essay

“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?: What it means to be Black now. New York: Free Press.

Womack, Y. (2010). Post Black: How a new generation is redefining African American identity. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books.

Links 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 Representation With Creative 'Suit & Tie' Video - Atlanta Black Star. http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/04/15/young-black-men-slam-medias-representation-suit-tie-music-video/

Hip-Hop Reinforcing Stereotypes Against Black People. http://rapreinforcesstereotypes.weebly.com/

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 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/05/black-lives-matter-protest-sparks-heathrow-traffic-chaos

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.

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[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)