Black Women as Listeners of Hip-Hop Music

by Epiphany Summers

B.S. in Psychology and Sociology, May 2014, Ursinus College

A Thesis submitted to

The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art

August 31, 2016

Thesis directed by

Fran Buntman Assistant Professor of Sociology

© Copyright 2016 by Epiphany Summers All rights reserved

ii Abstract of Thesis

Black Women as Listeners of Hip-Hop Music

This thesis investigates what Black undergraduate women understand and take away from Hip-Hop music. Highlighting their matrix of domination and recognizing their intersecting identities, this thesis shows how identity and music work together in the listening experience of Black women, thus emphasizing how they invest this music with social value. The following questions are answered in this research: What does Hip-Hop mean to Black female students at an elite university? How do these Black female students experience and perceive Hip-Hop music? A basic interpretive design with focus groups was used to execute this study. Three focus groups consisting of six to seven participants per group, totaling 19 participants, were conducted. Findings included that the background of each participant influenced what Hip-Hop means to them. Overall, Hip-

Hop music was valued by participants and listened to for many reasons of sociological relevance, including its influence of political consciousness and colorism. Future studies should explore the how different demographic groups experience and perceive Hip-Hop, including how diverse educational backgrounds may influence perception.

iii Table of Contents

Abstract iii

Introduction 1

Literature Review 4

Methodology 11

Findings And Discussion 17

Conclusion 37

References 39

Appendix 42

iv

Hip-Hop emerged in the late 1970s as a movement that expressed social, political and economic realities of marginalized groups in inner cities, predominately African

Americans. The Hip-Hop movement included four different art forms: DJing, b-boying/b- girling, MCing and graffiti. DJing, or being a disk jockey, was the sound of the movement that influenced urban dances, such as b-boying and b-girling (visual expressions of Hip-Hop). MCing, or being the master of ceremonies echoed the verbal messages of the movement, while graffiti showcased the visual manifestation of the movement. The relative influence of these four expressions has altered over time, with continuities and changes in both the individual components of the Hip-Hop movement and its overall composition. Though the movement aspect of Hip-Hip has subsided, Hip-

Hop culture remains hugely influential on its listeners, shapes society broadly, and remains an important arena of contemporary research (Danesi 2012). In fact, in his book titled Popular Culture, Marcel Danesi suggests that the rap movement was among the influences, perhaps indirect, upon the 2008 presidential race in which Barack Obama was elected, as this movement aided Obama’s election “by raising awareness” (2012:138).

Although there are many reasons to understand Hip-Hop’s influence, those reasons are underscored by the probability that Hip-Hop music impacted a presidential campaign.

Broadly then, it is important that research is attentive to how and where else Hip-Hop listeners invest this music with social value. Specifically, this thesis will investigate what a select group of Black undergraduate women understand and take away from Hip-Hop music.

1 Black women have an important but often contradictory presence in Hip-Hop.

Though Black women are a minority of artists in the patriarchal Hip-Hop industry, they are often a central focus of the music’s lyrics, imagery, and culture. They play a significant but usually understated role in producing Hip-Hop as singers, musicians, dancers and entrepreneurs. Overwhelmingly, however, they are often reduced to sexual beings in how they are represented. Women, especially Black women, are frequently the focus of male Hip-Hop artists, but are in the lower end of the Hip-Hop hierarchy which undermines “women’s participation and power-sharing” (Phillips, Reddick-Morgan,

Stephens 2005:254). Black women’s perspectives on Hip-Hop are often silenced which reflects and reinforces the patriarchal nature of the industry. This power dynamic does not mean there are not also Black women within the industry that are exceptions to this trend; many of them have made and used the freedom to upend the patriarchal structure of the Hip-Hop industry or encourage women’s empowerment.

Black women at elite colleges also have an interesting place in society as they are relatively privileged by their education, and, in most cases, their socio-economic class, while they are typically disadvantaged in respect to their gender and race in America.

These intersecting identities and how they are organized in the life of the Black women at prestigious schools are known as their matrix of domination, as theorized by Black feminist epistemology (Collins 2000). This thesis highlights the matrix of domination in regard to the Black women students’ Hip-Hop listening experience to examine how identity and music work together in the listening experience, emphasizing how the respondents, Black women, invest this music with social value.

2 Research and literature on Hip-Hop and Black women tends to have a limited focus, mostly considering how youth are influenced by and women are represented in

Hip-Hop culture. In contrast, this research situates the female listener as the main focus.

This study examines how three groups of college-aged Black female listeners of Hip-Hop music invest what they hear with social value, by using an interpretive epistemology in which social constructivism and standpoint will be emphasized in the methods. The following questions are answered in this research: What does Hip-Hop mean to Black female students at an elite university? How do Black female students attending an elite university experience and perceive Hip-Hop music?

Before directly addressing the main questions of the current thesis a literature review will follow the introduction. Within the literature review section, the theoretical framework and related literature will be discussed. After the literature review the methodology of the current thesis will be explained. Next the participants’ feedback, comments, and insights will be summarized and analyzed in the findings and discussion section to answer the main questions of this research. Finally, this thesis will be recapped in the conclusion and future research will be considered.

3 LITERATURE REVIEW

Hip-Hop began in the 1970s, first in the Bronx, NY, as a part of block party and club culture among African American youth and DJs. The music originated as an art form that was expressed by and for marginalized groups, mostly African Americans. Hip-Hop has evolved since its inception and is now a renowned worldwide music genre. The sounds and culture of Hip-Hop emerged to become appealing to large audiences. In 2009, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s report revealed that half of the top ten global digital songs were Hip-Hop (Morgan and Bennett 2011). In addition, as

Marcyliena Morgan and Dionne Bennett note concerning the global imprint of Hip-Hop,

“it is nearly impossible to travel the world without encountering instances of Hip-Hop music and culture” (2011:176). Hip-Hop has a reputation for emphasizing “realness,” or

Black authenticity, whereas other music genres do not emphasize the centrality of Black urban life to the same extent as Hip-Hop (Sigler and Balaji 2013). The ongoing, growing, and changing importance that Hip-Hop continues to have in our society, including due to its widespread popularity and appeal, renders it a social phenomenon worth exploring.

Investigating what others hear when listening to Hip-Hop music can reveal how they invest this social phenomenon with social value. Anthropologists have examined the ways in which a given society invests the different sensory domains with social value.

There is power in listening. According to information theory, there is a transmission of information through music during the listening experience (Pearce and Wiggins 2012).

Listening to music is an experience in which information is taken in by the listener.

Sound and sonic presence are heavily influential in how people interpret their experiences

(Rice 2005). Further, sensory perception is a cultural act (Rice 2005). As music and

4 listening have been widely discussed in anthropology, the current thesis will investigate the same topics from sociological, gendered, and raced perspectives. As a sociologist, I will investigate how Black women at an elite university who listen to Hip-Hop music invest the music with social value.

Patricia Hill Collins adapted feminist standpoint theory to better understand Black women’s experiences. Feminist standpoint theory focuses on the standpoint that women, in general, have toward the social world. Collins took a different approach to standpoint theory in her Black Feminist Thought framework, emphasizing that race, gender and class shape social position and experience. Due to the continued subordination of Black women in America, Collins distinguishes Black women’s standpoint from feminist’s standpoint more broadly by expressing that “black women’s standpoint is an intersectional understanding of oppression” (Harnois 2010:71). Not only does a Black women’s gender place her in a subordinate position but it is also the intersection of her race and class with her gender that contribute to that position. Due to the complexity and flexibility of Collins’s theory, her standpoint theory is a good fit for the theoretical framework of the current thesis. Although Collins emphasizes disadvantage and domination, her theory also recognizes change and agency. In other words, there is a matrix of identity including domination (mostly concerning the intersection of race and gender), relative advantage (mostly based in an elite education), and unique factors that might further disadvantage (e.g. sexual orientation or lower wealth status) or advantage

(e.g. supportive networks) particular women as individuals or as a group. A value of this theoretical outlook is that it emphasizes the many different identities that influence the

5 experiences and perspectives as Black women. It is necessary that I take this complexity into account for my study. This theoretical perspective allows for the many standpoints that the participants in this study have, including in how they experience Hip-Hop, which is the focus of the current thesis.

Collins develops her theory in part by identifying four controlling images, or stereotypes, of Black women that dominate popular culture. These include the matriarch

(rude, loud, overbearing), mammy (loyal, caring, asexual), welfare mother/queen (lazy, unmotherly, passive), or Jezebels (whore, “hoochie,” hypersexual). These images, which

Collins believes are a manipulation of ideas about Black women by elite groups, are frequently a starting point in representations of and research about Black women (Collins

2000).

The current research will expand on these four images by exploring how Black women view themselves in light of Hip-Hop culture. Both the Hip-Hop industry and

Black women continue to change. One aspect of the research in this study considers the extent to which the images of Black women that Collins’s identifies apply to contemporary Hip-Hop, as well as apply to Black women’s understandings of themselves in relationship to this music. I argue that the images of Black women have evolved, too.

Though the four controlling images of Black women in society will be explored, the current thesis will also elaborate on more contemporary images of Black women that were not included in Collins’ Black Feminist Thought framework.

Research interest regarding the relationship between Black women and Hip-Hop is common. Studies have questioned the portrayal of women, especially African-

6 American women, in lyrics and videos as well as questions like how women in the industry or teenage listeners see themselves. I examine this research in three categories including “video vixens,” representations in the music and videos, and Black youth culture. Despite the differences among these issues and the diverse ways these issues have been examined, some common features, such as the emphasis on sexuality and agency, emerge.

Women portrayed in Hip-Hop music videos, especially those who are not the lead singer, are often considered as video vixens. Video vixens are women, usually models and dancers, who provide a somewhat ornamental role as highly sexualized figures, accessories to male artists, who are objectified and lack self definition in Hip-Hop music videos (Balaji 2010). These women, mostly Black, are often not portrayed as having agency. Because of or in spite of this objectification, researchers have examined the perspectives of video vixens in research. In his study titled “Vixen Resistin,” Murali

Balaji investigated possible sites of self-definition by Black women in music videos. He studied Melissa Ford, a well-known video vixen in Hip-Hop, and focused on how her values, education and upbringing influenced her self-understanding (as opposed to her image in the videos). Though Ford tries to translate her high self-esteem and self- perception in her profession as a dancer, the industry she works in tends to not highlight her as an individual with agency (Balaji 2010). This problem is common and not unique to Ford. Indeed, T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting argued that “the impact of these sexually suggestive videos is undeniably regressive in terms of gender politics and young girls and women’s self-identity” (2007:26). The role of the video vixen is, in essence, degrading to

Black women, one-dimensional, and may well not be representative of their lives outside

7 of the videos. In fact, Sharpley-Whiting revealed that many of these women are aspiring actresses, professional models, paying off their school loans or just simply using the money they earn to make a living (2007).

While controlling images and even misogyny have been apparent in Hip-Hop, they are not the only representations of Black women in Hip-Hop. Rana A. Emerson

(2002) explored Black women’s representation in 56 urban music videos. She observed rigid standards of beauty, women as “eye candy,” and as dependent on men in some of the videos. However, Emerson also identified some music videos as portraying Black women as having agency, positive self-identity, independence and sisterhood. Emerson’s research therefore captured a complicated image of Black women and Hip-Hop; they were dependent on men in the videos but considered themselves independent in their careers and lives. In other words, Emerson’s research identifies many one-dimensional portrayals of Black women in the videos and a more multifaceted reality of Black women outside of the videos. Emerson demonstrated “a more nuanced and complex depiction of black womanhood…in the representations of black woman performers” (2002:133). In part echoing Emerson’s findings regarding negative portrayals of women in Hip-Hop,

Ronald Weitzer and Charis E. Kubrin (2009) argued Hip-Hop songs that portray women negatively are due to three social forces, “larger gender relations, the music industry and local neighborhood conditions” (5). In contrast to the common idea that misogynist portrayals of Black women predominate in Hip-Hop, they only found misogyny present in 22% of the songs they used in the study. They, thus, concluded that “misogyny is much less pervasive in rap music than some critics believe” (Weitzer and Kubrin,

8 2009:11). This complexity of portrayals of Black females in Hip-Hop music and videos is a topic which this thesis will discuss, but from the perspective of the listener.

Lastly, much research on Hip-Hop and Black women has focused on Black youth.

Andreana Clay (2003) noticed that in addition to mimicking the clothes and language of

Hip-Hop, Black youth also mimic Hip-Hop’s gender roles, often as expressed through fashion, in order to be accepted. As Black women in Hip-Hop are often sexually objectified, Clay’s study (2003) revealed that many young females follow the fashion ideals of the video because they feel it is imperative to wear more revealing clothing in order to be noticed.

Similarly, Carla Stokes noted that many of the girls in her study emphasized their attractiveness and desirability by wearing revealing clothing and “popular Hip-Hop fashions” (Stokes 2007:175). Stokes also identified five images that the girls used to portray themselves online. These included “the freak,” “the virgin,” “the down-ass bitch,”

“the pimpette,” and “the resister.” She argues that three of these - the freak, the down-ass bitch, and the pimpette - are directly related to Hip-Hop culture. By way of example,

Stokes identified a 15 year old girls who called herself “Sexeyellafemme” and wrote on her homepage that “'I AM A FREAK. FA SHO ... I like to run sh!t in and out tha bed. I am wonderful in bed ... I am down fo whateva'” (2007:175). Sexeyellafemme and other girls who imitated Hip-Hop culture in what they wrote also had Hip-Hop images and music on their homepages. Stokes’ study highlights the importance and influence of Hip-

Hop in the lives of young Black women and their online identities. Both Clay and Stokes’ studies suggest that sexual portrayals of Black women, as demonstrated in aspects Hip-

9 Hop culture, begins to influence African Americans, especially females, during their youth.

Existing research about Hip-Hop is fairly narrow. An overwhelming amount of research identifies negative impacts that Hip-Hop has on Black youth and adult women, in regards to sexualized stereotypes, mostly of women but also including men, that are displayed in Hip-Hop music. This current research will identify the new research questions and answers by focusing on an under researched population, Black female listeners of Hip-Hop educated at an elite institution, and by focusing on a more holistic view of the relationship these women have with Hip-Hop.

10 METHODOLOGY

The theoretical insights about the relationship of Black women to Hip-Hop offer important connections to the methodological approach of this work. Subjectivity, standpoint, and identity formation are key aspects of both what is being asked in this study and the knowledge and answers that the research provides. Furthermore, the current thesis will provide narrative-like data as the participants were encouraged to share their personal insights about Hip-Hip and their relation to the music.

As a Black woman in the United States of America, I both experience a relationship with Hip-Hop and see how diverse others assume I am familiar with Hip-

Hop. There is, indeed, a connection between Hip-Hop and Blackness as an international phenomenon: “International representations of hip-hop capture and reinterpret hip-hop’s history by incorporating local as well as African American aesthetic, cultural, social, and political models” (Morgan and Bennett 2011:176). As a result of my outward appearance as visibly young, black, and female, I often enter into social environments where others expect me to be familiar with Hip-Hop. This assumption is consistent with my own embrace of Hip-Hop as a defining feature of my own identity. Approaching my research subjects’ experiences of Hip-Hop from social constructivist and standpoint stances offers the possibility of excellent research insights because the respondents can explain how

Hip-Hop music contributes to their social and cultural life as Black women.

This thesis takes a basic interpretive design approach in the goal of understanding the relationship that Black college-aged (18 to 22 year old) women have with Hip-Hop music. The epistemology will follow an interpretivist framework with particular focus on two interpretivist sub-categories, social constructivist and feminist standpoint

11 epistemologies. Social constructivism allows researchers to see how research participants apprehend and grasp the world. It is an approach that not only admits but embraces a complexity of views and experiences (Creswell 2013). Therefore, the views of the participants in this study will be used, not to develop consensus or a monolithic theory, but to arrive at a variety of conclusions. In addition, standpoint epistemology considers where a person is situated in society to be a means of accessing knowledge and understanding, i.e. as an avenue to understand what one knows and how one is affected by that context and information (Appelrouth and Desfor 2011). This study interrogates the points of view and understandings of a particular group of Black females to understand how different aspects of their identity affect how they view or experience

Hip-Hop music. There are both commonalities and differences between and among the women in terms of how their own experiences shape their standpoints, whether informed by socio-economic status, skin color, education experience, or other factors.

For various reasons, focus groups were identified as an excellent research vehicle for collecting perspectives and opinions. A first motivation was the role conversation plays for many people, perhaps especially women, to share experiences, both negative and positive. According to Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (2003), focus groups “facilitate women of color ‘writing culture together’ by exposing not only the layers of oppression that have suppressed these women’s expressions, but the forms of resistance that they use every day to deal with such oppressions” (364). A second reason was the likely emotional and communicative safety participants might experience through being with (more or less) similarly situated people, i.e. Black women undergraduate students. It is imperative that relevant focus groups are used to offer a “safe environment

12 where [participants] can share ideas, beliefs, and attitudes in the company of people from the same socio-economic, ethnic, and gender backgrounds” (Denzin and Lincoln,

2003:364). To maintain a comfortable environment, the focus groups were held in familiar environments, including a university.

Upon receiving approval from The George Washington University Institutional

Review Board, recruitment for the current research began. As Blackness can be defined in different ways, the recruitment strategy for the current thesis included the following definition for the Black female: any female of Sub-Saharan African descent, whether by entirety or partially. Networking and snowball sampling were an important aspect of recruitment. Academic departments, sororities, student organizations, and individuals were contacted to invite their members to participate in this study. A total of 19 qualified participants were included in three focus groups consisting of six to seven participants per group. The focus groups each lasted one hour and fifteen hours.

Interviewees’ participation in this study was entirely voluntary; volunteer participants were offered food (pizza) as a modest incentive during the focus groups. It is possible that the participants’ knowledge about and opinions regarding Hip-Hop to have been different to their peers. Therefore, it is important to note that the findings of the current thesis will not necessarily be representative of all Black women, either within and almost certainly beyond similar the participants’ demographic groups.

Before the focus groups began, participants were asked to fill out a brief survey gathering basic descriptive and demographic information, especially seeking answers that could be tabulated or quantified. Participants were given the option to create a pseudonym for themselves on the survey in order to protect their identity in the research.

13 (It is these pseudonyms that are used when referencing respondents in this thesis.) Other survey questions included the number of hours per week they typically listened to Hip-

Hop music, demographic information such as their ethnic or racial identification, and their zip code. This survey helped to insure that all participants qualified to participate in the study and provided some basic descriptive data about the respondents.

The focus group sessions began with a Hip-Hop music video that was played before questions were asked to the groups. Though Hip-Hip comes in many different forms, for purposes of familiarity, the video used was Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” the-then number one Hip-Hop song from BillBoard’s Top 100 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. (BillBoard was used due to its popularity and accuracy regarding the ratings of top songs in the country.) While the participants watched the video, the research assistant and I observed how the women watched the video. We looked for visual cues, movements, interactions, and listened out for comments they made.

The questions asked in the focus groups, which are included in an appendix at the end of this work, aimed to set out and interrogate the substance and kinds of relationship that Black women have with Hip-Hop music. (A pilot interview for the research was conducted with a 24 year-old Black woman; additionally, a young woman of Middle

Eastern descent attended one of the focus groups. These two women fell outside the descriptive parameters for their research so neither of their comments were recorded or otherwise used except to fine-tune questions.) Some of the questions were informed by prior research concerning Black women and Hip-Hop, including as identified above in the literature review. For example, due to many previous research studies discussing images, one of the questions was “What are images of Black women you see portrayed in

14 Hip-Hop culture?” Process questions, which addressed how things happen (Maxwell

2013), were asked, such as the questions “What made you first start listening to Hip-

Hop?” or “What keeps you listening?” Because participants were recruited based on a call for Black women interested in Hip-Hop, the focus groups could explore the nature of the relationship of these women to Hip-Hop. The questions were worded so as to elicit detail and avoid academic jargon, both to facilitate comprehension of diversely educated and trained respondents, and to facilitate an easy-going, relaxed, and even fun mood that would encourage engagement. Based on numerous indices – from laughter to extensive, flowing, and open feedback – the goal to establish an environment very conducive to open and fluid discussion of the topics was achieved.

After transcribing all of the focus group conversations I looked for trends in the transcripts, connections to literature, and instances where participants had similar or differing perspectives to each other or the literature. Coding categories were next developed to identify themes and patterns within the focus groups and to facilitate an interpretive analysis of the themes. To respect standpoint epistemology, the diversity of responses was noted, thus acknowledging different participants’ standpoints. In addition, observations noted during the focus groups were included in the study.

All research methods have potential weaknesses. In this study, partly due to using snowball sampling as a method to recruit, and partly because of the potential for some people in the focus groups to follow the opinions of others, it was possible that differing or diverse opinions could be lost. However, I tried to prevent this loss of diversity by being a careful and encouraging facilitator of the focus groups. For instance, I asked specific questions to individual participants during the focus groups to try to insure I

15 collected individual perspectives, including non-dominant, minority, or solo opinions.

Another potential vulnerability might have been my own particular interests in Hip-Hop shaping how I coded the transcripts. I therefore had committee members look at the transcripts independently to identify themes and questions.

16 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Throughout this section of the thesis, findings will be identified, discussed, and connected to various ideas in the literature and existing research. The research questions that will be answered are: What are the perspectives that Black women at an elite university have about Hip-Hop? What are the experiences that Black women at an elite university have with Hip-Hop?

Within the focus groups, the women discussed a variety of topics that included impressions of Hip-Hop culture, images of Black women in Hip-Hop, old school Hip-

Hop, the importance of how location influences their listening experience and more. Each focus group expressed perspectives that overlapped with other focus groups; there were also perspectives that were unique to each focus group. Overall, this research does not aim to arrive at one conclusion, but a variety of conclusions that respect and reflect the diversity and complexity of the participants and their relationship with Hip-Hop music.

Therefore, this research will conclude with an analysis of the participants’ interpretations of the meanings of Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop Culture

Historically, the four elements of Hip-Hop culture (DJing, graffifi, b-boying/b- girling and MCing) emerged individually in U.S. inner cities. These elements expressed political beliefs and sought to create safer environments in inner cities starting in the

1970s (Price, 2006). Combined into one culture, these individual elements highlight the sounds, images, dances and stories of Hip-Hop. As Hip-Hop culture began to spread around the world, the culture expanded to include aspects such as vocal percussion, fashion and language. The women interviewed for this research discussed many of these

17 original elements of Hip-Hop, though DJing and graffiti were not as frequently discussed as b-boying/b-girling and MCing. However, there were also elements of Hip-Hop culture that the women discussed that were not reflective of Hip-Hop’s origins, and are perhaps new elements of Hip-Hop culture.

DJing

Being a DJ or disk jockey in Hip-Hop is having the task to create the music or sounds that people hear when they listen to Hip-Hop music. The sounds in Hip-Hop music are about half of the listening experience; lyrical content is the other half.

Historically in Hip-Hop culture, DJs use different types of music from different genres, mesh them together, and create what is called a Hip-Hop sound (Franzen 2010).

Participants in the third focus group spoke to the relationship of Hip-Hip and Pop music, although their opinions do not necessarily accord with academic perspectives. In their opinion, Hip-Hop had been improperly diluted by and somewhat fused with Pop music. Chi Dawg stated, for example, that Hip-Hop is “overshadowed by Pop culture now. It’s honestly blending into one,” and others agreed. Moreover, the participants believed that Pop music and Hip-Hop music fuses to a point where Hip-Hop sounds are often found in other genres. Expressing this point of view, Breonna said that Pop artists tend to use Hip-Hop beats in their music and their fans often call it Hip-Hop, but she believes that there are more components to a Hip-Hop song than just a beat. Music researchers often identify a different relationship between the two categories. In his book on popular culture, Marcel Danesi actually described Hip-Hop as a genre of Pop music, as the terms ‘hip’ and ‘hop’ have been used in pop culture since the 1920s (for hip) and the 1950s (for hop) (2012). According to Danesi, Hip-Hop music emerged in the 1980s as

18 Rock music became less popular in mainstream Pop music. Therefore, while the third focus group considered pop music and Hip-Hop music as separate entities, according to

Danesi, that distinction does not hold historically.

The sounds of Hip-Hop instrumentals were also identified as helpful to these students in their studying by the first focus group. Sabrina stated: “Everyone is like ‘Oh studying to classical really helps you’ and, like, no, the classical puts me to sleep. I like studying to instrumental Hip-Hop.” Similar sentiments were shared within this focus group which reveal that DJing is still important to the participants.

Graffiti

According to Price, graffiti originated in the 1950s as drawings in public spaces affiliated with gang culture and subsequently graffiti evolved with, and as part of, Hip-

Hop culture. Eventually this artistic expression became a movement in which urban youth would use graffiti to express social or political statements (Price 2006). Both Chi Dawg and Eb Dolla$$, whose father is a Hip-Hop producer, mentioned graffiti as an element of

Hip-Hop culture; once it was mentioned by them, others in the third focus group agreed.

In response to a question about Hip-Hop culture, Chi Dawg stated, “Yeah, a lot of people think about Brooklyn, urban culture, graffiti, like that’s a big thing.” The fact that only two of 19 participants spoke about graffiti, however, suggests that graffiti is not necessarily considered as important in current Hip-Hop culture. Price noted that the movement of graffiti did subside in the mid-1980s as a result of local governments creating more policies against graffiti in public spaces (2006). Therefore, there seems to be less value of graffiti in Hip-Hop culture as a result of public policy. However, if this study were expanded to gain the perspectives of those who currently live in urban centers

19 where graffiti was once prevalent, it is possible that they would have a different experience than the elite-school women interviewed. Socioeconomic class is a significant indicator of what people experience. In fact, Juan Battle and Michael Lewis suggested that “race [is] becoming secondary to socioeconomic status in predicting life course outcomes” (2002:23). Therefore, the common racial heritage that the interviewees have with Black inner city citizens, where graffiti dominates, does not necessarily match the impact that socioeconomic class has on their experiences and perspectives. The limited mention of graffiti as a theme in the focus groups could have been a result of the overwhelming suburban and middle class background of the participants.

In contrast to the minimal mention of graffiti in the focus groups, themes of money, guns and drugs were brought up in all discussions after participants were asked to define Hip-Hop culture. For example, Eb Dolla$$ regarded “Hip-Hop today” as, “about women and drugs, how much money you got and all this stuff.” Money, drugs and guns are also elements of gang culture, which was very influential in the graffiti movement.

Often graffiti was an expression of a group or gang in which they would use the art of graffiti to mark their territory and/or presence in the community. Perhaps as graffiti lessened in urban centers, gang activity and political resistance became a popular theme in Hip-Hop music.

B-boying/b-girling

Dancing was, and arguably still is, the essence of Hip-Hop culture (Price 2006).

Historically, in Hip-Hop culture, the dancers are called b-boys and b-girls as they practiced break dancing to different Hip-Hop sounds created by the DJs. These types of dancers still exist in Hip-Hop culture but b-boying and b-girling lead to a plethora of

20 other popular dances in Hip-Hop culture such as the bump, the robot, the Spiderman and so on. Focus group participants consistently mentioned dance as a part of their Hip-Hop experience. Britt stated, “I was definitely getting into Hip-Hop during that whole Soulja

Boy era and so everything was a dance move.” Respondents nostalgically referred to dance and Hip-Hop music as many discussed their past years, prior to college, dancing to

Hip-Hop music. Furthermore, and interestingly, after watching the Drake video at the beginning of the focus groups, the first few comments in all three focus groups were related to dancing in the video. For example, Abenaa from the second focus group mentioned she’d “just been waiting for Drake to make a dancing video forever.”

Dance also highlighted the sexualization of Black women in Hip-Hop. Sharply-

Whiting argues that strip clubs are like male boardrooms in Hip-Hop culture, as many male Hip-Hop artists showcase and observe how others react to their music in strip clubs

(2007). Moreover, as Hip-Hop has evolved, new elements have been incorporated in the culture which include the role of strippers. Just as b-boys and b-girls helped DJs to create new sounds (Price 2006), strippers help Hip-Hop artist to create new music and videos.

The participants of the first group discussed the involvement of strippers in Hip-Hop culture and, in fact, one participant, Syd, had a cousin who is a popular stripper in the

South, which allowed Syd to have great insight on the topic. In regards to her cousin, Syd noted that she dances “for a lot of rappers. It’s the rap culture. They bring in literal bands and she dances.” Though not all of the participants directly mentioned strippers in this research, all of the focus groups described the images of strippers as related to the images of Black women in Hip-Hop culture, which will be elaborated on later. The involvement of strippers in Hip-Hop culture may have occurred as a result of “the previous forms of b-

21 boying/b-girling [taking] a back seat to…the visual enticement of sexuality” starting in the mid 1980s (Price 2006:33). So, the participants of this study are keen to dance in Hip-

Hop styles, whether it be the traditional types of Hip-Hop dances or more current stripper-like dances.

MCing

MCing refers to the lyrical content of Hip-Hop music; the term derives from master of ceremonies. The title MC was originally adapted from elite high society in the

West African griot tradition (Price 2006). The MC element of Hip-Hop was the most discussed element by the focus groups. Syd, a poet from the first focus group, considered the lyrical content of Hip-Hop music to help her to develop her poetry. Kiki, from the second focus group, discussed how she enjoys Hip-Hop music that has good and relatable stories, which also happens to be an aspect of the West African griot tradition. Moreover,

Abenaa stated:

Hip-Hop is…something that you want people to know about yourself and your life story...Other music...may have a message in there or it may have a catchy tune or it may have words that you just want to sing out, but the difference is that Hip- Hop is real life stories, some kind of message about yourself that you want to project and put out there.

In sum, many of these women look forward to the lyrical content in Hip-Hop music and expect to hear a positive, relatable or helpful message.

Participants categorized different types of music by iconizing specific Hip-Hop artist based on their lyrical content. Moreover, throughout the focus groups, participants referred to specific music artists with similar sentiments. When they discussed gangster rap, names such as Ice Cube and NWA were mentioned. Rappers J Cole and Kendrick

Lamar were brought up many times in regards to their positive and pro-black music. In

22 Sabrina’s words, “people look to J Cole and Kendrick to write these kinds of songs about what was going on in the [Black] community … talking about real issues.” Contrastingly, female rappers, such as Remy Ma, Lil Kim, Trina and Nicki Minaj, were iconized as having sexy and lyrical content. Tobi stated,

I feel like with female rappers, they really feel the need to sexualize themselves. So you have Trina and then you have Lil Kim. Then you have Nicki Minaj and you have like Remy Ma. I remember when I was young and I was really listening to their music I was like ‘Oh my God I can’t believe she just said that!’ Like I can’t believe that she is saying, like, you know? Like, just the different things that she was saying. I’m like, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be a lady?’ You know? And like not talk about that stuff in the open.

Female artists were discussed in ways that assumed there were gendered expectations for their lyrical content, as revealed by Tobi’s quote. Academic literature questions if the hypersexualized image of the female artist is a conscious choice of the women who are represented. In fact, Sharpley-Whiting argued that sexual freedom of Black women in

Hip-Hop is illusory (2007) and therefore, the hypersexualized image is not a conscious decision at all. When the participants discussed images of Black women in Hip-Hop, this illusory control over sexual freedom was discussed in regards to female artist who are not well known, such as Tink. However, better known female artists, such as Nicki Minaj, were discussed by the focus groups as having control over the images they portray to the public. Therefore, the participants connected popularity of female artist to their sexual freedom, or lack thereof.

Images of Black Women

The discussion of the images of Black women in Hip-Hop was a topic that was often discussed within the focus groups, apparently influenced by an interview question and participants’ own experiences, in and out the classroom. The second focus group

23 directly invoked and discussed Patricia Hill Collins’ four images of Black women in society (the jezebel, the mammy, the matriarch and the welfare mother) while the other two focus groups primarily discussed the jezebel image but not in a way where they connected it to academic ideas, as with the second group. In addition, other ideas about

Black women and their representation in Hip-Hop were also discussed; these included victimization or agency, plastic surgery, and colorism.

More than any other topic, the perspectives that were shared about images of

Black women were apparently informed by the participants’ classwork. As noted, the second focus group quickly mentioned Collins’ images of Black women in society after I asked them about images of Black women in Hip-Hop. Gabi stated,

I wrote an essay for this in my Black Feminism class…certain different stereotypes…are constantly representative like…the Jezebel…Then there’s like the typical bitch [and] the Mammy...I think there is two more but you can kind of get a sense of what’s happening here…Those stereotypes are still prevalent in today’s modern day rap music…I think certain characters are more used than others, like you’re not going to see the Mammy as often at this time period as much as you are going to see the Jezebel or other ones who are more sexualized. But I do think they are still prevalently used. You just have to catch it and be aware of what’s happening.

The return to a mention of the jezebel image underscores its importance. The first and third focus group also emphasized this image by discussing the sexualization of Black women in Hip-Hop. For example, Eb Dolla$$ stated, “Yeah, it’s definitely body images…even the female rappers [have] naked people in their videos, like naked women in their videos. So, they’re just saying that it’s okay.” Eb Dolla$$ thus notes the normalization of the sexualization of Black women in Hip-Hop. Similar sentiments were shared in all focus groups regarding the jezebel image, including the objectification of

24 Black women in Hip-Hop. There was a general consensus among all focus groups that

Black women in Hip-Hop are objectified in the music and videos in ways that normalize sexualized images of women. As Sabrina stated, “when women do make it into rap, I feel like it’s about them objectifying themselves and their lyrics.”

The interviewees discussed the details of the sexual and jezebel-like images of

Black women in Hip-Hop in ways that resonated with or were similar to a symbolic interactionist perspective. (They also reflected the influence classroom learning had on their critical considerations of the representations of Black women.) The participants described Black women in Hip-Hop conforming to a Hip-Hop expectation that emphasizes a very specific and sexualized body image. This focus on preferred, even

“required” appearance, is consistent with Erving Goffman’s (1969) symbolic interactionist theory of impression management. Hiding or emphasizing certain characteristics to present an image of yourself that is compatible with a social situation is an act of impression management.

Many of the interviewees believed that Hip-Hop’s image of Black woman is very consistent, unreal, sexual and, in some cases, forced, as influenced by the increased popularity of plastic surgery in society. Syd noted her cousin, the Hip-Hop stripper, has

“been forced to do” waist training and have breast augmentation by the management team at the strip club. Waist training, as described by participants, is an intense exercise process to develop and maintain a small waist, usually unnaturally small, as a method to emphasize a woman’s thighs and buttocks. It also includes wearing corsets or corset-like contraptions (Thapoung 2016). Though the participants emphasize exercise and dieting, the corset-like contraptions are commonly emphasized in the public arena as a big, even

25 predominant, part of waist training. Whether in waist training or other arenas, the image of Hip-Hop strippers involves a lot of impression management, and to be successful requires a transformation of the body.

All of the focus groups discussed the impression management of the jezebel image in similar ways, including plastic surgery and waist training. Kiki stated that the

“majority of Hip-Hop and media and music videos have the thicker women with these disproportional bodies, which we all know is [a result of] surgery.” Images that tend to be associated with strippers, including plastic surgery and body enhancement techniques, connect well with this part of Hip-Hop that involves strip clubs. Some Hip-Hop expressions have normalized the idea of Black women using impression management to create artificial but elements of their bodies to match their social situations in the Hip-

Hop world. In fact, Diva for Jesus stated, “I used to think it was crazy but now I’m like

‘Let me get some nip tuck,’” that is, plastic surgery.

Just as the participants noted Hip-Hop’s objectification of women’s bodies and their sexuality, participants also raised the presence of colorism in Hip-Hop, independent of my prompting. The light skinned/dark skinned divide in the Black community refers to a form of intra-racial discrimination that is often called colorism (Mathews and Johnson

2015). Most of the participants believed that Hip-Hop favored light skinned Black women over their dark skinned counterparts, which is consistent with a broader historical reality (Mathews and Johnson 2015). Kiki stated: “I thought light skinned for a long time was the rave. [All I saw] in Hip-Hop videos was light skinned girls up until recently they started putting up dark skinned girls.”

26 Many participants in all three focus groups felt directly affected, and troubled, by colorism. They responded to the apparent dominance of light skinned women in Hip-Hop media in very different ways, however. As a dark skinned woman and listener of Hip-

Hop music, Lauryn began to question her beauty as a result of light skinned women being glorified in Hip-Hop, even within the lyrics of her favorite Hip-Hop artist, Kanye West.

Aisha, who is light skinned, both recognized and denounced her colorist privilege as

“very disappointing” despite “being favorable now.” She lamented Hip-Hop star, Lil

Kim, and pop star Beyonce’s, changes in skin color to become lighter:

Lil Kim looks nothing like how she did before with the whole lightening thing… I was in my sociology class when they did before and after pictures with Beyonce. Like, how before she was pretty tan and darker…But then you see magazine covers and they purposely lighten her skin to appear ‘beautiful’.

Aisha’s perspective on colorism in Hip-Hop seemed to be informed by her classwork and her own experiences. She felt unfairly favored as a light skinned woman, and therefore disappointed about how Hip-Hop often reproduces or legitimizes colorism. In contrast, another participant who was lighter skinned, saw the opposite in regards to Hip-Hop reinforcing colorism that valorized lightness. Abenaa stated that “I always thought that I wouldn’t fit into [Hip-Hop] culture because I was too light skinned. I always thought it was the [darker] Black woman being promoted in [Hip-Hop media].” Abenaa shares an interesting and unique perspective, as, unlike Lauryn, Hip-Hop made her feel out of place because she was light skinned. It seems that Abenaa’s identity problem regarded authenticity – was she Black enough? - more than beauty. Abenaa didn’t feel like an authentic listener of Hip-Hop music, at least when she was younger, because those who produce Hip-Hop music are often visibly Black in her eyes. Although no one else

27 identified with this perspective, it underlines that Hip-Hop tends to encourage the connection between notions of racial authenticity and hue of skin color.

The discussion about colorism shifted as gender was added to the conversation about skin color. Once the participants discussed Black men’s racial identities in Hip-

Hop, the implication was that gender identities influenced the meaning of skin color.

Historically, greater harm has been directed to Black women than Black men when assessing the effects of colorism (Mathews and Johnson 2015). The participants considered that Black men were affected by colorism differently to Black women. The participants of the first focus group agreed that dark skinned men are glorified in Hip-

Hop while dark skinned women receive the completely opposite reaction. For example,

Syd offered that the “light skinned thing is more important for women than it is for men”;

Diva for Jesus responded by identifying this relative male privilege as connected to men’s cockiness, with which Syd agreed. These participants view dark skinned men as having a lot of confidence, as influenced and encouraged by Hip-Hop culture. This perspective reflected a broader view of some, exemplified here by Syd and Diva for

Jesus, that darker skinned Black men are cocky, and that is a desirable trait, associated with representation of masculinity in rap or Hip-Hop. Kiki elaborated more on this point when she stated,

When I'm with my light skinned girl friends they're like ‘I want a dark-skinned. He got to be chocolate.’ And I’m like ‘I don't get it, why don't you guys want a light skinned man?’ And they're like ‘light skin men are weak. Dark skin men, they are aggressive. They are assertive and they let you know what they want blah blah blah.’ And I'm just like, wait, where is this coming from? And honestly it has to do something with the music. The majority of the rappers that rap about this gangster lifestyle, they’re dark and I’m like this is what these girls are going to fall into. And then the light skinned Drakes are all about their emotions and feelings and this is what people are going to seep into. So it kind of goes into

28 these stereotypes which are tied to Hip-Hop and making us think something else about a certain race.

In associating light skinned men with Drake, who is known for his singing and

“sensitive” lyrics, Kiki reports her friends connected lighter-skinned men with emotional vulnerability and weakness. Toughness was associated with darker skinned men and at least the potential for crime or violence, through the reference to gangster rappers. A bottom line is that some of the respondents, and, reportedly, their friends, associate Hip-

Hop with connecting a desirable and tough masculinity with Black men being darker skinned. As skin hue apparently informs what Hip-Hop offers and its fans embrace, so aficionados of Hip-Hop also had distinct views about contemporary versus older iterations of Hip-Hop.

Old School versus New School

A major theme that all focus groups discussed was having a preference for what respondents considered old school Hip-Hop over the Hip-Hop of today. By old school

Hip-Hop, the participants meant the Hip-Hop of their childhood years and even before they were born, so Hip-Hop from the 1990s and 2000s. They considered this music to have been informed by social consciousness and with meaning, in contrast to the Hip-

Hop music of today. Emblematically, Eb Dolla$$ said that “what we call Hip Hop now is not what it used to be and I like old school Hip-Hop better than what it is now.” She criticized contemporary Hip-Hop as “about women and drugs, how much money you got and all this stuff but back then it was just [about] Black people[’s] struggles.” As Eb

Dolla$$ is a listener to both styles of Hip-Hop, it is important to note the apparent

29 contradiction between her critique of the materialist emphasis of contemporary Hip-Hop and the money-centered pseudonym she chose for herself.

The valorization of older Hip-Hop seemed to reflect in part a nostalgia and perhaps romanticism of these women’s childhood and teenage years. Most participants spoke highly of what they considered old school Hip-Hop as most of them grew up on this music. This nostalgia often evokes political, racial and familial ideals. This preference for Hip-Hop from youth seems to be a generational trend. Pero Gaglo (2010) defines the Hip-Hop generation as African Americans born between 1965 and 1985, which includes most of the parents of the interviewees. Dagbovie categorizes the current generation as “shaped by the rise of multinational corporatism, globalization”; he considers it “self-consumed, individualistic, and not willing to sacrifice for the advancement of the traditional protest” (2010:324). Interestingly, the participants echoed

Dagbovie’s critique in how they regarded contemporary Hip-Hop, especially Trap music, which they disapprovingly noted tends to emphasize violence and drugs. The participants believe that Hip-Hop today is unprogressive, stereotyping, and very capitalistic or materialist, as it typically produces what sells:

Eb Dolla$$: [C]urrent [Hip-Hop], I wouldn’t even call that culture. That’s some other junk, what’s going on now, it’s not bad; don’t get me wrong. I like Trap music. I’m not going to bash it and look like that but it’s not helping us progress. It sends the wrong message. Chi Dawg: I think it’s just projecting these [racial] stereotypes about what we’re not about. Eb Dolla$$: Exactly. Breonna: [When rap started,] they were rapping about what was really around them but now it's like they're rapping because it's just cool. Alexis: I feel like not everyone can relate to where they came from...everybody can relate to [what] that sells.

30 In other words, the respondents see Dagbovie’s sentiments as accurate not for their own views and values but concerning much contemporary Hip-Hop.

Whether Hip-Hop today is less political or socially conscious than it was in the apparent Golden Age of Hip-Hop is debatable. What is clear is the high value that the interviewees placed on what they considered old school Hip-Hop, which they believe to be socially conscious and empowering. Despite representing two generations, Dagbovie’s and the nineteen respondents, there is a shared valorization of what is considered to be an earlier Golden Age of Hip-Hop music.

Two respondents whose parents were foreign appreciated old school Hip-Hop music but had a different journey with Hip-Hop. Mariama, who had foreign parents and grew up in a predominately white community, explained that no one encouraged her to listen to Hip-Hop in her youth. Now, as a young adult “people always bring up artists that

I’ve never heard about and they’re, like, major artists that I should know.” So she now tries to “learn and study up” on old school Hip-Hop because she finds it really

“interesting.” If Mariama is emblematic, young adults who did not grow up with Hip-

Hop music may feel the need to explore old school Hip-Hop because of the expectation that they should know certain information about Hip-Hop.

Overall, across all three focus groups, participants classified Hip-Hop music in two main ways, conscious and mainstream. Respondents discussed conscious music similarly to the way they described old school Hip-Hop, listenable and real music. In contrast, the participants discussed mainstream Hip-Hop similarly to how they described

Hip-Hop today, namely “turn up” music and “rap” music. Sabrina made a clear

31 distinction between types of music she listens to and the types of music she parties, or

“turns up” to. As Sabrina noted,

I have a difference between turn up music and music that I listen to…Music that I listen to is Kendrick, J Cole, like Rakim, stuff like that…Turn up music is like, Lil Wayne, Future, Young Thug, like stuff like that. So, like more popular music is like the only music people party to that is like what new culture [is].

Sabrina’s sentiments were shared by other participants suggesting that the age of the music or musician might be less important than the music’s message. In her categorization of conscious music, Sabrina included J Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Rakim, although Sabrina considered the former two new school and Rakim as an old school musician and artist. What united them for Sabrina is that they offered racial and political consciousness. She valued what she considered the more substantive music because, as she stated, “I feel like as I've gotten older I listen to more things about the struggle because I'm more conscious as a human being.” In contrast, Sabrina placed turning up, partying, popular music and artists like Lil Wayne, Future, and Young Thug, together.

Indeed, all three focus groups categorized artists and music content above all as either conscious or mainstream music. Questions of authenticity and classification continued in other domains.

The third focus group had a considerable discussion distinguishing Hip-Hop and rap music. This group’s participants shared Eb Dolla$$’s description of and associations with Hip-Hop as being about “Tupac, Biggie, KRS One, Dr. Dre; that's real Hip-Hop to me and I feel like it’s relating to the struggle. That’s why I feel like it relates to the Black experience.” Once again, this categorization of specific music artists lists people who invoke issues within the Black community in their music, so marking them as conscious.

32 Contrastingly, rap music was referred to by other participants as apolitical or anti- political, apparently because it involved violence and destruction. Chi Dawg dismissively described rap as “gun slangin’ and poppin’ bullets in people skull.”

Respondents therefore described rap music similarly to the ways in which most participants considered mainstream Hip-Hop, and Hip-Hop today. Focus group members emphasized family connections and political or racial consciousness in their Hip-Hop journey and therefore why they prefer the older Hip-Hop. Although they like and listen to contemporary and mainstream Hip-Hop, they attach less value to the types of Hip-Hop that glorify violence, are considered non-political or meaningless, and/or are degrading to women.

Hip-Hop and Location

Another major trend that emerged was that the participants felt the need to mention location, or place, when discussing Hip-Hop. As Hip-Hop started in New York, there were many comments referring to Hip-Hop in New York as a given. Syd stated, “I grew up in Harlem so I was always surrounded by just a lot of culture and music blaring out the stereos and just, like, people playing Double Dutch across the street and people listening to Hip-Hop.” Syd considered it normal to be surround by Hip-Hop music in

Harlem, NY. Moreover, Tobi discussed how the different areas she lived in influenced her to listen to different kinds of Hip-Hop music. She said,

When I was in America, like younger, I would listen to like Ja Rule and Ashanti because that’s what was poppin’ around that time. Then I went to Nigeria for sometime and Eminemem was oddly very very popular there, so that’s what I would listen to. And then when I came back it was more of like a Kanye West and Jay-Z type thing, so it was really whatever was kind of like popular.

33 This association between Hip-Hop and location is essential because location influences the types of Hip-Hop one will hear. Though Hip-Hop began in New York, the more popular it became, the more it spread across the United States and the world. Perhaps ironically, the broader the reach of the Hip-Hop movement, the more many artists sought to use a distinctive place, or origin, to distinguish themselves in the genre (Price

2006:16). But given the mobility globalization invites, place and family are inevitably connected and dissonant in all sorts of ways. Therefore, it seems that both location and family influence the type of Hip-Hop that the participants listen to, and prefer, due to the cultural environment it evokes.

What Does it all Mean?

At this point of the thesis it is important to refer back to the main research question: What does Hip-Hop mean to Black females at an elite university? The research respondents identify Hip-Hop as a necessary and active presence in their lives. Aisha commented that “I’m starting to open up to different types of music but at heart…I’m always going to prefer…Hip-Hop.” Beyond an individual statement, Aisha was reflecting a significant sociological reality: For young, educated Black women, Hip-Hop is a musical and cultural genre that is deeply connected to Blackness in the United States. For the majority of respondents, that link is related to their history as Americans. For the few participants whose parents are immigrants, Hip-Hop helps allow them to identify as

Black Americans. For some people – “the wider audience in America” – “ Hip-Hop is narrowly understood as a breeding ground for the most explicitly exploitative and increasingly one-dimensional narratives of black ghetto life” (Rose 2008:3). But for the participants of this study, Hip-Hop is a complex narrative reflective of different aspects

34 of their identities. For almost all participants, Hip-Hop was connected to childhood and family, as well as political consciousness, racial pride, and identity. Diva for Jesus stated,

“I listen to Hip-Hop now to kind of bring me back to a level of normal.” Hip-Hop is fundamental in the lives of the participants, as it operates as a cultural necessity of life.

The women interviewed for this study expressed that Hip-Hop has multiple functions or roles in their lives. This important insight is better appreciated through the aspects of a functionalist perspective that enables an understanding, and in fact an emphasis, on the interrelated parts of Hip-Hop that do or do not work together to maintain social functions (Applerouth and Desfor 2011). Sociologist Robert Merton believed that social actions have multiple functions, including both manifest and latent functions. Manifest functions are the intended purposes of an action whereas latent functions are implicit or unconscious purposes of social action (Merton 1949). The participants’ description of listening to Hip-Hop suggests the manifest functions of encouraging dance, political and social consciousness, as well as generational connectivity. Simultaneously, the latent functions of listening to Hip-Hop, as described by the participants, include being a vehicle of nostalgia, the categorization of artist to match their social values, helping them to succeed academically, and distinction from white culture. In addition, Merton identified undesirable consequences (potentially both latent and manifest) as dysfunctions (Applerouth and Desfor 2011). The dysfunctions of

Hip-Hop music as discussed by the participants include the reinforcement or reminder of unequal gendered power relations; profit in significant part based on the objectification of women – or, worse, misogyny; and the valorization or implied legitimization of colorism.

These and other factors reinforce respondents’ concerns that Hip-Hop can and does

35 spread negative and misleading messages about Black life in America, in contrast to the broader and bigger achievements of Black cultures in the United States.

36 CONCLUSION

Hip-Hop music has multiple meanings, including for the elite educated Black women who participated in this study. The participants considered their interaction with

Hip-Hop as intimate, because the music likely reflects different aspects of their identities.

Some participants used Hip-Hop for poetry, concentrating on homework, childhood and family memories, to feel included in the Black community and so on. The research offers understanding of both individual and structural, sometimes including group-based, sensibilities of what participant’s noted that Hip-Hop means to them. In general, strong sociological patterns overrode many individual concerns or experiences.

The interviewees used Hip-Hop to inform them on colorist rhetoric, different locations, what’s expected of Black women in society and to connect with their families, just to name a few uses. Hip-Hop also offers strong connection to political consciousness and resistance; the participants preferred what they considered more liberating and political Hip-Hop music. The respondents, educated Black women in an elite university, embrace Hip-Hop, but in a complex and nuanced way. The students have a complex relationship with Hip-Hop, as there are things they like, don’t like and choose to downplay or ignore, in the broad genre. They understand that Hip-Hop music, and the culture around it, isn’t perfect but they consider that, as insiders of the Black community,

Hip-Hop is both a genre of necessity and pleasurable choice. In fact, perhaps despite the likely relative privilege of the respondents, considering the overwhelming messages regarding alienated and poor Black communities in Hip-Hop music, many of the participants interviewed have an intense connection to Hip-Hop that is linked back to their childhoods.

37 This thesis answers many questions regarding how Black female undergraduate students at an elite university interact with Hip-Hop music. Inevitably, however, future questions remain to be answered. For one, respondents in this study were a non- representative group of Black women and undergraduate students at a selective private university. Future studies should compare and contrast the perspectives of Black women in college, but also those who are not in college. Comparing age groups too could also reveal some interesting findings, as would varying respondents in other ways.

Hip-Hip is more than music to the participants of this study; they have a relationship with Hip-Hop culture that, for most of them, has been life long. Most participants were very reflective about the music, perhaps highlighting their privilege but perhaps also their connectivity to and appreciation of Hip-Hop culture. This research reveals how different people experience both similar and diverse realities in response to the same phenomenon, in this case Hip-Hop. Whereas existing research mostly reveals that Hip-Hop music tends to have relatively negative impacts on women and youth, this thesis instead highlights more complex and positive relationships the respondents have with Hip-Hop; these elite-educated women consider Hip-Hop influential to the women they have become today. Hip-Hop, as a cultural identification marker, has the capacity to foster critical and creative minds, as explored in this thesis.

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41 APPENDIX Black Women as Listeners of Hip-Hop Music Focus Group Protocol

Preamble Thank you for agreeing to participate in this focus group discussion on Hip-Hop music. I’m Epiphany Summers, a graduate student at George Washington University, and I’ll be your moderator for this session. Over the side is my research assistant, Haley Parker, an undergraduate here, and she’ll be helping me during the focus group.

Each of you has been selected because you are Black, females (aged 18-22) and listeners of Hip-Hop music. I have organized this focus group and others to collect data for my master’s thesis which will focus on the experiences that Black women have with Hip- Hop music.

The purpose of this focus group is to obtain opinions, information and insights from you as listeners of Hip-Hop music. I want to elicit your views to arrive at a variety of conclusions. I want to know about your experiences and what you think, so let’s have plenty of discussion and debate. We only have an hour and a half, so I will keep the conversation moving along.

I will tape recording the session in order to ensure accuracy in writing my thesis. Your name will be anonymous in my research. Because I am taping, I may remind you occasionally to speak up and talk one at a time so I can hear you clearly when I review the session tape. Thanks.

Introduction Question 1. Let’s start by asking you to introduce yourselves. It will be helpful if you mention your preferred name and your top 3 favorite genres of music.

Trigger Activity Now I will show a Hip-Hop music video. *show the video, hotline Bling by Drake* Please share some of your reactions to this video, whether they are positive, negative, both or in between.

Questions likely to include: 1. What is Hip-Hop? 2. What made you first start listening to Hip-Hop? What keeps you listening? 3. What is Hip-Hop music versus Hip-Hop culture? 4. What are any images of Black women you see portrayed in Hip-Hop culture? 4a. How do you feel about these images? Do you accept them? Reject them? Other?

42 5. Explain how Hip-Hop music has influenced, or not influenced, the way you view yourself and/or peers. 6. How would/do you talk about Hip-Hop to your present or future daughter? 7. Explain how your perception of Hip-Hop changed over time? Stayed consistent?

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