Copyright- Rap-A-Lot Records, Undergroundhiphop.com
Christopher
Colon 2015
March 23,
Scarface
the movie did more than Scarface the rapper to me…
Hip Hop was an art form that countered
the violence between street gangs from inner city neighborhoods in New York
City,” Hip Hop represents the last Black popular form to be wholly derived from
the experiences and texts of the Black urban landscape”(Neal, 1999, pg.485).
However as inner cities grew intensely with drugs and violence, the lyrics and
images in Hip Hop reflected more of the masculine social construction in a patriarchal
American society. I argue that the male dominated music genre of Hip Hop from
1988 to 1993 perpetuates hyper masculinity that reflects the patriarchy in the
United States. I also argue that the violent history of the United States and the
violent images displayed on television screens influenced Hip Hop lyrics and
performances that are associated with masculinity.
Hip Hop lyrics and images can be violent
but it does not generate new terms. Hip Hop has been a positive force in bringing
awareness to Black urban issues but Hip Hop needs to be revolutionary in
changing the gender dynamics by embracing a more broad conception of manhood.
Patriarchy creates narrow conceptions of “manhood” which encourages men to
perform actions associated with male identity at the expense of women. Scholar Michael
Eric Dyson articulates how “ Hip Hop’s hyper-masculinity pose reflects a
broader American trait”(Dyson, 2012, p.364). Violence has always been a part of
American culture and at the heart of its identity, we as a society act out what
we see and hear in our everyday lives.
Patriarchy benefits men but Black men also
fall victim to the narrow definitions of manhood that often leads to violence
between them. It also limits Black men from participating in efforts to create
equal opportunities for Black women. Hip Hop is an easy target to blame for
perpetuating violence in the United States. However movies like Scarface (DePalma, 1983) maintain the
idea of a man taking matters into his own hands by being tough shooting guns while
capturing the heart of “his lady tiger” or woman of choice. This movie has been
very influential to the performances of Hip Hop artists like N.W.A. and
Scarface from the Geto Boys who emerged around 1988.
They performed the exaggerations of
selling drugs and objectifying women in songs, while embracing the” world is
yours” mantra the movie promotes. Hip Hop artists are nostalgic about Scarface performing hyper-masculinity,
which is defined as an “exaggeration of the posture of manhood” (Dyson, 2007, pg.360).
Thus, Hip Hop artists perform actions that our patriarchal society associate
with being a man, “Such acts, gestures, enactments, generally constructed are
performative in the sense that the essence or identity that they otherwise
purport to express are fabrications manufactured and sustained...”(Butler, 2013,
p.136). Hip Hop is male dominated and the music treats women as bystanders to
the movement of Hip Hop. The Black experience can’t be fully understood unless
the experiences of Black women are recognized. By 1993, some Hip Hop artists
like Queen Latifah and De La Soul attempted to break away from patriarchal
norms and the violent masculine images seen in American entertainment. This was
an attempt to promote coalitions between Black men and Black women to counter some
of the violent lyrics popular during the late 1980’s. Hip Hop male artists need
to break away from patriarchal norms and continue to advocate with Black women
against the oppression of all marginalized groups. However, Hip Hop should not be
scapegoated for mimicking American culture.
References
Butler, Judith.
"From Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity." Feminist
Theory: A Reader. Ed. Wendy K. Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski. 4th ed.
McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. 436-44. Print.
DePalma, B.
(Director). (1983). Scarface [Motion picture]. United States. Universal
studios
Dyson, M., &
Hurt, B. (2012). Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent: violence,
machismo, sexism, and homophobia. That’s the Joint! The Hip-Hop Studies
Reader (2nd edition) New York: Routledge, 2012. ©2012, 358-369. Print
Neal, M. A.
(2004). Postindustrial soul: black popular music at the crossroads. That’s
the Joint! The Hip-Hop Studies Reader (2nd edition) New
York : Routledge, 2012. ©2012,
476-502. Print
URL’s
http://www.mtv.com/news/1669640/al-pacino-scarface-hip-hop/
http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/10/12/1988-year-hip-hop-made-noise
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hip-hops-greatest-year-fifteen-albums-that-made-rap-explode-20080212
No comments:
Post a Comment