Know What I Mean?: Maybe a little bit...

Dyson's books "Know What I Mean" has left me in a state of mass confusion and contradiction. While Dyson was relatively straightforward, he threw in some points that left me in a whirl of information overload. Even so, I was drawn in by two particular bits. The first was in "It's Trendy to be a Conscious MC", where Dyson speaks about Lauryn Hill. She raps in the group The Fugees, using the line "Even after all my logic and my theory/I add motherf*** so you ingnorant ****** hear me". In this line, Lauryn Hill essentially sums up hip hop as a political outlet. She can be speak brilliantly and rap brilliantly, but people won't hear her unless she appeals to mainstream hip-hop. Even as she speaks truth, she has to fight to be socially or politically conscious in her music.

Dyson also addresses the "crisis of patriarchy" in hip-hop culture. The culture is overflowing with verbal gender assault. Dyson is not only aware of this, but criticized it. Hip hop is riddled with sexism and misogyny. Women are held in high contempt and are either classified as a "ho" or as a "good sister", in Dyson's argument. There is not really a good in-between and hip-hop just continues to create a culture that is dangerous for women. This is not always how it was though. n the beginning, hip hop was not a degrading, violent outlet for men to take out on women.

Hip hop was originated as something very different from how it is now. Dyson is trying to bridge the gap between hip-hop beginnings and what people know as hip hop today. He speaks about the Black Panther type view of black culture versus how that same culture is perceived now by the younger generation. There is a huge gap between the two generations in question and the younger generation is held in a sort of contempt by the older generation. And, of course, the younger generation feels that the generations before them are not extremely outdated and their ways of dealing with things is no longer beneficial. The two generations continue to go head to head concerning what hip hop is. But the new hip hop is homophobic, has drastic violence issues, and is full to the brim with misogyny. As Dyson said, hip hop is dead. The new must die so the old, more regal hip hop can continue on. In a way, it needs to start over again and see if they can get it right this time, without the violence or misogyny.

Police Brutality: Hip Hop Style?

I became particularly interested in Clarence Lusane's "Rap, Race, and Politics". Specifically, I was drawn in by the blips on "Gangsta Rap" and the musings on gender issues. Gangsta rap, stereotypically attached to drugs, violence, and abuse, started to peek out as a way to speak out politically. It has been called "the lessons of lived experiences" by Robin D. G. Kelley, which is think is an accurate description to a point concerning the raging political points of life these rappers face. But it is also laden with violence and misogyny. They contradict themselves; on one side they speak out what needs to be said to make a point and, on the other side, they promote the types of things that they should be speaking out against.

As described by this passage, police brutality is one of the main aspects of gangsta rap. "Cop Killer", "Squeeze the Trigger", and "F*** Tha Police" all wrap around rascist police brutality. These songs, while angry and slightly frightening to listen to, make it clear what is happening to young blacks in cities all across the country. It is either run or be shot; the police did not act as those who protect people should act. Police were becoming notorious for killing or beating those from the black community. And music and creativity burst out in many directions. People called out from music to make these killings and beatings stop. They wanted their voices to be heard, even if people didn't want to hear them.

Personally, I feel that this did make a difference then, but now hip-hop is not taken as seriously in regard to politics. Sometimes, politically based songs come along, but with the overwhelming amount of music about degrading women, drugs, violence, and various other unacceptable topics, the politics is not heard. Even if it is heard, it isn't taken really seriously. The question I find myself and others asking is, why should we listen to those who hold anger and violence in such high esteem?

When I read the title “Crack is Responsible for Hip-Hop”, I did a double take. Then a triple-take, if I can call it that. Then I just sat and stared at the title for a while before I started to read. And then, after reading, I closed the book and just thought for a while. Is Ahmir Thompson right? Did hip-hop culture spawn from drug use and drug pushing? It’s all about the street cred. If there were no drugs, then there wouldn’t be street cred as we know it today. What fascinated me was that Thompson was so very blatant when it came to discussing the use of crack. The way he puts it, he is saying that everyone knew it was there. And it was generally accepted. Or at least people averted their eyes so the music could burst forward.

To me, this was an uncomfortable article. It addressed things that people in my life usually sweep underneath the carpet. He even addressed how he sees repression, depression, and Republicans as causes for the hip-hop revolution. As the society falls, “Black music” rises up. It’s just how the system works. Through white politics and law and repression, “Black music” rises and teaches us to not be brainwashed, in a way.

And finally we get to an article addressing “Hip-Hop Nation”. The words summing up this class and the words that people live by. It is its own democracy and it seems that most people have to be born into it to make it authentic, though the nation is expanding to include more culture, race, and gender. It’s gritty and political and speaks what need to be spoken. It started as parties and then it swelled to become “a defining force of a generation” (Toure, pg. 338). And, as it seems, there is no stopping it now.

Week 3

I have never really tried to look into a hip-hop artist's personal life. One assumes that their music reflects thier lives and values. This, intriquingly enough, is not all that true. Eminem does his best to instill in his daughter how to be morally upstanding and does his best to keep his life from affecting her negatively. It's not all about murder and violence, even though those two things are definitely overtones in the hip-hop culture. Many of the hip-hop moguls take a mass amount of effort and time to teach their children right and wrong and seem to try to protect them from the dangers of the lives their parents are leading.

These readings did not really do much to change my opinion on hip-hop. The music is still stained with violence and drugs; while many fight against the violence, many still integrate violence, drugs, sex, and alcohol directly into the lyrics. There was a change from hip-hop to make a point into hip-hop becoming the definition of gangsta, if you will. Most of the prominent hip-hop artists today come from a dark childhood and a dark environment. Eminem was born in an impoverished family. His life has been both dark and despondent. 50 Cent hustled to make money at the age of 12. Biggie Smalls sold crack and was put in jail when he was only seventeen. Is it even possible for someone to be accepted into the hiip-hop beat if they haven't sold drugs, mugged people, or came from a harsh childhood? Will they be accepted in? Even more to the point, can someone be called a hip-hop artist if none of this occurs? The public expects angry hip-hop, with virulent emotions running directly into the lyrics and out into society. What is hip-hop without all the anger nowadays?