The Hip Hop Wars: The Introduction

Tricia Rose begins the introduction by stating that hip hop is "in a terrible crisis." She believes that the current state of hip hop has strayed away from its original roots and has deviated towards a much more negative perception. Three aspects that she calls "The trinity of commercial hip hop," the black gangsta, pimp, and ho, has become the dominant face of modern day hip hop (Rose 4).

Rose argues that major media outlets such as Time/Warner, News Corporation, and Viacom have not allowed for a proper representation of the stories that hip hop should tell. She claims that it does not allow "for a serious treatment of sexism, racism, corporate power, and the real historical forces that have created ghettos" (Rose 6). Ultimately, she is arguing are the true history of hip hop is being neglected and hindered by this distorted new image.

One interesting point that she brings up involves professional sports. Throughout this chapter, she emphasizes how people today confuse the meaning of the words "culture" and "behavior" with black people. For example, the NBA, which is a predominantly black league with a mostly white fan base, has been racially charged with hip hop culture being the driving force behind player violence. Yet, the NHL is a sport that promotes fighting, with predominantly both white players and fans. 

"Many fans consume lopsided tales of black ghetto life with little knowledge about the historical creation of the ghetto; some think the ghetto equals black culture" (Rose 12)

This quote leads into her five key factors that worked together to create this misrepresentation of hip hop culture.

- New technologies and new music markets

- Mass corporate consolidation

- Expansion of illicit street economies

- America's post-civil rights appetite for racially stereotyped entertainment

- Violence and sexually explicit misogyny as "valued" cultural products.

Essentially, Rose's main point deals with both sides of the argument facing the denials that they both commit in order to obtain a resolution to the problem altogether.

"We must fight for social justice-inspired, culturally nuanced take on hip hop- a vision that rejects the morally hyper-conservative agenda and the "whatever sells works for me" brand of hustlers' neo-minstrelsy that have become so lucrative and accessible for the youth in poor black communities today" (Rose 29)

Shawn Silvis and Eamonn Reynolds

4/14/2010- Week 3