Hip Hop Demeans Women
In chapter 5 Tricia Rose goes in depth about the debate in hip hop on sexism and women. She comments on the bigger issues about sexism as a whole not just an issue in hip hop and solutions to this issue as well as giving her personal opinions on this matter. She does this into three general sections, R.E.S.P.E.C.T- But Not the Kind Aretha Franklin Had in Mind, Explicit Isn't Always Exploitative, and "Free the Girls": Hip Hop's Betrayal of Black Women.
In the first section, R.E.S.P.E.C.T- But Not the Kind Aretha Franklin Had in Mind, she quotes George W. Bush's State of the Union Address on February 3, 2005, "Tonight I propose a three-year [faith-based] initiative to help organizations keep young people out of gangs, and show young men an ideal of manhood that respects women and rejects violence." Her rejection of this quote is basically the back-bone of this section of the chapter.(113)
This quote:
1. Relies on the fiction that American mainstream models of masculinity (the white middle class) are non-violent, "respect" women, and reflect a history of civility, honor, and justice. (118)
First of all, this implies that the mainstream model of masculinity in society has always honored and respected women throughout history and that hip hop brings sexism as a completely new idea.
2. Hip hop does not break from the fundamental logic of mainstream msculinity so much as convey it with excess, bravado, an extra insult.(119)
Basically, the demeaning of women is not a new idea, but has existed in mainstrean society in many forms. Hip hop culture takes it to the extreme and magnifies what is already occuring. Pointing the finger at hip hop ignores the overall issue of sexism in society and that doesn't solve anything. There are polite forms of sexism as well that are reflected in religious, moral, social, and political ways. Religious leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have jumped on the "respect" black-women bandwagon but do not include any specifics on how black women are discriminated against nor does it often include a black feminist analysis of the issues.
In the second section, Explicit Isn't Always Exploitative, Rose points out that being explicit does not always equal being degrading. The argument now is to get rid of all sexually explicit lyrics in hip hop, but in doing that society is also taking black womens ability to express their sexual freedom. There are songs that can be sexually empowering such as "Your Revolution" by Sarah Jones. On the contrary artist such as Trina, Lil' Kim, and Foxy Brown use sexually explicit lyrics to exploit themselves.
The last section, "Free the Girls": Hip Hop's Betrayal of Black Women, talks about the movements in place to combate sexism in hip hop such as, Take Back the Music and Black Girls Rock. Rose says, "Too often in our public debates the whole thing turns into a "blame or explain" festival. One side attacks and blames, and the other side explains." When in actuality more young women should be joining these groups to get their voices heard and learn more about what is going on. Furthermore, social critics should hold artist more accountable because speaking out against sexism but showing support for these same artist is self-defeating.
Overall, according to Rose on page 131, the challenge is threefold:
1. To develop and promote a serious, progressive attack on sexism in hip hop without patriarchal, conservative religious, or anti-black youth politics as is guide.
2. To encourage, promote, and support those young black women and men who are embedded and invested in hip hop music but who also want to fundamentally challenge the sexism that defines the music.
3. To educate all youth, both boys and girls - especially those with the least access to ideas about gender equality - about sexism: how it works, why it works, and how to "keep it real" without it.
Georden Burton and Shayna Watts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
GURU
Dr. Houston talked about this in class a little!
http://illroots.com/2010/04/21/dj-premier-speaks-on-gurus-death/
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Hip Hop Wars Chapter Two
Hip Hop Reflects Black Dysfunctional ghetto Culture
Chapter two discusses how critics view hip hop as the contemporary promoter of dysfunctional culture. Rose states that “Criticism of this so-called culture of dysfunction revolves around the notion that poor urban black people have themselves created and perpetuated a “culture” of violence (which includes crime and prison culture), sexual deviance/excess, and illiteracy. (Rose 62) This statement is explaining the fact that hip hop is “proof” in some people’s eyes of black underclass dysfunction.
Rose later goes on to examine the four factors that contribute to the idea of black people as culturally dysfunctional.
1. Black Cultural Dysfunction as an Argument Against Black People
2. Black Culture seen as a Threat
3. Fictitiously Self-Generating Cultural Patterns
4. Undermining of the Value of Black Cultural Expressions
-In her discussion about Black Cultural Dysfunction as an Argument Against Black People, Rose points out the fact that critics cite programs like affirmative action for being the cause of the dysfunctional state but whites were the main users of welfare decades before. This is an example of reused ideas to support new circumstances.
-When explaining that Black Culture is seen as a Threat, Rose goes into detail on how any new black cultural expression is seen as a threat to society especially when it affects white middle-class people. She states “ Fears that the music would lure middle-class whites into unsanctioned sexual and other behaviors deemed a threat to acceptable society helped justify many efforts to limit, contain, and police “jungle music”. Now jazz and blues are cornerstones for African American musical culture.
- Rose states “All culture is both created and reinforced by environmental and social contexts”. This statement hits upon the fact that an overwhelming number of black children grow up with one parent, a mother who is responsible for moral development. (Rose 68) So this is seen as perpetuating black dysfunctional culture.
-When Rose speaks about Undermining the Value of Black Cultural Expressions she hits on the fact that “Calling black culture “dysfunctional” overshadows a vibrant tradition of revealing the cultural contributions of African-Americans”. (Rose 69)
By Chanae Reed and Craig Reck
The Hip Hop Wars Chapter Three
Hip Hop Hurts Black People
Tricia Rose breaks down the argument that hip hop hurts black people into three sections. Unfair generalizations, a tone of disdain, and omitted / ignored reasonings compromise the faulty argument that hip hop hurts black people.
The most obvious is unfair generalizations. Critics tend to group every aspect of hip hop into one giant cluster. They make no distinction between the commercial hip hop played on corporate radio and the progressive hip hop spread by local emcees. The gangster-pimp-ho trio is the only image in heavy rotation in the media, so it appears that hip hop has only one image (Rose 78).
These critics tend to use hip hop as a scapegoat for problems that are created by other institutions. They blame hip hop's "cool pose" for keeping the youth from valuing education (79). Though Rose does admit that hip hop does create a "cool pose," she argues that this blame game overlooks real concerns like school improvement, job training and rehabilitation over punishment. Because these aspects of black education are suffering, Rose believes that the "cool pose" could be a response to such a harsh and racist environment. She supports this idea with a study that proved those who do focus on school and excel academically are only half as likely to be hired for the same job as a white man (80). These are the types of problems where Rose says we should focus our efforts. Instead of alienating our youth, we need to love and invest in them.
Rose then shifts focus to those critics who speak out against hip hop with a disdainful tongue. She deems criticism appropriate, but not when it's done in a degrading sense. She specifically mentions Bill Cosby, who is known for being outspoken against the younger generation. In one speech, Cosby called black kids leaving school for the day as dirty laundry (82). Rose says, and rightly so, that this is no way to address a problem. She also writes about a situation that occurred at a KFC. John McWhorter, another hip hop critic, vehemently chastised a couple of loud, obnoxious teens (83). This wouldn't have been a problem had McWhorter not considered the teens to be an accurate sample of the hip hop community. Both of these cases tie into the aforementioned unfair generalizations.
Rose then touches on the critical information that is commonly left out of hip hop criticism. First and foremost, she acknowledges that commercialized hip hop is distributed mainly to a white audience. Corporations sell stereotypical gansta-pimp-ho images to white consumers who do not question them (85).
Adding to the commercial rap flood is the fact that many record labels also own radio stations. This ensures the major singles constant circulation and a practical monopoly of the airwaves for rappers like Lil' This and Young That (86). Rose mentions that no one considers this corporate control as damaging as the "cool pose." Even worse, no one seems to discuss the structural racism with housing projects and a lack of child care (89).
Tricia Rose breaks down the argument that hip hop hurts black people into three sections. Unfair generalizations, a tone of disdain, and omitted / ignored reasonings compromise the faulty argument that hip hop hurts black people.
The most obvious is unfair generalizations. Critics tend to group every aspect of hip hop into one giant cluster. They make no distinction between the commercial hip hop played on corporate radio and the progressive hip hop spread by local emcees. The gangster-pimp-ho trio is the only image in heavy rotation in the media, so it appears that hip hop has only one image (Rose 78).
These critics tend to use hip hop as a scapegoat for problems that are created by other institutions. They blame hip hop's "cool pose" for keeping the youth from valuing education (79). Though Rose does admit that hip hop does create a "cool pose," she argues that this blame game overlooks real concerns like school improvement, job training and rehabilitation over punishment. Because these aspects of black education are suffering, Rose believes that the "cool pose" could be a response to such a harsh and racist environment. She supports this idea with a study that proved those who do focus on school and excel academically are only half as likely to be hired for the same job as a white man (80). These are the types of problems where Rose says we should focus our efforts. Instead of alienating our youth, we need to love and invest in them.
Rose then shifts focus to those critics who speak out against hip hop with a disdainful tongue. She deems criticism appropriate, but not when it's done in a degrading sense. She specifically mentions Bill Cosby, who is known for being outspoken against the younger generation. In one speech, Cosby called black kids leaving school for the day as dirty laundry (82). Rose says, and rightly so, that this is no way to address a problem. She also writes about a situation that occurred at a KFC. John McWhorter, another hip hop critic, vehemently chastised a couple of loud, obnoxious teens (83). This wouldn't have been a problem had McWhorter not considered the teens to be an accurate sample of the hip hop community. Both of these cases tie into the aforementioned unfair generalizations.
Rose then touches on the critical information that is commonly left out of hip hop criticism. First and foremost, she acknowledges that commercialized hip hop is distributed mainly to a white audience. Corporations sell stereotypical gansta-pimp-ho images to white consumers who do not question them (85).
Adding to the commercial rap flood is the fact that many record labels also own radio stations. This ensures the major singles constant circulation and a practical monopoly of the airwaves for rappers like Lil' This and Young That (86). Rose mentions that no one considers this corporate control as damaging as the "cool pose." Even worse, no one seems to discuss the structural racism with housing projects and a lack of child care (89).
Rose concludes saying that those who publicly attack the most vulnerables in society, while ignoring the institutional racism previously mentioned, are serving a larger agenda. Profit is more of a concern than people (92). We as citizens need to make the changes because the bottom-line corporations won't.
By Craig Reck and Chanae Reed
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Hip Hop Wars Chapter One
In the first chapter of The Hip Hop Wars, Tricia Rose addresses the contention against hip hop that it “glorifies, encourages, and thus causes violence,” a claim which Rose argues is problematic because it is the result of the perception that “black kids are the source of violence” which ignores the “extraordinary violence done to them” (34, 52). Rose maintains that violence in hip hop is a real concern, but argues that in order for the concern to be addressed, we must first address the larger problems which create violence in the communities within which hip hop emerged.
Rose lists five situations which lead to increased violence in urban communities, all of which must be understood in order to come to terms with the “social responsibility for creating and fostering these contexts” (51).
1. Unemployment (43)
Rose notes that in the late 1980’s, unemployment for black teens was somewhere between 50 and 70 percent, while the rate for white teens was somewhere around 13 percent. These high rates of joblessness for teens leads to the understanding that the “traditional avenues for working-class job stability were becoming closed to them.” This results in both economic crisis as well as instability in the family and community, which in turn leads to increased violence.
2. Loss of affordable housing (45)
Rose refers to this “widespread destruction of housing” as “root shock,” the process by which the stable community in which urban dwellers turned “segregation into congregation” is destroyed, resulting in “social disarray” and further, increased violence.
3. Drug Trade (46)
Accessibility of cheap drugs, namely, crack, which destroyed individual lives and families, influenced the sex trade, and contributed to the spread of aids, all of which result in violence.
4. Automatic Weapons (48)
Automatic weapons emerge as a way to protect business in the drug trade.
5. Police and Law Enforcement Response (48-50)
Rose states that “the ‘war on drugs’ was really a war on the communities which bore the brunt of the drug crisis” (48). The response to the drug trade “turned communities into war zones” and “failed to address the roots” of the trade. Additionally, the sentencing policies initiated privileged white drug users over black drug users, instating less severe sentences for possession of coke, used primarily by whites, than the mandatory minimums instated for possession of crack. The drug sentencing rate for blacks was 49% higher than for blacks, who have become 40% of the prison population.
The perception of hip hop as more violent than other spheres of culture is exacerbated by several factors, including the misinterpretation of hip hop lyrics as literal depiction's of violent acts, which are often pure fabrications or exaggerations of real situations, as well as the perception of rappers as “outside, negative, aggressive influences” which is based on the presentation of rappers in popular culture (37-39). Rose also contends that extra attention is given to violent imagery in hip hop community than in other spheres of media, a double standard which, although relevant, is not, according to Rose, the most valid confrontation of the issue of violence in hip hop.
Rose concludes her chapter with three imperatives by which she hopes to resolve, or at least diffuse, the debate concerning violence in hip hop. The first determination is that the hip hop industry must “stop making violence sexy” and stop allowing the commercial industry to profit from the “exploitation of black suffering” (58, 57). She cites 50 Cent as an example, whose “promotional campaign relied on the fact that he sold crack, that his mother was a crack use, that he was shot nine times” (58). Instead, she states that efforts must be made to support and rebuild the black communities which have been destroyed. We must pay attention to black youth, and the real harms that have been inflicted on them. Finally, we must no longer hold hypocritical standards about violence, viewing it simultaneously as a social problem and a source of entertainment.
Cara Miller and Breanna Wagner
Rose lists five situations which lead to increased violence in urban communities, all of which must be understood in order to come to terms with the “social responsibility for creating and fostering these contexts” (51).
1. Unemployment (43)
Rose notes that in the late 1980’s, unemployment for black teens was somewhere between 50 and 70 percent, while the rate for white teens was somewhere around 13 percent. These high rates of joblessness for teens leads to the understanding that the “traditional avenues for working-class job stability were becoming closed to them.” This results in both economic crisis as well as instability in the family and community, which in turn leads to increased violence.
2. Loss of affordable housing (45)
Rose refers to this “widespread destruction of housing” as “root shock,” the process by which the stable community in which urban dwellers turned “segregation into congregation” is destroyed, resulting in “social disarray” and further, increased violence.
3. Drug Trade (46)
Accessibility of cheap drugs, namely, crack, which destroyed individual lives and families, influenced the sex trade, and contributed to the spread of aids, all of which result in violence.
4. Automatic Weapons (48)
Automatic weapons emerge as a way to protect business in the drug trade.
5. Police and Law Enforcement Response (48-50)
Rose states that “the ‘war on drugs’ was really a war on the communities which bore the brunt of the drug crisis” (48). The response to the drug trade “turned communities into war zones” and “failed to address the roots” of the trade. Additionally, the sentencing policies initiated privileged white drug users over black drug users, instating less severe sentences for possession of coke, used primarily by whites, than the mandatory minimums instated for possession of crack. The drug sentencing rate for blacks was 49% higher than for blacks, who have become 40% of the prison population.
The perception of hip hop as more violent than other spheres of culture is exacerbated by several factors, including the misinterpretation of hip hop lyrics as literal depiction's of violent acts, which are often pure fabrications or exaggerations of real situations, as well as the perception of rappers as “outside, negative, aggressive influences” which is based on the presentation of rappers in popular culture (37-39). Rose also contends that extra attention is given to violent imagery in hip hop community than in other spheres of media, a double standard which, although relevant, is not, according to Rose, the most valid confrontation of the issue of violence in hip hop.
Rose concludes her chapter with three imperatives by which she hopes to resolve, or at least diffuse, the debate concerning violence in hip hop. The first determination is that the hip hop industry must “stop making violence sexy” and stop allowing the commercial industry to profit from the “exploitation of black suffering” (58, 57). She cites 50 Cent as an example, whose “promotional campaign relied on the fact that he sold crack, that his mother was a crack use, that he was shot nine times” (58). Instead, she states that efforts must be made to support and rebuild the black communities which have been destroyed. We must pay attention to black youth, and the real harms that have been inflicted on them. Finally, we must no longer hold hypocritical standards about violence, viewing it simultaneously as a social problem and a source of entertainment.
Cara Miller and Breanna Wagner
The Nightmare and The Dream, Chapters 14 and 15
Chapter 14: Ice Cube’s Nightmare
The author starts out talking about Ice Cube’s transformation as a part of NWA on the west coast to a young black man just waking up to the oppression he is facing and trying to understand the anger he feels about it. This is showed by the conflicting views that he expresses in his lyrics, especially in Amerikkkas Most Wanted. He taps into issues that go past simply being angry at the police, but criticizing the systems that put the police in power (Ross 205). It seems sometimes that he doesn’t quite know where to direct his anger, on page 211, Ross says, “Ice Cube’s attacks on Korean shopkeepers, gays, Jews, white men, middle-class blacks and black women all stemmed from the same source; resentment and rage.”
This leads to a big contradiction in his music, showing some of the confusion he felt. He consistently calls middle class black people and black people that made it out of the ghetto “sell-outs”, so this begs the question, where does he want them to go? If the goal is to improve the living situation of black people, but getting out of the ghetto is selling-out, then what is the solution? Another interesting point the author brings up is that on Cube’s “Givin’ up the nappy dugout”, he was “reminding black folks that 1)the problem isn’t the ghetto nigga, but the ‘nigga mentality,’ and 2) just because one moves out of the ghetto doesn’t mean one is ‘better’ than those left behind” (Ross, 210).
Overall, throughout his two early albums, “Amerikkas Most Wanted” and “Death Certificate”, he points out and critiques many of the issues and situations that are oppressing black people. The success of both of his albums forced people to pay attention to the issues. “Because he was holding up a mirror on America as a whole, Cube made people, even fans uncomfortable … He said things that people felt but didn’t have the courage or platform to say” (Ross, 210).
On page 214, the author brings up the idea of Ghettocentrism. The author says that “Death Certificate” and Farrakhan’s leadership efforts play a large role in the creation of this idea. However, we believe that there were also many other factors that lead to the confusion creating ghettocentrism, including other artists as well as the social, racial, and economic situations of the Black Americans in general all played a role in this confusion. This idea had the potential to be very dangerous, especially to young black people. It twisted the idea of what it meant to be black, glamorizing life in the ghetto, “granted the social outlaw immunity” (Ross, 214), and promoted ideas of homophobia, sexism, and racism. “In turn, Gansta rap that came out of ghettocentrism enabled corporate America to appropriate authentic or “real nigga” style without having to deal with the political baggage that came with the Black Power era” (Ross, 215). In short, it allowed corporate America to give people these “authentic” gangsta heroes without having to deal with the issues that Black Power rap brought up and made mainstream.
“Ice Cube’s awakening reflected the awakening of a generation: from total ignorance to partial knowledge; from shame to pride. For so long we’d been bumping around in the dark without knowing the lights were off. Now that the light was on we couldn’t help but be angry. Cube was at the necessary but temporary stage of righteous indignation. Death Certificate tapped into that wellspring of unarticulated resentment, channeling it outward, predicting, inciting and warning” (Ross, 212). Overall, Ice Cube was an important and temporary voice for hip hop, marking the start and end of an important era of black power rap in the early 1990’s. Although he chose to take the Hollywood route after releasing Death Certificate, his album will remain an important part of hip hop history.
Chapter 15: The “G” Thang
This chapter touches on some of the issues that arise after this huge explosion of Black Power rap. Although many conscious rappers still exist and have a following, the rap that is supported by corporate America changed. This started with Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Dre and Snoop change the idea of what the Model Negro is supposed to be (page 221). “No longer was the Model Negro a means of uplifting the masses and spreading mainstream values, but a way to use black bodies to tap into the black consumer dollar. This worked on three levels. First, it quelled the social discontent that created the nationalist climate in the first place. Second, it strengthened the economic stranglehold corporate America had over that dollar. Third, it gutted the music of its political voice” (Ross, 220). Basically, it’s turning Dre and Snoop into celebrities, and since they rap about smoking weed and chilling out rather than taking action and trying to change the system, they are perfect models for corporate America to throw on TV and the radio. They satisfy the need to have Black people play a role in pop culture and they don’t bring up the issues that corporate America wants to ignore.
They also change the way that the gangster is defined. Unlike Ice Cube’s portrayal of the angry scary gangster, Snoop and Dre created mellow, laid back gangsters that were happy just smoking weed in the ghetto. It no longer challenged the system. They were still rebels, but “didn’t care about anything or anyone beyond the services they could provide” (Ross, 218).
The author also brings up the idea that Black people in that time weren’t really afraid of or fighting against the system itself, but against being left out of it. The system is concerned not so much with the protest itself but with the problem of how to absorb the protest without too much trouble. This somewhat mirrors what happens with hip hop and the introduction of Dre and Snoop. They are the perfect way for the white system to “‘absorb’ hip hop’s Black Power energy”. They were talented and easily marketed to a huge audience of white and black people. (Ross, 219)
Despite the message of The Chronic, the growing popularity of hip hop in mainstream music resulted in the election of Bill Clinton, who supported many issues that were critical to poor black (82% of the black vote went his way because of this). It also led to a growth in the number of black people who were elected and appointed to the presidential cabinet, the US Senate and the House of Representatives. (Ross, 222).
“As difficult as the previous decade has been, an undeniably positive spirit was swelling in black America. The Dream was alive and well. There was reason for hope and hope for a reason. The critical and commercial success of The Chronic , despite its homages to death, tapped into and drew upon the romance of the moment” (Ross, 222).
By Ally McCarley and Jovan Joiner
The author starts out talking about Ice Cube’s transformation as a part of NWA on the west coast to a young black man just waking up to the oppression he is facing and trying to understand the anger he feels about it. This is showed by the conflicting views that he expresses in his lyrics, especially in Amerikkkas Most Wanted. He taps into issues that go past simply being angry at the police, but criticizing the systems that put the police in power (Ross 205). It seems sometimes that he doesn’t quite know where to direct his anger, on page 211, Ross says, “Ice Cube’s attacks on Korean shopkeepers, gays, Jews, white men, middle-class blacks and black women all stemmed from the same source; resentment and rage.”
This leads to a big contradiction in his music, showing some of the confusion he felt. He consistently calls middle class black people and black people that made it out of the ghetto “sell-outs”, so this begs the question, where does he want them to go? If the goal is to improve the living situation of black people, but getting out of the ghetto is selling-out, then what is the solution? Another interesting point the author brings up is that on Cube’s “Givin’ up the nappy dugout”, he was “reminding black folks that 1)the problem isn’t the ghetto nigga, but the ‘nigga mentality,’ and 2) just because one moves out of the ghetto doesn’t mean one is ‘better’ than those left behind” (Ross, 210).
Overall, throughout his two early albums, “Amerikkas Most Wanted” and “Death Certificate”, he points out and critiques many of the issues and situations that are oppressing black people. The success of both of his albums forced people to pay attention to the issues. “Because he was holding up a mirror on America as a whole, Cube made people, even fans uncomfortable … He said things that people felt but didn’t have the courage or platform to say” (Ross, 210).
On page 214, the author brings up the idea of Ghettocentrism. The author says that “Death Certificate” and Farrakhan’s leadership efforts play a large role in the creation of this idea. However, we believe that there were also many other factors that lead to the confusion creating ghettocentrism, including other artists as well as the social, racial, and economic situations of the Black Americans in general all played a role in this confusion. This idea had the potential to be very dangerous, especially to young black people. It twisted the idea of what it meant to be black, glamorizing life in the ghetto, “granted the social outlaw immunity” (Ross, 214), and promoted ideas of homophobia, sexism, and racism. “In turn, Gansta rap that came out of ghettocentrism enabled corporate America to appropriate authentic or “real nigga” style without having to deal with the political baggage that came with the Black Power era” (Ross, 215). In short, it allowed corporate America to give people these “authentic” gangsta heroes without having to deal with the issues that Black Power rap brought up and made mainstream.
“Ice Cube’s awakening reflected the awakening of a generation: from total ignorance to partial knowledge; from shame to pride. For so long we’d been bumping around in the dark without knowing the lights were off. Now that the light was on we couldn’t help but be angry. Cube was at the necessary but temporary stage of righteous indignation. Death Certificate tapped into that wellspring of unarticulated resentment, channeling it outward, predicting, inciting and warning” (Ross, 212). Overall, Ice Cube was an important and temporary voice for hip hop, marking the start and end of an important era of black power rap in the early 1990’s. Although he chose to take the Hollywood route after releasing Death Certificate, his album will remain an important part of hip hop history.
Chapter 15: The “G” Thang
This chapter touches on some of the issues that arise after this huge explosion of Black Power rap. Although many conscious rappers still exist and have a following, the rap that is supported by corporate America changed. This started with Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Dre and Snoop change the idea of what the Model Negro is supposed to be (page 221). “No longer was the Model Negro a means of uplifting the masses and spreading mainstream values, but a way to use black bodies to tap into the black consumer dollar. This worked on three levels. First, it quelled the social discontent that created the nationalist climate in the first place. Second, it strengthened the economic stranglehold corporate America had over that dollar. Third, it gutted the music of its political voice” (Ross, 220). Basically, it’s turning Dre and Snoop into celebrities, and since they rap about smoking weed and chilling out rather than taking action and trying to change the system, they are perfect models for corporate America to throw on TV and the radio. They satisfy the need to have Black people play a role in pop culture and they don’t bring up the issues that corporate America wants to ignore.
They also change the way that the gangster is defined. Unlike Ice Cube’s portrayal of the angry scary gangster, Snoop and Dre created mellow, laid back gangsters that were happy just smoking weed in the ghetto. It no longer challenged the system. They were still rebels, but “didn’t care about anything or anyone beyond the services they could provide” (Ross, 218).
The author also brings up the idea that Black people in that time weren’t really afraid of or fighting against the system itself, but against being left out of it. The system is concerned not so much with the protest itself but with the problem of how to absorb the protest without too much trouble. This somewhat mirrors what happens with hip hop and the introduction of Dre and Snoop. They are the perfect way for the white system to “‘absorb’ hip hop’s Black Power energy”. They were talented and easily marketed to a huge audience of white and black people. (Ross, 219)
Despite the message of The Chronic, the growing popularity of hip hop in mainstream music resulted in the election of Bill Clinton, who supported many issues that were critical to poor black (82% of the black vote went his way because of this). It also led to a growth in the number of black people who were elected and appointed to the presidential cabinet, the US Senate and the House of Representatives. (Ross, 222).
“As difficult as the previous decade has been, an undeniably positive spirit was swelling in black America. The Dream was alive and well. There was reason for hope and hope for a reason. The critical and commercial success of The Chronic , despite its homages to death, tapped into and drew upon the romance of the moment” (Ross, 222).
By Ally McCarley and Jovan Joiner
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