Hip-Hop, racism, and sexualization

The exploitation of African American women in hip-hop by African American men is the result of a long history of degradation and abuse inflicted upon them by white Americans. Beginning with slavery, the struggle to find an identity and to feel accepted in the United States has been and continues to be the main conflict faced by African Americans. This identity crisis has led black men to search for a means of authority, which has resulted in their sexualization of black women.

Hip-hop as a music and culture emerged from the ghettos of the South Bronx, in response to the violence in the community. It glorifies the gun, deeming it a symbol of respect and honor. In attaining respect in hip-hop, men must dignify their egos; and one way which this is done is by degrading women. In order to feel powerful, men must make women feel powerless. Particularly true with black men, who have been emasculated by white men, the need to serve the patriarchy is ever-growing, and by subjecting women they satisfy this male dominance.

With respect to racism in hip-hop, desexualization plays a major role. Men enjoy feeling powerful and often prove their machismo, and by sexually assaulting women, they prove their masculinity. Black men and white men have one thing in common: they are both men. Thus their need to feel superior can be satisfied by the demeaning of women.

As stated by Chuck D in the movie Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, “The dominant image of black men is the aspect of being confrontational.” Black men feel the need to prove their masculinity, so much so that they display hyper masculinity as the norm.

Bettina Love writes in her book Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South (2012), “So long as scholars and cultural critics fail to critically interrogate urban youth and rap music, jointly, within the discourses of capitalism, hegemony, poverty, media and cultural studies, politics, and domination, urban youth of color will remain society's scapegoat.” This means that if people are not educated about hip-hop, then they will continue to see it in a negative light. Love (2012) continues, “Through hegemony, Hip Hop is created in a contrived space where the commodification of Blackness perpetuates the status quo and existing social structures of inequality.” This commodification, or racism, is rooted in slavery.

One aspect of slavery that has been passed down into hip-hop is the aspect of the “booty video.” The “booty video” is what everyone sees in hip-hop, what is thought to be hip-hop. The reason it has become the representation of hip-hop is because men sexualize women as a means to prove their masculinity. It is a form of combatting racism, in a way, making black men feel equal to white men.

            D. Mark Wilson writes in his article “Post-Pomo Hip-Hop Homos: Hip-Hop Art, Gay Rappers, and Social Change” (2007), “Social research on hip-hop, to the extent that it engages with gender and sexuality, usually highlights its exploitative character, misogyny, and violence against women. Even in research that finds within hip-hop culture a resistant strand among women who deconstruct sexism, challenge male patriarchy, and develop new generations of feminist activism.” This shows that men feel superior to women, and thus gain their masculinity by being violent. And this expression is clear in hip-hop.

Bibliography

LOVE, B. L.. (2012). Chapter Two: Hip Hop, Context, and Black Girlhood. Counterpoints, 399, 16–31. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981577

Hurt, Byron (Producer and Director). (2007). Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. [Motion Picture]. United States: Media Education Foundation

Wilson, D. M.. (2007). Post-Pomo Hip-Hop Homos: Hip-Hop Art, Gay Rappers, and Social Change. Social Justice, 34(1 (107)), 117–140. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29768425

http://personal.psu.edu/users/c/m/cma5357/assignment6.html 

Diamond acevedo

Soc Hip Hop blog

                                    Hip Hop and sexuality

            Hip hop and sexuality is a very broad topic and can go many ways. I would hope to explore in this essay a little deeper in to women and how their sexuality and being in hip hop and them being female might have impacted them. Women aren’t able to be looked at normally when it comes to many things in society including hip hop due to them being females and thought of as soft and delicate. As stated in the article by Hobson “Women in varying cultures have been  portrayed either as decorative, fetishistic, manipulative, fragile, or in need of rescuing (or submission) in contemporary popular music lyrics, music videos, music concerts, and movie soundtracks” (2-3). This discussing how women are given a certain way of being looked at in which makes others feel as though they aren’t made to be involved in the hip hop artist world.

            The issue with women being in the hip hop world is always the perception that the world already has of women and how that hinders them. In the article by Oikelome he discusses the perception of women and the concern of women being in the hip hop world and why it is a constant struggle for women rather than men. As argued by Oikelome “there has been a growing concern on the negative impact of the music on the perception of women in the society” (83). Women are used in a negative manner as well when they show them in music videos dancing and where barely any clothes, making it as though that what they are made for to sell sex or their bodies. In this article Oikelome shows the significance of women in the hip hop world and why the perception of women is very hard to fight especially since women aren’t thought of as hip hop artist saying “Even though we have a few Hip-hop female artistes in the industry, men are in the majority while women often feature as dance troupes performing in the background to the music” (85). Throughout the topic of hip hop and sexuality I would like to explore more deep in to the trials and tribulations of women in the hip hop world and what being a women in general meant to them being a female hip hop artist. In this topic of sexuality and hip hop it is also important to discuss why women are treated in such a poor manner. But also how things have changed and if there has or hasn’t been a change with hip hop women artist, and people’s perceptions and how women are represented in the hip hop world. There has been changes through time with many factors in the hip hop world but whether they are positive or negative towards women is the big question to be answered. Because then it can show us the significant growth and changes women have went through to get their music acknowledged even though men are thought of as the majority of hip hop.

                                       Citation

Classic Films on Women in Hiphop. (2016). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://hiphoparchive.org/blog/3514-classic-films-on-women-in-hiphop

Oikelome, A. O. (2013). 'Are Real Women Just Bad Porn?': Women in Nigerian Hip-hop Culture. Journal Of Pan African Studies, 5(9), 83-98.

Hip Hop Has Become The Platform For Change We Need Today. (2015). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://theodysseyonline.com/lehigh/the-power-of-modern-hip-hop/207992

Hobson, J., & Bartlow, R. D. (2008). Introduction: Representin': Women, Hip-Hop, and Popular Music. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 8(1), 1-14.

The Voice of Graffiti

Photo Credit: Business Insider.  http://www.businessinsider.com/bushwick-collective-street-art-2014-1

 

 

Since Hip Hop began it has been considered a resistant movement towards mainstream. Hip Hop within itself has been an act of resistance against authority, against mainstream and social norm. Hip Hop is rebellion, one of the clearest examples of the rebellious natures of hip hop comes from the art form of graffiti. Graffiti which has an Italian origin and is derived from the word graffiare which means "to scratch". Graffiti is one of the many elements of Hip Hop, and just like all the other elements it allows the artist a form of self expression. Throughout time graffiti has significantly been used for artist to get their points and ideas across. An example of how artist have been using graffiti to illustrate their purpose recently brought to the media's attention. On the set of the TV show Homeland. The show features graffiti design of a set where the artist  wrote on the wall "Homeland is Racist" in Arabic.

Graffiti has given a voice to so many who truly desire a platform to be heard. Across the world graffiti has provided many with the option to express political views throughout the usage of this art form. Refugee girl from Syria who uses her street art to inspire others. Where many have also done significant breakthrough within this field. Graffiti most often referred to as "tagging" provided the artist with a sense of pride and identification by being able to say that a piece of work was done by them. These artist were well known within the neighborhood that their pieces was displayed without even needing a fully displaying their names.  

Graffiti as described by Chang in the article It's a Hip Hop World describes the origin of the elements of hip hop and how this culture has developed. Graffiti has become an art form that is broadly used. It helps many with a form of identification.

As many may thing that graffiti is only a local art, but it is used across the world by many as a form of providing a voice. In many places such as Brazil, Syria. In the article Hip Hop as Pedagogy, Pardue mentions the streets of Sao Paulo which many different art forms are used including graffiti to give many a voice.

 

 

Refrences

 Chang, J. (december 2013). Its a HIp Hop World. Foreign Policy, 163. Retrieved March 22, 2016,from http://www.jstor.org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/stable 

Pardue, D. (2007). Hip Hop as Pedagogy: A Look into "Heaven" and "Soul" in São Paulo, Brazil.  Anthropological Quarterly, 80(3), 673-709. Retrieved March 22, 2016.

 

 

The density of the historical context that surrounds the emergence of hip-hop music is buried under the modern popular culture of the art.  For many of the newcomers who take part in the modern form of hip-hop, the circumstances in which it is produced is unknown and insignificant. However even in today’s hip pop culture many rapper have found a way to educate masses through their poetry and music on many different topics.

This style of expression is prominent when it reaches the community of early hip-hop. Some artists choose to use a very radical form of language to communicate their point across. While others decide to take a more eloquent route.

With the lack of the arts in public schooling urban youth compromised and turned to other sources for artistic expression to make use of their time. This movement and expression arose in the form of four main elements, Disk Jockeying, break dancing, graffiti visual art, emceeing and Knowledge.

The economic factors that surrounded the birth of hip-hop are centered on poverty and the underclass in America, particularly the South Bronx. This intern gives th notion of illiteracy but however according to Perullo in his article Hooligans and Heroes Hip pop was used as a tool to educate the public on many issues affecting the target audience.

And tho to Trica rose Hip pop seems to degrade it also does reach people period. A glimpse at the South Bronx in the 1960s is a depiction of what Nelson George calls America’s dark side. The area was filled with gang violence, drugs, and no industrial foundation to recuperate for its population.  One of the major reasons for such socio-economic depravation was due to the building of the cross Bronx expressway, which was part of the urban renewal project in 1953.  Many homes were demolished and residents of low income, mainly African Americans and Hispanics were forced into the cities overpopulated housing projects. Most of the white populations left the city and headed to the suburban areas were economic and social stability was promised.

The factors that surround the emergence of hip-hop are equally important as the art form itself.  It is these circumstances that have the power to educate youth and adults in current hip-hop  culture and create a conscious community of creative expression for upward mobility for its participants. The fact is that hip pop educated the masses it’s the matter of whether this knowledge or message being conveyed is positive or negative in the eyes of the consumer based on the level of understanding of the topic matter they posses.

Perullo, A. (2005). Hooligans and Heroes: Youth Identity and Hip-Hop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Africa Today, 51(4), 75-101.

Rose, Tricia. Hip-Hop Wars : What We Talk about When We Talk about Hip-Hop - and Why It Matters. New York, NY, USA: Basic Civitas, 2008. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 23 March 2016.

No Race, No Case

No Race, No Case

Hip-Hop is known as being originated by African-Americas, who also continue to dominate the genre. Even though Whites were the ones that nationalized and commercialized the genre through their dominance and resources in society, they have not been able to truly establish themselves in the genre musically. There seems to be a fork in the road for Whites who attempt to make this music and many believe that the issue at hand is race. However, race is not the culprit in this case.

            The amounts of Hip-Hop artists that have profoundly succeeded making music are black, but it’s not due to their racial ethnicity. The composition of the music along with the piece being relatable and enjoyable to many is what attributes to the success. Through the music artists have become successful, regardless of the race, which stands true for an artist that has stood out from start, Eminem.

Also known as Slim Shady, Eminem’s path to his success was not easy or privileged like most would assume because he is white. He came from nothing, residing in the slummed city of Detroit, Michigan where he bounced from trailer to trailer with his family. Trying to survive through these circumstances is what drove Eminem’s desire for music as a form of expression and an escape from all the bullshit, like he would say.

At first, Eminem struggled to reach the hearts and ears of listeners because of the fact he was white and doing what is known as a black thing. However this soon changed once his music was actually performed, even at open-mikes where he claims, “Once motherfuckers heard me rhyme, though, they’d shut up”. This trend continued as Eminem tried to establish his career as a Hip-Hop artist. For instance, when he went to the Rap Olympics in L.A and had a black guy yelling ‘Just give it to the white boy, its over’. Eminem continued to receive respect from not only listeners, but also established artists and producers like Dr. Dre who signed him and exemplified, “But I don’t give a fuck if you’re purple: If you can kick it, I’m working with you” (Rolling Stone).

What is most admired about Eminem and what continues to bring him success is his realness. He does not shy away from saying what’s on his mind which is something that is respected because it is the purpose of Hip-Hop.  According to Rodman (2006), this is seen in one of Eminem’s best songs, The Way I Am (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmG0ZsUAag), where he goes against how Whites trying to fix his racial identity in ways to allow them to maintain their illusion about the stability of race (p. 110). He rhymes about these cocky Caucasians identifying him as a wigger who tries to be black, but this assumption comes from his talent in Hip-Hop, which is known as a Black thing. Eminem also does something that has appalled the Whites as he uses satirical attacks against the government and the police and middle-class hypocrisy (Grudmann, 2003, p. 30). Nevertheless, Eminem is true to himself and most importantly true to Hip-Hop as he tries to maintain the integrity of it above all else. When it comes to music, there is no question of race with Eminem, he is undoubtedly Hip-Hop.

Unfortunately, Eminem has seemed to be a rare case of success amongst White Hip-Hop Artists. Recently, there have been artists like Mac Miller, MGK and Macklemore who have achieved some success but it tends to be within a certain audience and not the majority of the Hip-Hop community or consumers. However, it’s not their race that doesn’t appeal, it is the composition and texture of the music.

Work Cited

Rodman, G. (2006). Race .. and Other Four Letter Words: Eminem and the Cultural

Authenticity. Popular Communication, 4(2), 95-121.

Grundmann, Roy (2003). White Man’s Burden: Eminem’s Movie Debut in 8 Mile.

            Cineaste. 28(2). 30-35.

Boza, Anthony (1999). Eminem blows up. Rolling Stone. 811, 42.

Black Female Identity and Sexuality

When we talk about Hip-Hop we go back to South Bronx during 1970s. As Hip-hop rises with the years and its popularity expends through commercialization, so do black female rappers become more recognized. Female rappers start being noticed around 1980s and as commercialization increased today female rappers/hip hop artist have the same about of success as male artist. Female rappers had harder time to break in to the industry than male rappers did. As female rappers become more recognized, their way of expressiveness grows as well. Female rappers expressed themselves more freely about their body and sexuality through their lyrics and image. Hip-Hop uses categories to describe what kind of singer black female represent. In 1980s -1990s, four categories emerged; “Queen Mother,” “Fly Girl,” “Sista with Attitude,” and “Lesbian.”

Male rappers were free to express themselves as they pleased through their music, but woman expression broke through the trio black women group named T.LC. T.L.C lyrics about their sexuality “serves as a powerful, liberating assertion of black women's economic, psychological, emotional and sexual independent” (Nataki, 1994.) their lyrics may have been sexual but never gender oriented. Not only they expressed themselves through lyrics, but also the way they dressed they challenged the norms of how African American woman should look dress or talk. MC Lyte was one of the artists who started her carrier wearing sweat suits, sneakers and big chains. In a male dominant rap industry, female had to take a stand in order to be strong and overcome all the sexual harassment and the hardship the industry of rap and the cultural concept of black woman offered.

As media become more involved in Hip-Hop music and MTV was vied more, the images, voices and life style of African American women become more noticeable and four categories where created: “Queen Mother,” “Fly Girl,” “Sista with Attitude,” and “Lesbian.” Each artist with fit on one of those categories, but they could shift to anyone of them during their crier. Queen Mother described female rappers that through way of dressing they represented themselves as African-Centered icon. Queen mother classification is associated with African traditions and culture. The way the artist dressed the songs they raped represented the traditional caring and loving African women. Fly girl described the chic, fashionable girl who wore fashionable clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, high hills, and mini dresses. They showed more skin and where proud and comfortable in their bodies. Sista with Attitude was the aggressive, arrogant defiant, empower black woman. In this category the word bitch was viewed as a positive rather that word to describe powerful independent women. Last but not least, Lesbians refer to the lesbian life style from a Black artist perception.

To this day female rappers always straggle to break through in to the music industry and commercialize of their music. From the beginning of rap till today black women have expressed themselves differently than man through their sexuality, the way they dress, their attitude and most important their lyrics. Those image project to the consumer especially you black woman and can become a negative or positive role model for them. African American woman have found a lot of straggles with their identify but many of them have become a very successful woman in rap industry.

Goodall, Nataki. 1994. Depend on Myself: T.L.C. and the Evolution of Black Female Rap. Journal of Negro History Vol. 79, No. 1: pp. 85-93