The attack on Hiphop: The Culture War
Hiphop is blamed for “undermining American family values,” though there is no specific set of universal values. The culture is associated with encouraging violence, deviant sex and immorality.
“Those who profess fear that American values are under assault owing to the negative influence of rap music are part of a much larger movement to align morality with conservative values – a movement that involves crafting a very short list of values (about which there has never been any unanimous agreement in U.S. society) and defining them narrowly.” (p. 96)
Many argue that Hiphop has negatively affected American culture because it came into popularity around the time when many norms and values were changing on their own or because of other cultural influences. Hiphop entered into popular culture with bad timing. Also, those same people ignore other potential values systems and focus only on their narrow-minded, conservative values.
It’s not likely that Hiphop could single-handedly bring down Western civilization.
The 5 possible explanations for why popular culture and rap music have been labeled as “killer culture” (p. 97):
1. The long association of black people with violence
2. Youth cultural challenges empowered by the development of modern society
3. Fears associated with the vast economic, political, and social changes that have taken place over the past fifty to sixty years
4. The singularly dramatic impact on American society of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s
5. The profound shift from an industrial to a postindustrial service- and cultural-products-driven economy
Because of the racial/gender oppression and associations our nation has historically made with black people and deviance, black expression (such as rap music and Hiphop art forms) is blamed for many things. It can be considered a form of accepted racism.
Youth deviance emerged around the same time mass entertainment became accessible, and the worry that the bad influence would alter youth culture was associated with the fear of black cultural influence on youth as well. Strangely, many people also associate Hiphop culture with Islamic terrorism and hostility, both of which are supposedly connected through violence.
Even the socially-conscious, progressive lyrics present in rap music are looked down upon, because many see these outcries as dangers to America’s stability rather than positive changes.
“Crafting rappers as a cause of the demise of American values instead of seeing them as a reflection of the betrayal of America’s promise temporarily relieves the anxiety and justifies status and privileges for those who have been awarded the longer end of the social and economic stick.” (p. 103)
Because of the shift in America’s economy that caused cultural products to be in high demand, black youth culture became more mainstream and garnered a larger audience. Again, this relates back to a fear that popular culture and its effect on youth will open the doors to idolatry of violence and deviance, two things that are unfairly grouped with Hiphop culture.
“Larger social conditions, economic forces, and entrenched racial stereotypes not only fueled the corporate growth of hip hop but also helped usher in the decline in the depth and range of its expression. In the throes of these conditions, the most violent, sexist, and stereotypical images and stories began to outsell all other kinds of rap music, making what some call ‘gangsta rap’ the most profitable sector of the genre.” (p. 104)
In the 1990s, many people began to believe that the "traditional" (code for politically conservative) American family – a heterosexual, two-parent family with children – could “rescue” the rest of society from the depths of deviance set into place by Hiphop culture.
However, there is no single set of American family values to use as a societal model. There are a variety of modern American family configurations, and conservative value sets don’t encompass all types of American families. This remains unrelated to Hiphop.
“The conservative family values frame became the dominant lens through which nearly all criticism of hip hop is filtered.
The irony of this values-based battle in the hip hop wars is that, despite the blanked rejection of hip hop by most conservative pundits and the frequent defenses by liberals, commercial hip hop actually reflects and rejects both liberal and conservative values.” (p. 107)
Regardless of political beliefs, Hiphop is not to blame for the cultural fascination with violence, aggression and masculinity. In fact, these values have always been in place in American society, as noted by cultural fixations on action figures, war/battle films, mobs and gangs, to name a few aspects. As stated before, these ideas are built into the conservative political system to some extent.
In regards to Hiphop’s sometimes emphasis on individual success rather than community success, many rappers boast lyrics of going from rags to riches and of making their own empires. As a country that rides on capitalism, these artists should be praised for such individual entrepreneurship. However, these artists are generally seen as threats, and the opportunities and jobs they create through their empires is overlooked.
Hiphop also focuses on such liberal ideals as political justice and freedom of expression. Politics in Hiphop culture dates back to the Hiphop roots. Rappers’ push for freedom of expression can be tied to the censorship many artists have faced over time, and those artists use their praises of freedom of expression to fight back.
“A powerful progressive emphasis on the destruction of foundational American values such as equality and justice has the potential not only to successfully respond to conservatives who use rappers as an easy target but also to challenge rappers to live up to the progressive values that highlight and work to change the unequal environment out of which hip hop has emerged.” (p. 111)
- Courtney Baldasare and Jillian Mapes
The irony of this values-based battle in the hip hop wars is that, despite the blanked rejection of hip hop by most conservative pundits and the frequent defenses by liberals, commercial hip hop actually reflects and rejects both liberal and conservative values.” (p. 107)
As the above quote implies, there is, surprisingly, a sense of political duality within Hiphop. Hiphop embraces masculinity, violence, aggression and the furthering of the individual over the community, all of which stem from a conservative patriarchal tradition. However, in a liberal fashion, Hiphop toted as "socially conscious" focuses on justice, expression and community-building, with rappers like Mos Def, Common and Talib Kweli as positive examples. (Rose points out, however, that this positivity model does not necessarily hold true for all rap, specifically commericially popular "gangsta rap.")
One example of Hiphop that follows liberal traditions -- and what some defenders of Hiphop would call socially-conscious rap:
Regardless of political beliefs, Hiphop is not to blame for the cultural fascination with violence, aggression and masculinity. In fact, these values have always been in place in American society, as noted by cultural fixations on action figures, war/battle films, mobs and gangs, to name a few aspects. As stated before, these ideas are built into the conservative political system to some extent.
In regards to Hiphop’s sometimes emphasis on individual success rather than community success, many rappers boast lyrics of going from rags to riches and of making their own empires. As a country that rides on capitalism, these artists should be praised for such individual entrepreneurship. However, these artists are generally seen as threats, and the opportunities and jobs they create through their empires is overlooked.
Hiphop also focuses on such liberal ideals as political justice and freedom of expression. Politics in Hiphop culture dates back to the Hiphop roots. Rappers’ push for freedom of expression can be tied to the censorship many artists have faced over time, and those artists use their praises of freedom of expression to fight back.
“A powerful progressive emphasis on the destruction of foundational American values such as equality and justice has the potential not only to successfully respond to conservatives who use rappers as an easy target but also to challenge rappers to live up to the progressive values that highlight and work to change the unequal environment out of which hip hop has emerged.” (p. 111)
- Courtney Baldasare and Jillian Mapes
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