Hip-Hop Music and Culture: A Site of Resiliency for the Streets of Young Black America

Hip-Hop Music and Culture

What is Hip-Hop?Hip-Hop is a phenomenological term viewed by Black youth as an ideological way of life centered on emotional catharsis

Even though Rap was born in the ghetto, it addresses issues a lot of kids across America (and the world) are dealing withanger, alienation, hypocrisy, sex and drugsall the basicsKids of all colors, all over the world, instinctively seek to change the world. They usually have this desire because they dont want to buy into dominant values of the mainstream.Rappers want to change the world to suit their vision and to create a place for themselves in it. So kids can find a way into Hip-Hop by staying true to their instinct toward rebellion and change

Hip-Hop has changed the world

Hip-Hop has taken something from the ghetto and made it global. It has become the creative touchstone for edgy, progressive, and aggressive youth culture around the world.

More on Hip-HopHip-Hop, in crude and innovative ways, frames Black youths perspectives of social injustice in local communities and in their personal livesYoung Black America uses hip-hip as a cathartic space in which to discuss personal issues as well as larger social structural concernsPut simply, hip-hop offers a nontraditional way for Black psychologists to understand the psychology of Black youth, especially those from urban environments.

Theoretical Framework: Hip-Hop As a Site of ResiliencyA site of resiliency theoretical analysis argues that a street life context offers particular psychological and physical spaces that operate in tandem to produce a site of strength, community, and, ultimately, resilience for street-life-oriented Black menAlthough this theory could assess various street-life-oriented populations, it was explicitly conceived to frame Black men in the streets, who are at the center of various literatures concerning their relationship to and effect on education, employment, drug policy, and the criminal justice system

Site of Resiliency: cont.Hip-hop is conceptualized as a spectrum of behaviors that typically manifest in the following five identities:MC or RapperDJ or social organizerDancerStreet/Graffiti ArtistKnowledge Bearer or IntellectualThese identities were established by the hip-hop community to give itself structural framing. They are also the necessary lens through which to understand the use of hip-hop by Black youth and adults

The authors analysis of hip-hop in young Black America focuses on a particular genre of hip-hop: street-life-oriented hip-hop music and cultureIt is important to note that hip-hop is a culture initially developed by and for street-life-oriented Black menAlthough various populations engage in hip-hop, much of the music and culture are still centered on the experiences, stories, and overall values of street-life-oriented black men

Historical Origins of Hip-HopThe spirit of hip-hop can be traced to the musical expressions of the Griots of West Africa, who often participated in the West African Bardic traditionBards were though to hold the capacity to manifest the spirit of nyamathe transference of positive and/or negative energy through speech, music, and bodily movementBards partook in a system of poetry and folklore known as the Animal Trickster Tales, which by way of slave trade, made its way to the southern parts of the United States

Historical Origins of Hip-Hop cont.After the Civil War, Blacks continued to share tales or songs of oppression throughout the juke joints, taverns, hot suppers, and churches of the SouthBlack migration during the 1800s moved this spirit of expression to the northern statesThis feeling of expression along with Bad Men Tales (stories of Black belonging primarily to low-income families) developed into hip-hop

Social Structural Stage for the Development of Hip-HopHip-hop culture was created in response to a plethora of social structural issues that deeply impacted the Black community in the late 1960s and 1970s, some of which include the following:Vietnam warInner-city race riotsRise and fall of the Black Power movementSevere economic recessionMajor cocaine and heroin epidemicPrevalence of gang activityMass incarceration of Black men

Social Structural Stage for the Development of Hip-Hop cont.Hip-hop scholars argue that the social structural challenges of the 1970s specifically resulted in the de-funding of vital art-based programs, community centers, and a variety of other community-based programsThese programs had formally reduced Black youths presence in the streets by offering them a way to channel and discipline their energyThe loss of these programs led to increasing levels of drug use and interpersonal violence

Social Structural Stage for the Development of Hip-Hop cont.Ultimately the DJ became prominent in the 1970sThe hip-hop DJ became exceptionally popular for spinning at block parties as well as social events in local parks, where oftentimes they illegally plugged their equipment into nearby lamppostsThe social structural tension of the 1970s paradoxically provided the necessary bedrock for hip-hop to emerge

Phases of Hip-Hop in the Black CommunityHip-hop has been demarcated into at least 4 waves or time periods:Disco Hip-Hop EraFirst Golden EraSecond Golden EraBling-Bling Era

Disco Hip-Hop EraAlso termed Old SchoolRepresents the first period of hip-hop cultureMid 1970s to early to mid 1980sEmphasis during this period was a party of social event, thus bringing rise to the DJ, break dancer, and/or B (break)-boy and girl

First Golden EraSecond period of hip-hop cultureGenerally considered to span between 1983 and 1990In the early to mid-1980s, the music and the artist made a distinct shift in image and soundThe dominant image of hip-hop during this period reflected to a greater extent the younger version of the more serious, explicitly masculine, street dimension of the black communityThis period consisted of artists such as Ice T, Public Enemy, Run DMC, Salt-n-Pepa, Kid-n-Play, and MC Hammer

Second Golden EraThird wave of hip-hopSpanned from the late 1980s to mid-1990sDuring this period, gangsta, hardcore, or street-life-oriented hip-hop became the mainstayFrom this point on, the experiences of street-life-oriented Black men dominate the discourse of hip-hop music and cultureThe music ideally was expected to mimic and capture the pain the Black artists had experienced in their life

Bling-Bling EraFourth and most recent era of hip-hop musicLate 1990s to presentDuring this period, music at large was viewed as a gratuitous demonstration of materialistic, misogynistic, and violent messagesBlack youth and young adults in larger numbers had developed an interest in more ownership of the music as well as entrepreneurial expansion in the larger entertainment industry

Where Does Hip-Hop Live in the Academy?It should be noted that hip-hop has no particular academic homeHip-hop also is not located in any particular academic disciplineAt a fundamental level, hip-hop requires an academic home receptive of an interdisciplinary approach and/or mixed methodologies

Where Does Hip-Hop Live in the Academy? cont.A variety of methods have been used to examine hip-hop. Theoretical, philosophical, historical, and polemical techniques have been the dominant methods used for analysisRaw data typically are collected and analyzed using three methods:Quantitative methods: specifically, randomized and nonrandomized survey and archival techniquesQualitative methods: includes various types of narrative and content analysis of lyricsFormal experimental designs: recently, more researchers have decided to actually interview rappers and other members of hip-hop culture

Is Hip-Hop Really Dead?Hip-hop has been pronounced dead since its birth in the 1970s. This notion of hip-hop being dead has most recently been given a face by rapper NaSs 2006 album release, titled Hip-Hop Is Dead.This subsequent furor has been productive in galvanizing artists to prove that hip-hop culture is still important and relevantThe three chief concerns raised that speak to the death and not resiliency of hip-hop in general are:The increase in violent and misogynistic songsHip-hops deep cooperation and collusion with corporate AmericaThe overall declining sales of hip-hop music

Hip-Hop as a Site of Economic OpportunityA number of people have countered the death thesis by noting the entrepreneurial ingenuity demonstrated by members of the hip-hop community as evidence of hip-hops will to thrive in the face of overwhelming criticism.Street rappers come to hip-hop not only to express social concerns in their lives and communities, but also to establish notions of resiliency through acquiring economic opportunityJay-Zs (Shawn Carter) hip-hop career is a great example of how hip-hop is pursued as an economic site of resiliency by street-life-oriented Black menAn admitted former drug dealer, Carter has developed one of the most successful business empires known to not only hip-hop but also the entertainment industry at large