Rap music and its violent progeny: America's culture of violence in context

Journal of Negro Education, The, Summer 2002 by Richardson, Jeanita W, Scott, Kim A

As the current form of intergroup dialectic for the youth culture (Pine, 1999), rappers are the contemporary Black culture's griots (Smitherman, 1997). The culture of hip-hop has become the nexus from which youth (particularly lower income Black youngsters) can create their values, define their selfhood, and express their heightened consciousness of violence and its implications against a social backdrop that has historically devalued their color and contributions. Rappers, even the most graphic, often become cultural ethnographers systematically silenced due to their social and cultural disenfranchisement and further censored for describing the effects of their marginalization.

Rap and Hip-Hop artists have not waited for acceptance to embrace publications as another means of challenging mainstream perceptions. Popular magazines (e.g. Vibe, URB, XXL, The Source) and books provide a forum for artists to answer critics, voice their positions and diversify their media empires. Several examples of books written by rap artists include: "I Make My Own Rules (Parental Advisory)" by LL Cool J with Karen Hunter (1998) published by Doherly, Tom Associates LLC; "Life & Def: Sex, Drugs, Money & God", by Russell Simmons and Nelson George (2002) published by Crown Publishing Group; Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman" by Queen Latifah (1998) published by Morrow, William and Company; and, "Fight the Power: Rap, Race & Reality" by Chuck D. Chuck with Yusuf Jah (1998) published by Dell Publishing Company. Perhaps one of the reasons artists branched into print media is because of the absence of ongoing dialogues between rap artists and scholars.

The majority of studies about rap music and its progeny are not collaborative efforts between researchers (writers) and subject of the writing (rappers). Despite important exceptions (Dyson, 1994, hooks, 1994; Rose, 1994; Smitherman, 1997), central to prevailing research perspectives is the belief that youngsters are unfinished products, immature, untrustworthy sources of data that can only be understood by their deficiencies (Alanen, 1994; Mandell, 1991; Oakley, 1994; Waksler, 1991). It is much easier to essentialize youth and avoid attending to the diversity of childhood experiences. African American youth's experiences and voices have been historically trivialized and homogenized into violent, deficient, anti-intellectual characterizations. It is ironic that these seemingly voiceless individuals have sufficient ability to create and maintain a multimillion-dollar industry. As the subject of articles and books, it is little wonder that many of the young Black artists look to rap music to express their developing consciousness and gain profit.

POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL SCRUTINY OF RAP

Anxiety associated with lyrics and gangsta rap in particular became a hot political topic in the early 1990s. Gangsta rap's emergence and popularity coincided with national elections and sparked what has now been termed a "cultural war." Incensed by the lyrics of Ice T's song "Cop Killer" on the Time Warner label, police groups publicly advocated divestiture of company stock. Boisterous condemnation also came from Former Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich who suggested boycotts of radio stations that played "vicious" music, which he identified specifically as rap music. Not to be left out of the rising controversy, presidential candidate William Clinton denounced Sister Souljah lyrics (Johnson, 1999; Ogbar, 1999).