Hip Hop and Crisis in The African American Community - Literature review Example

?Running Head: HIP HOP Hip Hop & Crisis in African American Community Hip Hop & Crisis in African American Community IntroductionHip-hop is an African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American youth alternative culture that incorporates rap music, graffiti, and break-dancing as central to its cultural expression (George, 1998; Rose, 1994). Rose goes further to claim that hip-hop is "[s]ituated at the 'cross-roads of lack and desire,' …emerging from the deindustrialization meltdown where social alienation, prophetic imagination, and yearning intersect" (p. 21). To understand the hip hop generation and its source of controversy and celebration, one has to approach it from several perspectives simultaneously. Its story is at once imbedded in time/history, geography, culture, technology, industry, politics, and aesthetic frames. In its short history from the mid 1970s to present, numerous critical, socio-cultural, and empirical studies have sought to dissect and explain away its reality. However, this paper attempts to review the literature through historical perspectives. Body Hip-hop was born out of a number of social, political, and artistic occurrences. George (1998) starts hip-hop's story at the end of the 1960s, a period of hopes for total racial integration-Martin Luther King's dream. However, as the 1970s progressed, the reality of inequalities was reiterated. In terms of what was reflected in art, the expression of the people, most obvious and mobile with the music, segregation continued. Rock and roll was predominantly for White artists and audiences, whereas rhythm and blues was African-American (Kitwana, 2006). In the 1970s, profits from the rock music revolution helped to create, develop, and further consolidate a corporate musical industry that was evidenced by mergers such as Warner-Reprise, Elektra-Asylum, and Atlantic. These corporations recognized the potential profits available from the Black performers who could access not only the Black community, but also "cross-over" to White teens. The major record labels created "Black music" divisions, encouraging commercial-cultural crossover. This potential for broad audience access is one reason that "disco" came into being in the 1970s. As with many popular music forms of the era, it had African ­American roots. Scholars and those in the musical recording industry have consistently argued about the influential nature of Black culture and music, and evidence exists to support its apparent relationship to White, or mainstream music and culture. Garofalo (1993) posits the links between genres, and notes that the history of popular music in America "can be described in terms of Black innovation and popularization" (p. 57). Disco was an example, coming as it did at the end of the civil rights/Black power era, it was at once an accumulation of African-American and American popular music experience. The musical genre was short for discotheque, a place where people could go to dance, drink, and listen to this form of music. George (1998) and Werner (1999) note the rise of disco from the underground clubs of New York and Los Angeles, during the mid to late 1970s, that paved the way for initial elements of break dancing and future samples for rap. Werner (1999) notes disco's musical roots in Black dance music (p. 205). Disco was at first "high-quality Black dance music, with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huffs elegantly funky Philly Sound productions and the lush sounds surrounding Barry White's bass voice the artistic benchmarks" (George, 1998, p. 7). Whereas the club provided the place and the music industry provided the means for increased musical crossing over, the advent of synthesizer allowed for the ability to manipulate prerecorded sound for smoother transitions between songs. This inaugurated the cult of the club OJ who did the "mixing." As disco became mainstream around 1975, it lost much of its freshness and was further stigmatized by an association with the gay rights movement (Werner, 1999, p. 205). To chants of "Disco sucks!" an anti-disco sentiment grew at the end of the decade reflected by an unholy alliance of funkateers and feminists, progressives and puritans, rockers and reactionaries (p. 211). By the time rap music's first mainstream single, Rapper's Delight, was released in1979, disco had died. However, according to Greenberg (1999) because of the strong presence/influence of Black performers in disco, when it "died" radio programmers shied away from Black records. Thus, the airwaves became further segregated (p. 27). Greenberg notes that "in a typical week in the first half of 1979 nearly 50% of the records on Billboard's pop singles chart could also be found on the R&B chart, by the first half of 1980 that number had dropped to 21 %, and by the end of 1982 the crossover percentage was at a rock-era low of 17 percent" (p. 27). This allowed rap to develop for several years without mainstream pressures to adapt to a broader, integrated audience. In effect, the existence of disco left several legacies for hip-hop-the DJ culture, a void in innovative music representations, a site for sampling, early break-dancing, and a cohesive Black cultural presence in the early development of rap. Several writers concur regarding the New York, South Bronx origins of hip-hop (Fernando, 1999; George, 1998; Rose, 1994; Toop, 1991). During the same period, New York city was going through a number of significant social changes in relation to the poorer ethnic minorities: African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, and other Caribbean immigrants. Rose (1994) paints a picture of what she terms deindustrialization, with the growth of powerful information service corporations and media industries in the city that replaced manufacturing factories and related infrastructure. The occupational structure shifted from high wages and employment grounded in manufacturing, trucking, warehousing, and wholesale trade to a low-wage and employment producer service economy. Diminishing social services, corporate purchase of real estate for luxury housing and tourist development, exacerbated this decline in blue-collar opportunities for jobs. Significantly, Rose points to New York City and state's eventual bankruptcy and the taking on of a federal loan with an elaborate package of service cuts and harsh repayment terms (p. 28). The city's poorest residents, inclusive of new immigrant populations, were the most affected. More specific to the South Bronx was the politically motivated policies of "urban renewal:' This resulted in massive relocations of economically depressed ethnic minorities from other areas of New York City into parts of South Bronx. Thirty-seven percent of the relocated residents were Blacks and Hispanic. Rose (1994) also identifies the implementation of the Cross-Bronx expressway during the 1960s and early 1970s as a factor. It was designed to facilitate commutation into New York City from its suburb (p. 31). The Expressway cut through heavily populated working-class ethnic residential communities in the Bronx further depressing real estate value and creating slums. Along with the razing of old blue-collar homes, "subsequent 'White flight,' devastated kin networks and neighborhood services," vast social and economic inequalities were created (p.31). It was in this social, musical, and cultural landscape of the 1970s that South Bronx youth found themselves. According to Toop (1991), Black youth developed their own alternative to the increased gang warfare that had followed the growing poverty (p. 12). Outdoor parties in public parks were common in the Bronx during the late 60s, and early 70s (Fernando, 1999, p. 14). DJs would connect their sound system into a streetlight's power box and play 7-inch or 12-inch vinyl records as youth danced, rhymed, or wrote graffiti. It was an inexpensive alternative to community centers, an escape from the obvious poverty that surrounded, and a source of alternative local identity and fellowship found in crews or posses(). Three individuals are consistently presented in the literature as the founding fathers of rap: Clive Campbell (a.k.a Kool Herc), Afrika Bambaataa, and Joseph Saddler, all with Jamaican roots (Fernando, 1999, p. 14-20). This "old school" era of hip-hop, as it is called, started in 1974 at these street parties or "hip-hop jams" (Perkins, 1996, pp. 5-6). Perkins (1996), George (1998), and Fernando (1999) identify Kool Herc, a young Jamaican immigrant, as significantly influential in three ways. First, he modeled his sound system after the massive mobile systems that were to be found back home on the newly independent island nation of Jamaica. Herc enhanced his presentations by having a friend act as master of ceremonies (MC) who gave Jamaican toasts or hyped records with what would become rap staples like "Ya rock and ya don't stop" (George, 1998, p. 18). Second, Herc noticed that when he played funk, and especially the "break" or instrumental segment, i.e., when the drums or percussion took over, his audience went wild with exuberance. By using two copies of the same record and moving back and forth to sustain the sonic climax he helped create the break beat, "the starting point of much, dance, techno, and jungle (drum 'n 'bass) today" (Fernando, 1999, p. 15). Dancers, predominantly male, saved their best moves for this portion earning the name "b-boys." Third, Herc sampled past hits to achieve the break beats, using the best funk and obscure records. He produced extended beats until it sounded like a new record and original sound to build his reputation. These three musical/cultural elements continue to live on in rap today. For additional important roots to rap music itself, Perkins (1996) cites Bambaataa who alludes to the African element of call-arid-response, Cab Calloway's scat singing, lover's raps by Isaac Hayes and Barry White, as well as Muhammad Ali's poetic couplets (pp. 2-5). Bambaataa's contribution was sociological with the formation of the Zulu Nation, a collective of DJs, break-dancers, graffiti artists, and homeboys substituting for the fraternal role of gang culture. Bambaataa himself had been a leader of one of South Bronx's biggest and "baddest" street gangs-the Black Spades. Zulu Nation offered an alternative, de-emphasizing violence and crime, adding to the "clean fun" nature of the "old school." One aspect of this early culture that extended its acceptance and built the sense of community was the taping and dissemination of these tapes of a Drs "mix" at a party. Jazzy Jay, a Zulu Nation DJ, notes the fact that many of these tapes likely went platinum before rap records were in existence. Bambaataa admits to being influenced by Herc's style and inspired others to the common cause of extending the street culture of hip-hop (Fernando, 1999, p. 18). Grand Master Flash loved tinkering with electronics, and he developed an inexpensive cue monitor that allowed him greater precision and speed in spinning the break beats, which along with his showmanship, and supreme hand-eye coordination in mixing records (thus the moniker "Flash") gained him greater popularity than Kool Herc (Fernando, 1999, p.18). Flash and his crew are credited with several innovations. For example, they developed the art of "scratching" or using the noise of a turntable needle working back and forth to create its own rhythm for entertainment. Additionally, according to George (1998)" 'Punch phrasing'-playing a quick burst from a record on the turntable while it continues on the other-and 'break spinning' -alternately spinning both records backwards to repeat the same phrase over and over-are credited to Flash" (p. 19). As with Herc, the use of MCs for toasting and developing catch phrases was also a norm. Rapping came after graffiti and break-dancing but it is the enduring and most central element of hip-hop. Graffiti exploded in the Bronx during the 1970s with the use of spray paint and felt markers. George (1998) credits this to a community of artists that gathered in and around Dewitt Clinton High in the Bronx near the Transit Authority. These artists created a guerilla art using subway trains as their canvas (p. 11). This illegal form of expression was met with much concern and public resistance. This only increased the stakes for recognition and artists created new names or "tags" for themselves that heightened the mystery. Initially dominated by Puerto Ricans and Caucasians, graffiti writing soon outstripped racial background and all races were into it. Break-dancing emerged with disco and the attempt by DJs to merge two songs together as smoothly as possible. Dancer's imitated the ''rupture in rhythmic continuity" (Rose, 1994, p. 47). Additionally, these dancers adapted a number of movements from various sources, inclusive of the sliding steps of James Brown, platform movements as seen on television's Soul Train, the robotic actions of Michael Jackson, and kung fu kicks and turns taken from movies of the time. By 1984 the dance style had crested, receding from the mainstream by 1986. It represents the significant contribution of Hispanics who helped make it competitive and were undoubtedly the masters of this form. All the components of hip-hop embodied the philosophy of announcing one's existence in the world. Rose (1994) identifies the cross-fertilization between rap, graffiti, and break-dancing with certain graffiti writers producing rap records. By 1982 a young underground filmmaker, Charlie Ahearn, shot Wild Style that tied together the dancing music and graffiti (p. 35). Rapper's Delight by a previously unknown trio, the Sugarhill Gang, was the first real hip-hop hit. The group rapped over a recent disco number-one record, Good Times by Chic, appearing "like the musical equivalent of graffiti, quite unlike the slick disco confections of the previous summer" (Greenberg, 1999, p. 24). Sylvia Robinson, who along with her husband owned the independent Sugarhill label, put the group together. Sylvia was aware of the hip-hop scene through her son and was an experienced distributor, successful musician, and businessperson. She and her husband Joe had built careers catering to the Black community and were not expecting a crossover. The album sold several million copies and rose to the top of the pop charts.' The response from the hip-hop community was a mixture of resentment and desire to also get into the commercial spotlight. But once on the radar opportunities for other artists became a reality. "Today Sugar Hill is remembered as a business that introduced virtually every important innovation over a four-year period (scratching, break beats, socially relevant lyrics, even rapping itself) without making the compromises that inevitably mark the crossover dream" (Greenberg, 1999, p. 32). As hip-hop evolved, new artists such as Run-DMC, Rick Rubin, and Russell Simmon's Def Jam empire, turned to a more riff and rock-oriented approach. Thus, from a historical perspective, hip-hop is rooted predominantly in the Afro ­Diaspora. There is a temporal break between the "old school" with its emphasis on clean fun and creativity, and the new wave with an emphasis on violence, misogyny, sex, materialism, and making a profit (Jackson, 2010). Rose (1994) challenges concerns over profit, claiming that "old schoolers" simply did not realize they could profit from their pleasure (p. 40). Conclusion Hip hop was born out of a number of social, political, and artistic occurrences. George (1998) starts hip-hop’s story at the end of 1960s, a period of hopes for total racial integration- Martin Luther King’s dream. However, as the 1970s progressed the reality of inequalities was reiterated. In terms of what was reflected in art, the expression of the people, most obvious and mobile with the music, segregation continued. The history of discourses on Black music and cultural practices has been marketing by making links to the oppressive social existence and circumstances that Blacks faced (Jackson, 2010). Black life and Black music functioned as signs of marginality and opposition to mainstream society and popular culture. References Fernando, S. H. Jr. (1999). Back in the day: 1975-79. In A. Light (Ed.). The Vibe history of hip-hop. (pp. 13-22). New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Garofalo, R. (1992). Rockin' the boat: Mass music and mass culture. Boston: South End Press. George, N. (1998). Hip-hop America. New York: Viking. Greenberg, S. (1999). Sugar Hill records. In A. Light (Ed.). The Vibe history of hip-hop. (pp. 23 -34). New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Jackson, C. (2010). Branding Black Men: Hank Willis Thomas's Branded Series. In Violence, visual culture, and the black male body, Routledge. Jackson, C. (2010)., Fantasies of Wounding: Black Male Bodies in Hip Hop. In Violence, visual culture, and the black male body, Routledge. Kitwana, B. (2006). Erasing Blackness: Are White Kids Really Hip Hop's primary Audience? In Why white kids love hip-hop: wankstas, wiggers, wannabes, and the new, Basic Civitas Books. Perkins, W. E. (1996). (Ed.). Droppin' Science: Critical essays on rap music and hip-hop culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Rose T. (1994). Black noise: Rap music and Black culture in contemporary America. New England: Wesleyan University Press Toop, D. (1991). Rap Attack 2: African rap to global. New York: Serpent's Tail. Werner, C. (1999). A change is gonna come: Music, race & the soul of America. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. Read More