Fulton 1 Tiara Fulton Professor Grant English 1102 April 28 2014 Aint Nothin like Hip-Hop Music Music

is something that is a part of everyday life. People listen to music as way to unwind and relax, as a method of therapy, or also for motivation, amongst many other things. In movies, on the radio, in shopping stores, and even in the elevator, no matter the genre, music is always around us. Recently there has been a rise in a relatively new genre of music labeled as hip hop music. Since its birth in the 1960s, hip hop has been said to pollute the minds of its listeners and cause violence, this is because its origins are related to Bronx, New York (Chang, 2005). Even though some artists do speak upon violent matters in their material, author of the book Hip Hop Wars, Tricia Rose, claims that there is no direct link of violence to hip hop music (Rose, 2008). In her book she states, what may appear to be a concern over violence in entertainment turns into stigmatizing some expressions (hip hop music) and the groups that it is associated with (black youth). It led me wonder, does our race actually affect our understanding of hip hop music and its culture? In this paper I will discuss the history of hip hop music, from its grassroots movements in the 1960s until present day. I also argue that hip hop music doesnt cause violence, isnt demeaning to women, and that hip hop music contributes to society. In the end, there isnt a direct link of violence to hip hop music, race does affect our understanding, and hip hop music and its artist do give back to society. The paper is structured as follows: the

Fulton 2 history of hip hop, the discussion of hip hip and violence, hip hop and women, the contribution of hip of music and its artist, and our racial understanding of the genre. In order to grasp the concept of hip-hop music, one must know the history of this popular musical genre. A hip-hop pioneer that is credited to have accidentally discover this new sound, and said to have started the grassroots movements in the Bronx is Clive Campbell, also known by his stage name, DJ Kool Herc (Chang, 2005). Born April 16th, 1955 to Keith and Nettie Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, Clive Campbell was the first of six children. His father Keith was a working class man, as he was as the head foreman at the Kingston Wharf garage. Clives mother Nettie moved to the United States to begin working as a dental technician and studying for her nursing degree. Convinced that the United States offered a better future for her family, in November 1967, Nettie moved her family from Jamaica to the Bronx, New York, when Clive was twelve years old. During this time many other Jamaicans moved to major cities such as Miami, London, Toronto, and New York City to escape instability in Jamaica (Chang, 2005). Once he arrived in New York, Campbell had a hard time transitioning into the American lifestyle, he still felt and sounded like a country boy from Jamaica. He was picked on in school for his accent and native culture. Gangs were even throwing him and other native Jamaicans in trashcans. He started hanging out with a group of boys called the Five Percenters. He even started to hang out with local gangs called Cofon Cats. Once in middle school, Clive began running cross-country and track, and excelled in these areas (Chang, 2005). In the summer of 1970 Clive and his two friends, Jerome and Richard changed their names like thousands of other kids did during a time when graffiti was taking over city walls and buildings. Richard became Uncle Rich, Jerome became Yogi and Clive became Clyde as Kool (Chang, 2005). Clive eventually made a name for himself on the track, on the basketball

Fulton 3 court, and in the weight room also. His friends always joked with him naming him Hercules because of the way he powers himself to the basketball hoop. He didnt like the name Hercules and preferred to be called herc. Eventually he dropped Clyde from his previous nickname and was called Kool Herc. Kool Herc started to attend Discos in the hotel close to his apartment and always went to house parties. His family even started to have parties at their Sedgwick apartment. He enjoyed disco music and dancing but wished that the songs would last longer so he, his friends, and others could dance longer (Chang, 2005). Clive Campbell later developed a style of music that is used as the blueprint for hip-hop music. He focused on the break of songs, which heavily feature percussion and different from the main parts of the song. The break of the songs are what dancers liked best about disco songs because they could dance to these longest. Herc isolated this part of the song and later, prolonged it. As one record reached the end of the break, he cued the other record back to the beginning of the break, thereby extending a relatively small part of a record into a "five-minute loop of fury". Herc hired b-boys and b-girls to dance during his breaks that would later be called Break Dancing, and would later evolve into the electricboogie (Breakdancing). Hip-hop is said to have started during a time of oppression, corruption, and unemployment in the southern part of the Bronx, New York. The Bronx lost 600,000 manufacturing jobs which resulted 40% of the sector disappearing. The average per capita income dropped to $2,430, that value is half of what the New York City average per capita income at that time (Chang, 2005). The southern area of the Bronx lost 43,000 housing units that is the equivalent of four square blocks per week. Between 1973 and 1977, 30,000 fires were set in the Bronx, New York alone. These fires were not fires of rage that ignited Watts or other cities after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. These were fires of abandonment says

Fulton 4 Chang. This is important because hip-hop music was still able to be born, grow, and impact so many lives during a time that was deemed a city of death, says Chang (Chang, 2005). Like any genre of music, artist of the hip hop genre and its culture have gained popular stereotypes and misconceptions. Many of these stereotypes and misconceptions have caused other musical audiences to have a negative perception of it, and even not want to sample the material. Misconceptions such as the music causes violence, it is demeaning to women, and hiphop artist dont give back to society. Other stereotypes that have been created are that male hiphop artist are thugs, gangsters, or drug dealers. Women are seen as booty-shaking women, loose, and ratchet. According to Urban Dictionary, ratchet is defined as a diva from urban cities and ghettos that have reason to believe she is every mans eye candy(Ratchet). Despite what people may believe hip-hop music is more than what meets the eye or the ears. A popular misconception about hip-hop music is that the music causes violence to occur in society. It is said that this genre glorifies and encourages violence, which causes the violence to occur. This is a false perception in so many ways because everything around us, past and present, has an impact on us one way or another. A 1980s hip-hop group named Public Enemy were considered to be advocates of violence for saying by any means necessary when it came to armed resistance against racism (Rose, 2008). Another popular hip-hop group who peaked in the early to mid-1990s was N.W.A from Los Angeles, California. This group rose during a time of race riots in Los Angeles in 1992, that resulted in looting, arson, and fifty-three murders. N.W.A and many others were outraged after the acquittal of the police officers who severely beat Rodney King. The group found success through gang-oriented attire and songs that depicted gang life and gang culture. This group was anti-police and even titled one of their hit songs Fuck the Police. Another artist, Snoop Doggy Dogg, titled one of his songs Deep

Fulton 5 Cover. In the song he rapped, 187 on undercover cop, 187 is the police code for a homicide (Rose, 2008). As these artist, and its followers, are moving towards the main stage, there is a worry that their portrayals of violence will encourage the listeners to imitate the acts of violence. This scare or believe then evolved into another belief that all rappers are criminals and that in their songs they are retelling violent acts that they have committed (Rose, 2008).The lyrics to such violent songs have even been used against artist of this genre in criminal trials. Rose says, the criticism that hip-hop advocates and thus causes violence relies on the unsubstantiated but widely held belief that listening to violent stories or consuming violent images directly encourages violent behavior. Studies have been unable to provide evidence that confirms the direct link between consumption and action. The same studies have been done with violent video games and the same result came back from the studies, inconclusive (Rose, 2008). Another misconception about hip-hop music is that it is all demeaning to women. Author of Hip-Hop Wars, Tricia Rose, argues explicit isnt always exploitive (Rose,2008). Not all of the sexually explicit material is anti-patriarchal or empowering. She says, Highly visible rappers like Lil Kim, Trina, and Foxy Brown use the black female-required sex card in hip-hop, their stories of so called sexual power generate from using their sexuality as the basis for their image. That in itself is part of the trap they have escaped. Kim admitted that she uses her identity as Lil Kim to get money. Yet even when such performers seem to be expressing womens sexual power, they use sexually exploitative images and stories and sexually dominating personas similar to those expressed by many male rappers. They are hustlers instead of victims, but the male-empowering terms of hustling, victimizing, and sexual domination as legitimate power remain intact (Rose, 2008). Artist such as Missy Elliot and Eve have found a way to embody femininity by masculine standards in order to show their power. I believe many critics tend to

Fulton 6 interpret the lyrics to these sexually explicit songs for their literal mean, I believe they look too deeply into the lyrics. The last misconception that I will be discussing is that hip-hop music and its artist do not give back to society and their community. Contrary to popular belief that is, false. Many artist of this genre have started their own charitable foundations and also donate their fortune to charity. Pharrell Williams, mostly known by his stage name Pharrell, is a popular musical artist within the hip-hop genre, and was able to prove his talents in many other genres. He was born on April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Pharrell is an international singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, fashion designer, and philanthropist. In 2008 Pharrell establish the non-profit organization, From One Hand to Another (FOHTA). In the FOHTA mission statement it states that their goal is to, change the world one kid at a time by giving them the tools and resources to meet their unique potential(FOHTA). Pharrell believes that every child can be successful if they have the right tools and resources. He has built Pharrell Williams Resource Centers (PWRCs) in at risk communities around the country. These resource centers have created learning programs to better underserved youth ages ranging from ages seven to twenty. These buildings provide educational services in areas such as science, technology, engineering, math, and motivation (FOHTA). Another hip-hop artist Snoop Lion, commonly known as Snoop Dog, also does charitable work. He has helped raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, Save A Life Foundation which volunteers work with inner city youth and donate to childrens hospitals, and he is also the coach of Snoop Youth Football League for inner city youth (Look To the Stars). In a documentary presented by Idris Elba, How Hip-Hop Changed the World he counts down the top fifty major contributions to society from hip-hop music from the 1960s until 2011. The number fifty spot was the 2012 Olympic logo, the logo was made of graffiti (How Hip-hop

Fulton 7 Changed the World). Graffiti was a rising form of art in the 1970 used by the forgotten kids of New York City, to make a mark on their cities. Graffiti now has influenced architectures around the world and logos such as Mars Chocolate and Starbucks Coffee. The number forty spot was the Beastie Boys also known as the original neighbors from hell (How Hip-hop Changed the World). They broke the color barriers of hip-hop music and were able to change the genre. It also made hip-hop open to a wider audience that it hadnt yet been exposed to, the Caucasian audience. The number thirty spot was Vanilla Ice and M.C. Hammer for being the biggest selling artist of the 1990 and caused hip-hop music to rise (How Hip-hop Changed the World). Vanilla Ice was the first white rapper to go multi-platinum. M.C. Hammer had high levels of commercial success for his hit song U Cant Touch This that he released in 1990. The number 20 spot was the television show Yo! MTV Raps. Hip-hop artist such as Salt N Peppa and Will Smith, all made appearances on the show. This show was one on the only shows where you could watch hip-hop music videos. This show made it possible to reach kids all across America who may not have heard hip-hop music before. Yo! MTV Raps soon became the number one rated show on the Music Television Network (How Hip-hop Changed the World). The number ten spot was Will Smith and the Fresh Prince of Belair. This show helped to shift the representation of black culture on mainstream television. The number one spot on the countdown is when President Obama said to a reporter You know I got to admit, lately Ive been listening to a lot of Jay Z. He professed his love for hip-hop music during his campaign in 2008 and enlisted the helped of the hip-hop community and artist such as Jay Z and P. Diddy to help change America. These artist helped to motivate the younger generation to get involved and go out to the polls and vote. Hip-hop encouraged the youth to get involved. The very idea of Obama was a hip-hop dream, says rapper Will.I.Am (How Hip-hop Changed the World).

Fulton 8 Author of Thug Life: Race, Gender, the Meaning of Hip-Hop Michael P. Jefferies, interviewed everyday hip-hop music listeners and analyzed a total of forty male respondents conceptions of the meaning of hip-hop. In his research the author asks, How do young black and white men define, engage, and utilize hip-hop? Are their significant differences between the way black and white men interpret rap music and the meaning of hip-hop music? In Jefferies research he divides the respondents by social class and race. He uses four social classes: cultural elite, stagnant middle class, upwardly mobile working class, and stagnant working class. In the culture elite were respondents who have the benefit of middle-class upbringing and college education. This was a category with ten white males and five black males. In the stagnant middle class were respondents who were raised in middle-class families but did not receive college degrees. This category consisted of one white male and three black males. The upwardly mobile working class were respondents who have impoverished upbringings but are in the position to join the middle class by way of their own education. This was a category with four white males and four black males. The final class, stagnant working, were respondents who have spent majority of their lives in impoverished communities and do not have the education to progress to the upwardly mobile working class. This category consisted of five white males and eight blacks males (Jefferies, 2011). When asked the open ended question, how would you define hip-hop?, most responded with similar responses of hip-hop being a culture, a form of self-expression, and that it originated in underserved black urban areas. Both sets of respondents affirm hip-hop as part of their identities and a culture they live in on a daily basis. But black respondents from each class build a racialized collective hip-hop identity and believe they are connected to other hip-hop enthusiast because hip-hop is, in part, about black experience. White respondents do not link

Fulton 9 their appreciation of and experience with hip-hop to collective racial identity, whites and members of the hip-hop communities they belong to, says Jefferies (Jefferies, 2011). In conclusion, he states that the respondents are able to relate to hip-hop because they believe it reflects real life experiences. The respondents from both groups love and understand hip-hop, they have an appreciation for the word play and layered meaning. Both groups use hip-hop to help understand themselves and their worlds (Jefferies, 2011). I believe that our race doesnt affect our understanding of hip-hop music and Jefferies research was able to make that clear. After researching my inquiry question I was able to reach my conclusion, and as an end result happy about my research. As an avid hip-hop music listener I was able to learn a lot about the history of hip-hop music and where it all started. I think thats an important aspect to learn about any genre of music so as listeners we will have an even greater appreciation of the music. The three major misconceptions of hip-hop music have all been debunked through research. I learned that there studies have been inconsistent and unable to link hip-hop music to violence that is occurring in society. When it came to the misconception about hip-hop music being demeaning towards women, author Tricia Rose argued, explicit isnt always exploitive (Rose, 2008). The documentary How Hip-hop Changed the World taught me that hip-hop music and its artist, do give back to society and community. Finally, author Michael Jefferies was able to prove that our race does not affect our understanding of hip-hop music. Hip-hop music is a beautiful, complex, and diverse genre of music. My hope for this genre in the future is that it continues to change the lives of all listeners, and continues to give back to society.

Fulton 10 Works Cited "Breakdancing." Breakdancing. University of Illinos at Chicago, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. "Ratchet." Urban Dictionary. N.p., 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2014. "Tools For The Future." From One Hand To Another RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. Bridger, Sam, dir. How Hip Hop Changed the World. Fresh One Productions, 2011. Film. 11 Mar 2014. Chang, Jeff. Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. Print. Jeffries, Michael P. Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip Hop. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2011. Print. Purcell, Myrila . "Snoop Lion: Charity Work & Causes." Look to the Stars. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Rose, Tricia. The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop and Why It Matters. New York: BasicCivilas, 2008. Print