Racism in Hip-Hop and Its Further Impact on American Society Bachelor‘S Diploma Thesis

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Ľubica Pilátová The Post-Hip-Hop Generation: Racism in Hip-Hop and Its Further Impact on American Society Bachelor‘s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2014 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………… Ľubica Pilátová 2 I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his advice and support throughout the writing process. 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 5 2. Hip-Hop Is a Culture ........................................................................................ 8 African American Musical Tradition ...................................................................... 10 Birth of Hip-Hop ................................................................................................. 12 Fight the Power: Early Stages .............................................................................. 18 Mainstream vs. Underground ............................................................................... 22 3. Racism and Hip-Hop ...................................................................................... 25 Mainstream ―Sell-Outs‖ Promoting Stereotypes ..................................................... 25 Real Hip-Hop Is Not on the Radio! Want to Know Why? ........................................ 30 4. The Process of Ghettoization and the Impact of Ghettos on America ....... 32 Urban Ghettos .................................................................................................... 33 Crack vs. Cocaine ............................................................................................... 35 Police Brutality ................................................................................................... 38 5. Schools, Prisons and Hip-Hop ....................................................................... 42 The School System ............................................................................................. 42 War on Drugs ..................................................................................................... 45 6. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 50 Works Cited ........................................................................................................ 54 English Summary ............................................................................................... 59 České resumé ..................................................................................................... 60 4 1. Introduction ―I see no changes, all I see is racist faces, misplaced hate makes disgrace to races‖ – this is a verse from a song called ―Changes‖ recorded in 1996 by the late rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur. Regardless of the year of its release, the lyrics of this song are, in the opinion of many, still applicable for the situation in today‘s America. Undeniably, since the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, many changes for the better have occurred concerning the presence and erasing of racism in American society. Nevertheless, the dreamed-of equality is far from being reached. There are numerous instances of racist prejudice and oppression carried out against African Americans even in the twenty-first century. In the society where African American hip-hop artists record songs stating that: ―America, the beautiful, why you treat us like misfits? If all men are created equal then this is senseless. Politicians constantly tried to convince us it‘s all good in the hood but we still defenseless. This brutality mentality‘s vicious. It‘s like this whole goddamn system‘s against us.‖ (taken from a song ―I Had a Vision‖ by General Steele), one has to wonder if ―equal opportunity‖ and ―justice for all‖ is truly the reality in America. Throughout history, racism has always been a major issue in the United States. Many people believe, despite the existence of numerous instances of discrimination of African Americans proving them wrong, that after the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century and the African American Civil Rights Movement a century later the question of racism and discrimination is no longer valid. Even though slavery was officially abolished almost two centuries 5 ago, people of African descent are continually being criminalized and discriminated. Thus, despite the fact that the Civil Rights Era has brought many important changes, the exploitation of African Americans is still continuing. Therefore, what this thesis aims to focus on are various instances of racism and exploitation carried out against African Americans in the United States, as well as a strong connection between hip-hop culture and racism. By using hip-hop music as a tool, this work will expose numerous instances of exploitation of African Americans and illustrate how deeply rooted the stereotypes of people of African descent are, even in hip-hop. Even though the term ―post-hip-hop generation‖ will not be used in this work, its usage in the title is rather important. The term ―hip-hop generation‖ refers to the rebellious and politically active African American youth in the 1980s and 1990s. The post-hip-hop generation is, therefore, a continuation of the hip-hop generation. It refers to a ―period of time […] of great transformation for a new generation in search of a deeper, more encompassing understanding of themselves in a context outside the corporate hip-hop monopoly‖ (Asante Jr. 7). Basically, it refers to a generation of people whose primary aim is to focus on following and spreading the original messages of hip-hop culture. Thus, the post-hip-hop generation represents yet another evolutionary step (after the Civil Rights Movement and the hip-hop movement) needed for further improvement of social situation in America and achievement of equality. Artists of this generation are, yet again, trying to represent the true values of hip-hop culture and use hip-hop as a tool for improvement and progress. 6 As far as the content of this work is concerned, the thesis is divided into six chapters (including introduction and conclusion). The second chapter deals with hip-hop being a cultural phenomenon rather than a type of music and it also explains the importance of music in the lives of African Americans. Moreover, the social conditions and causes behind the birth of hip-hop are discussed here, as well as the early evolutionary stages of the culture. The third chapter focuses on the issue of racism in hip-hop music. It analyzes the split and division of hip-hop, which is essential for understanding its further development and relation to the evolution of racism in the United States. The next chapter is dedicated to the study of the creation of ghettos and their impact on African American population, as well as the correlation between poverty, drug use and the never-ending growth of African American prison population – all of which are closely related and influenced by the institutionalized racism in America. Further in my thesis, particularly in the fifth chapter, I will broaden the argument of existence of racism in other American institutions such as educational facilities and prisons. Moreover, a question regarding War on Drugs and how it is constructed in a very discriminatory way against African Americans will be analyzed as well. All in all, the primary focus of this work is on portraying the presence of racism and different forms of discrimination of African Americans in American society and analyzing the connection between racism and hip-hop. 7 2. Hip-Hop Is a Culture According to various hip-hop artists, such as ―The Godfather of Hip-Hop‖ Afrika Bambaataa or the members of the rap group Public Enemy, hip-hop started as a movement for liberation, restoration and uplifting of African Americans in their struggle against oppression (―Hip Hop History Month‖). Because people of African descent still experienced discrimination after the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, hip-hop was born as a consequent reaction to their continuous struggle. Music has always played a major role in the lives of African Americans and therefore in every instance of oppression carried out against them, people of African descent have always used music to spiritually uplift themselves, express their views about the status quo, as well as to convey different political messages. It is important to note that the Negro Spiritual, gospel, blues, swing, jazz, soul, rock and roll, funk and hip-hop have been built upon the previously existing music styles. Therefore, their origins can be traced back to the roots of African music. These styles, which have a common African ancestry, were used to convey positive messages and uplift the spirits of enslaved and oppressed African Americans. Nonetheless, it has been argued that majority of these styles have been hijacked by the mainstream music industry in one way or another. This issue has been thoroughly studied by Amiri Baraka, who in the chapter ―The Modern Scene‖ of his book Blues People, through the example of swing music, explains why African Americans and their music have always had a problem with integrating into American society: ―It was not that the Negro was uneducated or vulgar

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