Rap and Modern Love: Masculinity in Hip-Hop and Western Courtship
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Rap and Modern Love: The Expression of Intimate Masculinity in Mainstream Rap Jamilah Dei-Sharpe A Thesis In the Department Of Sociology and Anthropology Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Masters of Sociology at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada March 2019 © Jamilah Dei-Sharpe 2019 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Jamilah Dei-Sharpe Entitled: Rap and Modern Love: The Expression of Intimate Masculinity in Mainstream Rap and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: __________________________________________________Chair Dr. Amy Swiffen __________________________________________________ Examiner Dr. Ted Rutland ___________________________________________________Examiner Dr. Oceane Jasor __________________________________________________Thesis Supervisor Dr. Marc Lafrance Approved by _________________________________________________________________ Chair of Department of Graduate Program Director ______________2019 _______________________________________________ Dean of Faculty iii Abstract To enliven inquiry into the intimate lives of black men I conducted a qualitative, thematic analysis of the non-hypermasculine expressions of black men toward women in mainstream rap songs. The hypermasculine black man, often construed as hypersexual, aggressive, violent and misogynistic, fuels the multibillion-dollar hip-hop industry (Boyd 2002, 2004; Jeffries 2011), leading some scholars to disparage hip-hop for demeaning black men and inciting youth deviance (Forman 2013; Malton 2010). Informed by a critical reading of Hip-Hop Studies, the Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities (CSMM) and Modern Love Studies, I argue that the association of black men with hypermasculinity has its roots in longstanding race and gender prejudices (hooks 1992, 2004; Wallace 1978). In addition, I argue that this prejudice is actively – albeit inadvertently - maintained in the CSMM, much of which employs Raewyn Connell’s (1987, 1995, 2005) hegemonic masculinity theory (HMT) and which represents black men as inherently marginalized as they strive to attain the social status of powerful white men. To broaden the scope of these representations, I conducted a thematic analysis of mainstream rap songs (N=22) by black male rappers to explore the question: How do black male rap artists use non-hypermasculine expressive strategies to articulate their relationships with women? The directed and derived analysis results show that 60% of the songs displayed non-hypermasculine expressions including, admiration, heartbreak, infatuation, love, suicidal ideations and vulnerabilities. Considering my findings, I coined the concept of Intimate Masculinity that I argue, can serve as a working framework to investigate and signify the emotional diversity of black men. Keywords: rap music, black masculinity, hypermasculinity, intimate masculinity, heterosexual relationships iv Acknowledgements I dedicate this paper to my father for being a light in my life. You inspire and drive me to make representations of you, a progressive and loving black man, more prevalent within academia. This project would not exist without your support, pep talks and homemade pies. I would like to thank my graduate supervisor, Dr. Marc LaFrance, for believing in this ambitious project and working tirelessly to help me develop it. Through your mentorship I have refined my writing skills, enhanced my research acumen and grown to take myself seriously as a scholar. This paper would not be possible without you. A special thanks to my mother for being my late night chef, therapist and friend. You are my rock. There are no words to express how much your efforts mean to me and have contributed to seeing this project to its end. To my committee members, Dr. Oceane Jasor and Dr. Ted Rutland, I am very grateful for your time and feedback. You have shaped key elements of this paper and broadened my knowledge on Critical Race Studies. I am thankful for Dr. Martin French and Dr. Amy Swiffen for their instrumental guidance and support of my academic career. As well as, Dr. Stuart Leard, Dr. Chris Hurl and the faculty in the department of Sociology and Anthropology, for their encouragement. I would like to extend this gratitude to the administrative graduate staff especially Eve Girard, for her warm support and answering my countless questions. To my undergraduate supervisor, Dr. Neda Maghbouleh, thank you for my first research assistantship. Your unwavering faith in me has made all this possible. I would like to further acknowledge my avid supporters, Johnathan Hood and Mariam Fares. Thank you Tallie, my colleague and friend, for being my peer editor and offering to be my typist when my hands stopped working. I also, extend my heartfelt appreciation to my family and best friends, Amanda and Titania, for reading all my drafts and celebrating my milestones. You keep me honest. Finally, to my baby sister Averi, you are too young to read this, but I want you to know that your smile and hugs lift me up. v Table of Contents Introduction ___________________________________________________________________ 1 Literature Review ______________________________________________________________ 7 Subverting the Intimate: The White Patriarch’s Hypermasculinity and Modern Love _ 7 The Western Separation of Manhood from the Intimate – 18th century _____________________ 7 The Rise of the White Patriarch & Romantic Love – 18th-19th century _____________________ 8 The White Feminists on Patriarchy & Pure, Confluent Love – 19th century ________________ 10 The Rise of Masculinity Studies & The Hypermasculine Black Man – 20th century __________ 13 Black Feminists on the Black Brute & White Patriarch __________________________ 18 An Intersectional Standpoint on Black Masculinity – 19th century _______________________ 18 Fearing the Black Brute Post-Emancipation – 18th – 19th century ________________________ 19 The Black Brute Post-Civil Rights and The Rise of the Gangster – late 20th century _________ 21 Globalizing the Black Brute: Hip-Hop, Hypermasculinity and Modern Love ________ 24 The Gangster on a Global Stage – late 20th century ___________________________________ 24 Hip-hop and the Commodification of Blackness – late 20th century ______________________ 26 Rap and Modern Love: The Celebration of Hypermasculinity– late 20th century ____________ 28 Subverting the Black Brute: Alternatives to Hypermasculinity in Mainstream Rap ___ 32 Towards a Non-Hypermasculine Future ____________________________________________ 32 The Feminist Deconstruction of Hip-Hop – late 20th century ____________________________ 32 Playa Rap as the New Mainstream – late - 20th century ________________________________ 33 The Emotionally Expressive Man: Kanye, Drake and the Sensitive Thug – Today ___________ 35 Theoretical Framework _________________________________________________________ 40 Methodology _________________________________________________________________ 45 Research Design ___________________________________________________________ 45 Data Analysis Procedures and Contribution ___________________________________ 47 Findings _____________________________________________________________________ 54 Directed Analysis __________________________________________________________ 54 Derived Analysis __________________________________________________________ 85 vi Discussion __________________________________________________________________ 100 Conclusion __________________________________________________________________ 106 Bibliography ________________________________________________________________ 109 Appendices _________________________________________________________________ 118 Appendix – A: The Sample Lyrics ___________________________________________ 118 Appendix – B: Song Selection _______________________________________________ 176 Figures _____________________________________________________________________ 183 Figure 1: Percentage of Intimate and Material Songs ___________________________ 183 1 Introduction The intimate lives of black men are often overlooked by scholars in the social sciences, particularly their emotional expressions of vulnerability, fear, loneliness, and love (Illouz 2012; Swidler 2001). By probing the question of how black male rappers use non-hypermasculine expressive strategies to articulate their relationships with women, I seek to shed light on the emotional existences of an influential group of black men to counter the stereotype that they are hypermasculine beings bent on aggression, violence, domination and indifference towards women. Since the mainstreaming of gangsta rap, hip-hop has become an international, multibillion-dollar industry fueled by the representation of black hypermasculinity: the most globally recognizable image of black men (Belle 2014; Bryant 2003; Boyd 2002, 2004; Chauncey and Tibbs 2016; Collins 2004; Jeffries 2011; Lafrance et al. 2016; Neilson 2010; Pinn 1996; Powell 2011; Randolph 2006; Sajnani 2014; Saucier and Woods 2014; Westhoff 2011). The international media coverage of black men as aggressive, violent, misogynistic and hypersexual has resulted in the genre being criticized for degrading black manhood and polluting the moral sensibilities of its fans (Asante 2008;