FLASHBACK, FLASH FORWARD: RE-COVERING THE BODY AND ID-ENDTITY IN THE HIP-HOP EXPERIENCE Submitted By Danicia R. Williams As part of a Tutorial in Cultural Studies and Communications May 04,2004 Chatham College Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tutor: Dr. Prajna Parasher Reader: Ms. Sandy Sterner Reader: Dr. Robert Cooley ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Prajna Paramita Parasher, my tutor for her faith, patience and encouragement. Thank you for your friendship. Ms. Sandy Sterner for keeping me on my toes with her wit and humor, and Dr. Cooley for agreeing to serve on my board. Kathy Perrone for encouraging me always, seeing things in me I can only hope to fulfill and helping me to develop my writing. Dr. Anissa Wardi, you and Prajna have changed my life every time I attend your classes. My parent s for giving me life and being so encouraging and trusting in me even though they weren't sure what I was up to. My Godparents, Jerry and Sharon for assisting in the opportunity for me to come to Chatham. All of the tutorial students that came before me and all that will follow. I would like to give thanks for Hip-Hop and Sean Carter/Jay-Z, especially for The Black Album. With each revolution of the CD my motivation to complete this project was renewed. Whitney Brady, for your excitement and brainstorming sessions with me. Peace to Divine Culture for his electricity and Nabri Savior. Thank you both for always being around to talk about and live in Hip-Hop. Thanks to my friends, roommates and coworkers that were generally supportive. Finally a special thank you to my dearest friend, Aleksandra for showing me love in friendship that I've never known and always encouraging me to "eat the elephant in small pieces." TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Review of Literature 7 Chapter One 15 Chapter Two 24 Chapter Three 39 Works Cited 45 Appendix A: Images and Advertisements 47 Appendix B: Song Lyrics 73 "Hip-Hop has to bring politics back to the forefront of cultural representation...otherwise it is in danger of losing the most critical element of its identity; the desire to influence lives•.." -Red Eye Magazine Introduction to the Research Question Shawn Carter (known as Jay-Z) who has gained widespread recognition as 'the greatest rapper alive' has retired from his career as a recording artist. After 10 years of what could be declared as one of the most successful careers in the Hip-Hop 'game', -let alone the entire music business'- history, the 34 year-old has declared that "hip hop just doesn't do it for him anymore" (VIBE 73). In an industry where careers and people are quickly consumed and expelled by shallow appetites, Jay-Z has fulfilled an enormous demand for an extended period of time. An ongoing, and by now very deflated debate on Hip-Hip questions, demands to know: Where do we go from here? With the monotonous, formulaic production of rap acts and their material, along with the conspicuous consumption of platinum and diamond jewelry, expensive brand name clothing, champagne, designer drugs, cars and multimillion-dollar homes have been the represented images in music videos, lyrical content and the larger Hip-Hop scene since the late 1990's. Although Jay-Z was a leading participant in such activities, his artistic integrity combined with his innovative lyrical and musical styles have given reason for further interrogation. In addition to having reached an immortal status as the 'best rapper alive,' Jay-Z has collected a host of alter-egos, makes notable philanthropic contributions, and has co­ ownership in one of the most prosperous and respected labels in the record industry, Roc­ a-fella records-- which also resulted a clothing line of the same namesake, Rocawear. In his album, Black all Both Sides, lyrical revolutionary MosDef addresses the Hip-Hop question (2) by remarking that . People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin' in the hillside comin' down to visit the townspeople We are Hip-Hop Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-HoSo Hip-Hop is goin' where we goin' ... Hip-Hop won't get better until the people get better" ("Fear Not of Man"1999) This decentered answer offered by MosDef was a key concept used by French Marxist theoretician, Louis Althusser. It indicates that Hip-Hop culture (according to MosDef), has a founding legacy of quality and creativity that will allow it to evolve and not continue to be directed by its economic base (Barry 164). With such an ambiguous and open-ended response, virtuosity and innovativeness from this active subculture can be the only determinant of the direction Hip-Hop will take. Talib Kweli, MosDef's counterpart in the rap duo Blackstar, remarked, "There was a context for artists to talk about things in the [19] 60's. Traditionally, the artists followed the people, right now there is no context for the artist to be political, responsible or accountable-- there is no demand." (Public lecture Feb. 2004) The people will soon have the chance to actively navigate this direction, since the Hip-Hop 'game' will no longer be dominated by such an established figure as Jay-Z. The time has come for the new generation's leaders to make themselves known and to bring forth a new message to (very) eager ears. Hip-Hop music-also known as rap- beginning in the early 1970's (Henderson 310) has been considered a voice of resistance, created out of need from lives of the struggling, underprivileged, and marginalized common folk (subculture). With the exception of a viable underground scene, currently the state of Hip-Hop, now that it is co-opted by major producers, is now concerning a matter of style, however a style of resistance that is extremely market dependent. 2 Hip-Hop was an art form utilized to describe the harsh realities of inner-city life (Ciment 196) In its current state of [seeming] confusion, an eagemess for the next wave, a resurgence of an innovative voice or voices to restructure and reroute Hip-Hop music's (rap) function, message and path. The vulnerable state that Hip-Hop occupies gives reason for debate, but also issues a call for new questions, new leaders from the generation that is now coming of age within this culture. Generally this project is an analysis of cultural expression, exploring the social and political implications (that have or have not sustained themselves) in fashion and music in black culture and identity along with the contemporary interpretations of such. There will be a specific focus on Jay-Z (Shawn Carter): entrepreneur, entertainer, MC, revolutionary hustler, and philanthropist as a paradigm to examine his interplay of these elements of culture and the ways in which they are represented. Co-owner of Roc-a-fella records and Rocawear apparel, Jay-Z (a play on the word jazzy), is the prime example of the bourgeoisie in Hip-Hop culture. Despite, his achieving the status as an outsider from his success, Jay-Z does recognize his Brooklyn housing projects upbringing. Rocawear's spring 2003 women's campaign includes several specific images that are re-presenting some familiar images of the Black liberation movement of the 1960's. This is especially interesting because Jay-Z, along with Rocawear, appears to be inciting a revolutionary sentiment by way of advertising, but what are the motivations? Possibly a commodified revival of a cultural aesthetic for capitalist intent, and if so would be characteristic in the current [late] stages of capitalism. Is it a dual cooptation of that pm1icular movement for commercial and liberatory purposes? Is Jay-Z is using the 3 mainstream against itself to sell a product but also to reach 'the people' (particularly Hip- Hop youth)? And is it either, as Bakari Kitwana poses, a brand of hard-core nationalism, or lukewarm, f1ash-in-the-pan bougie nationalism? Could he be an activist or simply activist minded? His final album, which was released in December of 2003, entitled The Black Album displays a highly thoughtful, socially conscious, and matured Jay-Z. Following the progression of his lyrical content since his entrance into the mainstream eye and ear, Jay- Z has evolved. From "Big Pimpin"'(2000) to his recent single "Change Clothes,"(2004) Jay-Z's lyrical content has undergone a sonic evolution (VIBE 82) In addition to an advertisement analysis and comparison of the content with propaganda from the Black Liberation movement of the 1960's, Jay-Z's music will be juxtaposed along with a lyrical analysis of six of his major hits spanning over the lO-year period of his career. Looking at his billboard hits lyrically and displaying such a progression or maturation from an in-depth analysis of The Black Album, it can read as a ret\.lm to self. In the fields of Cultural Studies and Communication this is a significant topic. The Hip-Hop nation/generation collectively includes black as well as a considerable portion of white urban and suburban youth, in addition to others that belong to earlier generations. The phrase Hip-Hop generation coined by Bakari Kitwana, " ... Is used interchangeably with Black youth culture. No other term better defines this generation of black youth, as the entire spectrum of Black youth (including college students and young professionals, as well as the urban masses) has come to identify with Hip-Hop's cadence." (Kitwana xiii) 4 The current status of Hip-Hop encompassing elements of a general lifestyle implies that members who belong to such a group share a national culture and ultimately a shared consciousness.