Essay due 12pm tuesday 1-2 pages

Alon Suberi

Dr.  Smyth

Period 10

Hip Hop/Rap; More than Cultural Resistance, but a Way of Life

At first, Hip Hop’s original purpose was simple, culturally resist all the pressures of life and dance while listening to music. The lyrics from what is classified as the first hip-hop song (The Sugarhill Gang- Rapper’s Delight, 1979) mostly discussed“moving to the beat”, and was recorded in one take according to the artists, something that would come off as a very odd subject to one who has only started to listening to hip hop recently. Social Rap from its origins, that which has characterized rap - and hip hop culture of which it is part - is its condition of marginality, as it arises from an oppressed and segregated social segment that carries strong social stigmata. Therefore, as being embedded within an unequal socio-political framework and fighting against injustices created by that system, rap is a form of resistance. Shortly after the hip-hop genre was established, the icons of cultural resistance had appeared. This subgenre of rap is commonly referred to as “Gangsta Rap” and culturally resisted a multitude of social aspects that people were just beginning to get used to such as the modern social caste system, where majority of African-Americans do not receive the same opportunities that many others do due to nationwide racism. When the term cultural resistance is brought up in today’s world, people usually discuss acts of protest, or violence, or groups who are willing to change social constructs despite the reaction the general public may have. Most interest groups (like Black Lives Matter) were empowered by the movement in the 90s. If the Los Angeles riots started to reform the Black underclass status, then why can’t groups protest and reach the same goal in a more modern/civilized world 30 years later?

What many people do not understand today about modern rap is that artists explain a lifestyle of drugs and guns because they have lived that way growing up and were continuously exposed to that type of environment. The artists feel that because they have been exposed to so much success, they must “credit their sources” and give a shout-out to friends and family who have not made it as far as they have. This does not necessarily mean that these rappers abuse these drugs today. In fact, many rappers admit they used to take drugs but have discontinued their usage or went to rehabilitation since their upgrade in lifestyle such as, Eminem, Flavor Flav, and Gucci Mane. What modern day Hip-Hop offers is a false sense of cultural resistance as opposed to the cultural resistance of 30 years ago, which fought against inequality, and is still being fought for by many today.  

The most predominant rap group that slingshotted millions in America to culturally resist the unfair treatment of Black was NWA, a group of 4 African-Americans who did not sugarcoat any of the issues that they had faced at the time. However, rappers of the time refuse to call this genre of hip-hop Gangsta Rap. in fact, from the point of view of these artists this is not Gangsta Rap, but rather Reality Rap, as this is not just a way to express what they think, but what they genuinely face. Dr. Dre, the producer of NWA was interviewed in 1993 and he states, “If I'm promoting violence, they're promoting it just as much as I am by focusing on it in the article. That really bugs me out — you know, if it weren't going on, I couldn't talk about it. And who came up with that term gangsta rap anyway?” As one of the icons of Rap in the 90s, he clearly is insulted by referring to his art as the acts of a “Gangsta”. This music was a way to respond to the acts of violence police would commit in order to stop a criminal who did not understand that the music is supposed to prevent people from behaving in such a matter. According to statistics, crime rate increased in Compton, where majority of Reality Rappers originated. In the 1980s, when hip-hop was born, the total amount of violent crimes that year was 2,194, what seems to be a remarkably large number for one year. When the subgenre of Reality Rap was established, that number had jumped by nearly 1,000 crimes, with a total amount of violent crimes totalling 3,143. This may now seem like the music at the time triggered violent crimes, and that may be true. However, if people had referred to them as realists rather than rappers, is it possible that that dynamic would have changed?

The song most notoriously known for triggering the listeners of rap was a single called “F--- tha Police”. The name itself can trigger a lot of controversy, however, it is the first amendment of this nation to speak freely without consequence. In the 1989 Detroit concert performed by NWA this right was challenged. In the Detroit Press, a local newspaper in close proximity to where the incident occurred, the night started and ended as followed, “the rappers are warned before taking the stage at Joe Louis Arena not to perform the controversial anthem, “F--- tha Police.” One very stern officer says, “Just watch yourself.” The group makes a stand for free speech and starts performing the song anyway. Then Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and the other members are chased out of the arena by the cops and thrown into a police van”. In our slightly more evolved society today, we know that the police have no right to arrest people who are using their words, a right given from the same people who culturally resisted being dominated by a country from across the world and used violence in order to break free from Colonial control.

Rappers and Hip Hop stars in the past decade have seem to evolve into lifestyle ambassadors. Increased influence over adolescence, especially over lower income communities where youth look up to the music stars living “the life”. Subsequently every teenager wants to be high off of something and straddle around in expensive designer clothing, like Future, 2 Chainz etc...) “Codeine”, Promethazine, Lean, these party drugs are becoming ever so popular in our society. If you look back 20 years or so ago, and asked kids in middle or high school what they wanted to be, you’d probably hear “doctor, lawyer, astronaut”. Today you’d probably get more rambunctious answers. In a time period where everyone dyes their hair ecstatic colors and where everyone is on SoundCloud, in an attempt to be heard and maybe make it as a rapper, it may seem ludicrous and superficial, but there’s more to it than that. It’s a lifestyle under Hip Hop that is a manifestation of today’s type of cultural resistance.