Exploring the Hip-Hop Culture Experience in a British Online Community
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University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2010 Virtual Hood: Exploring The Hip-hop Culture Experience In A British Online Community. Natalia Cherjovsky University of Central Florida Part of the Sociology of Culture Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Cherjovsky, Natalia, "Virtual Hood: Exploring The Hip-hop Culture Experience In A British Online Community." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 4199. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/4199 VIRTUAL HOOD: EXPLORING THE HIP-HOP CULTURE EXPERIENCE IN A BRITISH ONLINE COMMUNITY by NATALIA CHERJOVSKY B.S. Hunter College, 1999 M.A. Rollins College, 2003 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2010 Major Professor: Anthony Grajeda © 2010 Natalia Cherjovsky ii ABSTRACT In this fast-paced, globalized world, certain online sites represent a hybrid personal- public sphere–where like-minded people commune regardless of physical distance, time difference, or lack of synchronicity. Sites that feature chat rooms and forums can offer a deep- rooted sense of community and facilitate the forging of relationships and cultivation of ideologies. This dissertation investigates whether this trend is relevant to web sites concerning hip- hop. This genre is arguably one of the most pervasive and influential global cultural forms, yet it is markedly different from most other forms of globalized culture because it emerged within and is still embedded in a distinct subculture. The notion that the Internet could become a bastion for hip-hop fans is quite paradoxical: hip hop is a cultural form so deeply rooted in the sense of place and so invested in its relationship to spatiality that it could potentially pose a particular challenge to the notion of virtual communities. This research examines the virtual hip-hop experience in the UK in order to assess whether this music and the culture that surrounds it have been adopted in their original American form or whether they have been adapted to make them more relevant to their new locale. In particular, the study probes how the ideology, values, behaviors and attitudes that bestride American hip-hop are represented, consumed, and reproduced on the mediated world of web sites. iii This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Silvio Cherjovsky and Graciela Cherjovsky, who raised me to be curious about the world and value knowledge and education. Without their unconditional and constant understanding, encouragement, support, and love, this process would have been simply impossible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: THE HIP-HOPIZATION OF THE WORLD ................................................. 15 The Soundtrack of Our Lives .................................................................................................... 15 Hip Hop Nation ......................................................................................................................... 17 Defining Hip-Hop ..................................................................................................................... 24 Hip-Hop Values ........................................................................................................................ 28 Attachment to Locality ......................................................................................................... 31 Disenfranchisement ............................................................................................................... 36 Materialism ........................................................................................................................... 38 Criminality, Drugs, Prison Culture, and Violence ................................................................ 40 Hypermasculinity .................................................................................................................. 45 Negative Portrayal and Over-Sexualization of Women ........................................................ 48 Hip-Hop Vernacular .............................................................................................................. 53 Mainstreaming Hip-Hop ........................................................................................................... 54 Going Global ............................................................................................................................. 57 Zooming in on the UK .............................................................................................................. 61 CHAPTER THREE: FROM THE STREETS TO THE SCREENS ............................................. 67 The Internet as a Medium ......................................................................................................... 70 The Yin and Yang of the Internet ............................................................................................. 74 The Question of Internet as Space and Place ............................................................................ 83 The Self, Identity, and the Internet ........................................................................................... 89 v Communities and the Internet ................................................................................................. 100 Bringing it Back to Hip-Hop .................................................................................................. 119 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION...................................... 122 The Basics of the Project ........................................................................................................ 122 Rationale ................................................................................................................................. 122 Three-Layered Methodology .................................................................................................. 124 Data Collection and Classification ......................................................................................... 126 Mainstream Media, Site Created, Member Created ............................................................ 128 Americanization .................................................................................................................. 128 Community, Place, Space ................................................................................................... 129 Hip-Hopization ................................................................................................................... 130 IRB and Ethics of the Study ................................................................................................... 132 Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 137 Online Research as an Obstacle .......................................................................................... 137 Other Limitations ................................................................................................................ 139 CHAPTER FIVE: CASE STUDY: RAP CENTRAL (WWW.RAPCENTRAL.CO.UK) ......... 142 Partial Rap Central Description .............................................................................................. 144 Observations ........................................................................................................................... 148 Rap Central Members Featured in Discussions .................................................................. 150 Americanization and Attachment to Locality/Place and Space .......................................... 152 Materialism ......................................................................................................................... 164 Disenfranchisement ............................................................................................................. 166 Violence, Drugs, Criminality, and Prison Culture .............................................................. 173 vi Hypermasculinity and Hypersexuality ................................................................................ 181 Negative Portrayal and Over-Sexualization of Women ...................................................... 185 Hip-Hop Vernacular ............................................................................................................ 194 Sense of Community ........................................................................................................... 202 Closing Remarks ..................................................................................................................... 215 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................ 217 Incidental Lessons ................................................................................................................... 234