Flavor Flav. I find this character in the hip-hop culture particularly interesting. To me, he seems to be a pivotal part of the lyrical development for hip-hop. As he says, he takes it from his own life and switches it into a vernacular that makes people listen. Flavor Flav knows how to say the words that make it intense and powerful while still slicking it up so people are willing to listen. As Mark Dery says, he is the mad hatter type of hip hop. With his signature clock and top hat, his fashion seems kind of absurd, but it is still huge in the culture. He spins the words and dances the dance, just like the Mad Hatter, but deep down, (as in the new Alice in Wonderland movie), he is one of the most dangerous players. Flavor Flav is the beginning of creating a message that, as he so eloquently puts, "fights the power". Flavor Flav is the words of the street, not the academic, not picking up and carrying on old battles. He keeps the past in mind, but continues to move forward.
Public Enemy, the group Flavor Flav was invloved in, is the rough, gritty form of rap. Rap, in the basest form, is a pure political outlet. Public Enemy has been criticized for many things, including race hate, religious intolerance, homophobia, and misogyny. Even so, they struck a chord in audiences that refused to quit resonating. My question is how does their confrontation to the masses work so well?
What did they do different that so many other rappers failed to do?
Public Enemy is all about the lyrics. They don't focus so much on the graffiti or b-boying. Its all about the message and the lyrics. I would compare their music to how Imani Perry places four bases for lyrics and song. Public Enemy has the correct vernacular, or Ebonics as Perry puts it, to appeal to the audiences. They had a "political location" as they created their own identity in the community, a fight for rights and acknowledgment. Black oral tradition plays in as well. Public Enemy spins the rhymes that grab the audience; it is a mix of the oral tradition with the politics that keeps the audience entranced. Finally, the black musical tradtion keeps the masses satisfied. There is still a beat, syncopated and strong. All of this tied together, to me, is reason for their lasting success.
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Really excellent post. It seems that in today's culture, through our generation, Flavor Flav has become something of a caricature of his former self-- the goofiness and offensiveness are still there, but he lacks the political passion of Public Enemy days. I also like how you analyzed Public Enemy from Imani Perry's aesthetic theory of hip-hop. I think you're right; they were so great as a group because they fulfilled all four of the categories.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts.
Good analysis of Flavor Flav. I honestly don't give him credit for anything, even after reading the section in the text, but you made a really convincing argument.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I was thinking during reading the article about Public Enemy was they (Chuck D, Terminator X, and Flavor Flav) are definitely about the message, lyrics, and probably also the beat/musicality of their work. But I wonder to what extent their audience is down with their version of revolution. It's interesting when you can commodify, package, and distribute revolution like Public Enemy, with the stage show and the public characters, what is it about? Is it about black nationalism? It seems like it's not, to me, but it's about something; maybe a resistance to conventional racial norms in music or a new voice in the avant-garde shock culture of music? I find it hard to believe that people were buying Public Enemy because of its radical racial politics. I really look forward to discussing the nature of Public Enemy in the music industry and their message!! Great post!