Andreana Clay is an associate professor in the department of
sociology. In the article she wants to establish the relationship between black
youth and hip hop culture. She uses the idea of African American youth relying
on hip hop as a form of cultural capital in everyday settings. They focused on
how black youth would interact with one another at the City Youth Centre and
the article examines how this particular form of cultural capital may be used
to authenticate a black identity. Bourdiue’s theory of cultural capital which
discusses the conflicts which take place in each social field have specific
characteristics arising from those fields and that involve many social
relationships which are not economic. It is relied on to investigate how
black youth construct legitimate racial boundaries.
‘Hip hop music exploded onto the music scene in the
late 70’s which marked a time when both the black middle and working classes
had been moving out of poor, segregated black communities for two decades. As
blacks moved out of the inner city, drugs such as heroin and crack moved in’ -
Page 1347. 1.
This quote above from the article heavily links the ghetto
of now and the struggles black people face living there. There seems to be a
correlation between when rap was introduced and when black people were
improving living conditions. It suggests that in the 70’s black people were
blessed with the opportunity of being able to emerge into another genre of
music other than Mowtown which would help see them out of the deprived areas in
America. Hip hop was that genre from as late as the 70’s we can see the
association the genre of music has with black people and so the automatic
association of the two would be forever linked. This is why representations and
stereotypes hip hop vibes off to audiences would instantly be generalised back
to black people because it seems part of their culture now. Also, we could
assume the stereotypes of now and possibly ones of a few decades ago would
suggest black people are the main group of people that promote drug use. This
would be because of the self-representations they have constructed in hip hop
music videos where they are shown either rapping about rap, selling it or using
it. Despite this, the journal says that as the number of black moved out the city
an obvious substitution had taken place with different types of drugs being
imported in. Therefore, the stereotype is subverted because less black people
lived in the inner city yet there was an increase in drugs coming in. However,
I don’t believe this would change most people’s ideologies of black people and
drugs because of the influences around them like the news. For example, the
news would be less likely to report that drugs is increasing in the inner city
as black people move out because it would not sit right with preferred readings
of white middle and upper class citizens. The hypodermic needle model can be
applied to suggest media is feeding its audience with news they want people to
believe and to construct views and values based on what these news institutes
report. So when news channels inform people of drug use they would be most
likely to associate it with a hip hop news story or linking drugs with a famous
rapper or black musician. In addition, the two step flow model can be applied
with this quote because if people aren’t being informed on specific news like
negativity amongst white people and drugs. So opinion leaders like news
institutes would be able to control what values they share.
‘Rap music’s evolution in cities such as New York spoke
to black and Latino youth who were being channelled into vocationally trained
and subsequently obsolete jobs, giving them both hope and recognition by
telling their stories.’ – page 1348. 2.
This quote reinforces the stereotype of the ghetto and the struggle
ethnic minority groups’ face when trying to better their lives. Most audiences
assume these hip hop artists derive from deprived areas where education isn’t a
vocal point for improvement and jobs won’t be converted into careers. If we
consider the ideologies white people mainly have/had of immigrants, we would
assume they don’t respect or value them because they may feel they don’t
provide help for the country. However, black and Latinos are more willing to do
blue collar jobs which white people may be reluctant to do because it won’t
lead to promotions or a better life. In relation with hip hop, some of the
immigrants and foreigners decided to choose the path of music. They would then
work hard and grind to become successful in the music industry which subverts
the ideologies and values of constructed about them (e.g. being lazy, not
helping economy). Moral panics are created because of opinion leaders like news
institutes exaggerating news stories about ethnic minorities in rap. For
example, right wing newspaper (The Daily Mail) was very critical about Plan B’s
film and album ‘Ill Manors’ because of the genre of the media content. They
wanted its audience to have a preferred reading of the story so negatively
criticised the news story and the hip hop genre. Furthermore, the moral panic
was formed with the newspaper discussing the influence the content would have
on young people especially because the music video and film included many young
people and of ethnic minority groups (black, eastern European).
‘Exactly how hip hop culture maps out these real and
imagined relations between people and the tools used to bring people together
is an important question to explore in the discussion of black youth identity,
cultural capital and hip hop culture’. – Page 1349. 3.
This quote is trying to explore how hip hop has constructed
particular representations of black people and the influence it has had on this
group of people. It also is used to interpret how rap has improved black
culture and the image it has given black people. Something significant from the
quote is ‘how hip hop culture maps out these real and imagined relations
between people and tools’ because it suggests some of the representations made
in rap may be fiction just like a films narrative would be. This means that
some of the lyrics used and actor’s behaviour in hip hop music videos may be
utilised just to show off and create images of them which aren’t true. This is
where some stereotypes of rappers can be subverted because a rapper who claims
to be a ‘killer’ may actually not have committed a significant crime like that
or on that scale in their lives. Therefore, negative stereotypes and ideologies
are formed based on what audiences see which links back to the hypodermic
needle model because audiences believe what they see through the media. So,
‘tools’ like guns, drugs and other illegal or suspicious assets these artists
like to show off with in music videos will forever be associated with hip hop
and black people.
Furthermore, it brings the black community together because
they may feel they are connected with something that has healthy numbers and
it’s of their interest. Especially for black youth and the ones who live
in deprived areas like council flats or ghetto and gang affiliated places.
Young people want to be part of communities because social life is important to
them and hip hop is a way of connecting with others because it is associated
with being ‘cool’ which young people aspire to be. This could be one of the
reasons why news institutions create moral panic amongst youth and hip hop
because they fear they are being influenced by the content rap artists are
producing. As black people are heavily linked with hip hop, audiences watching
the news would be more likely to generalise the representations of hip hop with
black people.
Study was carried out by Clay with young African Americans
who were put in a room to socialise and play games. Informal interviews were
carried out based out whether they listen to hip hop, here are responses (page
1352):
16 year old male
Corey, ‘I listen to hip hop music at home, at school, I go to sleep with it’
16 year old female
Linda, ‘They ain’t ‘bout it if they don’t listen to it’
15 year old male
Lavelle, ‘I don’t know who don’t listen to it, my Grandma listens to that
Church rap’
16 year old
Michelle, ‘the Mexican people in my class listen to it’
‘There also was constant pressure to perform: to have the
right clothes, listen to the right music and speak the right language – all of
which were based on hip hop’ – Page 1351. 4.
This finding shows the major influence hip hop is having on
youth because they are copying what they see in the genre. This can be
dangerous because these artists mainly express the methods of making money,
finding pleasure or dealing with people they dislike. All of which are illegal
or immoral which could increase the crime rate if more people become more
gullible. Linda’s response is alternative to the one I thought a
female would give. Her response is basically stating that if people aren’t
interested in hip hop then they aren’t a real gangster. My question to her
would be, how do you know this is true? It just shows the significance hip hop
has on people because she’s suggesting if a person hasn’t been indulged their
self in this type of music then they aren’t masculine and can’t live a life of
criminality. Therefore, the influence of hip hop is powerful.
Uses and Gratification theory can be applied to the
song because audiences may use the song for any of the four factors: diversion,
personal identity, personal relationship and surveillance.
People use music to block themselves out from the real
world. This is where pleasure is used by the audience and it’s called diversion
as they attempt to escape into a imaginary life.
Personal identity in this context is when audiences are be
able to see their lifestyle being reflected through the lyrics or the music
video itself. Seen as the target audience for the song is black males, some
people's ideologies would suggest that all the audience of the song are
criminals and would be able to relate to the artists but only on a smaller
scale (maybe not as wealthy).
Finally, surveillance is when people educate themselves
through media content. This may be more relevant to people of younger ages as
they aspire to be as rich as their favourite rapper and would try to 'hustle'
like the artists highlight in the song. Tessa Perkins' theory can be
applied to suggest some of the stereotypes of black people are true because
it’s being reinforced in the music video. The rappers are smoking and acting in
an anti-social manor so would reinforce some of the ideologies created by the
media and people from upper classes. The hypodermic needle is when media
influences people's thinking; media content is given to recipient and they are
left to believe what they see. So this can be applied to the song as the
artists are stressing the amount of money, garments and women they have which
may seem realistic in the eyes of youngsters. This would influence them to become
criminals and try to sell drugs and earn money fast like these artists when it
probably isn't as easy as they say it is in their songs. Furthermore, the
ghetto is heavily linked with hip hop and the people who come from it are
usually people black from lower classes with a low disposable income. This
could be the main reason why they turn to crime and hip hop. They would fit
under strugglers in the psychographic table because they don't have
much wealth or hope and standard of living is poor.
Hip hop is and has always caused controversy because of the
influence it is having on people. It glorifies all types of crimes which have
had an impact on some people and gangsters use hip hop as a form of
communicating with their enemies. This is why the genre has bad smoke
surrounding its because people who don't like the genre scare themselves away
from it and the media (news institutions aren't helping). News institutions
like the Daily Mail (right wing) want to cause a moral panic when it comes to
the rise of hip hop and the ethnic minority who promote it. In addition, 'Black
Lives Matter' is a campaign that has been generated over the past year because
of the increasing numbers of injustice killings by police (mainly in America)
on African Americans. It was created to create awareness and because black
people of America were frustrated with the killings inflicted on their people.
Hip hop has also attempted to make itself recognised through the artists
recording songs stressing theirs and other people's pain. Artists like Kendrick
Lamar and J. Cole are the rap artists who try to be influential and display the
perspective of inferior ideologies which has given black people a
voice. The methods of distribution of songs have altered in the past
decade for sure because of the rise in new and digital media. This has led to
easier and free ways of audiences being able to obtain music they want through
illegal downloading websites which has meant these artists aren't making as
much money as they would in the past. However, it could play into the artist's
hands because their fan base could increase significantly because audiences
would be able to listen to their music for free and if they enjoy it may attend
the artist's concerts or buy albums. Furthermore, I don't believe it would
affect these musicians that much because some could suggest they make their
biggest profits through their illegal activities rather than the music
industry. It is probably used a source for recognition and extra money.
Rapper ASAP Rocky
talks about how people who are for the black lives matter movement aren’t
looking in the mirror at themselves
He wants black
people specifically to question whether they are against white people killing
black people or if they want to abolish killing as a whole
For example, when
a police officer kills a black person there is a protest and ‘mixtapes’ are
formed. But when its one black person killing another black person its a way of
life (gangster/ghetto lifestyle)
These rappers are
the ones talking about killing others and glorify it but want to make songs
about justice
Specific rappers
can only protest in a song without audiences questioning the artists
If rappers aren’t
reciting a party line like ‘F*** COPS’ or ‘Black Lives Matter’, then people may
not respect the artists. They may feel the artist is betraying the black
community or siding with the police. Also occurred with Kendrick Lamar 5
I side both with the people for the campaign and ASAP Rocky
to an extent. I do believe these gangsters need to understand constantly
killing people isn’t reflecting positively on black people as a whole. This is
because these people are the ones reported in the news on a weekly basis trying
to create a moral panic and reinforce white people of middle and upper class’
ideologies and beliefs on black people. Therefore, some of them form
stereotypes of the ethnic minority in the US or UK and generalise it amongst
all black people. So ASAP Rocky is right in a sense because black people need
to show the World that they shouldn’t be feared because they have done nothing
wrong. However, the fact that some black people are letting down the black
community shouldn’t result in all black people being treated as criminals by
the police and justice system. It’s not right that police abuse their authority
and are killing these innocent people. Therefore, some rappers feel the need to
express their and the community’s emotion on the matter through songs. Artists
like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole are known for giving black people a voice
because they all feel the same on the injustice behaviour by the police. Also,
I don’t believe artists like these two are being hypocritical because they
don’t promote gun violence or glorify killing like most rappers do.
‘Among males
aged 12 -18, the rates of sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases are
highest among African American, followed by Latinos and Euro-Americans’. –
Page 1/2. 6.
This finding may not have been created because of the
influence hip hop has on youth but the culture amongst black people could be
the reason for this. This means that I believe hip hop has an impact on the way
black people and its audience act and it has directly affected the young males
this way. For example, hip hop is well known for explicit music videos and lyrics
which objectify women and express the pleasures the artists have out of having
these women all over them. These young black males could have easily be
influenced by this if that’s part of their interest and may begin to copy the
artists in music videos in the way they treat women. This would then
reinforce the stereotype created by audiences of hip hop artists and black
people in general objectifying women because the young people believe they
should be getting involved in sexual activity like their favourite artists
gloat about.
‘Hip Hop
culture influences styles of behaviour and dress: from sagging pants to
oversized tees, hip hop style is important business venture for the not only
the recording industry, but also clothing, fashion, accessories and beauty
industries worldwide. For example, the fashion of droopy, oversized pants,
baseball caps and Nike sneakers are leading style for teenage boys in the
United States, Tokyo’. – Page 1/2. 7.
This quote is a positive reflection of hip hop and the
opportunities it provides businesses can be profitable. From the business’
perspective their products are being promoted free of charge at times because
of these artists showing them off in music videos or social media. For example,
specific clothing brands which are of the luxurious range and cars which are
niche like Rolls Royce. Despite this, some artists see this as a chance to gain
more revenue themselves off of these businesses and so would endorse the
products for money (Meek Mill –rapper- associated with Puma). However, there
always seems to be something unattractive coming out of hip hop which in this
case is the influence the artist’s behaviour is having on young people. The
sagging of the jeans had been transferred onto the audience of the genre
because they are obviously copying what they see in music videos which would
negatively impact the views and ideologies white people of middle and upper
class have on people wearing their clothes in this way (ethnic minority – black
people).
In addition, the artist's appearance in the song reinforces
the stereotype of the way most young black males wear their bottoms (jeans).
The stereotype would be along the lines of assuming youngsters believe its
'cool' to lower the height of their jeans revealing their boxers. This has been
associated with young black males for many years now and its not anything they
wish to hide as proven in this song. For example, one of the artists sits on a
car bonnet with his draws showing which suggests he knows about people's view
of this style of fashion but he doesn't seem to care. This implies his
character is very laid back as he does what he wants and because he is a rapper
we would assume he disregards the law also.
‘In addition to serving as a form of entertainment,
some musicians used hip hop to “channel the anger of young people in the South
Bronx away from gang fighting’. – Page 3. 8.
This quote explains how hip hop was used in New York to
decrease crime and positively influence youth. In contrast with what hip hop is
now, it is completely the opposite because these artists encourage others to
find ways to become successful no matter and show off their success as a way of
brainwashing their young audiences. The hypodermic needle model can be applied
here because these young audiences would be more interested in acquiring money
even if it’s an illegal route and this is evident because the young people of
the 80’s and 90’s didn’t listen to rappers advice of stopping gang
warfare. The representation in this music video varies and it depends on
the viewer of the content. An audience who wouldn't be too familiar with hip
hop currently may not know certain items, phrases, places, people associated
with the genre so would miss the opportunity to discover some representations
and stereotypes in the music video. An example of this would be the
representation of rappers now compared to the ones of the 90's and 80's. In
this era of hip hop, artists are portrayed to be less masculine in the eyes of
hip hop fans mainly because of their appearance. Some of these artists have
caused controversy in the industry with their wild dress sense or false claims
in lyrics. It has fans wondering whether these rappers are really 'gangsters'
or if they are just actors. However, an oppositional reader would assume hip
hop artists are the same and there should be a moral panic about them. In the
music video 'Plug' the artists are displayed in a masculine way which is still
familiar with the genre but the definition has slightly changed from being
menacing to more of a hype feeling.
Veteran rapper,
Luz Reality, gets unnerved by the constant threat of assaults in Ecatepec’s
clandestine concert venues
Woman was found
burned on an empty patch of grass, was still alive and told the police but died
shortly after through injuries
Neighbourhood has
become Mexico’s ‘capital of violence against women’- since 2012 on average, one
woman has been killed every week
In one of the
concerts, the rappers began expressing their feelings about the crimes taking
place of women so frequently - people were recording it with their phones
Luz first heard
about rap in the early 1990’s which helped her connect with her family 9
Rap gives a voice to all kinds of people. The main group of
people that would come to mind is black people. We have seen through the years
the number of hip hop artists trying to tell a story, a real to life story
about the mistreatment of black people – police brutality. But this article
shows rap being used from a slightly alternative perspective. This is because it
is women doing the portraying and the audience in Mexico are the ones who would
be the ones to accept this change or not. The women just want equality in the
dangerous neighbourhood where women go missing on weekly bases which doesn’t
seem like much to ask for. I believe a political debate about this would not
really influence the people who are committing these crimes on the vulnerable
women because the article says police stay out of their way which suggests
these people are invincible. Therefore, rap allows these women to present their
feelings in a song and especially because they are big icons in Mexico it could
influence some of the people. In addition, Tessa Perkins’ can be applied
to infer that some stereotypes are true and the one being displayed in Mexico
is that it is an uncivilised country (some parts) and it could be the reason
why some of them decide to immigrate to the US.
‘Understanding the new crises in African American culture
that have come about in my generation’s lifetime high rates of suicide and
imprisonment, police brutality, the generation gap, the war of sexes, blacks
selling black self-hatred as entertainment, among others I often wonder what
life will be like for the generation of African Americans that follows .’ 10.
This discusses the self-representation black people have
made of themselves which is impacting their image. These representations will
be taken on by others and applied to black people now because they have formed
them their selves. For example, rappers who claim to be killers are creating
negative stereotypes of black people as a whole because people would then
generalise what these artists are saying. So black people will be find it hard
to escape from these representations if they are being reinforced or supported
by black people.
Covers all kind of
poetry
Tom Chivers ‘There
is this energy and aggression and speed in a city that lends itself to poetry –
cities are built with poetry’
Inua Ellams ‘poems
are 3D portraits of the World using a few words as possible’
Hip hop – urban
kind of poetry that has exploded I the past 30 years; expresses the experience
of black Americans
Ellam believes
there urban poetry can relate to other poetry with the example of ‘8 Mile’
11
Currently ‘Rhythm And Poetry’ is dominated through hip hop
which has developed its own stereotypes and representations it has on
people over the years. The typical ones would be that rap is violent, abusive,
racist etc. Poetry wasn’t always like this as it says in the article it used to
be an attraction for locals as it would discuss issues and images in society.
Furthermore, because the internet was a mere shadow of other platforms like print
and broadcast the poems were probably be for locals distributed in newspapers
and radios.
Daily Mail
The hip hop cop shop: Police opened fake rap music store
and snared 30 gangsters for drugs and gun offences
Police opened fake
rap music store and snared 30 gangsters for drugs and gun offences
Total of 37 armed
criminals and drug dealers have been jailed for a total of more than 400
years
Private back room
of a hip hop store
Shop operated for more
than 12 months with officers who were trained in the music they were selling
Criminals aged
between 16 and 41 were charged with various offences
The shop has a
sound booth for people to record music usually hip hop
19 of the 27 men
were black 12
The fact that the police decided to use a ‘hip hop shop’ and
not anything else obviously highlights the association the genre has with
crime. These artists who rap about criminal activity have had an influence on
these people as they are criminals now or possibly were criminals before
listening to rap and are now able to relate with the artists (Uses and
Gratification theory – personal identity). Also, ideologies of black
people being criminals and negatively impacting the UK would be reinforced
because of this investigation because 19 of the 27 pictured men are black.
Despite the men holding firearms or drugs, we could argue that hip hop was used
to keep them off the streets so would be less likely to use them. They weren’t
harming anyone and no one’s life was in danger so this could suggest they were
being passive.
Music able to
bring people together whilst simultaneously segregating us
Evident in social
networking World of harsh tweets or hash tags
There is an
obvious generation gap between the kids and the adults
Popular songs
today have more power than before as they dictate social circles, fashion
trends, clubs people visit, new memes, slang etc.
Prepubescent
children being influenced because mainstream music is branded as
‘brainwashing’
Music today lacks
structure, taste and feeling
Basic
interpretation comes from ‘How does this (song) make me feel?’
He believes people
wouldn’t be able to enjoy hip hop songs if it’s hard to understand what the
artists is saying
He believes
majority of hip hop fans don’t even understand the lyrics and he thought they
just looked like chickens on a farm bopping their heads
Elder generation
have a tendency to blame rap for the violence amongst youngsters
Is it the media
that creates and reinforce violent stereotypes or is it the media producers
simply constructing a reflection of society 13
This article demonstrates the way audiences in hip hop enjoy
their music. In some cases, which is similar to 80’s and 90’s rap, people
listen to rap songs for the lyrics and the feelings they build from what the
artists are saying. Considering that these rap songs were mostly associated
with violence, drugs and sex it could be the reason why people were influenced
into the criminal lifestyle. I can apply the Uses and Gratification theory to
infer that a few people constructed a personal relationship and/or personal
identification. This could be because those people probably lived similar lives
(in the ghetto) and have gone through the same struggles as their favourite
artists so may regard them as a role model performing the acts the rapper
glorifies in their song. Therefore, this could reinforce the stereotypes of rap
being a huge influence on people especially those without much hope (lacking
education) which could be black people as they are associated with this
representation in society mainly because of the link between them and the
ghetto – run down areas.
50 is sexist,
misogynistic, materialistic, arrogant and proponent of violence as a solution
to the many problems he comes across in the ghetto. Shocking role model but he
still has a healthy fan base
He stars in films,
shows, computer game. Most of these are successful and his audience seemed to
enjoy the content he created
Need to view 50
Cent’s media texts in a different perspective; consider the socio economic
reality of black America
50 Cent’s
behaviour is music videos is typical of a black rapper and it reinforces the
stereotypes people have formed on hip hop and the black community –
objectifying women
Article says, ‘no
one would seriously confuse the stage performance of most music stars with what
goes on in their private life’
The hustling,
pimping and hoeing are all part of a carefully controlled image designed to
sell as many records as possible
His fans respect
his grind and the work he put in to escape the ghetto 14
This article shows a balanced viewing of the famous hip hop
artists, 50 Cent. It begins with the content he creates and the reaction from
his fan base to some of the discriminating and immoral scenes in his music
videos or computer game. I believe his audience wouldn’t be too fussed with the
explicit images on display because they like 50 unconditionally and it’s common
in the industry of gaming and music. For example, the way women are portrayed
in these videos can be disturbing to some people as he objectifies them
lyrically and physically. In addition to this, the audience are pleasured with
the women barely dressed in the videos (diversification)
Bibliography
Book
Journals
Clay, A. (2003). Keepin’ it real. Keepin’ it real: black youth, hip hop culture and black identity. No.46, June, 1346 – 1352.
Carol, M. (2008). The global hip hop Diaspora Understanding the culture. 243 – 246.
Dionne, P. (2007). Hip hop honey or video ho African American preadolescents’ understanding of female sexual scripts in hip hop culture. No.10, October, 1 – 2.
World Wide Web
Aidoo, D. (2013). Reading Rap: how do people interpret music? [Internet]. David Aidoo, English Media Centre. https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16933
Akademiks D.J. (2015). ASAP Rocky under fire for “let’s talk about black on black crime” comments. [Internet]. DJ Akademiks, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc8BeRI1tbY
Edwards, A. (2016). The hip hop cop shop: Police opened fake rap music store and snared 30 gangsters for drugs and gun offences [Internet]. Anna Edwards, Daily Mail website. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036437/The-hip-hop-cop-shop-Police-opened-fake-rap-music-store-snared-30-gangsters-drugs-gun-offences.html
Johnson, L. (2016). Representation in Rap - 50 Cent [Internet]. Lucy Johnson, English Media Centre. https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16057
Parish, N. (2016). Female rappers take a stand in Mexico’s capital of violence against women[Internet]. Nathaniel Parish, The Guardian website. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/sep/22/female-rappers-mexico-city-violence-against-women
Spinks, R. (2003). ‘Cities are built with language’: how poetry feeds on urban life [Internet]. Roise Spinks, The Guardian website. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/oct/06/cities-poetry-urban-language-national-poetry-day
Reference
Clay, A. (2003). 1
Clay, A. (2003). 2
Clay, A. (2003). 3
Clay, A. (2003). 4
Akademiks D.J. YouTube (2015). 5
Dionne, p. (2007). 6
Carol, M. (2008). 7
Carol, M. (2008). 8
Parish, N. The Guardian (2016). 9
Kitwana, B. (2002). 10
Spinks, R. The Guardian. (2003). 11
Edwards, A. Daily Mail (2016). 12
Aidoo, D. EMC (2013). 13
Johnson, L. EMC
(2016).
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