Week 8: Still More Politics... and Chuck D

Out of all the readings this week, Mark Dery’s essay “Public Enemy: Confrontation” interested me the most. First of all, I think Dery provides an excellent explanation of the political nature of hip-hop. Through an examination of both the aesthetics and the lyrics of Public Enemy’s music, he makes the case that “rap, by definition, is political music” (408). Few people would argue with this; rap, even when not overtly or literally political, is informed by the politics of power, commoditization, race, gender, and other considerations. However, Dery also argues that “In the final analysis, it is important to remember that while rap is political, rappers are not politicians. Like callow young men of all races, they often fall prey to macho posturing, misogyny, and xenophobia” (410). Interesting: the creators of political music need not be politicians themselves, and the vices in their music are not unique to their culture or genre. Perhaps we ask too much of rappers by expecting them to serve as political figures representing an entire community when they are merely artists or entertainers. So, this makes me wonder if we should always view hip hop music as something entirely separate from the artists who create it.

I also enjoyed reading Chuck D’s explanation of his own hip hop aesthetics. This week’s readings, and the interview especially, helped me to understand the complicated technical elements of hip hop production. I find myself listening to rap music now with a more careful ear, attempting to catch the bass lines, samples, digital instruments, and asymmetry in each song. Chuck D also referred to the importance of layering in hip hop, which was discussed in Parodies of Ownership, and he points out that a “soul and funk” feel is essential to a good rap song. I have a great deal of respect for hip hop artists who take aesthetic responsibility for their own music and who actually understand what they’re doing, which Chuck D clearly does. I think many rappers today just speak someone else’s words on a highly-produced track and have no understanding of the complex technological process underlying their success.

Maybe that’s why we will never again have a “Golden Age” of hip hop.

Week 7: Location, Politics, and Art

Prophets of the Hood provided me with answers to questions and articulated several important theories about hip-hop which resonated deeply with me. First of all, Imani Perry gives a clear, sensible definition of hip-hop as “black American music” containing four characteristics: African American Vernacular English, a “political location in society” revolving around black life, a history in black American oral tradition, and roots in African American music. Furthermore, I found Perry’s argument against hip-hop as Afro-Atlantic music fascinating. In modern literary studies, there is a decided trend toward post-colonialism, and I agree with Perry that while examining global connections, influences, and culture is important, it can also deemphasize the crucial regional and local identities that inform art. So, while keeping in mind the contributions to hip-hop from other nationalities, we should also not ignore its role as black American music.

I also liked what Perry had to say about hip-hop’s aesthetic validity. According to him, in hip-hop, “there is, moreover, no mandate on the artist to be politically uplifting all the time, or even at all. The tension so created for the listener is a tension between ideology and art.” Although hip-hop can be politically charged, it has no responsibility to politics. Its primary responsibility is to aesthetics—the creative nature of the composition, the careful selection of sounds and beats, the poetic quality of the lyrics—essentially, the artistic effect on the ear when one listens to the music. Too often, Perry warns, critics want to interpret hip-hop lyrics as pure political texts; however, this ignores the equally important element of “artistic choice.” Hip-hop, then, is a blend between content and form, just like any other type of art.

And a final note: Perry points out that high school students in America continue to study misogynistic and racist texts as part of the English curriculum. As literary history has shown, society rejects many groundbreaking works at of art at the time of publication, condemning them for being “offensive.” It is not until years later that they become acceptable for scholarly criticism and included in the canon. I wonder if, several decades out, all students in America will learn about hip-hop lyrics and music as a legitimate art form worthy of study in spite of the controversy. I hope so.