“Bigger Than Hip-Hop” – An Analysis of Black Stories and Hip-Hop Culture

Politics

Mar 16

By Claire Brothers

Political Scientist and Analyst

CU Boulder Political Science Class of 2023

I. Introduction

Money Trees, a song by prominent hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, contains a lyric saying, “Everybody gon’ respect the shooter. But the one in front of the gun lives forever.” This lyric is infamous amongst the Hip Hop community, encapsulating the overall lived experience of Black men facing violence and oppression in this country. The first half of the lyric, “Everybody gon’ respect the shooter” portrays what it is like to live in a community of violence, Compton in Lamar’s case (Lamar, 2018). Compton, a city in California, which has high rates of crime and gang affiliation, display this truth that crime and violence garner respect as opposed to distain in richer, white communities (Fight the Power, 2023). The second half of the lyric, “But the one in front of the gun lives forever” explains that people who are victims of gun violence are usually thought of much more following their deaths, becoming a type of martyr for the community, gaining an outpouring of remembrance, and sparking social movements.

Hip Hop as a genre of music has gained massive popularity throughout its existence and time in the music industry. Today, it remains to be seen as a controversial type of music amongst White populations, due to the issues discussed and explicit exposure to violence, death, and drugs, as well as the association of this violence to the Black community (Fight the Power, 2023). However, this music paints the reality of living in America as a Black man and highlights the discourse surrounding racism, equality, and the American Dream. Rising from the revolutions of the 1960s, Hip Hop became a form of expression and a way to voice political opposition for a community which has been constantly disadvantaged (Kennedy Center, 2023). Throughout its existence, it has served as a platform for uprising against the political oppression and unfair treatment faced by the Black community because of governmental policies, actions, and actors. Through analyzing violence against Black Americans, specifically young Black men, the lyrics of hip-hop songs demonstrate the repeating process of division between Black Americans and others within the United States, fostered by gender inequality, cultural discourse, and a tainted history of Black representation.

II. Historical Background

In the second half of the 20th century, the fight for equality and rights for Black Americans was continually expanding. Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the battle for African American equality and freedom was far from over. Disproportionately Black and non-white Neighborhoods throughout the country became targets for racial turf wars between the local community and the U.S. Government (Fight the Power, 2023). In New York City, particularly the neighborhoods of the Bronx and Harlem, were targets of political action in the 1970s, such as the campaign to move White people out of the city and into the suburbs, which had everlasting effects on these communities (Fight the Power, 2023). This is accredited to the mass exodus of people, mostly Whites, moving out of New York City in the early 70s and into the suburbs, replaced with an influx of non-whites to the urban areas producing a culture of fear and violence (Fight the Power, 2023). This effect on the composition of neighborhoods throughout American cities began to re-plant the seeds of inequality.

Elected officials soon began to promote the stoking of fear around Black communities. Representative for New York from 1977-2001, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, was quoted saying, “I think these Black communities would benefit from a period of benign neglect” (Fight the Power, 2023). This statement made by Moynihan accurately captured the attitudes administrations had towards areas that were disproportionately Black, and continued to foster the environment in which racist ideologies flourish. Resulting from Moynihan’s words and continued racist sentiment, former New York parks planner Robert Moses decided to build a highway that ran right through one of the most prominent Black areas in New York City. Moses’s project, called the Bronx Expressway, demolished five or six neighborhoods resulting in the displacement of thousands of Black American adults and children (Fight the Power, 2023). Following this project, the Bronx fell into a state of utter despair, falling victim to poverty, drugs, and violence.

These racist political and social practices which were displacing Black people in New York City soon spread throughout the country. In California, neighborhoods such as Compton and Los Angeles became target areas for politicians and law makers looking to further the divisions between the Black community and the rest of America (Fight the Power, 2023). Unlike New York City, Los Angeles did not have the problem of mass displacement, but one regarding police brutality and racist-fueled violence supported and encouraged by local law enforcement and elected officials (Fight the Power, 2023). The Los Angeles Police Department was redesigned following World War II by a man named William Parker (Fight the Power, 2023). Parker was a known racist who hired strictly ex-military and southerners to be officers on the new LAPD (Fight the Power, 2023). Parker’s strategy behind his recreation of the LAPD was to create a police force in which racism and authoritarianism worked together, which subsequently redefined policing in America for the future (Fight the Power, 2023). Parker truly believed that policing was to solve what he deemed a social issue which was the presence of Black people in prominent cities across America. The LAPD, under Parker, became nothing but a source of fearmongering and continuously played on radicalized fear (Fight the Power, 2023).

Following Parker, Daryl Gates became the chief of the LAPD in 1978, continuing Parker’s racist culture and blatant violence against Black people. Gates was quoted saying “In some blacks, when (the hold) is applied the veins or arteries do not open as fast as they do on normal people” (LA Times, 1982). This quote was Gates’s response regarding the countless amounts of young Black men being murdered by police officers of the LAPD, especially in the event of a chokehold, which was common (Fight the Power, 2023). The LAPD was also infamous for beating young Black men in the street, such as Rodney King, and getting away with no punishment for their malicious actions. Gates, as well as the establishment of the LAPD, believed that Black people were not normal and seemingly less than human, allowing the violence and the senseless murders of members of the Black community to continue, unchecked.

While New York City and Los Angeles had their own separate problems, they were united by a phenomenon that haunted the Black community of America for years -- the crack epidemic and the war on drugs. In the 1970s-90s, Black communities were disproportionately affected by the introduction of the drug known as crack onto the streets, and further spread by figures such as “Freeway” Rick Ross. This epidemic led to a level of violence, brutality, and poverty on the streets which required governmental intervention. Violence such as an increase in shootings, overdoses, and robbery throughout the country. Over the years, Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan used this violence and crime coming out of the streets from the crack epidemic to pursue racist policies and laws which furthered the divisions between Blacks and Whites. Policies that would come out of the Nixon administration, specifically those regarding the War on Drugs and crime were designed to punish Black people (Fight the Power, 2023). In a council to President Nixon, former White House Counselman J. Ehrlichman was quoted saying, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black. But by getting the public to associate…the blacks with heroin, we could disrupt those communities. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did” (Fight the Power, 2023). Statements such as these prove the extent of U.S. Government power and involvement in facilitating divisions which lead to the spread of racist ideologies and eventually violence against the Black community, uniting them under one common purpose.

III. Beginnings of Hip Hop

Hip hop began in the early 1970s as a response to the disproportionate violence and inequality throughout the country. During the 1970s, disco music and clubs were all the rage, especially in Manhattan, New York. However, the Black and Latino populations in the surrounding boroughs of New York City could not get into these clubs due to racial divisions, barriers to money, or both. Consequently, this began the Hip Hop movement which arose as a variation of popular culture by the Black community to create a sense of unity, but also to raise awareness of the issues plaguing their neighborhoods. This new genre of music quickly spread throughout the country, reaching from coast to coast, resulting in even more expansion of the music and pool of artists. Originating in the Bronx borough of New York City, the creation of Hip Hop was officially credited to a man named DJ Kool Herc, aka Clive Campbell (Kennedy Center). This new style of music quickly began to grow in popularity throughout the streets of New York City, gaining following and support from the Black community (Kennedy Center). Hip Hop slowly grew into a movement of singers, poets, artists, and other types of people who sought to bring attention to what was happening in their neighborhoods (Kennedy Center). Those who joined this movement became known as the “Hip Hop Generation” or “Hip Hop Nation” (Rabaka, 2013).

Throughout the history of African American existence in the United States, processes of representation have helped foster divisions between them, and the rest of American society, particularly Whites. Through hip hop, these divisions are voiced through lyrics written by those who have experienced the struggle. Popular artists of the genre, such as N.W.A., The Notorious B.I.G., Ice Cube, and more wrote about their experiences with these struggles faced by the Black community. In a popular, but controversial song by N.W.A. called, “F*ck the Police” they talk about what it is like living in LA as a young Black man and having to live their life in fear of the police who want to hurt them due to the negative connotations associated with Black men in American culture. A lyric from the song says, ““Got it bad ‘cause I’m brown and not the other color, so the police think they have the authority to kill a minority” (N.W.A., 1988). This lyric encapsulates the feeling of living as a Black man in Los Angeles during this time, facing constant systemic racism from police who get away with beating and/or killing Black men.

Another prominent artist of the time, Christopher Wallace from Brooklyn, New York, also known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie, wrote in his song titled “Juicy”, “Livin’ life without fear, puttin’ five karats in my baby girl’s ear. Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool considered a fool cause I dropped out of high school. Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood and it’s still all good” (Wallace, 1994). This song explains the difficulties of growing up as a young Black man in New York City, suffering the consequences from the reproduction of harmful stereotypes and living in an environment surrounded by violence and crime. Songs written and produced by these artists, not solely in New York City, but also in LA and throughout the country, all convey a similar message and help to convey the argument that Black life in America is plagued by the same basic issues regardless of location.

When discussing the cultural perceptions around young Black men in America, the argument that these perceptions have drastically changed from before the Civil War to after exists (Connolly, 2019). In Blackface shows prior to the Civil War, Black men were portrayed as workers who were naturally born to be slaves, but their portrayals contained no sexualization or violent stereotypes (Connolly, 2019). However, following the conclusion of the war and the freeing of slaves, the representation of Black men in Blackface shows changed dramatically. With characters such as Zip Coon and Jim Crow, Black men began to be portrayed with a negative sexualized focus, a sexually deviant manner, and an increased narrative for violence (Connolly, 2019). Black men were now portrayed as overly sexual and extremely threatening. Cartoonists began to draw Black men in different ways, making them look more “ape-like” and nasty (Demby, 2019). This harmful portrayal that was pushed through by Blackface led to lynching culture and the belief that Black men would rape White women (Connolly, 2019). The mass consumption of these false stereotypes up until the end of Blackface as a mainstream form of media lead to these extremely harmful representations being reproduced throughout American culture. The reproduction of these stereotypes has contributed to creating the environment necessary to foster divisions between young Black men and the rest of society, as they are seen and portrayed as violent, overly sexual, and a threat to society.

N.W.A. and Biggie both encapsulate this with their lyrics and discussion of their lived experience as Black men in the United States. These podcasts help support the argument for a division between Black Americans and the rest of society because of the connection to the lyrics explaining the lived struggles of a Black man and the ways in which Blackface and associated stereotypes have been reproduced in harmful and violent ways. The cultural divisions they faced were universally felt by African Americans throughout the country, fueled by cultural sentiments which were facilitated by Blackface shows and continually played out in America today through police brutality and harmful stereotypes.

IV. Gender and Hip Hop

While the representation of Black men in culture has created divisions, it is also important to understand the gender dynamics and the role of Black women in the Hip Hop community. Throughout Black culture, Black women have a history of being objectified and creating cultural trends which are appropriated, usually by White women, and they are robbed of any credit/acknowledgment. The podcast “The Faces of Racism” also dives into the effects of the reproduction of harmful stereotypes surrounding Black women. In Blackface shows, African American women were often portrayed with a lot of sexual violence to reproduce the slave population (Connolly, 2019). This type of harmful ideology helped manifest into the portrayal of Black women as “bodies” and the subsequent use of Black bodies for attention.

The utilization of this harmful tactic and portrayal of Black women has continued from the era of the Notorious B.I.G. in the 1990s, and has carried on to artists into the 2010s, resulting in these same issues being present 20 years later. This tactic was seen during the 2013 VMA awards when White artist Miley Cyrus surrounded herself with all Black women as her backup dancers. This is an example of a White women using Black bodies to starkly contrast herself as the main act and utilize Black beauty to objectify and appropriate Black women, all while enhancing her whiteness.

In an article published by the Combahee River Collective, the lived struggles experienced as a Black woman in American are detailed. The Combahee River Collective is a group of Black women, formed in 1974, who are actively committed to fighting against the “racial, sexual, heterosexual and class oppressions” faced by their community and argue that Black feminism is the answer to these issues (The Combahee River Collective, 2019 [1979]). These women wrote about participation of Black females in politics and movements for Black power and equality. Black feminists and Hip Hop have an obvious connection to movements for Black liberation, especially those of the 1960s and 70s (The Combahee River Collective, 2019 [1979]). The Collective wrote, on Black female experience in these movements that many of them “were active in those movements (civil rights, black nationalism, and the Black Panthers)… [and] our experience and disillusionment within these liberation movements… that led to a need to develop a politics that was antiracist, unlike those of white women, and antisexist, unlike those of black and white men” (The Combahee River Collective, 2019 [1979]). This sentiment was felt by most Black women of the time, with these ideologies and feelings being represented in hip hop. When Miley Cyrus went on stage at the VMAs in 2013, having Black women as her dancers to contrast her whiteness and put a spotlight on White feminism is an example of the very thing the Combahee River Collective was fighting against. The message behind Miley’s performance had repeated the decades long history of exploitation of Black women in a public sphere, increasing the divisions in representation amongst Black and White women.

The continued idea of using the Black female body as an object of beauty and a means of obtaining power within the Black community became a toxic thought process leading to domestic violence and sexual assault. In her song U.N.I.T.Y., Queen Latifah responds to the treatment and portrayal of Black women in Hip Hop saying, “But I don’t want to see my kids see me gettin' beat down by daddy smackin' mommy all around…and nothing good gon’ come to ya till you do right by me. Brother you wait and see (Who you callin’ a bitch?)” (Queen Latifah, 1993). Queen Latifah was one of the first female Hip Hop artists to gain traction in the genre, and prior to her emergence in the Hip Hop industry, it was extremely difficult for women to break through onto mainstream platforms. This lyric explains the frustration felt by Black women in a culture of domestic violence, objectification, and hyper-sexualization. While Queen Latifah highlighted the issues for Black women in the industry, Miley Cyrus exploited it and continued the harmful cycle of using Black female bodies as objects. Queen Latifah began to write a new reality, which is that Black female bodies meant power. And like the Combahee River Collective before her, Latifah began encouraging Black women to participate in the political sphere and movements for equality to reduce the cycle of harm within the Hip Hop and Black communities. Queen Latifah inspired Black female artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Nicki Minaj to speak about these issues through Hip Hop to depict their marginalized position in society, just as men do, but with the problems unique to the lived experience of a Black woman in America. Queen Latifah realized the true power in Hip Hop is its ability to provide commentary on modern life and highlight universally experienced issues throughout the country and society.

V. Tupac Shakur

Another rapper with experience to this gender inequality and cultural division felt amongst Black women is Tupac Shakur. While Tupac Shakur was a man, he had a special situation which allowed him to understand the struggles faced by Black women in American society. Tupac Shakur was born in Harlem New York to a mother who was an East Coast Black Panther (Fight the Power, 2023). Shakur grew up with an in depth understanding of the struggles faced by Black women who grew up in the “hood” and experience disproportionate violence and poverty throughout their lives. Tupac grew up under this knowledge of Black female culture and wrote several songs speaking about Black women. In his song titled “Brenda’s Got a Baby” Tupac explains the scenario in which a young Black female growing up in the “hood” is exposed to domestic abuse and sexual assault by a member of her family. According to Fight the Power, this is not an uncommon occurrence amongst the “hoods” in the United States (Fight the Power, 2023). She is then impregnated, and must suffer the consequences of a scenario created by the reproduction and playing out of harmful stereotypes which refuse to protect her. In the song, Tupac says, “Brenda got herself a boyfriend, her boyfriend was her cousin, now let’s watch the joy end… Now Brenda’s gotta make her own way. Can’t go to her family, they won’t let her stay. No money, no babysitter, she couldn’t keep a job. She tried to sell crack, but ended up getting robbed. So now what’s next, there ain’t nothing left to sell, so she sees sex as a way of leaving hell. It’s paying the rent, so she really can’t complain. Prostitute, found slain, and Brenda’s her name, she’s got a baby” (Tupac Shakur, 1991). This song encapsulates the experience often lived by a Black women living in urban areas and/or “hoods” around America, facing systemic racism and a system which leaves them behind. Tupac explains the toxic culture surrounding women in the Black community, how they are treated and used for their bodies, and often end up murdered or seriously injured just trying to make money for their families. Tupac eventually lost touch with the community due to his offensive statements about women said later and disconnect with where to draw the line, however his lyrics remain impactful and important to understanding the gender themes in the Black community. This is a phenomenon which is not widespread or widely experienced by females in the White community, furthering the divisions between Black females and the rest of society.

VI. Discourse of Hip Hop

The Hip Hop movement has been constantly met with backlash and retaliative force from those who wish to suppress the message contained in Hip Hop lyrics, as well as those who dislike or disagree with the style of music/type of artist. As mentioned previously, political actors and law enforcement officials have been continually working to facilitate these divisions since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The environment created from the revolutions of the 60s was ripe for discourse and political movements. And that is what hip Hop became, the source of discourse for the Black community.

Hop became a form of discourse for the Black community to voice their experiences and grievances with the U.S. government, the establishment of power, and became an urgent call to action. Discourse is a phenomenon discussed by Michael Foucault as a linguistic concept which refers to the “passages of connected writing or speech” (Hall, 2001). This idea of discourse allows for cultural phenomenon to be discussed and analyzed as well as becoming a way of representing knowledge about a particular moment in history or a certain topic (Hall, 2001). Foucault argued that discourse produces knowledge and that “nothing which is meaningful exists outside of discourse” (Foucault, 1988). Using this idea of discourse, Hip Hop should be seen as a form of discourse which educates the American public about a cultural event/experience in which they would otherwise not know. Discourse, Foucault argued, also governs the ways in which a topic is discussed and understood (Hall, 2001). This effect of discourse inherently caused issues for hip hop, due to the concern from the White establishment that it would educate the White youth about the realities of living as a Black person in America and attempts to censor hip hop.

As Hip Hop began to increase in popularity, the message and education around representations of Black men and women, gang violence and crime, as well as the crack epidemic and police brutality began to change and shift to the reality of the situation rising above the mythological norm. The deaths of Tupac Shakur, Christopher Wallace, and many others brought even more attention to the genre, and highlighted the issues surrounding gun violence in these communities. This discourse on life as a Black American and vocal opposition to racism and gun violence created the fear of the loss of power, felt by mostly White men, and resulted in the attempted oppression of hip hop, reflecting the continued efforts of those in power to create divisions between the Black community and the rest of America (Fight the Power, 2023).

In response, numerous artists began to write songs where they fight against the censorship and the misrepresentations caused by this discourse surrounding whether Hip Hop is appropriate and/or correct. In a song called “Dreams” by Game, a rapper from Compton, he writes, “The dream of Eric Wright, that’s what I’m givin’ you. Who walked through the White House without a business suit. Compton hat, jheri curl drippin’ on Ronald Reagan’s shoes” (Game, 2005). This lyrics demonstrates the never-ending fight of Black men against the powers of American society. It also portrays the African American culture and how it is relevant to American culture and needs to be brought to attention in our national discourse surrounding Black culture. This lyric embodies the idea of Black power and bringing attention to the divisions created by the White establishment against Black Americans and communities.

Another lyric which embodies the struggle between the censorship of Hip Hop from White leaders comes from a song titled “Birds & The Beez” by modern day rapper Kendrick Lamar, also from Compton. Lamar writes, “It’s hard out here for a young black man to live. If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for your kids” (Lamar, 2011). This lyric really illustrates the struggles faced throughout the Black community with basic parts of daily life which White Americans usually do not think about. Due to the attention being brought on these issues faced by Black men caused by systemic racism, actions of the U.S. government, and violence from law enforcement officers, Black voices continue to speak about their struggle. Lamar speaks on the idea that to create a better life for one’s children as a Black person in America, one must get out of the poverty and away from the violence. This is extremely difficult to do when those in power are constantly trying to diminish your voice, disproportionately targeting your community, and censoring a discourse which raises awareness to these divisions caused by the reproduction of harmful cultural norms.

VII. Conclusion

The culture and stigmatization surrounding young Black men in America, portrayed by artists of color through meaningful lyrics in Hip Hop songs, can be explained through analyzation of systemic racism and the divisions created between cultures throughout the process of representation. Through analyzation of Hip Hop lyrics, understanding the process of representation, and how it creates divisions between “us” and “them” becomes more apparent when knowing the history behind the lyrics. Throughout the history of Black culture in the US, Black people have been continually targeted by law makers, elected officials, law enforcement, as well as the general American public.

With the creation of the Bronx Expressway and the redesigning of the LAPD, alongside the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, the Black community continued to face disproportionate inequality and suffer from legislation created to harm them. Together with being targeted by the government, the Black community also struggled through major gender inequalities and the production of harmful stereotypes about Black women, leading to domestic violence, sexual assault, and sometimes homicide. The discourse created through Hip Hop which speaks on these issues has historically faced censorship by powerful figures throughout local governments and national politics. All the events and cultural happenings came together to create the genre of Hip Hop which continues to speak on the racism and inequalities faced by the Black community in America.

With the increasing presence of racism making its way back onto the main stage in America, we can turn to lyrics produced by Hip Hop artists to understand the root of the oppression and the cultural processes which foster inequality and divisions. With Jim Crow laws making a full return in Mississippi, the continued killing and beating of Black men such as George Floyd and more recently the murder of Jordan Neely, as well as attempts to restrict Black access to voting and democratic participation, these cultural divisions between the Black community and others is expanding. Hip Hop will continue to analyze the playout of this struggle and hopefully in the future document the conclusion of racism, gender inequality and misrepresentation of Black people in America.

Clockwise from left: J. Cole, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar and Playboi Carti.Illustration by Lyanne Natividad; Paras Griffin/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images; Burak Cingi/Redferns

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