As a white male from the suburbs, who is a fan of hip-hop music, I fall into the category of who the media wishes to push oppressive forms of hip-hop upon. While the hip-hop music that is popular in the mainstream may be catchy it is not the type of hip-hop I gravitate towards. In some cases I agree with bell hooks. Especially when she likens it to colonialism, in that the white listener can take whatever they want from it because hip-hop music is like a 3rd world country. However, I think that is only one side of the story. Not all white people listen to hip-hop to hear about misogyny and sex, yet the media pushes that form of hip-hop to the point where it becomes almost acceptable.
The media pushes this music because it sells, even though it has racist qualities. It only shows black men and women in certain, often negative, situations. It is not a coincidence that hip-hop artists such as Common and Talib Kweli, who do not embrace the idea of perpetuating racist views, are not as mainstream as artists that do whatever it takes to make a dollar. The music these artists make is much better because it has a deeper meaning than say sex. However, these subjects do not connect to the masses as well as sexuality that mainstream hip-hop thrives on. Even though mainstream hip-hop artists are not dumb because they are making money, there is a type of collusion that is unfortunate. The media focuses on the negative aspects of the culture while downplaying the positive aspects of hip-hop.
Nice! I liked your post. I don't listen to hip hop or rap but understand what you are trying to say. Hip hop is just art as so is any kind of music, but the media is "smart" and knows what the masses want and sell music that it's appealing to them: stuff that sounds sick and talk about unimportant things, haha just like fast food :P I like my artists that have a sick sound AND talk about something more important than just getting women. And one more thing...I don't really know what the difference between hip hop and rap is, so if you could enlighten me in that? :P
ReplyDeleteThe only real difference is that hip-hop is more concerned about the art of the music. It is less interested in the sex and money aspect of music. There is more social commentary. Rap music is more of the mainstream type which concerns itself with the money, women, etc. of what Hooks talks about. It is unfortunate that hip-hop and rap are used interchangably because there is a difference. I suggest listening to Nas, Common and/or Talib Kweli to get a better idea of what I'm getting at. They speak about real things that they see or have dealt with. It is the opposite of the brainless mainstream rap that is all over the radio.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post because I very much agree with you in Hooks relation of Hip Hop music to colonialism. I listen to hip hop along with a majority of my white friends yet we do not do so to hear about misogyny or sex. It is a fact that "sex sells" and this applies to the music business along with all other media. However this is not the only reason we listen to hip-hop music.
ReplyDeleteHey Tom,
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post for a lot of different reasons. I too am a white male from the suburbs that enjoys his fair share of hip-hop music and I agree with you that people such as Common, Talib Kweli etc. talk about deeper topics then what the mainstream stuff out there is all about, typically sex.
Also, these mainstream artists are talking about what makes them money in the end but brings about the question: Are these mainstream artists selling out by just preaching about what will make them money, not necessarily what they believe?
Do you think rap artists that are just starting out have a tendency to fall into those categories of negative racial interpretation and the seasoned rappers (you mentioned Kweli and Common) tend to veer away from the negative views? Or is there a bit of fault from the seasoned as well as the new rap artists?
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying tom! As far as I know, my brother listens to Nas :P
ReplyDeleteI like were this thread is going, when talking about hip hop music and all. And the funny thing about it is that I'm a Latino guy who doesn't even listen to hip hop, but instead listens to CRAZY music LOL
Matt, concerning your question, I think the selling out issue is part of it. Many artists release a single that doesn't exactly exhibit what they believe, even though the rest of their album could be completely different and closer to what they believe. The single can be the money maker and the draw to get people to listen.
ReplyDeleteEthan, I think there is a fault for both new and seasoned artists. Some newer artists see that certain artists maintain success by pushing negative views and try to emulate that. This clearly reinforces negative views. However, as an artist's career progreses it becomes harder to keep talking about the same pointless subjects, which may lead an artist to broaden their subject matter. I think it comes down ultimately to one's integrity. The question to the artist becomes, do I make the quick dollar regardless of the consequences or stay true to my beliefs?
Great post Tom. I agree with your point that the media focuses on the negative aspects of our culture while playing down the positive. I think that the consumers have the ability to dictate to the producers their preferences and current demand. Its encouraging to hear that you do not listen to this sort of main stream hip hop that many of times supports misogyny and sexism that is normalized by the media. What do you think can be done about stopping this message from being portrayed as normal in the mass media, and possibly encouraging this behavior so people think this is what society expects of them? I think that once this issue of normalization by the media is understood as a negative thing by more and more people it is important to take steps to change this, and not be a society norm.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments of how the media deff pushes hip-hop music that contains lyrics about misogyny and sex. I too like hip-hop music but not the new mainstream hip-hop which promotes making the money now or simply doing body shots. Underground hip-hop like Brother Ali, Most Def, A tribe called quest which contain lyrics with messages about the struggles of their society and the controversies they see are powerful to listen to. I believe our mass media that focuses on this new hip-hop is simply all about the money and not about the music and the message that the music can send, especially to impressionable youngsters.
ReplyDelete