Week 4: I have yet to drink the Kool-Aid.

     Toure's chapter on Tupac is the first account of Tupac's life I have ever read, despite living in the era where he lived and died. It makes a lot of sense why so much media was generated over him. I had always though much of it was simply because he was shot and killed. I never knew he was on trial for sexual assault until this class. See, you do learn something new everyday! I am also happy to see that female artists were finally being highlighted in the seemingly male dominated world of hip hop.

     Lauryn Hill is classified as "one of the great female MC's, a quadruple threat: a rapper, as well as a world-class singer, songwriter, and producer" (160). She seemed to diappear off of the face of hip hop music simply because she tried to fight the "manufactured international-superstar cover girl" look produced by the industry (161). I respect that she would rather leave the commercialized industry for her art, so few artists do so. Lauryn Hill will always be herself, she would rather lose the possibility of making millions of dollars than sell herself out to the pressure of the music industry.

 Another artist I found interesting, mostly due in part to her superstar status, is Beyonce. She seems to be a serious artist who controls the glamourous aspects of her profession. Although, if I may say, her present music has become much more mainstream than when she was a member of Destiny's Child (meaning it has become more pop rather than hip hop). Once again, we are shown that this industry is all about the spins even if the artists doesn't mean for it to be so.

     As I continued reading, I wondered if Toure, as a writer, was afraid to criticize those he wrote about. I read a lot about how "great" the artists were and how many rose from the bottom to the top. America loves the rags to riches stories and I feel that Toure (is smart enough to) feeds into the wants and needs of the people. He even stated himself "if art doesn't cry it gets a bad review"but I felt that other authors we have covered this semester were more apt to constructively criticizing the artists and their mainstream/private lives (7).  Other than that, this is my favorite book we have read in class and is definitely a "keep" on my bookshelf for many years to come. Nice work Toure.

Week 3: Eminem, not just candy anymore.

 I must say I kind of did an inward chuckle at Toure's "Methodology for Ranking MC's" but it does make me realize what an art form it is. I enjoy how Toure writes, he is seems to be a much more relaxed writer than Dyson and I think that the informality really helps me relate to Toure and his viewpoints on hip hop.

     His interviews ranged from artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, DMX all the way to Al Sharpton. The interviews were interesting and gave me enough background information about the artists (from the artists) for me to draw a more educated idea of how they are in society as well as coming from a broad spectrum of sources. Specifically, the interview with Eminem in correlation to Carl Hancock Rux's article "Eminem: The White Negro." I feel like I grew up listening to Eminem, seeing his face on MTV, watching 8 Mile, and hearing all of the news about his family life via the media. He is a human being, this is something I feel may people forget when they hear Marshall Mathers name. He is a father, a entertainer, interested in politics, and the oxymoron to social norms.

     In his article, Rux defines how Eminem has been "perceived by the masses" and questions our learned definition of what reality is. Perhaps our reality is wrong an Eminem's perception is right? He is the individual, the "white guy in a black world", accepted by whites and blacks, yet still viewed as an outcast. He is as much as a minstrel as Flava Flav is to Public Enemies, going beyond the norms defined to us by what is socially correct (what if everything we think is right is actually wrong and likewise?). Rux asks us if we are "oppressed because of what we have learned" (IE: do we identify Eminem as an oppressed individual because we identify his behavior as beyond the norm? A white man living in a black mans world is surely to spark controversy).

     Eminem doesn't seem to care either way. Growing up in Detroit, he was socialized in black culture ('black' culture is not "black" it is just culture to him) (21). This raises Rux's question "whom does music or race belong to? (24). I think this question is best answered in class, I don't know if I can really define/answer this question. Brainstorming session anyone?

This is the song I think of when I think of Eminem, as I am sure many of you are familiar with.

Lose Yourself

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity 

To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment 

Would you capture it or just let it slip? (He relates well to people because at some point everyone has fantasized about success)

Yeah, 

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy 

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti 

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready 

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting 

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud 

He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out 

He's choking how, everybody's joking now (We all have fears, and many of us have a similar response when we become nervous. Ever cautious of the approval of the masses).

The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah! 

Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity 

Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked 

He's so mad, but he won't give up that 

Easy, no 

He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes 

It don't matter, he's dope 

He knows that, but he's broke 

He's so stagnant that he knows 

When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's 

Back to the lab again yo (What do you do when you have nothing but yourself? Do you seize the first opportunity or do you wait for the right moment?)

This whole rhapsody 

He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him 

x2 

(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment 

You own it, you better never let it go go 

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow 

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo) (I think this relates personally to Eminem seizing his opportunity to become the first widely accepted Caucasion hip hop artist)

This soul's escaping, through this hole that it's gaping 

This world is mine for the taking 

Make me king, as we move toward a, new world order 

A normal life is boring, but superstardom's close to post mortem 

It only grows harder, homey grows hotter (The pressures of the industry)

He blows us all over these hoes is all on him  

Coast to coast shows, he's know as the globetrotter 

Lonely roads, God only knows 

He's grown farther from home, he's no father 

He goes home and barely knows his own daughter 

But hold your nose cause here goes the cold water 

His hoes don't want him no mo, he's cold product 

They moved on to the next schmoe who flows 

He nose dove and sold nada 

So the soap opera is told and unfolds 

I suppose it's old partner', but the beat goes on 

Da da dum da dum da da 

x2 

(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment 

You own it, you better never let it go go 

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow 

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo) 

No more games, I'ma change what you call rage 

Tear this motherfucking roof off like two dogs caged 

I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed 

I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage 

But I kept rhyming and stepwritin the next cypher 

Best believe somebody's paying the pied piper (Perseverence?) 

All the pain inside amplified by the 

Fact that I can't get by with my nine to 

Five and I can't provide the right type of life for my family 

Cause man, these goddam food stamps don't buy diapers 

And it's no movie, there's no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life 

And these times are so hard and it's getting even harder 

Trying to feed and water my seed, plus 

Teeter totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna 

Baby mama drama's screaming on and 

Too much for me to wanna 

Stay in one spot, another day of monotony 

Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail 

I've got to formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot 

Success is my only motherfucking option, failure's not 

Mom, I love you, but this trailer's got to go (The Real Slim Shady rejects his own mother)

I cannot grow old in Salem's lot 

So here I go is my shot. 

Feet fail me not cause maybe the only opportunity that I got 

x2 

(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment 

You own it, you better never let it go go 

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow 

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo) 

You can do anything you set your mind to, man 

Week 8: Copyrighted.

     This week's reading had me a bit lost I must admit. The complexity of the legal system and the intricate steps involved in deejaying really threw me on my own spin.

     However, I did find the readings in That's the Joint! and the selection from Making Beats very interesting (from the sections I was able to understand).

     I liked how Forman first disclaimed how he did not view technology as the "sole driving force for the development of hip hop music" (389). There as so many other elements to creating the music - oftentimes the aspects of music we cannot measure such as the soul and heart put into the songs that I find much more important than the actual technological process. Though I must give credit to those who deejay and understand how rap music is linked to the cultural history of the African culture. With the creation of the turntable, mixer, and vinyl record came the introduction of great deejays such as Afrika Bambaataa, Kool DJ Herc, and Grandmaster Flash. Deejaying, developed in the late 1970's, included "breaks" which is a digital excision of a brief rhythm (390). These breaks/sampling is what gave hip hop nation it's push towards the mass audience. However, with the sampling of hip hop music there arose the question of if hip hop music is or is not authentic.

     I found a quote in chapter 30 of That's the Joint particularly interesting. This section focused on the art of digital sampling and how some experts viewed digital sampling as "holding music at gunpoint" (393). I can understand where they are coming from, music is art and as art should be creative and original. Subsequently, we must then ask ourselves what/who defines the originality of hip hop music. Also, as Schumacher put it, we must also look at the philosophical and common law viewpoints of hip hop music.

     He states that "copyrighted law is property law" and as such, must define the complex aspects of what is creative and original (IE what is authentic) (443). I agree with Schumacher that different cultures have different definition of originality and creativity and that we must encompass all of those aspects when defining the legality of hip hop music. There are also many definitions of "copying" and who is to determine what the absolute definition of it is. Are they musical experts? The audience? The producers? Or the artists? I agree that "absolute meanings require absolute knowledge" but I am still somewhat confused on how originality is perceived by different groups in society, surely we do not all perceive all things equally (Ryan, 1982:3). I hope I am not rambling, I just think that music is music. It is a part of my life that I have found to be inexplicable, or rather that I chose not to look for a definition. Music is how I feel. It inspires me and aids me in my day to day explorations. I dislike how we have "evolved" to the point that we are going back to the roots of music and picking, picking, picking at it to the point that someday we will lose the essence of the music - that is the heart an soul of the music, if we have not lost it already to the Benjamin's. Rap music was created because people got tired of trying to please everyone and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, people became offended. When society becomes offended the legal structures of society must come in and define what is right and what is wrong.

I just don't feel like I fully get it just yet.

Week 7: Politics, The Media, and Money.

     This week we read about three different works, but the one I want to focus on in particular is Imani Perry's Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. Most prevalent to our current discussion in politics is in chapter one of Perry's book titled "Political Location." This is where Perry explains how rap and a politically charged social identity are perceived together and the effect that each have upon one another. The complex relationship between the two have been debated since the birth of rap culture. I agree with Perry when he states that rap music has been (associated as) "a scapegoat for social ills and reviled for it's negativity in many social structures" (Perry, 27). Politically, rap music, to me, is the focus of negative attention due to the ignorance (not stupidity) of those who fail to understand the importance of a globalized world and the U.S. melting pot. Perhaps we should not be focused so much on the music as the focus of negative attention but that color of the skin of those who perform it. Indeed as a society we seem to relate prison, drug trafficking, and symbols of sexual aggression to African Americans and other minorities over Caucasians.

     Hopefully I am not diverging from the path of rap and politics too much, it is just that this chapter has spurred my curiosity on why African Americans seem to be criticized harsher than other races. How many of people ar emore familiar with investor Bernie Madoff, operator of what has been described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history or O.J Simpson for his sentence of "not guilty" that is still disputed to this day? Would be have believed it had O.J. been white or hispanic? Will we remember that Tiger cheated on his wife? Or the Brad Pitt did? 


      This brings me to my thought on the media and the importance it plays in creating an "image" for those in the music industry. Before the inventions of MTV and BET, hip hop seemed much more politically conscious than music now. Perhaps it is the point we stressed in class that the rap music of today lacks the importance social movements that were once popular among civil rights activists or during the era of Reagan. However, the media has and will always continue to choose sides of who is deemed 'good' and who is deemed 'bad' in conformity to social norms, so what happens to the message rappers? They chose the good, but not to the tastes of the music industry. It is sad to me that the inner culture of hip hop seems lost to us compared to what makes the most money.

Week 6: Understanding the Politics in Hip Hop

     First, I must give credit to Michael Eric Dyson for writing in words easy to comprehend but also make you think. I enjoy his references to philosophy and how it applies to the hip hop culture. I found the first chapter on authenticity very interesting, including his very in depth break down of "Hustle and Flow." His analysis of a movie that I pushed off to be a film destined for the five dollar rack at Wal-Mart makes me want to reevaluate my prior beliefs and watch the movie through Dyson's eyes.

     However, the chapter that caught my attention the most was Track 3: "It's Trendy to be the Conscious MC," which explains the "Culture, Rhetoric, Crack, and Politics of Rap." Here Dyson's responds to a interviewer about the impact of the Black Arts Movement [BAM] beginning in the 1960's with it's effects evident in present hip hop culture. BAM was fostered out of the conscious minds of its members who focused on the self determination and need for political liberty of their people (specifically black culture).

     As a fan of art, I found this section particularly interesting because it reaffirmed my belief that art drives many of the social constructs around us. Art is expression and everything that we do as an organized group must be expressed to all.  I found this metaphor helpful to understanding when ranking the importance of art, "It [art] was always found at the intersection of reflection and reaction or of critical consciousness and social intervention" (Dyson, 63).  Dyson makes a wonderful point on how our generation lacks in "vibrant political movements" (Dyson, 66). I am curious why this is so, there are so many injustices going on in the world, yet we tend to focus not on the big picture, the smaller one that almost always involves what is currently affecting us.  Rappers glamorize prison life and romanticize eras to the point that the true meaning of the story is lost.  Just like in class last week where we watched two videos on how "My President is Black" and yet "my Lambo is blue" political messages yes, but not a substitute for actual politcal movements. Perhaps we are lucky that here we don't have a large political movement taking place....yet.

     On a different note, I found the "Dance with the Devil" rap by Immortal Technique very interesting. My classmates and I weren't sure if he actually did take part in the rape he raps about, so I googled it (of course):

What is your thought process when making a conceptual song like "Dance with the Devil," "You Never Know," or "Peruvian Cocaine?"

They are each different, with 'Dance with the Devil' it was a true story that I made myself more of a part of when I wrote the song, it became an urban legend and what's sick is that people thought it was about rape and it was really about how we are killing ourselves and destroying the most valuable resource that the Latino/Black community has, our women. With "You Never Know" it was a story that was based on my life and what I went though but things had to be changed, moved out of chronological order, and something's had to be added. I have always been able to write stories, screen plays and such so it reflects in the songs I construct. With Peruvian Cocaine I wanted a posse cut but not the typical shit and I wanted to speak about the imagery that the corporate controlled media ties into it. I mean I have nothing against doing some random joints with other muthafuckaz that reflect whatever the fuck is going on in our minds at the time, but I wanted something different this once...So the result came with me getting a whole lot of people to commit to the idea of writing a story with me, my idea worked out because everyone's 8 bars seemed to flow together perfectly, the only person who wasn't there was CrayzWalz who came at the end and bodied the song with his final perspective on the mentality of muthafuckaz who really think they are going to get somewhere hustling, this ain't "Scarface" this ain't "Belly", this isn't Hollywood you little hood rat…you're going to live in a fuckin' cage for the rest of your life and you're arrest will be used to criminalize those people that come after you, we talkin' about real shit. 


For the entire article: http://www.brownpride.com/articles/article.asp?a=194


     I really enjoyed the double meaning behind his rap that I took so literally. I suppose this is why critical thinking is paramount in analyzing any work of art. 

Week 5: "Now I see the Importance of History"

"Now I see the importance of history

Why people be in the mess that they be

Many journeys to freedom made in vain

By brothers on the corner playin ghetto games

I ask you lord why you enlightened me

Without the enlightment of all my folks

He said cuz I set myself on a quest for truth

And he was there to quench my thirst

But I am still thirsty..."

- Arrested Development; Tennessee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g40c6iAEHpc

Our reading this week took us from the view from 30,000 feet straight down to the runway. Just as in the previous weeks, to me, rap is essentially focused on the African American's response to the political, social, and economic disparities in American society. The responses from the experts themselves vary from discontent of present society to the appreciation of the African American culture. Here, I wanted to further analyze two aspects of how politics molds the hip hop nation. First, how hip hop musicians influence present day African American culture. Second, the political impact rap has on the global community.

From the 1970's to the present, the hip hop culture has evolved out of the Bronx to the global community. In Todd Boyd's essay Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self: The Death of Politics in Rap Music and Popular Culture, the focus is on the immeasurable amount of influence rap has on American American culture. Commercialized rap, such as "gangsta rap" is an example of where politics (social construction) is openly rejected. However, beyond the "bitches and hos" terminology we can find some good in "gangsta rap". According to a study conducted by Emory University Rollins School of Public Heath, rappers such as Lil' Kim and the Goodie Mob have educated the African American youth about AIDS and safe sex through their lyrics (Kitwana, 348). Just another example of how the abstinence programs have shown to be an abysmal failure, but I'm off topic. I was decently surprised that Lil' Kim had any impact on anyone in all honestly, but I can see how exposure is the best form of education (in some manners).

Other hip hop artists such as Arrested Development are a response to the "gangsta rap" that dominates hip hop. They state that their music works towards "a more positive Afro-centric viewpoint that respects women, promotes family, spirituality, and male responsibility (http://www.arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/). Ice Cube in his music, which is more "gangsta" themed, focuses more on pointing out the contradictions in rap music.

Politically, the African American youth is central in American culture. Hip hop culture possesses a huge ability to influence social change. The images produced by the music videos, the styles worn by the rappers, the "tough" attitudes, the Ebonics language, and the high media prominence capture the transition from the golden years of hip hop to the state of decline where the hip hop underground was born. The overall tone of rap music is what forges the identity of the African American youth. While many citizens and politicians argue that the hip hop music image fuels sexism, violence, the relationship between rap and crime, and drug use. Advocators for rap music defend their right to free speech. To them, it is their ability to express their social discontent. It is a form of protest and a response to the economy, such as the War on Drugs.

Rappers such as Public Enemies and Kanye West are the modern day Black Panthers, Du Bois, and Malcolm X.

"Why am I fighting to live, if I'm just living to fight

Why am I trying to see, when there aint nothing in sight
Why I am I trying to give, when no one gives me a try
Why am I dying to live, if I'm just living to die?"

- Tupa Shakur; Runnin'

Summit 2001

http://www.hsan.org/content/main.aspx?pageid=7

Week Two (Make-up Work): I got SOUL.

This week, we read about the Early Years (1973-1985) of hip hop and the move towards the Golden Years (1986-1994ish).

I really see the impact that the economy has on our nation. The civil rights movement has ended along with the feelings of optimism. As jobs moved out of the cities, the Bronx goes with it. The city burns with abandonment and the blatant neglect of the government.

It is so clear to me now, why hip hop has evolved the way it has. It evolved from no work. From rent-a-thugs. From a lack of interest of the well beings of those who live in poverty. Who is to blame? The ones who stayed? The ones who left? Or the ones who did nothing? Perhaps I am blowing this out of proportion, but a government, to my understanding is here to protect its citizens regardless of their race, socioeconomic level, and so on. It's a a small scale Holocaust, we literally left our people to fend for themselves. We failed the social contract - so why can't the graffiti artists revolt? Still people wonder why hip hop became so centered on violence, drugs, and sexism.

This weeks reading actually made me sad. I related Can't Stop, Won't Stop; Bad Numbers to the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Where colonists took over the entire culture of the natives and destroyed the lives of those who were there before them. The novel takes you from an outsiders point of view to the insiders view point. These readings really explained to me what a culture is about. All of the elements, the family, the music, the trials, and tribulations that started it all. I feel as if I never will know what hip hop is all about - but I can learn as much as I can. My reasoning for this is because I don't know who the critics and supporters of hip hop are. Who defines what we learn? How has the media portrayed hip hop? Wouldn't it be great if we could just go up to DJ Kool Herc and ask him about his life in the early years of hip hop? How did you create the blueprint for hip hop music that has sparked an international following? I have so many questions running through my mind it is hard for me to type it all out!

America loves those "from the bottom to the top" stories. Well specifically, whites love those stories (and I do too). From DJ Kool Herc to 50 Cent to even Oprah, whites changed the perception of hip hop forever. With their purchasing power, they chose what is now mainstream. Yes, the drugs, sex, violence...and Oprah's book reading list. Yet, they are the biggest critics of the hip hop culture. Why?

I've never felt that I was left out of the hip hop nation. Perhaps because I am not white I've never been discriminated against if I listen to hip hop. It's OK for me to listen to it...right? Asians aren't really portrayed in hip hop, but hey, it seems neither were the Puerto Ricans was explained in That's the Joint! Here is where we see a move from the Early years to the Golden years. Hip hop breaks the language barriers - Kid Frost becomes an international star. He and Mellow Man Ace are examples of the West coast explosion into the hip hop culture. They utilize rap as a vessel to affirm Puerto Rican history, culture, language, and the discrimination they have felt being in a "black world." (Here I wonder, where is Cowboy Troy come into the mix?!). Just like the Bronx, I feel that the Puerto Rican rappers were neglected in the big picture of hip hop. I will have to investigate this more.

Speaking of language, Robin D.G. Kelley in his essay Looking for the "Real Nigga" has me wondering:

1. Why have we not let the natives speak?

2. Do I have 'soul'? I would like to think I do, but to some only "authentic Negroes have soul." Racism seems to go both ways.

3. Am I 'cool'? I think I am lacking in the area of "black masculinity" I'd ask for a definition, but the further I read, the less I feel that I know. As stated by some "if you need to define something you don' know what it means."

So as for "The Dozens" I think I'd lose if we were to ever try it in class. I have no insider experience, I seem to be lacking in "soul", and I am not "cool." Cool.