Hip Hop Evolution and Racial & Political Conditions

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The History and Rise of Conscious Hip Hop
Ideology in Contemporary Society, and Popular Themes
Anti-Racism, Black Liberation, and Nationalism
Anti-Poverty, Socialism, and Class Struggle
Conclusions and Reflections
Works Cited

Introduction

Despite its modern popularity, Hip Hop has been an unambiguously African-American cultural heritage birthed from the unique amalgamation of hybrid social influences (Forman 1). As such, it has often reflected the voice of the African-American population in the national discourse surrounding heavy topics of race, social culture, and identity. The structure that is hip-hop has been often identified as resting upon four core elements, which are rapping (MCing), Disk-Jockeying (DJing), break-dancing (b-boying), and aerosol art (graffiti) (Forman 1-2).

Conscious hip-hop developed as a sub-genre of political hip-hop, which started as a platform of transforming rap music into a call for social activism and political or social action. While there is no overarching political hip hop ideology; with perspectives ranging from Marxism to the beliefs of Flat-Earth Theory, conscious hip hop seeks to challenge the dominant philosophical, economic, cultural, and political consensus. As such, it is decidedly antagonistic to the status quo, despite not aggressively advocating for specific paths or demanding revolution. Rather, conscious hip hop raises awareness on social, cultural, and political issues, leaving the listener to come to their own opinions. This is also its discerning feature versus political hip hop, with the latter being delivered in a charged, militant fashion (Adaso 1).

With hip hop being reflective of the lived-in conditions of its creators, and this population being predominantly African-American people, rap has often been emotionally, culturally, and politically charged. This undertone, both in the message and execution of the song, has been more predominantly pronounced within conscious hip hop. As a result, this essay will seek to review how the message in conscious hip hop has morphed to reflect the current racial and social fractures within the current political regime within the United States.

The History and Rise of Conscious Hip Hop

A significant influence on the emergence of political and conscious hip hop can be attributed to the Civil-Rights Movements and the Black Power Movements of the 60s and 70s in the United States. These movements provided an emphasis on black pride while providing commentaries on Black ideological elements. Some of the songs within this era, which proudly carried the theme of black pride may include James Brown’s Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud) in 1968, Nina Simone’s To Be Young, Gifted and Black in 1969, and Billy Paul’s Am I Black Enough for You in 1972. These earliest conveyances of social and political commentary were mostly within the genres of soul, jazz, and funk, but would form an indisputable influence in the sound and message that would be later carried by hip hop (Forman 4).

The regime of President Ronald Reagan in 1980, however, brought worsening conditions for the impoverished urban African-American youth. As a result, hip-hop artists began to incrementally address their communities’ worsening conditions social issues including political apathy, police brutality, and incarceration or mass unemployment, and oppression (Forman 10). This situation creates the precedence of hip hop as reflective of the socio-political climate in the country, especially as influencing the African-American population. This particular amalgamation of issues and complex socio-political climate greatly influenced the birth of conscious hip hop, along with its “genre cousins” of political hip hop and gangsta hip hop; like the birth of music has often been in response to powerful events happening within the world of the artists (Burnimm 620).

Of these subgenres, the most sensationalized in media and research was Gangsta Rap. This was primarily due to its blunt, unapologetic approach to its political, cultural, and social commentary. Its pioneers are N.W.A, Ice Cube, and Ice T, who blended crime stories, the ideology of “the street”, and aggression towards perceived oppressive structures (Forman 2; Lawson 554). A toned-down version of this sub-genre political hip hop, with the focus being primarily still on the economically, culturally, and politically disenfranchised black community. However, conscious hip hop would be later coined by the term “message rap” which was developed following the release of pioneers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s The Message in 1982. This term suggests an element of reflection and intellectual engagement on the prevalent social issues, primarily race and class struggle and this aligns with Dyson’s definition of conscious rap as “rap that is socially aware and consciously connected to the historic patterns of political protest and aligned with progressive forces of social critique” (Dyson 64). This ideology resonates strongly, and is tinged with the message of Du Bois, that the African-American strives not to influence, but rather for equality; to be accorded equal rights as those of his fellow citizen and not be discriminated against (Du Bois 41).

Ideology in Contemporary Society, and Popular Themes

Socially aware hip-hop artists will often dissect the ideals and attitudes proliferating mainstream culture. With the beginning of the current political regime of President Donald J. Trump; which has often been criticized for divisive and discriminatory politics, prevalent messages against institutionalized racism and classism, as well as promoting black liberation have been relayed consistently across modern conscious hip hop.

Anti-Racism, Black Liberation, and Nationalism

The 2016 Presidential elections were dominated in large part by a dominant catch-phrase by the would-be successful candidate, Donald Trump. This was the “Make America Great Again” slogan. This particular slogan was seen by many, especially the African-American community and other minorities, as a loaded phrase. This was partly due to the racist-coded undertones that appealed to the predominantly white population that may have felt their loss of status with the previous regime under an African-American president, and also the politics of the candidate which were often divisive across social and racial lines. The slogan also mirrors Ronald Reagan’s 1980 election bid slogan which was “Let’s make America Great Again.”

Joey Bada$$ would later reveal that he released his song “Land of the Free” on January 20th, 2017 to coincide with the day that Donald Trump was inaugurated as president (Genius 1). This particular song featured heavily subliminal messages on racism, classism, and black liberation with lyrics such as “… can’t change the world until we change ourselves…” which speaks to the liberation of the oppressed. Further, the lyrics allude to the Ku Klux Klan through the spelling of its America as “Amerikkka” to symbolize the racism that is prevalent in the country and the artist’s concerns that the entry of Donald Trump as the 45th President would only exacerbate the situation. This is further outlined in his lyric “… Donald Trump is not equipped to take this country over. Let’s face facts ‘cause we know what’s the real motives” (Genius 1). This message of anti-racism and Black Liberation, such as his lyric “Still got the last names of our slave owners” is reiterated with other hip hop artists and songs in this period including Joyner Lucas’s’ I’m not Racist and Childish Gambino’s This is America.

Joyner Lucas’ I’m Not Racist in particular is a comprehensive song with an ambient trip-hop beat that is an experimental sound sourced from funk, jazz, and R&B which may be a homage to the roots of conscious hip-hop. The song’s lyrics represent an uncomfortable discourse on race and classist stereotypes that the population shies away from, without the artist explicitly taking one side or the other. However, in the music video, the white actor in it dons a “Make America Great Again” cap. On the other hand, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” addresses a wider issue of mass shootings and gun violence in the US, along with enduring racism and discrimination against African-American communities. As the title portrays, the music video to the song was a bleak representation of the state of America at the time, with the artist being both “the purveyor of violence, and the subject of terror” (Prettyman 156).

Anti-Poverty, Socialism, and Class Struggle

Many hip hop artists come from primarily underclass communities, and hence the ideals of anti-poverty, socialism, and class struggle are often reflected in their lyrics. This may also be politically exacerbated by the current regime, with the prevailing attitude among African-American communities being that the president and regime may be disconnected from their plight owing to his privileged background. A powerful example of a socially empowering song would be Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” featuring artists Alessia Cara and Khalid. Which passes an anti-suicide message right from the title, which is the US suicide hotline. In this song, which was released in partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the following lyric is featured; “I’ve been on the low, I been taking my time. I feel like I’m out of my mind… Who can relate?” (Genius 1). The artists collaboratively provide the message that there is help for anyone that is dejected, and that giving up is never the answer

Further, the Kendrick Lamar song “XXX” featuring U2 is seen as an allegory of the current political regime and the underlying class struggle. This is embodied in Kendrick’s lyric “… God bless America you know we all love him. Yesterday I got a call like from my dog like 101. Said they killed his only son because of insufficient funds…” and “…It’s murder on my street, your street, back streets Wall Street, corporate offices Banks, employees, and bosses with Homicidal thoughts; Donald Trump’s in office…” (Genius 1). The artist seeks to reflect the classism and struggle happening in the disenfranchised African-American communities, to which he belongs.

Conclusions and Reflections

Hip hop has been an unambiguously African-American movement, despite contemporary popularity and a more widespread acceptance. As a result, artists within the genre have often used the platform to voice their outlook on the issues that are plaguing their communities, ranging from social, cultural, and political problems, to personal ideologies and teachings. With the current regime being widely viewed as disenfranchising to the African-American community, and regular racially-loaded messages and controversies hitting both mainstream and social media platforms, conscious hip hop; which has always been concerned with social and political commentary, has evolved to reflect the situation. Further, this has seen the popularity of this particular medium grow, with artists identified primarily as conscious artists gaining mainstream popularity, and escaping the obscurity of the underground (Adaso 3). These may include Kendrick Lamar, J-Cole, Common, Lupe Fiasco, and Common among others. The message in contemporary conscious hip hop has been primarily on anti-racism, which may reflect on the current socio-political situation within the United States.

Works Cited

Adaso, Henry. “Conscious Rap Reveals Genre’s Uplifting Side but Has Limited Appeal.” LiveAbout, LiveAbout, 2018. Web.

Burnim, Mellonee V., and Portia K. Maultsby, eds. African-American music: an introduction. Routledge, 2014.

Du Bois, W. “The Souls of Black Folks. Of Our Spiritual Strivings.” Chicago: AC McClurg and Co (1903).

Dyson, Michael Eric. Know what I mean?: Reflections on hip-hop. Civitas Books, 2007.

Forman, Murray. “Conscious hip-hop, change, and the Obama era.” (2010).

Genius. “Joey Bada$$ – LAND OF THE FREE.” Genius, 2017. Web.

Genius. “Kendrick Lamar – XXX Featuring U2.” Genius, 2017. Web.

Genius. “Logic – 1-800-273-8255 Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid.” Genius, 2017. Web.

Lawson, Aaron. “Straight outta Compton: Witness the strength of disability rights taking one last stand for education reform.” Syracuse L. Rev. vol. 67, 2017, pp 551.

Prettyman, Michele. “The Persistence of” Wild Style”: Hip-Hop and Music Video Culture at the Intersection of Performance and Provocation.” JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, vol. 59, no. 2, 2020, pp.151-157.

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