The Message of the Music
On a typical day for me, a 20-year old who is a longtime hip-hop fan, I’ll flick through the TV channels searching for something related to hip-hop music. I flick through the channels and land on BET’s 106th and Park video countdown hoping to be updated on the new hot hip-hop songs.
While watching, I notice a startling trend in the videos. I see that nearly all of the songs have either violent or sexual content in their lyrics and in their videos. What is alarming about this realization is that a great deal of 106’s and Park’s viewers are young teens.
Now don’t get me wrong I enjoy seeing videos with beautiful women, flashy cars, and not to mention a catchy song. However, when only these types of videos and songs become the majority of what’s played on the radio and TV, that can be a problem.
Within the last 25 years there has been a great deal of discussion of the content of hip-hop music. We’ve all heard the negative words which people commonly associate with hip-hop music and its culture. The words “violent” and “misogynistic” seem to be two of the most commonly used terms when describing the content of the music.
There have been numerous efforts to address and condemn the negative themes in hip-hop throughout its history. One of the most memorable efforts was that of former Vice-President Dan Quayle who spoke against artists such as Ice-T and Tupac Shakur, whose lyrics he perceived to promote violence against police.
Ironically, even people who once considered themselves freedom fighters for African-Americans through the civil rights movement have been vocal in speaking against hip-hop, which is considered one of the treasures of African-American culture. Figures like C. Delores Tucker, Rev. Calvin Butts, and Rev. Jesse Jackson have all at one time or another have publicly criticized hip-hop music for its content
Even some hip-hop artists and fans themselves criticize the music which they perceive to have grown more commercialized, being less about the art and more about the money. Many of these types of hip fans believe that artists should show more complex lyricism, speak on social issues and try to uplift their communities with more positive messages.
Although many people address the problems of hip-hop music, few realize that hip-hop’s problems are mere representations of society’s problems. Like any art form, hip-hop music reflects the environment in which it is cultivated. This means that the world of hip-hop is just a reflection and sometimes an extension of our society.
Many critics of the music make the mistake of implying that since hip-hop’s content is correlated to society’s problems such as violence and misogyny, that it must be the cause. However, as the scientific rule goes: Correlation does not imply causation. History shows us that societal problems such as sexism, misogyny, and violence have existed in this country long before people were complaining about rap lyrics.
The insightful MC, Mos Def once commented on people’s illogical views on hip-hop in his song, “Fear of Not Man” where he stated “People talk about Hip-Hop like it’s some giant living in the hillside coming down to visit the townspeople. We are Hip-Hop… So Hip-Hop is going where we’re going.”
Therefore it should not be an outrage when Lil’ Wayne makes a song describing his wishes to have sex with “every girl in the world” when American culture teaches men that sexual conquest is a part of masculinity.
It shouldn’t surprise us when Nicki Minaj, who is undoubtedly the most popular female MC, has lyrics which have overly-sexual themes when in this country many women are valued based upon their sexual appeal rather than their talent, personality or intellect.
It also shouldn’t be a surprise that a young talent like Waka Flocka Flame, a rising star in hip-hop, has a song which he blatantly labels “drug-dealing music” in its hook when drug dealing is a reality for many young African-American men growing up in poverty.
However, it also shouldn’t be shocking when rappers like Lupe Fiasco, who is the son of a Black Panther, and Talib Kweli, the son of college professors, actually speak on social issues instead of making party songs. These artists simply represent the realities of their lives.
America has to realize that the only way that hip-hop is going to change is if society changes. Instead of criticizing the rappers who make songs with negative themes, we need to look at what causes rappers to voice these types of thoughts in the first place. If we want to see some changes in the music that our children listen to lets put less energy into criticizing rappers and more energy into fighting for change in our communities.
