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Does Hip Hop evolve in musicality in accordance to the economic situation of the African American community.

(courtesy of www.blackstate.com)

Music can be identified as a tool used for self expression.  Producing and distributing music has become a profitable market of consumerism in addition to providing a tool of self expression for the musical artist.  The genre of music known as hip hop has elevated from a genre that was considered a niche and African American music subcategory to a popular mainstream music genre listened cross-culturally.  Today hip hop is no longer solely identified as a music genre, rather a lifestyle image that can include specific clothing, language, and aesthetics of fashion.  Although hip hop has become a mainstream cultural subcategory, the rise in popularity has also accompanied societal stereotypes associated with African Americans.  A few of the stereotypes that have emerged are associated with quick money, low educational attainment, violence, profanity, broken nuclear families, and glorification of sex. These stereotypes become solidified when repetitiously broadcasted images and lyrics glorifying weapons, criminality, illegal drugs and misogyny are associated with hip hop culture.

(Courtesy of www.thestartingfive.com

Hip hop originated in 1974, as a platform for artist to speak about the conditions pertaining to the livelihood of African Americans in the post civil rights era. Three and a half decades later the content and lyrics of hip hop have shied away from its roots of creating political consciousness, activism and awareness of societal conditions.  However, it is fair to say that United States as a country has also changed politically and economically over the last few decades.  Therefore, hip hop that was coined as a platform of expression pertaining to the economic conditions of African Americans can arguably be a continuous reflection that has stemmed from the changing economic and political environment of African Americans in the United States. Hence, hip hop over the last few decades has changed in reflection of the economic environment of the majority of blacks in America. By looking at how hip hop has changed in musicality, lyrics, and image since the birth of its
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Research Questions:
1. Does hip hop reflect the economic environment of the majority of African Americans?
2. Has the style of hip hop evolve according to the current economic status of African Americans?

LITERATURE REVIEW
From the melodies taught to children to remember their abc’s, to the aid hymns provided in directing slaves to freedom through the underground railway, music has been an essential tool for communicative expression. Hip hop as a musical genre and cultural expression has flourished from the private street corners of New York and south-central Las Angeles into today’s mainstream radio and television airwaves. With its rapid growth of popularity over the past three decades, hip hop has assimilated into mainstream society as one of many windows into African American culture in North America.  However, the window provided by hip hop has transgressed from its roots of creating awareness of cultural and societal issues pertaining to political consciousness, activism and justice into a manifestation of negative stereotypes of African American culture.

Repetitiously broadcasted images and lyrics glorifying weapons, criminality, illegal drugs and misogyny are a few of the many messages that have associated hip hop culture as parallel to these stereotypes.  Deciphering whether the media is the culprit for this change or if hip hop has become a reflection of an evolved African American culture will be initiated through a literature review of existing debates.  The rationale of this inquiry stems from the implications that negative stereotypes can create for subordinate groups in society.  Stereotypes have the potential to further marginalize and deepen systematic and institutional discrimination, hence widening the gap and accessibility margins of success (Ford, 1997). (more…)

Methodologies:
To understand the historical content of the evolution of hip hop one must examine how the genre has evolved over time.  This will be examined using a historiography and a political economist analysis. The rational for using this approach stems from analyzing historical government documents that account for educational enrollment, criminal statistics, and employment/unemployment statistics of African Americans.  However, to fully contextualize the data within the relevant historical periods it is important to observe the political and economic environment of the given year to analyze any correlations with the U.S census statistics. This will be done by observing what factors may affect the results of the data collected.  For example, national economic depressions associated with the 1970’s inflations woes, the 1980s new policies of deregulation, the national debt increase of the 1990s and the destabilization of the American economy in the 2000s. (more…)

For the remainder of the analysis  it is also important to note what is defined and classified as race in the categories I document in this examination of racial statistics; who and what is included or excluded. The concept of race as used by the Census Bureau “reflects self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. These categories are socio-political constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature. Furthermore, the race categories include both racial and national-origin groups” (US Census Bureau 2000). (more…)

1983
To start the analysis in 1983 is significant because of accessibility to American data and the prominence of hip hop as a genre begins to receive consistent nationwide airplay on MTV and Top 40 Rock radio by an artist named Run DMC (George, 2005, 9).  This is significant because hip hop is given exposure and becomes received on a national level. During this time hip hop as a genre is not recognized as a category of music by the Billboard charts or the Grammy’s, rather it is categorized as R’n’B vocals.  However, Bakari Kitwana recognizes that although not solidified as a musical genre, the year 1983 proves to be significant because the style of hip hop shift from ‘funk’ beats to a more raw and gritty vocalized sound (2003, pg 22).  With popular artist like Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five releasing the popular song ‘The Message.’

(Courtesy of Youtube)

Demonstrates how hip hop was moving away from hip-hop’s party-oriented singles and focusing on the realities of inner-city poverty; it was a landmark moment for hip hop (Kitwana, 2003, pg 22). The shift in musicality saw hip hop in the late 1980s continue to address the concerns of the economic situation of blacks in America.  Important landmarks in hip hop were the rap group Public Enemy releasing their second album, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.” in 1988; which included stories of surviving on the inner streets. (DigitalDoor Press, 2009). Ice-T’s second album, “Power,” becomes the first rap album to carry a Parental Advisory warning label (Digitaldoor Press, 2009). The rap group N**** with Attitude (N.W.A.) released their first album, “Straight Outta Compton’ that had explicit tales of the crime-ridden streets of South Central Los Angeles (Digitaldoor Press, 2009). (more…)

1993
By the year 1993 hip hop shifted in lyrical content from activism and political awareness to drugs, brutality and misogyny which was influenced by what Nelson George categorizes as the emergence of ‘gangster rap’ (2005, pg 12).  George argues that gangster rap was influenced by the crack explosion that was rummaging the inner cities of the United States in the 1990’s (2005, pg 12).   As the policies implemented by the Reagan administration, such as the Tax reform act signed in 1986, began to be heavily felt, the street culture of hip-hop developed an extremity known to many as the musical personification of the crack explosion, the rollback in assistance programs, the job recession, as well as a host of other forms of social deterioration followed the Tax Reform Act in 1986(Feldstein, 1995, 551).  When Ronald Reagan left the oval office in 1989, his policies of deregulation continued to be adopted by the next President George Bush (Feldstein, 563).  (more…)

2003
This was the year of fashion endorsements for hip hop artists.  Reebok gives popular artist Jay Z and 50 Cent lucrative sponsorships to design shoes (Perry, 2004).

Jay Z and 50 Cent Reebok Commercial
(Courtesy of Youtube)
Nike signs a deal with popular rapper Nelly (Perry,2004).  The shift from gangster rap to club friendly songs professing lyrics of living the ‘bling bling’ lifestyle

(Courtesy of www.luxo.com

was prevalent in the 2000s.  The term bling bling is associated with expensive cars, beautiful women, huge mansions, ideally a carefree expensive style of living heavily shown by African American male hip hop artist.  From a national standpoint, the department of US Labour statistics reported that Gross domestic product (GDP), grew at a 7.2 percent annual rate in the quarter after growing at a 3.3 percent pace in the second quarter (2003).  CNN Money in October 2003 reported that the strength in consumer spending in the third quarter was in durable goods, items meant to last three years or more, and much of that came in sales of motor vehicles and parts (Gongloff, 2003). Home sales also soared, with residential investment up at a 20.4 percent annual pace. Investment in equipment and computer software rose 15.4 percent, the strongest rate since the first quarter of 2000 and nearly double the prior quarter’s pace (Gongloff, 2003).  Did hip hop evolve from gangster rap to ‘bling bling’ rap because of the rising economy? (more…)

ANALYSIS OF THE DATA/RESULTS

CRIME : Serious Offences          YEAR : 1983, 1993 and 2003

CRIME: Drug Offences  YEAR 1983, 1993 and 2003

EDUCATION                 YEAR 1983, 1993 and 2003

EMPLOYMENT 1983 : IN RELEVANCE TO THE REPORT DONE BY THE PROJECTIONS OF OCCUPATIONS BUREAU

The three eras of hip hop that was examined were a) 1983 – political consciousness b) 1993 – gangster rap c) 2003 – bling bling rap. (more…)