Cecil Anderson
Mrs. Rand
English 1103-012
6 November 2012
Hip Hop: Why is it Viewed Negatively?
Words have the power to incite, influence, inform, and connect a society for thousands of
generations. Words are unique to each and every culture in the sense that they are arbitrary; one
word can hold multiple meanings and not have a set definition. The capabilities of words make
each and every one an extremely potent force in every aspect of life. In other words, words are
necessary for survival and communication. For this reason, man’s use of words needs to be
monitored. However, it is difficult to express yourself clearly with words if they must be
monitored. This problem is relevant when it comes to hip-hop. The hip-hop culture has been
prominent in America since the 1970’s. It has influenced multiple generations to this day for
better and worse. It is also has also had a profound influence on society. Many use hip-hop as a
way to define African-American culture because this form of art is the most used in this culture.
Hip-hop, specifically rap, has garnered negative attention over the past view years, thus giving
misinterpretation of the black community. Hip-hop has a negative connotation to its name
because of rap’s lyrical content consisting of misogyny, violence, and machoism.
The birth of hip-hop was in Bronx, New York, around the 1970’s. It was influenced by
the Caribbean style of “toast” and “boast”. Toasting is the act of talking over a rhythm or beat in
order to enhance it (Rhodes, Henry). DJ Kool Herc is a Jamaican-American musician and
producer credited as the pioneer of the hip hop movement. He integrated the Jamaican style of
toasting along with a two-disc turntable sound system in order to produce a unique sound like no
other. It produced melodic rhythms through the method of “breaking” the two records on the
turn table. Herc was the first DJ to have a MC-Dance team as well. This contributed to the
development of the style of dance known as break dancing (Rhodes, Henry.) The act of toasting
and boasting then developed into the art of MC-ing/ rapping. MC-ing is the act of “rhyming over
lyrics spoken rhythmically over musical instruments, with a musical backdrop of sampling,
scratching and mixing by DJs” (Rhodes, Henry).
The development of MCing swiftly
progressed in this decade. Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” was the first hip hop single
released to become a hit. After this a chain of events sparked the rise of the hip-hop culture.
In 1980, Kurtis Blow released “The Breaks” on Mercury Records. This goes on to sell
more than a million copies, thus spreading hip-hop’s popularity among a wider audience. In
1981, ABC’s 20/20 showed the first the first national television coverage of the rap
phenomenon. This brings hip-hop in national spotlight (Rhodes, Henry). In the years to come,
substantial growth would occur in the lyrical content of hip-hop. It diverged from the simple
boasting to a use of metaphors, similes, allusions, etc. in a way that brought awareness to the
social plight of African Americans. These eras of growth are known as the “Golden Era” and the
“Gangsta Rap” era. The “Golden Era” of hip hop is credited as being the most influential of
lyrical growth, and in way enlightenment. The “Gangsta Rap” era is said to have brought a
negative view on African Americans. Its lyrical content brought on many suggestive themes
such as its depiction of violence and degradation of women. Years after the end of the “Gangsta
Rap” era, these same themes have been carried on because of how it is highly marketed in
corporate America (Ogbar, Jeffery pg. 34).
Misogyny has been a main focus of critics who denounce the rap genre (Ogbar, Jeffrey
73). Hip Hop, rap music specifically, portrays women in a negative image. It tends to degrade
women, making them viewed only as sexual objects. Hip-videos often show women as strippers
or exposing their body to men in obscene positions. One of the most notable videos that
portrayed women negatively was Nelly’s Tip Drill. In this video, women are dancing sexually as
men throw money at them, and in one specific scene, a man swipes are credit card between a
woman’s buttocks. Explicit lyrics often refer to the women as whores, ho’s, sluts, and every
other name demeaning them (Arce, Rose). Some lyrics also portray women as Jezebel like
figures (Ogbar, Jeffery 79). Although the actions of women men rap upon do actually occur,
there is a huge problem with this. The content of the lyrics and videos are being objectified in
the media, and then it manifests in the youth that watch these videos and listen to these songs. It
also provides misrepresentations of black women to the other cultures that listen to this music.
Michaela Angela Davis, the fashion and beauty editor said:
"That sickness is becoming the psyche of young women. Who they are in this culture,
where they fit, what their value is, or their lack of value, because if this is the only image
that they see of themselves in a pseudo-glamorous way, meaning if they look at a fashion
magazine there's no girl that looks like 'Tamico on the block' [an average black girl], but
in the videos there is, But they see them in this one objectified way and it's hurting them.”
The negative objectivity of women is not only to blame on man, because it is prevalent in
female hip hop artistry as well. Many female artists have embraced the dominant narratives of
sexuality depicted in the lyrics of the male artist. Artist such as Lil Kim and Foxy brown have
evolved their lyrics to express their authenticity in hip-hop. They use sultry lyrics and exude sex
for the simple fact that sex sells. These two artists sold millions of copies and took the hip-hop
world by storm. “With strong production, name recognition, and visibility, Foxy Brown and Lil’
Kim appropriated the common tropes of braggadocious sexuality…” (Ogbar, Jeffery 85). The
commercial success of these hypersexual female MC’s opened the door for other artist who used
this style. Overtime the commercial success of these lyrics were embedded in young women’s
minds, and they began associating themselves in the same mannerisms these artist did believing
it was right. This ultimately led to the negative controlling images of hip-hop and lyrical content
and the degradation of women.
In addition to the lyrical content of artist that portray misogyny, lyrics depicting the
violent lives of African Americans are one of the large contributing factors as to why hip hop has
a negative connotation to its name. Violence is portrayed in hip hop lyrics because it gives the
artist a persona of strong masculinity. However, violence is not unique to the hip hop culture.
Violent masculinity has been embedded in the American culture since early in our nation’s time.
An example of this is the violent depiction of cowboys. Violent masculinity has always been a
part of our American ideology of power, and it makes sense for the artist to speak on violence
(Powell, Kevin).
Hypermasculinity is prevalent in the African American culture. For many men and boys
it is inseparable from race and class. Many African Americans feel that they are inferior to those
who are in a higher economic-class; therefore they try to exude “power”. Jason Katz suggested
that as a society, we men have associated power with wealth or physical prowess and we attempt
to emulate or acquire these things by any means (qtd in Hip-hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes). In
my culture these things are extremely important. We are typically viewed as weak and inferior
to those who are larger or have more money than us. We are not viewed as masculine if we have
not had multiple sex partners as well. The ideals of being masculine have led us to commit
actions generally frowned upon. We commit crimes and degrade women in an attempt to portray
the stereotypical ideal of masculinity. In a way, hypermasculinty serves as a defense mechanism
to our minds, but is ultimately harmful to our society and our culture.
This hypermasculinty has contributed to the lyrical content of hip hop artist. Many artists
tell tales of the crimes committed in order to reach the “American Dream”. They speak on how
they do whatever is necessary for survival and making a profit. Many songs tell stories of cop
killing, drug dealing, gang banging, etc. Schooly D’s “Case and Point” is an example of this:
“Copped my pistols, jumped into the ride.
Got at the bar, copped some flack,
Copped some cheeba-cheeba, it wasn’t wack.
Got to the place, and who did I see?
A sucka-ass nigga tryin to sound like me.
Put my pistol up against his head—
I said, “Sucka-ass nigga, I should shoot you dead.”
Another example of this is Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. It tells of the gritty reality he faced while
living in Brooklyn, New York, pursuing his millionaire dreams. Its lyrical content consisted of
his distribution of drugs and violent crimes he committed to reach his dreams. He also
commands respect and flaunts everything he acquires. Many hustlers and gangsters could relate
to this album. It was one of the first commercially successful albums that reached critical
acclaim because of the contents of its lyrics. This album’s lyrical continent has been credited by
multiple artists such as Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, and Wale, as being one of the most influential
albums they have listened too. Its lyrics personify hypermasculinity and shows how it has been
passed down upon to future generations of hip hop artist (Ogbar, Jeffery 112).
In order to fix this view of hip-hop, we must first educate the listeners. Society must
become of aware of the social and economic situations African Americans face to understand the
underlying messages in the lyrics. We must also educate the youth of our society. They must be
taught to ignore the negative objectifications of women and violence. We must change the
messages we release as well. “If messages of love, peace, anti-racism, and human uplift are
resonated among the hip hop population, it can have an enormous impact on ethnic relations in
our society. (R.Reese)”
Lastly we must advocate change and seek reform. The hip hop culture needs to work
together to dismantle the institutionalized structures and practices that have created the negative
objectification of women. This needs to be done by the hip-hop artist themselves. The words of
the artist brought forth this negative view and I believe they have the potential to fix the problem
as well. Tupac was an influential proponent in seeking change. He said:
"I see no changes, all I see is racist faces misplaced hate makes disgrace the racist...I
wonder what it takes to make this one better place...take the evil out the people (then)
they'll be acting right cause both black and white are smokin crack tonight and the only
time we deal is when we kill each other, it takes skill to be real, time to heal each
other...."
Many other artists have created lyrics that sought to heal or nation by denouncing the
degradation of women and ending the promotion of violence. The problem with this is
commercial rap depicting these two things sells more, and money is the motive. Seventy percent
of mainstream hip hop is consumed by white men (qtd in Hip-hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes). If
we continue to satisfy the mainstream media by producing and purchasing songs depicting
violence and degrading women, who the culture is now blamed for, then surely we won’t
progress. We must not conform to media satisfaction. The culture has the potential to not depict
violence or misogyny, but we must believe that and support those that promote the right ideals
(R. Reese).
Work Cited
Ogbar, Jeffery. Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap. Kansas: University Press
of Kansas, 2007. Press
Hip-Hop: Beyond the Beats & Rhymes. Dir. Byron Hurt. PBS. 2006
Rose Arce. Hip-hop portrayal of women protested. CNN. 2005
Henry, Rhodes. The Evolution of Rap Music in the United States. Yale-New Haven Institute.
John H. McWhorter, “How Hip-hop Holds Blacks Back,” City Journal, Summer 2003.
R.Reese. From The Fringe: The Hip Hop Culture And Ethnic Relations. Popular Culture
Review, volume XI, no.2, 2000
Reflection
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The most interesting thing I learned about this project was the history. I was not aware that hip
hop stemmed from Jamaicans. I didn’t know who were the prominent figures of the generation
of hip hop as well. I found that toasting is boasting is prominent in the hip hop genre to this day
as well.
I struggled with the narrowing the topic of my research project initially. There were so many
things that could’ve been used to create magnificent research papers. I’m also not sure if my
thesis is clear and if I organized my paper well. Lastly I struggled with the citation.
My inquiry question did change over time. As I did more research I was able to narrow down
exactly what I wanted to ask and how I would address it. I hope I did this clearly. It was initially
very broad and inquired about a wide range of topic involving hip hop.
The historical view my topic was extremely important because it gave me a premise of why
certain things are the way they are today. Without this knowledge I would not have been able
to develop any arguments supporting my thesis. The history also gave me more insight on my
topic as well.
I think my analytical skills might have been developed somewhat after this research paper. In
the past I never did research papers at all so I never really analyzed one specific topic in depth.
I proud of the fact that I finished the project. I’m also proud of the depth with which I explored
my topic. I’m not proud of the fact that I procrastinated so I might be forgetting some citation
elements and I’m not sure it is completely correct.
I would like to know if the literary techniques used in hip-hop could be used in a school setting
to help with education and narrowing the bridge between whites and minorities.