Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce 2019 Jan Kysilka Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Jan Kysilka The Historical Development of the African-American Female Identity in Rap Music Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………… Author’s signature I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his advice and support throughout the writing process. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 5 2. Sociocultural background in the U.S. .............................................. 8 The Music Industry .............................................................................. 10 African-American Stereotypes .............................................................. 13 3. The Male Perspective ...................................................................... 14 Historical Development ........................................................................ 16 Devaluation of The Message ................................................................ 22 The Image of Masculinity ..................................................................... 23 Mother vs. Other Women ..................................................................... 24 4. The Female Perspective.................................................................. 27 Historical Development ........................................................................ 29 The Club Effect ................................................................................... 33 Future Development ............................................................................ 34 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 37 Works cited ......................................................................................... 39 English summary ................................................................................ 45 České resumé ...................................................................................... 46 1. Introduction In 1973 Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell decided to organize what was supposed to be an ordinary party in the Bronx. No one there would have probably expected the show Campbell provided, to be the beginning of one of the biggest music styles in the history. The original idea of rap music was to create a new funky type of music which after a while transformed into a much more important idea. An idea which, for African-Americans frustrated with the social relations in the United States of America, meant a new way to express their sadness or anger in a free manner. The free speech through a music style seemed like the perfect idea and the pioneers believed that their songs could actually help the situation. Rap music dreams that were too big and too uncomfortable for America. What was supposed to be a tool for bringing people of different descents together in order to achieve equality at any level, turned into a tool which did the right opposite to the African-American society. The United States of America are built on two ideologies and one historical experience which caused rap music, and lots of other thing in the American society, to go astray. Colonialism affected the American mentality immensely. A campaign which stood on two primal rules – survival of the fittest and conquering. Therefore, the foundations were laid with concepts of masculinity and merciless treatment. It also caused the enslavement of Africans and immediate predisposition in the society. The modern society, however, is standing on the ideology of capitalism which is ordinarily considered as the traditional western approach to economy. The society which was already based on masculinity and power also added the concept of individualism and profit maximization which 5 made rap music what it is now. Because the representatives of record companies decide about what will the final musical product be, the original idea left very quickly and was supplemented by the idea of gangsters, whose stories have been very exciting for the American society since Hollywood started portraying criminals in a slightly better light than they deserved. The role for African- American women was to portray always sexually charged and aggressive women. The thesis aims to focus on the explanation of the unfair female identity established within rap music. The first chapter characterizes various historical and cultural features of the American society and how they contributed to the emergence of stereotypes for African-American women. Lastly, the impact of the record companies on the actual production is studied in the end of the first chapter. The next two chapters aim to describe both male and female rappers and the historical development of their contributions to both the music style and the position of women. In order to understand the male perspective, the concept of masculinity within rap music needs to be analyzed. Furthermore, the second chapter contains the difference between mothers and other women to rappers and description of this disparity. The last topic of the second chapter is the devaluation of the original message of rap music. The last chapter focuses on women rappers and their way of dealing with a position and an identity they were given. Firstly, the historical development of the female representation is described including particular artists who decided to fight the unfair identity and who accepted it ultimately damaged the reputation 6 of African-American women even more. The effect of clubs is also taken into considered together with the range of its impact on this music style. Lastly, there is a commentary on the temporary situation and possible changes that could be carried out by the female rappers with some help from the male rappers or by feministic arrangements. 7 2. Sociocultural background in the U.S. The Female Gender has come through several different oppressions in the history and not only in the American history, but worldwide. The fight for equality has been fought for centuries and it still cannot be considered resolved. Even though women obtained the rights that we nowadays consider basic, there is still an obvious disparity rooted in the American society. Despite the fact, that current society is considered modern and developed, there is still a presence of the spirit of the past which does not let people understand true equality. The three concepts that heavily influenced today’s society are colonialism, capitalism and consumerism, especially in connection to the topic of this thesis. Colonialism, which is based on conquering and the survival of the fittest, made masculinity very important. Capitalism introduced the concept of individuality which naturally divides the society. Together with that, the importance of a profit and the idea of property was embedded in people’s mind. Unfortunately, the vision of a profit led to slavery and created a whole new group of people within a society which was very hostile. The last important concept is consumerism which is very tightly connected to capitalism. This order made people want anything that is available in exchange for money. It gained importance especially in the second half of the 20th century and created a space for companies to promote their brands and build multibillion-dollar enterprises. But most importantly, it contributed to the objectification of the female gender. All three of these ideologies are very important for understanding today’s position of the African American Women in the society, but also their portrayal from others. 8 America has always been interested in violence and criminals. The movies, such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino or even the western movies were very warmly accepted by the audience and started creating an idea of a likeable criminal. This image has definitely been heavily influenced by the style in which ‘Hollywood’ decided to shoot these movies. These movies usually portray a person who had to go through tough times and eventually succeeded in life which makes an ordinary spectator cheer for the protagonist. The fact, that this success was accomplished by illegal and most importantly immoral actions, is often secluded from the ‘positive’ storyline and therefore creates a character which is in the end loved by the audience and his crimes are ignored. This trend has been working ever since and undoubtedly helped the successful assimilation of gangsta rap. The distant idea is what makes any of these stories so exciting for the spectator. Presumably, most of the audience has never been through events that are even distantly similar to those described in the movies and rap songs. “White listeners can consume the music and images of a corporate construction of blackness while maintaining a safe distance from black pain and institutional racism” (Hunter 18). The average consumer of this music style is far from all the attractive features of the gangster life, but also does not need to worry about any racial or socioeconomic hardships that the rapper is trying to expose. This created a sort of numbness for the modern audience and makes the lyrics diffused which reflects through partial ignoring