“Rap
is our invisible TV network. It's the CNN that black people never had”[1]
To
what extent does the rap music genre reinforce negative stereotypes of black
African-Americans, with particular reference to ‘Straight Outta Compton’?
This essay will discuss the different ways that the rap genre
is represented and how it portrays black African males through the film
'Straight Outta Compton'. The film was released in 2015 and is based on
historical events that took place during the late 1980s and 90s in South Central
La with rap group N.W.A. The group is known for the harsh lyrics that were used
talking about their reality because of the society they grew up in. There has
always been racism which has existed in American and this is seen throughout
the film. However, the artists were criticised for the songs they've produced,
“negative rap songs and their accompanying videos often instil erotic sadism in
the black male child[2]".
This highlights the negative effects rap music has on black children because
they see themselves as these stars and desire to be like them and a way we can
see this desire for fame is in 50 Cents album which is called ‘Get rich or die
tryin’. This shows the importance that the rap genre has had on the audience as
it has affected what they think they need to do in order to succeed in society
through illegitimate means which rap promotes at times. Although we have these
stereotypes about rap music, Hip-hop is a form of expression how we make and
portray ourselves to the world; this shows that rap music can also be
influential rather than portraying negative stereotypes of black males but is
used to push away from these stereotypes. We can explore the lifestyle and
meaning of what people are trying to talk about which 'Straight Outta Compton'
does.
There's no doubt that black males have always had a poor
representation in the media but do they reinforce this through the way they
portray themselves in hip-hop videos. 50 Cent who is a well-established artist
in one of his songs uses the lyrics “if I get locked up to a quarter century
could I be count on you to support me mentally”; the song is 21 questions and
is seen to be a love hip-hop song yet the artist still portrays himself as a
criminal being sentenced to prison in the video due to possession of drugs.
“It’s undeniable that black men are in deplorable shape. The most tragic symbol
of this condition, I suppose, is the black prisoner”[3].
From this the representation of black males are normal for society to see but
when hip-hop is seen for a way to express the poor representation and being
oppressed by society why is it that black males reinforce this negative
stereotype. However, what if there is no correlation between the video
reinforcing negative stereotypes of black males and it's just that racism lies
at the foundation of the American legal system so regardless of what hip-hop
videos are created it is all government based and black African Americans have
no control on reinforcing or opposing the stereotypes given to them. This links
with the theory of Stuart Hall [4]who
says we have dominant readings in the media and with negative stereotypes of
black males being a dominant reading it is an ideology injected into people
that they should be feared.
NWA, “What's NWA stand for, anyway? No Whites Allowed”, the
remark made by Jerry Heller when finding out about the name of the group NWA.
The film is about the lives of rappers who are a part of the group N.W.A, it is
about how they started off in the ghetto and worked their way up to becoming
one of the best rap groups of all time. The representations of black males in
the films are negative and are seen to be violent. The way they dress are seen
to be as thugs which is seen to be a reason why they should be stopped randomly
and searched in the street. We then find out later that the group was set out
to fight against racism and have an impact on the ideology of Americans with
the use of their lyrics. The police have come under a lot of criticism but have
now started to feel how the citizens of America feel about them, “Fuck the
police”; harsh words which are used in the song by Ice Cube when released but
also in the film. The song had come under a lot of criticism which lead to the
group getting into a lot of trouble but isn't the cause of removing racism from
society worth fighting for. Well, NWA thought that it was and hip-hop was a way
for them to do this, “For sure, hip hop both saved and changed my life, on so
many levels: I have been deeply immersed in hip hop since I was a preteen”[5].
The group started off in their teens and worked their way up, Hip-Hop for them
was a way out of the hood and escaping the harsh reality of living up in
America with racism. Throughout the film we see racism, an iconic scene was at
the start where Ice Cube steps outside his house and is being searched by the
officers for no reason who are all white which highlights the level of
dominance white males had in America but also one of the officers saying to Ice
Cube “I'm the only gangster”. This from an officer harassing a black male
without reason is enough for the audience to convey the power the law has. The
group of young African American males were also searched outside of the studio
because they fit the representation of someone who is a thug; “too many black
men are jailed for no other reason, than that they fit the profile of a thug”[6].
We also see a black officer who is seen to conform to negative stereotypes and
also harass the group of boys which later is referred to as a sell-out “black
police showing out for the white cop”. With NWA's rebellious attitude towards
the law there are always criticism of how “negative rap songs and their
accompanying videos often instil erotic sadism in the black male child” [7]which
then leads to a lack of knowledge to the younger generations to buck the trend
and move away from the negative stereotypes, “miseducation and racism has given
rise to black poverty, crime, and other destructive behaviour”[8].
Even through the film we saw predominantly black males getting arrested which
in society we are more likely to hear about crimes black males do on the news
and “It is interesting that, as a group, whites have managed to escape being
associated with crime”[9].
We hear Ice Cube say “officer can I ask why you jacking us right now.”
Moreover, the initial reason these songs are used in the film is to get out the
message of racism yet the harsh lyrics are only reinforcing the negative
stereotype by making young black African Americans sound aggressive;
"hip-hop, the voice of the streets”[10],
is a form of expression and an “art form is tossed aside as a ghetto game for
black youth and that limited opinion is ignorant”[11].
This would link to theorists such as Blumler and Katz [12]because
the audience would identify themselves in some of the roles that are played in
the film due to racism they might have experienced and other issues. There may
also be some element of personal relationships where the audience can establish
a relationship with the character because they might have grown up around the
music and always idolised a specific rapper which is played in the film.
Post colonist Alvarado[13]
says that the black community in the media have 4 representations which are
being portrayed as exotic, dangerous, humorous or pitied. In Straight Outta
Compton the representation of the black community is seen as being dangerous.
This can be because of the ideology of people at the time or the “rich,
luxurious lifestyle” [14]that
had now been a part of the rappers lives causing a negative change in their
behaviour. An example of this was when the group (N.W.A) were in the hotel and
as two males approached the room with a gun to get his girlfriend they went
back outside to retaliate with the use of guns as well. This is what sold
during the time though, what if the audience needed to hear this side of the
group in order for them to make sales and to do so “blow up and become
megastars is by presenting themselves in a negative light” [15]which
supports Alvarados theory.
Over the years since the case of Rodney King there has been
little to none change in terms of racism in society: although, black African
Americans have a better lifestyle there is still large amounts of racism in
society today. Public Enemy being one of the first groups to make a change
“fight the power” [16]was
an indication that things in society need to be changed and they used hip-hop
to do this, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death”[17].
This would be useful in developing the ideas of Propp[18]
during the Rodney King incident; people viewing may automatically have their
own idea of who is the villain and who is the hero. People who aren’t aware of
the issues around racism may automatically assume that the police being the
ones who protect us are doing so by brutally hitting Rodney King. During this
period of time and even now people who are black need to put on a “white mask” [19]in
order to be seen as an equal in society. We also have NWA and their music
videos which show a large amount of police brutality in their music videos.
This is seen in the music video straight outta Compton which shows the violence
of the police as they’re getting arrested after running away but could also
indicate that they’ve done something criminal which could be a reason these
stereotypes are reinforced. Ice Cube “from a gang called n****s with attitude”
refers to the group as a gang and not artists. The artist has associated
himself with people who are involved with illegal activity which is what a gang
does. People could say that they’re a product of their nature and only do this
because they have no other choice "I don't wanna do time but I'm forced to
do crime"[20].
2pac was also a very influential role model, “I see no changes, all I see is
racist faces.” People in America had it worse when they were in poverty, “I’m
tired of being poor and even worse I’m black”. We can see that 2pac was rapping
about the harsh reality that he lived in and saw people around him lived in.
The ghetto was a place where people had to resort to crime to crime to survive
but black people in poverty were seen to be worse than those who are black just
because they were in poverty. In ghetto gospel he talks about those who are
black role models fighting for a fallen cause “all come in like Malcolm X or
Bobby Hutton died for nothing.” In society people always view the youth to be
violent “everyone’s ashamed of the youth cause the truth look strange”. Rap
being a way for the black community to share news and information about their
lifestyle and culture would bring into the theory of uses and gratification[21];
rather than people getting information from the news, new information is passed
on through songs which is linked to surveillance. This would take the ideology
that people already have on what is going on and enable them to survive in a
world where they’re not seen as equal.
We have recently had the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign which
is still taking place on social media today, we see black males getting killed
because of police brutality and it’s done for no reason whatsoever. Even today
in society we have to still put up with racism which is why people are now
outraged online which has started the campaign. It is set to get awareness
about what is going on around us. The citizens of America coming from African
American backgrounds have now found their voice and are now starting to fight
back not through rap but through this campaign, it has changed people's
ideology and helped with the awareness of the cause. Not only is this happening
in America but it's also taken off in England which shows that this isn't only
an issue in America but is global. Peaceful protests have always been taken out
of hand by violence and it’s those who are black which are seen to be criminal;
“for black Americans, innocence was lost long ago. Violence has been the norm
for centuries”[22],
the folk devils [23]
created by the media are the black community, demonised and stripped of their self-worth
but an officer in uniform who is white is able to decide whether a life of an
African American is worth taking.
'Boyz n the Hood' is a film which was released in (1991), it
was set out to show how the lifestyle of black males in America had to live in the
ghetto and the way they were seen to be inferior in society. The film shows the
racism that is faced in America, "black people have a complicated
relationship with America. For us it's painful love." [24]The
group of boys who are living in the hood are either in a gang or trying to get
out of the poverty they’re in but it’s hard when you’re black and living in
America, people aren’t trying to change who they are in order to do this
"I'm not trying to give up my blackness”[25].
Furious Styles who was the father of Trey styles were trying to find a way for
him to educate himself and not fall into the trap of joining a gang and
throwing his life away. A black officer appears twice in the film but during
the second time he harasses Trey because he’s black and sees the youth as being
troublesome “the emancipation of a real n****r” [26].
'Boyz n the Hood' showed how the way people in America felt when they were
black and in poverty, they didn't sugar-coat the issues that have always been
around. The fact that the characters felt like they had nothing to achieve and
resulted to crime highlights the struggle. This relates to Katz and Blumler
theory of personal identity where the audience are able to identify themselves
with the characters in the film. The dominant ideology was that black males are
criminals so the film conveys the two types of mindsets for the audience to
see; one being black males aren't all criminals and the other that black on
black crime is only a way for the government to reinforce the moral panic of black
males being criminals. Due to this being the case it has had an impact on
hip-hop because the groups of people associated with the hip-hop are seen to be
thugs or 'gangbangers' which gives hip-hop a negative look so people associates
it with violence. This can be seen in the film as some of the characters fit
the typical image of someone who is a hip-hop artist so being associated with
this label it makes everyone else who dresses like this to be seen as a thug.
However, since black youth has come under a lot of criticism
about the effects that it has on the community today and how rap has created a
new ideology to obtain these materialistic goods; white rappers such as Eminem,
Mac Miller, G Eazy haven’t been criticised
as much. Although these rappers have been in the media it is only ever to do
with the lyrics of the songs that they produce and never the representation and
glamour they give off which comes with the fame of rap. Eminem is seen to have
“cultural hybridity” [27]
which allows him to be accepted in the rap genre as it is dominated by the
black community and also accepted by the black community. Could this be a
factor of being a white rapper and not a black one? Although this is the case, after the moral
panic over 9/11 which caused people to fear terrorists affect the way people
feared the black community. People would’ve forgotten about the black community
in terms of the negative stereotypes that they face due to peoples ideology and
shift that fear to the terrorists instead. However this could also spark up
more hatred for ethnic minority groups as they may all be seen as a threat to
white Americans.
There may be multiple reasons why negative stereotypes are
being reinforced but rap music is a way to “express themselves and tell a story
about their lives in order to relate to people like them”[28].
This particular form of expression which people can use to mediate their voices
which can be for a good reason or a bad reason and some may argue that “hip-hop
has done more damage to young African Americans than racism”[29]
which could indicate that the relationship between the two are corresponding as
hip-hop is the reason for peoples negative ideology towards the black
community. There are reasons why hip-hop has been seen to reinforce these
negative stereotypes but we’ve had artists trying to fight against this but
what if it’s just more than people rapping because it is seen to target a lower
class audience which are more likely to be seen as black so not everyone will
see all the negative images or the ones which show the harsh reality that
people are in. Maybe hip-hop is an art which shapes more than peoples ideology
but lifestyle but it does play a part in people’s lives.
Bibliography
Books
cited
D,
C., & Jah, Y. (1997). Fight the
power: Rap, race, and reality. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.
Dyson,
M. E. (1996). Between God and gangsta
rap: Bearing witness to black culture. New York: Oxford University Press.
Dyson,
M. E. (2007). Debating race: With Michael
Eric Dyson. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
Porter,
M. (2006). Rap and the eroticizing of
black youth. Chicago, IL: African American Images
Rose,
T. (1994). Black noise: Rap music and
black culture in contemporary America. Hanover, NH: University Press of New
England.
Rose,
T. (2008). The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk
About When We Talk About Hip Hop--and Why It Matters. Basic Civitas Books.
Wheatley,
S. (2010). Don't call me urban: The time
of grime. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
T.
(2011). Who's afraid of post-blackness?:
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Womack,
Y. (2010). Post Black: How a new
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Hill Books.
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cited
Bennett,
W. Benoit, H. Holbourne, Z. Rigg, M. Growing
up with racism in Britain.
http://socialistreview.org.uk/351/growing-racism-britain
Charity,
J., Diaz, A., & Drake, D. (2014). A
History of Rap Songs Protesting Police Brutality. http://uk.complex.com/music/2014/08/rap-songs-police-brutality/
Does Hip-Hop Drive Negative Stereotypes Of
Black Men? | The MSU Spokesman http://www.themsuspokesman.com/2013/12/21/does-hip-hop-drive-negative-stereotypes-of-black-men/
Donaldson,
L. (2015). When the media misrepresents
black men, the effects are felt in the real world https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/media-misrepresents-black-men-effects-felt-real-world
Gordon,
T. Young Black Men Counter Negative Media
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Hip-Hop Reinforcing Stereotypes Against
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Marcin,
T. (2016). Racism In America: White
People Think It's Worse For White People, Research Finds.http://www.ibtimes.com/racism-america-white-people-think-its-worse-white-people-research-finds-2393588
Myrie,
C. (2016). Is white America blind on
racism, or just playing dumb? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/18/white-america-blind-racism-majority-ignore-black-minority-bubble-privilege
Siddique,
H. (2016). Black Lives Matter protests
block roads around UK. from
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Stanely,
T. Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist
as America will never be at peace
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/08/dallas-shooting-a-democracy-as-racist-as-america-will-never-be-a/
Yates,
R. How I confronted police brutality on
the streets of Chiraq. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/10/reggie-yates-how-i-confronted-police-brutality-on-the-streets-of-chiraq
MOVING
IMAGES/TRACK LIST
2pac
changes October 13, 1998 Death Row
Records
NWA
F the police August 9, 1998 Ruthless
Records
NWA
Straight Outta Compton August 8, 1998
Ruthless Records
Public
Enemy fight the power June, 1989 Motown
Records
2pac
ghetto gospel January 21, 2005
50
Cent 21 questions April 29, 2003
Aftermath Records
WORK CONSULTED
BOOKS
Angelou,
M. (1970). I know why the caged bird
sings. New York: Random House
Bloom,
L. (2014). Suspicion nation: The inside
story of the Trayvon Martin injustice and why we continue to repeat it.
Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint.
Collins,
H., & Rose, O. (2016). This is grime.
London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Dyson,
M. E. (2007). Debating race: With Michael
Eric Dyson. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
Lee,
H. (1960). To Kill A Mockingbird.
United States. J. B. Lippincott & Co
Monteyne,
K. (2013). Hip hop on film: Performance
culture, urban space, and genre transformation in the 1980s. Jackson:
University Press of Mississippi.
INTERNET
LINKS
Bradshaw,
P. Straight Outta Compton review – how
hip-hop pioneers NWA took on the world.
Donaldson,
L. When the media misrepresents black
men, the effects are felt in the real world https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/media-misrepresents-black-men-effects-felt-real-world
Gallagher,
P. Over 3,000 police officers being
investigated for alleged assault - and almost all of them are still on the beat
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/over-3000-police-officers-being-investigated-for-alleged-assault-and-almost-all-of-them-are-still-on-10220091.html#gallery
Lusher,
A. Racism unleashed: True extent of the
'explosion of blatant hate' that followed Brexit result revealed http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-racism-uk-post-referendum-racism-hate-crime-eu-referendum-racism-unleashed-poland-racist-a7160786.html
Moran, J. Legendary rapper Ice Cube shares
message of freedom and hope for future http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/legendary-rapper-ice-cube-shares-message-of-hope-for-future/news-story/9ed07816fd59c77990989e1a8c626dce
Schafter,
M. Ice Cube: Nothing much has changed
since police beating of Rodney King, says NWA rapper
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-03/rapper-ice-cube-on-his-film,-racism,-and-gangsta-rap-lyrics/6748328
Stanley,
T. Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist
as America will never be at peace http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/08/dallas-shooting-a-democracy-as-racist-as-america-will-never-be-a/
JOURNALS/ARTICLES
King,
D. (2006, May/June). Black filmmaker. Soundtrax: Experimenting Hip-hop.
Spence,
J. (2004, September/October). Black Filmmaker. Partners in Porn.
Spence,
J. (2004, July/August). Black filmmaker. Rappers vs Actor.
[1]
Chuck D – Public Enemy
[2]
Porter, M (2006) p. 6.
[3]
Dyson, M. E. (1996) p. 4.
[4]
Hall dominant readings
[5]
Powell, K (2008) p. 39.
[6]
Dyson, M. E. (1996) p. 5.
[7]
Porter, M. (2006) p. 6.
[8]
Ibid p. xi
[9]
Rome, D (2004) p. 32.
[10]
Womack, Y. (2010) p. 5.
[11]
Chuck, D., Jah, Y. (1998) p. 42.
[12]
Blumler and Katz uses and gratification
[13]
Alvarado black representation
[14]
Dyer, G (1982) p. 73.
[15]
Chuck, D., Jay, Y. (1998). p. 4.
[16]
public Enemy – Fight the power (1989)
[17] lbid
[18]
Propp character theory
[19]
Franz Franon (1967)
[20]
Wheatley, S. (2010) p. 113.
[21]
Katz and Blumler uses and gratification
[22]
Tim Stanely Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist as America will never be at
peace
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/08/dallas-shooting-a-democracy-as-racist-as-america-will-never-be-a/
[23]
Stanley Cohen folk devils
[24]
T. (2011) p. 209.
[25]
libd p. 210.
[26]
Kendrick Lamar (2015) the Blacker the berry
[27]
Greadly, K (2008) p. 860.
[28]
The Spokesman: Does Hip-Hop Drive Negative Stereotypes of Black Men?
http://www.themsuspokesman.com/2013/12/21/does-hip-hop-drive-negative-stereotypes-of-black-men/
[29]
Geslani, M (2015)
