30 THE HIP HOP WARS executives will read this book, see themselves as part of the solution, and work harder to develop community-enabling ways to stay in busi- ness. This book is for everyone who feels uneasy about commercial hip hop —some who know that something is really wrong but can't name it; others who are working to make hip hop the kind of cultural nourishment it can be but are getting very little help to fix it; and still others who remain sidelined, worried that jumping into the fray PART ONE means being forced to take impossible sides in an absurdly polarized battle. Top Ten Debates in Hip Hop Hip Hop Causes Violence I'm giving you my opinion that says he is not an artist, he's a thug. [Y]ou can't draw a line in the sand and say Ludaeris, because he is a subversive guy that, number one advocates violence, number two, narcotics selling and all the other things, he's not as bad as Pol Pot [Cambodian communist] so we'll put a Pepsi can in his hand. —Bill O'Reilly, on the subject of Ludaeris as a Pepsi celebrity representative, The O'Reilly Factor, August 28, 2002 Ronald Ray Howard was executed Thursday [October 6, 2005] for fatally shooting a state trooper, a slaying his trial attorneys argued was prompted by Howard's listening to anti-police rap music. Howard's trial attorney, Allen Tanner, told a re- porter: "He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police, and these were his heroes ... these rappers ... telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away. It affected him." Howard didn't say for certain that rap music was responsible for his crime. [But he did say:] "All my experiences with police have never been good, whether I've been doing something bad or not." —David Carson (www.txexecutions.org/reports/ 35O.asp, October 7, 2005) / would say to Radio 1, do you realise that some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives? —David Cameron, British politician, www.BBC.com, June 7, 2006 33 34 THE HIP HOP WARS Hip Hop Causes Violence 35 KEY ASPECT OF MUCH OF THE CRITICISM that has been lev- murder trials. Prosecutors around the country have buttressed their A eled at hip hop is the claim that it glorifies, encourages, and cases with defendants' penned lyrics as evidence of their criminal- thus causes violence. This argument goes as far back as the middle to mindedness. late 1980s —the so-called golden age of hip hop —when politically The criticism that hip hop advocates and thus causes violence re- radical hip hop artists, such as Public Enemy, who referred to direct lies on the unsubstantiated but widely held belief that listening to and sometimes armed resistance against racism "by any means neces- violent stories or consuming violent images directly encourages vio- sary," were considered advocates of violence. It is important to zero lent behavior. This concern was raised vis-a-vis violent video games in on the specific issue of violence because this was the most highly during the 1980s, but also more recently, in relation to heavy metal visible criticism of hip hop for over a decade. The concern over hip music. Although the direct link between consumption and action hop and violence peaked in the early to mid-1990s when groups like may appear to be commonsensical, studies have been unable to pro- N.W.A. from Los Angeles found significant commercial success vide evidence that confirms it. Recent challenges to the video game through a gang-oriented repertoire of stories related especially to anti- industry's sale of exceptionally gory and violent video games were police sentiment. N.W.A.'s 1989 song "*uck the Police" —with lyrics stymied by the absence of such data and confirmation. Direct behav- boasting that when they are done, "it's gonna be a bloodbath of cops ioral effect is, of course, a difficult thing to prove in scientific terms, dyin' in LA" —was at the epicenter of growing fears that rappers' tales since many recent and past factors—both individual and social —can of aggression and frustration (which many critics mistakenly per- contribute to a person's actions at any given time. The absence of di- ceived as simply pro-criminal statements of intent) were stirring up rect proof doesn't mean that such imagery and lyrics are without neg- violent behavior among young listeners. The 1992 debut commer- ative impact. I am not arguing for the regular consumption of highly cial single for Snoop Doggy Dogg, "Deep Cover" (from the film of violent images and stories, nor am I saying that what we consume has the same name), garnered attention because of Snoop's laconic rap no impact on us. Clearly, everything around us, past and present, has style, Dr. Dre's extra-funky beats, and the chorus phrase "187 on a an impact on us, to one degree or another. Studies do show that vio- undercover cop" ("187" is the police code for homicide). As what we lent music lyrics have been documented as increasing aggressive now call gangsta rap began to move to the commercial center stage, thoughts and feelings. High-saturation levels of violent imagery and the worry that increasing portrayals of violence in rap lyrics might en- action (in our simulated wars and fights in sports, film, music, and courage fans to imitate them evolved into a belief that the rappers television but also, more significantly, in our real wars in the Middle were themselves criminals —representing their own violent acts in the East) clearly do not support patient, peaceful, cooperative actions form of rhyme. Snoop's own criminal problems authenticated his and responses in our everyday lives.1 lyrics and added to the alarm about gangsta rap. As this shift in com- However, the argument for one-to-one causal linking among mercial hip hop has solidified, many vocal public critics have begun storytelling, consumption, and individual action should be ques- to characterize violence-portraying lyrics as autobiographical thug- tioned, given the limited evidence to support this claim. And, even gery to a soundtrack. In turn, this link of violent lyrics in hip hop and more important, the blatantly selective application of worries about behavior has been used in the legal arena by both defense and prose- violence in some aspects of popular culture and everyday life should cuting attorneys. As the above epigraphs reveal, hip hop lyrics have be challenged for its targeting of individuals and groups who are al- indeed been considered strong influences. Increasingly, this connec- ready overly and problematically associated with violence. So, what tion has been extended into the realm of establishing character in may appear to be genuine concern over violence in entertainment 36 THE HIP HOP WARS Hip Hop Causes Violence 37 winds up stigmatizing some expressions (rap music) and the groups ers. Social psychologist Carrie B. Fried studied this issue and con- with which they are associated (black youth). A vivid example of this cluded that the perception of violence in rap music lyrics is affected highly selective application took place during the 1992 presidential by larger societal perceptions and stereotypes of African-Americans. campaign when George W. Bush said "it was 'sick' to produce a In her study, she asked participants to respond to lyrics from a folk record that he said glorified the killing of police officers, but saw no song about killing a police officer. To some of the participants the contradiction between this statement and his acceptance of support song was presented as rap; and to others, as country. Her study sup- and endorsement from Arnold Schwarzenegger. As one [New York ports the hypothesis that lyrics presented as rap music are judged Times] reporter put it: 'I stand against those who use films or records more harshly than the same lyrics presented as country music. She or television or video games to glorify killing law enforcement offi- concluded that these identical lyrics seem more violent when fea- cers,' said Mr. Bush, who counts among his top supporters the actor tured in rap, perhaps because of the association of rap with the Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose character in the movies 'Termina- stereotypes of African-Americans.' tor' and 'Terminator II: Judgment Day' kills or maims dozens of Nevertheless, saying that there is violence elsewhere and that one policemen."2 is being unfairly singled out in connection with it isn't the best argu- We live in a popular cultural world in which violent stories, im- ment to make. Rappers' claims that violence is everywhere isn't a ages, lyrics, and performances occupy a wide cross-section of genres compelling case for hip hop's heightened investment in violent story- and mediums. Television shows such as 24 and Law and Order; Hol- telling, especially for those of us who are worried about the extra lev- lywood fare such as gangster, action, suspense, murder-driven, war, els of destructive forces working against poor black people. It is and horror films; video games; metal musics; and novels —together, important, however, to pay close attention to the issue of unfair tar- these comprise a diverse and highly accessible palate of violent im- geting, blame, and the compounded effect this perception of blacks ages attached to compelling characters and bolstered by high-budget as more violent has on black youth. realistic sets and backdrops. Although anti-violence groups mention Second, many critics of hip hop tend to interpret lyrics literally many of these genres and mediums, the bulk of the popular criticism and as a direct reflection of the artist who performs them.