The films and hip can relate to what the urban atrocities are, but in many ways they also facilitate them. The lyrics especially often talk about murder/selling drugs/crime is a positive way to get to the top and make money. NWA was heavily subject to dispute over their lyrics and how they came down police officers. Many felt this was giving young African Americans a negative role model that would lead to more crime and poverty.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Growing up Ghetto
I think for the most part it is a reflection of urban atrocities. There are many statistics publish that can review what it is like to grow up in the urban streets. I think thats why it become as popular as it has, especially in the 90s, with hip hop artists like Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, Dr. Dre, Ice Cude, and Snoop Dogg among others were true residents of known urban/ghetto communities. These men that grew up in these communities and were having similar experiences as many young African Americans lead them to popular success. I also (for a short time) lived in downtown/south central Los Angeles. I did not witness anything extreme, but he poverty and gang levels are easy to see and it simple to relate lyrics and films to what I saw everyday.
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Excellent points, and I like how you tease out both sides and include the ethnographic material. Your post reminds me of the Boondocks episode "Ganstalicious." A hip hop character sings a song "I Got Shot," while a group of men bum rush the stage and shoot him. The audience doesn't realize he is shot; they think it is part of the routine. It's hilarious, and of course overstated (music incites action is impossible to prove in most cases) but I think the point was that so seductive is the commodity of hip hop that again, its use value becomes exchange value -- the hip hop musician becomes a commodity, and it becomes increasingly difficult to depict what is "real." Hip hop musicians say they want to keep it real, while at the same time saying their lyrics are not advocating behavior in real life. Plenty of slippage there, and your post points out very well the life/art mirror reflection/refraction debate.
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