ABSTRACT HUMANITIES JORDAN III, AUGUSTUS W. B.S. FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY, 1994 M.A. CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, 1998 THE IDEOLOGICAL AND NARRATIVE STRUCTURES OF HIP-HOP MUSIC: A STUDY OF SELECTED HIP-HOP ARTISTS Advisor: Dr. Viktor Osinubi Dissertation Dated May 2009 This study examined the discourse of selected Hip-Hop artists and the biographical aspects of the works. The study was based on the structuralist theory of Roland Barthes which claims that many times a performer’s life experiences with class struggle are directly reflected in his artistic works. Since rap music is a counter-culture invention which was started by minorities in the South Bronx borough ofNew York over dissatisfaction with their community, it is a cultural phenomenon that fits into the category of economic and political class struggle. The study recorded and interpreted the lyrics of New York artists Shawn Carter (Jay Z), Nasir Jones (Nas), and southern artists Clifford Harris II (T.I.) and Wesley Weston (Lii’ Flip). The artists were selected on the basis of geographical spread and diversity. Although Hip-Hop was again founded in New York City, it has now spread to other parts of the United States and worldwide. The study investigated the biography of the artists to illuminate their struggles with poverty, family dysfunction, aggression, and intimidation. 1 The artists were found to engage in lyrical battles; therefore, their competitive discourses were analyzed in specific Hip-Hop selections to investigate their claims of authorship, imitation, and authenticity, including their use of sexual discourse and artistic rivalry, to gain competitive advantage. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that although Hip-Hop lyricism was originally established as an alternative to physical violence, social and psychological factors such as competition, masculinity, class struggle and ideology often lead to conflict and hostility. In addition, the artists’ economic successes were not necessarily tied to their educational background, but were based on their assumed role as representatives of the oppressed. This representation enables its conveyer to serve as a voice for the voiceless through his/her artistic expression. Discourse in Hip-Hop (whether musical or cultural) is an area of African- American culture in which further study would be valuable in order to fully appreciate the valuable artistic contributions of inner-city youths. Unfortunately, these new artists are often misunderstood. Unlike famous mainstream artists such as Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, Hip-Hop artists are agents of cultural productivity who are less appreciated simply because they operate in the arena of popular culture. 2 THE IDEOLOGICAL AND NARRATIVE STRUCTURES OF HIP-HOP MUSIC: A STUDY OF SELECTED HIP-HOP ARTISTS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF ARTS IN HUMANITIES BY AUGUSTUS W. JORDAN III DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES ATLANTA, GEORGIA MAY2009 ©2009 AUGUSTUS JORDAN, III All Rights Reserved CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE AND METHODOLOGY 32 3. HIP-HOP AN]J THE REFLECTION OF IDEOLOGY 60 4. HIP-HOP AS AN INSTRUMENT OF DISCOURSE 98 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 138 APPENDICES (RAP LYRICS) 152 BIBLIOGRAPHY 249 111 ‘I- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Creator and all other individuals who aided in the completion of this research. They are: Dr. Viktor Osinubi, head of my dissertation committee, Dr. Karamo Barrow, the Director of the Doctor of Arts in Humanities and my third reader, Dr. Timothy Askew. I also express my gratitude to Dr. Josephine Bradley, Dr. Daniel Black, and Dr. Shirley Williams-Kirksey, the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Special gratitude is due to my lovely wife Sabrina Lampley Jordan and children (Augustus William Jordan IV (Quad), and Serena Lampley Jordan), and my mother and father Augustus William Jordan II and Phyllis McEwen. My respect and love go to the McEwen, Jordan, Lampley, Roberson, Covington, Askew, Kerr, and Hughes families for their love, support, and inspiration. Last but not the least, thanks to all the pioneers and icons of Hip-Hop culture, especially those who have died in the struggle for creativity and expression (R.I.P. Antonio Coleman and Chuck Williams). I love you all. Peace to my fraternity brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated and the Universal Zulu Nation worldwide. 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The goal of this research is to analyze the narrative structures of Hip-Hop lyrics and to describe the significance of those structures. For this study, four major artists in the Hip-Hop genre are selected: Nasir Jones (known as “Nas”), Shawn Carter (known as “Jay-Z”), Clifford Harris Jr. (known as “T.I.”), and Wesley Weston (known as “Lii’ Flip”). The artists are among the most prominent of the Hip-Hop practitioners, and they represent the various geographical and stylistic variations of the genre. The Hip-Hop genre is selected for this study because of its significant role as an art form and a carrier of ideology for many African Americans and various peoples across the globe. For its practitioners, Hip-Hop is a vehicle for communicating an ideology that promotes a particular lifestyle. Ideology may be defined as the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual group, class, or culture. Just like literary works, whether oral or written, Hip-Hop music expresses the ideological perceptions and values of its creators. According to Alexander Rosenburg (1995) in his book, Philosophy ofScience, the means by which Capitalism alienates a particular group in society is the superstructure. In response to the oppressiveness of the superstructure, the group creates values, ideals, laws, social norms, and institutions that promote their 1 2 own interests.1 The responses of the alienated group constitute its ideology, or a “form of consciousness” that legitimizes and supports certain social institutions. Hip-Hop culture may be one of the responses by which young minorities relate to various conditions forced upon them by the capitalist superstructure. In turn, each Hip-Hop artist expresses a distinct ideology in response to these socioeconomic conditions. The early focus of the Hip-Hop music from the South Bronx (New York City) was cheerful and party oriented. The focus was a form of escapism from the appalling living conditions in which they live; but these conditions soon provided the impetus for the black and Latino ghetto youths to rebel against the superstructure and its oppressiveness. Whenever such oppressive conditions are allowed to fester, people tend to challenge the system in order to free themselves from their perceived bondage. Just like the black and Latino ghetto youths who challenged the system in New York, the Arab and African youths in Paris, France recently did the same. An article by Eric Pope on a Zarien-born Paris youth, Miala, and his involvement in the Parisian unrest reflects this point vividly. The Zarien born youth told Pope: “We knew long ago that it [their problem ~with the system] would blow, with all hatred on both sides, the everyday hatred, the police staring people down.”2 In his observation of Miala’s activities, Pope notes that “Miala can understand the anger, resentment, and fear; it is why he sometimes toils 60-hour weeks as a contractor to pay for studio time for local rappers who articulate it [their problem with the system]. Hell, 1 Alexander Rosenburg, Philosophy ofSocial Science (Boulder: Harper Collins Publishing Inc., 1995), 111. 2 Eric Pope, “Future Shock,” Vibe Magazine ( March 2006): 141. 3 long ago he might’ve stood alongside the kids in the streets.”3 Before the Paris rebellion, Miala was working double-shifts to pay for youths to rap about their socio-economic problems in Hip-Hop lyrics. Of course, the disregard for the youths’ concerns allowed the problem to fester and to create the rebellion. Hip-Hop is also a function of cultural signification within the culture and heritage of a people. This function is another reason for a deliberative study of this important genre which young people appropriate for the purpose of creating change. In Carter G. Woodson’s text, The Mis-Education ofthe Negro, one of the main reasons for a “miseducation” was that Blacks in America were spending more time learning about a racist system that had denied them rather than learning about their own history which would in turn bring about a more positive change.4 Not only would this bring about a turning point in the learning processes of Blacks in the United States, but it would, in turn, give all scholars a more realistic understanding of the truth about the history of oppression. Woodson further explains some of his views in relation to the proper teaching of the humanities: The Negro whether in Africa or America, must be directed toward a serious examination of the fundamentals of education, religion, literature, and philosophy as they have been expounded to him. He must be sufficiently enlightened to determine for himself whether these forces have come to his life to bless him or to bless his oppressor. After learning the facts in the case the Negro 3Thid, 141. ~ Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-education ofthe Negro (Washington, D.C., 1933; reprint, New Jersey: Africa World Press, 1993), 190 (page citations are to the reprint collection). 4— 4 must develop the power of execution to deal with these matters as do people of vision.~ Countering oppression through literature or art, as Woodson suggested, African descendants, as well as other races, have been able to come to an understanding of their identity and to vent their frustrations. This was one of the reasons that Woodson established the Association for the Study ofNegro Life and History in 1915 with several friends in Chicago.