocent man of rape. Sure Forster wrote it in the 20’s, but I’m pretty sure the message is alive and well. The yin and yang could be buffed up a bit on both sides of the pond. I gotta watch that movie again.
Thanks for the article.
I agree thats its inconsistent to label hip-hop as a terrible, immoral thing coming out of the radio infecting young people with demeaning language and ideas, and at the same time to condone Bushs sociopathic belligerence, the most gangsta tendencies anyone has seen in a long time.
It points the finger right back at us. This president has more blood on his hands than all the gansta rap artists in history combined.
I grew up listening to hip-hop too. Its in my blood. But that doesn’t mean I can’t call a spade a spade. The gansta rap thats sold to white kids that the author sort of defends b/c its mass marketed by giant corporations, still orginates from the mouths of black men!
If you look at all the gang crimes (blood, crips, and everything in between) thats been responsible for the early deaths of thousands of young black and spanish kids in NY and LA, you will see as clear as day that music, particularly gangsta rap, a very close cousin to hip-hop, has been an inspiration and pump-me-up, and sometimes even practically a instructions manual on how to “get dem niggas”. When I was growing up, Gangsta rap had you BELIEVE in the criminal mind-set, and it still does. 50, for one, is making sure of it. Even though he doesn’t actually live anymore like the “war” stories he raps about, hes still rapping about it because it sells. The problem is my nephew believes him and wants to be like that.
Panamahead: I agree. One parallel is that not everyone who uses porn commits rape; however, the individuals apprehended for crimes directed at women frequently are pumped up by porn. The songs and images fall into what Jung called “the collective unconscious.” Who among us does not have moments of anger? The balanced person can integrate those moments and any potential dark impulses against the powers of will and intelligence. Some are NOT balanced. To feed therefore these dangerous fragments into the mindstream reminds me of the legal argument used by GM (?) in the case that put Nader on the map. The basis of the argument was that it would be cheaper to allow the dangerous product to be sold, and deal with lawsuits that followed; then do the right thing, and recall the cars with the faulty mechanism. The Bible says “he who conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city.” Masters tell us we enter the physical body/earth plane indeed to work on that. Many aspects of modern culture support what the I ching terms, “the inferior man” (or woman, it speaks of human nature as a whole); rather than using the tools of culture to lift individuals to the pursuit of ideals. Without aiming higher, beyond the moral sewer, the compass for inspired action is lost on many who might otherwise make a REAL contribution to society, apart from whatever sells!
Ipenek: I saw Passage to India a long time ago, and can’t recall it, or link with you reference. Do you know what the chakras are? Many of my references on this site link Eastern religious beliefs with Western mysticism. I have great respect for authors published by the Theosophical Society: Annie Besant and Madame Blavatsky; and thinkers who lived in a time far less materialistic than our own. Not only did they ponder the great questions of human existence, but they were exposed to the lore of India where feats of gurus were well known. One of the most illuminating series I ever read was written by Baird Spalding, “The Wisdom and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East.” These kinds of books cause a spiritual paradigm shift, and bring to life what Hamlet said to Horatio, “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” IF our present global paradigm was working, war would not be the thing too many nations blow their fortunes on. The wisdom implanted in earlier spiritual philosophies may mark the ideological shift that saves us from ourselves, at least on the present diabolical course set by spiritual infants like Bush & co.
Siouxrose:
No, I don’t know the chakras other than that during a digery-Do making seminar in Hawaii a guy blew one at a chakra amidst my abdomen (?) I have to admit, I’m more of the scientific bent but keep an open mind…