When the oppressed becomes the oppressor: Willie Lynch and the politics of race and racism in hip-hop music

West Virginia University Philological Papers, Fall, 2003 by Raphael C. Heaggans

Insanity playin' on your vanity As they stomp your sense of self Tellin' you what you need to succeed

The Last Poets *

Racism is an incubus that has haunted every culture in the United States since its inception. Today, aspects of the hip-hop genre embody that spirit by promoting self-hate through exploitation, misogyny, greed, and denigration of who Blacks are as a people. The hip-hop culture and its style of music have crossed all racial and culture barriers and has been deemed the music of the twenty-first century. Yet the hip-hop culture often cloaks itself very powerfully with monolithic images in television, magazines, and music videos.

Much of the contemporary hip-hop music today has evolved from the violence of gangsta rap. Many hip-hop artists profess in their lyrics and videos to be simply speaking the truth about their realities; however these lyrics and images do not empower African Americans in these situations to get out. Instead the cycle of homicide, drugs, poverty, domestic violence, and AIDS continues to manifest itself in the black community.

Some hip-hop artists have taken on the tools of oppression and become the oppressor by perpetuating historically negative images and messages that many whites and others still hold true about black people. Part of these tools of oppression may have been invented as early as 1712.

This article addresses how Willie Lynch's infamous 1712 letter (1) is authenticated through the negative images and messages presented in hip-hop music and its effects on youth culture.

The Difference between Rap and Hip-Hop Music

Rap music has been phenomenally successful during the past decade. Songs by rappers such as Jay-Z, Eminem, and Ludacris consistently grace the music charts with their hypnotizing beats and saucy lyrics. The theme of such songs as often mentioned by rappers is "keeping it real." But "keeping it real" comes with a hefty price including defying history and degrading women at the expensive of being a successful rapper. This paper discusses the ramifications of being a rapper and the potential effects rap lyrics have on U.S. Black culture.

Today, the terms "rap" and "hip-hop" are used interchangeably. Some people have suggested that there is a difference. Rap music was a conduit to educate people about the issues of race, poverty, and social injustice with which Blacks and Latinos were faced. (2) On the other hand, hip-hop serves as an exploitation of sexist, patriarchal, and misogynistic ways of behaving and thinking. (3)

History and Its Connection to Hip-Hop Music

Controlling slaves is the most pervasive theme in the infamous Willie Lynch's letter written in 1712 to Virginians. William Lynch was asked to come to the Virginia colony to assist with problem slaves. He stated: "In my bag, I have a fool proof method for controlling your slaves. I guarantee everyone of you that if installed, it will control the slaves for at least three hundred years" (par. 3). He continues:

   I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves, and I
   take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust,
   and envy for control purposes. These methods have worked on my
   modest plantation in the West Indies, and it will work throughout
   the south. Take this simple little list of differences and think
   about them. On the top of my list is "age" but it is only there
   because it starts with an "A". The second one is "color" or
   shade; ... [and the] size of plantation. Now that you have a list
   of differences, I shall give you an outline of action--but before
   that, I shall assure you that DISTRUST IS STRONGER THAN TRUST, AND
   ENVY IS STRONGER THAN ADULATION, RESPECT OR ADMIRATION. The black
   slave, after receiving this indoctrination, shall carry on and
   will become self-refueling and self-generating for hundreds of
   years, maybe thousands. Don't forget you must pitch the old black
   vs. the young black males, and the young black male against the old
   black male. You must use the dark skinned slaves vs. the light
   skinned slaves. You must use the female vs. the male, and the
   male vs. the female. You must always have your servants and
   OVERSEERS distrust all blacks, but it is necessary that your slaves
   trust and depend on us. (4)

Age

Lynch positioned "age" as the first discriminatory means of controlling slaves. It is no great secret that hip-hop music caters to youth ages ten to twenty-nine. Chuck D., rapper of Public Enemy fame, writes that among Black youth, "Youth crime, guns, and gang violence are now national issues. The more they get covered and interpreted on the news and in the media and also glorified in films, videos, and records, the bigger they become" (246). Kunjufu adds that youth are not cognizant of why they participate in such activities, "consume what they consume, and act the way they act" (44). He insists that it "is primarily as a result of the onslaught of advertising that is placed upon them" (44). Kunjufu adds that in order to exploit the powerlessness and estrangement many Black youth feel in this racial and economic climate, White-owned corporations make an astronomical profit by targeting Black youth since the corporations are aware that Black youth watch more television than any other racial group. One example he gives is: "A number of malt liquor companies have used [hip-hop] music and other important cultural symbols to promote their product. ... One commercial for St. Ives Malt Liquor uses [hip-hop artist] Ice Cube with ... lyrics that include 'get your girl in the mood quicker, get your jimmy thicker, drink St. Ives Malt Liquor'" (48). But in getting the "jimmy thicker," Black male youths believe that "power is ... in the penis; and that no matter how much money a Brother has, he' nobody if he's not bad in the bed all the time, everywhere and with every fine Sister or blonde, or combination thereof, he meets." (5) It is the image that hip-hop artists are selling to Black youth since they "are being forced ... to sell an image by the companies who control them" to Black youth who now "are having a hard time with what's reality and what's fantasy these days." (6) Older and more mature adults today are not swayed by the gun-toting, lasciviously-laden, culturally demising lyrics of today's hip-hop music, since it contradicts their musically historical reference. They come from a generation where songs were about love, romance, and commitment. Nowadays, Black youth are imitating what they see in hip-hop music videos and what they hear on the radio. Chuck D. argues that "the problem is when you see 14-15 year olds with no historical reference whatsoever who get into it for the trendiness of it (247). All the while it is the white corporations who are profiting off of the ignorance of Black youth.