Hip Hop music has been a staple in the American culture since the early 1970’s. Rap originating in an atmosphere where violent trials and tribulations where rampant.The violence surrounding and within the environment attributed to any even greater presence of police officers surveilling the community. Early hip hop pioneers embodied their own personal and neighborhood struggles to illustrate the raw circumstances that were evident in their lives. These circumstances were often their experiences and run in with law enforcement personnel. Over the course of time, an increasing amount of alterations between members of the African American community and law enforcement started to span across America. This fueled a majority of artists during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s to engulfed a constant message directed at the criminal justice system within their music. These messages became the background music behind the efforts to counter the injustice being done. In this essay, I will analyze how both the Hip Hop and African American communities encounters with different branches of the criminal justice system has effected their perspective and portrayal of the system.
Kevin F. Steinmetz and Howard Henderson (Steinmetz,Henderson,2012) article, “Hip-Hop and Procedural Justice: Hip-Hop Artists' Perceptions of Criminal Justice” explores Hip Hop’s long relationship with the criminal legal system. Steinmetz and Henderson analyzes lyrics and themes that have mentions of the criminal justice system within the 2000’s to 2010. Table 2 within their article breaks down the different perspectives one many have towards law enforcement into three distinct characteristics as predator’s, oppressors,and illegitimate. The two groups of oppressors and illegitimate saw 20% and nearly 44% of the songs identified law enforcement within the predator categories.Steinmetz and Henderson explore Jay Z’s song "December 4" in order to bring to light the predatory mentality. They state “the police could be lurking out beyond his sensory range, ready to strike as he places himself in the vulnerable position of committing a crime”(Steinmetz and Henderson,2012,p.12). The term predator defines as a person or group that ruthlessly exploits others. This portrayal views law enforcement as means to hoover and search the community for any bad activity instead of serving an protecting the community.The characteristic of predator receiving the larger percentage illustrates the overall negative mindset the Hip Hop community that has been echoed throughout the decade.
Andre cumming’s (Cummings,2010) article “Thug Life: Hip Hop Curious Relationship with criminal justice” takes a deep approach into Hip Hop representation of the criminal justice system. According to Cummings (2010), “hip-hop, both "gangsta" and "socially conscious," seems to agree: that the United States system of crime and punishment is inequitable, unfairly administered, and purposely aimed to disempower people of color and the voiceless”(p.12). This illustration of the hip hop community’s view is parallel to the constant experiences of inner city African American youth. Often times, the black community used their previous encounters with the law and that has become the shifting point in their lives. This shifting point is influential because it ultimately shapes not only ones perspective but everyone involved whether indirect or direct. Thus causing the negative attitudes towards the criminal justice system.
In conclusion, Hip Hop has engulfed itself among social,political ,and criminal debates. Within recent years of the Black Lives matter movement, notably hip hop artists such as J.cole has been seen during the midst of protest and marches. Artists Kendrick Lamar and his B.E.T performance of his song “Alright” has visual representations of dancers on top of police cars with American flags being flown. Hip Hop has allowed for issues affecting criminal justice and had become a vehicle for matters to be discussed.
WORK CITE PAGE:
Cummings, andre douglas pond. (2010). Thug life: Hip-hop's curious relationship with criminal justice. Santa Clara Law Review, 50(2), 515-546.
Steinmetz, K., & Henderson, H. (n.d.).(2012) Hip-Hop and Procedural Justice. Race and Justics, 2(3), 155-178.
No comments:
Post a Comment