“Music / reality / sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference / But we as entertainers / have a responsibility / to these kids.” These first words of When the Music Stops[1] raise a fundamental issue: it sets a link between music, which is a means of expression, if not an art, and reality, to which it is only remotedly affiliated. Art sometimes tends to imitate reality, however it never is reality.
Rap music appears to be clearly different. Rap is a language, it talks, and it talks about a certain reality, which is often twisted, rearranged, so that the lyrics are made more striking. In this particular song, Eminem and his rap “crew” D12 explore the border between music and reality, explaining that both are sometimes melted, and that listeners and even singers happen to get confused between the two. The message is: “When the music stops”, are we, rappers, still in character? Is there a decisive dichotomy between what we say – our lyrics – and what we do – in “real” life? The answer seems to be unsure: “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.” Rappers do have a mission then, they have to admit that their lyrics appertain to a form of art, and not to reality. This is indeed a “responsibility”. Rappers are “entertainers”, they have to educate “kids” who are willing to believe everything their favorite rappers say.
The problem is this remains a mere pious hope. Eminem as well as other rappers keep on singing about guns, violence, manslaughters and other “explicit lyrics” as they put it on rap albums. Hence an American tradition to brand rap music as a powder keg, triggering violence amongst young people. Many rappers themselves do have a notorious reputation, as they mix up reality and music more often than not. See Fifty Cent and his numerous gun bullets in the torso, as one example out of thousands.
Nevertheless, can rap music stand accused for youth violence? Can it be said to have even the slightest impact upon it? Such interrogations are futile, as no one has the answer to them. This report is to shed light upon those interrogations. It will try to understand them through a short history of American rap and a brief sample of what rappers can say. Links between rap music and violence, if any, will then perhaps be clearer.
Rap culture / roots and developments à the road to gangsta rap
Rap music is a style of popular music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. At the very beginning, the cultural movement was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans in New York City, in the early 1970s. By 1979 rap music had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music. It caused significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Gangsta rap is still what unnerves people today, as some say lyrics make violence and abusive language commonplace, and as it glorifies the law of retaliation. Gangsta rap involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city or "da hood" gang members and other criminals. Some of the artists themselves are gang members, or at least claim to have been – Snoop Dogg was for example a member of the Crips, and was accused of murder in 1993. He has been relaxed since. Although crime and violence have always been part of hip hop's lyrical canon, before the rise of gangsta rap the subject was not often embraced or addressed so blatantly. Gangsta rap was pioneered by Ice-T and N.W.A. Artists such as Ice Cube and 2Pac went on to further popularize gangsta rap. With the popularity of Dr Dre's The Chronic in 1992[2], gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy, with many observers criticizing the genre for the messages it espouses including homophobia, misogyny, lack of morality, racism and materialism – it is to be seen in the title of one of Fifty Cent’s albums, named Get Rich or Die Tryin’[3]. Gangsta rappers generally defend themselves by pointing out that they are describing the reality of inner-city life and claim that when rapping, they are simply playing a character. This is supposed to be the difference between “music” and “reality”.
What rappers actually say à offensive lyrics
In the 1990s gangsta rap lyrics were keen on supporting racial tensions between black people and white people. At the time all rappers were black, and they were admittedly suffering from a white domination.
“Kill the white people; we gonna make them hurt; kill the white people; but buy my record first; ha, ha, ha”[4] or "To all my Universal Soldier's: stay at attention while I strategize an invasion; the mission be assassination, snipers hitting Caucasians with semi-automatic shots heard around the world; my plot is to control the globe and hold the world hostage . . . see, I got a war plan more deadlier than Hitler. . . . lyrical specialist, underworld terrorist. . .. keep the unity thick like mud. . . . I pulling out gas , launching deadly attacks"[5] were typical lyrics to be found in rap songs.
The new Century has brought new themes. Now, it seems racial contempt has grown outdated. The main offensive themes are addressed to those who represent power, that is cops [there had been a prequel to that with Public Enemy who released in the end of the 1990s songs like Fuck the Police or Fight the Power], George W. Bush, and black people as well! Violence has thus surreptitiously crept into the black community itself. It is quite frequent now to hear abusive words uttered by black singers toward other black guys, and especially other black singers. The gangsta rap market defends its own territory. Rappers are huge fans of threats: they threaten other rappers, even sentence them to death if ever they have a suspicious behaviour. The contrary is true too: rappers feel inscure, such as in Fifty Cent’s I’m supposed to die tonight[6]. Gangsta rappers feel persecuted, that is why they always have a gun with them, in order to fend for themselves if they are attacked. Guns are one of the favourite issue gangsta rappers deal with: singers talk about guns (I’m gonna get my gun[7]), listeners hear gunshots in every almost two rap songs, people get killed in many songs too, and in many skits – see the opening skits of Eminem’s albums. Rappers sing of guns with almost lascivious glee. They express close to an erotic feeling about their "pieces": "glocks" (for the Austrian manufacturer), "gats" (short for Gatlings), "nines" or "ninas" (for 9- mm pistols), and so on in a long and chilling lexicon. Bullets and clips are lingered over as eyes and lips might be in love songs. Here's a sample from "Trigga Gots No Heart" by the rapper Spice 1: "Caps [bullets] peel from gangsters in my 'hood. You better use that nina 'cause that deuce-deuce [.22-caliber weapon] ain't no good, and I'm taking up a hobby, maniac murderin', doin' massacre robbery." There is no end of material like this. The rapper Notorious B.I.G., slain by gun in 1997, sang, "Somebody's gotta die. Let the gunshots blow. Somebody's gotta die. Nobody gotta know that I killed yo' a** in the midst, kid." And, "Don't fill them clips too high. Give them bullets room to breathe. Damn, where was I?" Dr. Dre had a hit called "Rat-Tat-Tat- Tat," whose refrain went, "Never hesitate to put a nigga on his back. Rat-tat-tat-tat to the tat like that, and I never hesitate to put a nigga on his back."
Rap – violence / Music – reality à two misty borders
Though rap lyrics are obviously violent, can it be said that they trigger off violence ? It seems impossible to draw a concrete parallel between music and agressions.
Music is an important part of the cultural background of youth. It is a ubiquitous medium, which follows young Americans everywhere: in their rooms, in their cars, in the street thanks to their headphones... Music is one way to shape people. Not only do listeners tend to identify their favourite singers, but they are also likely to adhere to the message those singers try to vehiculate. Young people are malleable. However, is this enough to denounce rap as being a major cause of youth violence?
An undenyable consequence of rap over youth is the adoption by listeners of a specific language. Young listeners mimick the expressions of rappers. Black people call their friends “nigga” but white people do the same: a white teenager can be thus called a “nigga” as the word has completely lost its original meaning. It doesn’t mean young listeners mimick what rappers say they do. Listeners do not take their guns out every two seconds. The majority of sales of gangsta rap albums are from white buyers, whereas the American federal government’s own crime statistics reveal that 90 percent of all violent interracial crimes are committed by blacks on whites, not the reverse. Given that blacks only constitute about 13 percent of the population, a black person is 50 times more likely than a white person to commit a violent interracial crime.
We therefore have to distinguish several levels of violence.
The first level concerns lyrics. Lyrics are violent, but rappers are not that violent, they say they are but it is often a mere posture. Rappers have big egos (see Big Egos by Dr Dre[8]], so they try to give the impression they are tough. This is part of the game, as gangsta rap is a branch of music industry, and is above all a show. Rappers are branded bad boys, so they have to behave like dangerous, prone to killing actors.
The second level of violence actually concerns rappers themselves. Some of them are real gangsters and boast about their notorious past. They have to match this reality, so they continue to behave as gangsters. Numerous rappers were assassinated. A few months ago, Kuniva (member of D12 crew) was found dead. Tupac Shakur remains certainly the most famous rapper to have been killed. Snoop Dogg was arrested at an airport last week because he carried weapons in his bag. Puff Daddy recently shot at three people in a bar but was found not guilty after a friend of his had accepted to take the blame.
The third level of violence is more interesting, as it sets a link between music and reactions on the part of the audience. Fights now occur in radios or in concert places: in an incident reportedly stemming from a feud between rap stars 50 Cent and the Game, a man was shot and wounded in 2005 just outside a top hip-hop radio station in New York City. In 2006, riots took place at Fifty Cent’s concerts twice.
Even if those “incidents” are quite revealing, rap cannot be held guilty if listeners take lyrics on the first degree. Rap participates of a general atmosphere that reeks of insatisfaction. It vehiculates thoughts that life is bleak, insecure, and that people have to be prepared to fight if they want to survive. Still, rap does not encourage violence anymore, rap talks about violence, make it commonplace in some way, but does not push listeners toward violent actions.
To conclude, links between rap and violence are multiple, but always indirect. Rappers themselves can be violent, but it cannot be proved rap music triggers off violence amongst millions of people who listen to it. Rap music is a business, and the more rappers are “hardcore”, the more albums they sell. Hence a clear escalation in provocation, the master of which is Eminem.
An unequal and insecure society created rap as it is today: indeed, “inner-cities” experience violence every day and this reality is altered by rappers who enhance the veracity of facts. The music industry promotes this type of alteration, as it is market-effective. This thus is paradoxical to accuse rap.
[1] Eminem, Encore (2002, Aftermath Records)
[2] Dr Dre, The Chronic (1992, Death Row)
[3] Fifty Cent, Get Rich or Die Trying (2001) + movie
[4] Apache, "Kill d'White People", Apache Ain't Shit (1993, Tommy Boy Music)
[5] Wu Tang Clan, Blood for Blood (1997, Priority Records)
[6] Fifty Cent, I’m Supposed to DieTtonight, The Massacre (2004)
[7] D12, I’m Gonna Get my Gun, D12 World (2002)
[8] Dr Dre, Big Egos, Chronic 2001 (2001, Death Row records)
© Brice 2007
Rap music appears to be clearly different. Rap is a language, it talks, and it talks about a certain reality, which is often twisted, rearranged, so that the lyrics are made more striking. In this particular song, Eminem and his rap “crew” D12 explore the border between music and reality, explaining that both are sometimes melted, and that listeners and even singers happen to get confused between the two. The message is: “When the music stops”, are we, rappers, still in character? Is there a decisive dichotomy between what we say – our lyrics – and what we do – in “real” life? The answer seems to be unsure: “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.” Rappers do have a mission then, they have to admit that their lyrics appertain to a form of art, and not to reality. This is indeed a “responsibility”. Rappers are “entertainers”, they have to educate “kids” who are willing to believe everything their favorite rappers say.
The problem is this remains a mere pious hope. Eminem as well as other rappers keep on singing about guns, violence, manslaughters and other “explicit lyrics” as they put it on rap albums. Hence an American tradition to brand rap music as a powder keg, triggering violence amongst young people. Many rappers themselves do have a notorious reputation, as they mix up reality and music more often than not. See Fifty Cent and his numerous gun bullets in the torso, as one example out of thousands.
Nevertheless, can rap music stand accused for youth violence? Can it be said to have even the slightest impact upon it? Such interrogations are futile, as no one has the answer to them. This report is to shed light upon those interrogations. It will try to understand them through a short history of American rap and a brief sample of what rappers can say. Links between rap music and violence, if any, will then perhaps be clearer.
Rap culture / roots and developments à the road to gangsta rap
Rap music is a style of popular music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. At the very beginning, the cultural movement was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans in New York City, in the early 1970s. By 1979 rap music had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music. It caused significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Gangsta rap is still what unnerves people today, as some say lyrics make violence and abusive language commonplace, and as it glorifies the law of retaliation. Gangsta rap involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city or "da hood" gang members and other criminals. Some of the artists themselves are gang members, or at least claim to have been – Snoop Dogg was for example a member of the Crips, and was accused of murder in 1993. He has been relaxed since. Although crime and violence have always been part of hip hop's lyrical canon, before the rise of gangsta rap the subject was not often embraced or addressed so blatantly. Gangsta rap was pioneered by Ice-T and N.W.A. Artists such as Ice Cube and 2Pac went on to further popularize gangsta rap. With the popularity of Dr Dre's The Chronic in 1992[2], gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy, with many observers criticizing the genre for the messages it espouses including homophobia, misogyny, lack of morality, racism and materialism – it is to be seen in the title of one of Fifty Cent’s albums, named Get Rich or Die Tryin’[3]. Gangsta rappers generally defend themselves by pointing out that they are describing the reality of inner-city life and claim that when rapping, they are simply playing a character. This is supposed to be the difference between “music” and “reality”.
What rappers actually say à offensive lyrics
In the 1990s gangsta rap lyrics were keen on supporting racial tensions between black people and white people. At the time all rappers were black, and they were admittedly suffering from a white domination.
“Kill the white people; we gonna make them hurt; kill the white people; but buy my record first; ha, ha, ha”[4] or "To all my Universal Soldier's: stay at attention while I strategize an invasion; the mission be assassination, snipers hitting Caucasians with semi-automatic shots heard around the world; my plot is to control the globe and hold the world hostage . . . see, I got a war plan more deadlier than Hitler. . . . lyrical specialist, underworld terrorist. . .. keep the unity thick like mud. . . . I pulling out gas , launching deadly attacks"[5] were typical lyrics to be found in rap songs.
The new Century has brought new themes. Now, it seems racial contempt has grown outdated. The main offensive themes are addressed to those who represent power, that is cops [there had been a prequel to that with Public Enemy who released in the end of the 1990s songs like Fuck the Police or Fight the Power], George W. Bush, and black people as well! Violence has thus surreptitiously crept into the black community itself. It is quite frequent now to hear abusive words uttered by black singers toward other black guys, and especially other black singers. The gangsta rap market defends its own territory. Rappers are huge fans of threats: they threaten other rappers, even sentence them to death if ever they have a suspicious behaviour. The contrary is true too: rappers feel inscure, such as in Fifty Cent’s I’m supposed to die tonight[6]. Gangsta rappers feel persecuted, that is why they always have a gun with them, in order to fend for themselves if they are attacked. Guns are one of the favourite issue gangsta rappers deal with: singers talk about guns (I’m gonna get my gun[7]), listeners hear gunshots in every almost two rap songs, people get killed in many songs too, and in many skits – see the opening skits of Eminem’s albums. Rappers sing of guns with almost lascivious glee. They express close to an erotic feeling about their "pieces": "glocks" (for the Austrian manufacturer), "gats" (short for Gatlings), "nines" or "ninas" (for 9- mm pistols), and so on in a long and chilling lexicon. Bullets and clips are lingered over as eyes and lips might be in love songs. Here's a sample from "Trigga Gots No Heart" by the rapper Spice 1: "Caps [bullets] peel from gangsters in my 'hood. You better use that nina 'cause that deuce-deuce [.22-caliber weapon] ain't no good, and I'm taking up a hobby, maniac murderin', doin' massacre robbery." There is no end of material like this. The rapper Notorious B.I.G., slain by gun in 1997, sang, "Somebody's gotta die. Let the gunshots blow. Somebody's gotta die. Nobody gotta know that I killed yo' a** in the midst, kid." And, "Don't fill them clips too high. Give them bullets room to breathe. Damn, where was I?" Dr. Dre had a hit called "Rat-Tat-Tat- Tat," whose refrain went, "Never hesitate to put a nigga on his back. Rat-tat-tat-tat to the tat like that, and I never hesitate to put a nigga on his back."
Rap – violence / Music – reality à two misty borders
Though rap lyrics are obviously violent, can it be said that they trigger off violence ? It seems impossible to draw a concrete parallel between music and agressions.
Music is an important part of the cultural background of youth. It is a ubiquitous medium, which follows young Americans everywhere: in their rooms, in their cars, in the street thanks to their headphones... Music is one way to shape people. Not only do listeners tend to identify their favourite singers, but they are also likely to adhere to the message those singers try to vehiculate. Young people are malleable. However, is this enough to denounce rap as being a major cause of youth violence?
An undenyable consequence of rap over youth is the adoption by listeners of a specific language. Young listeners mimick the expressions of rappers. Black people call their friends “nigga” but white people do the same: a white teenager can be thus called a “nigga” as the word has completely lost its original meaning. It doesn’t mean young listeners mimick what rappers say they do. Listeners do not take their guns out every two seconds. The majority of sales of gangsta rap albums are from white buyers, whereas the American federal government’s own crime statistics reveal that 90 percent of all violent interracial crimes are committed by blacks on whites, not the reverse. Given that blacks only constitute about 13 percent of the population, a black person is 50 times more likely than a white person to commit a violent interracial crime.
We therefore have to distinguish several levels of violence.
The first level concerns lyrics. Lyrics are violent, but rappers are not that violent, they say they are but it is often a mere posture. Rappers have big egos (see Big Egos by Dr Dre[8]], so they try to give the impression they are tough. This is part of the game, as gangsta rap is a branch of music industry, and is above all a show. Rappers are branded bad boys, so they have to behave like dangerous, prone to killing actors.
The second level of violence actually concerns rappers themselves. Some of them are real gangsters and boast about their notorious past. They have to match this reality, so they continue to behave as gangsters. Numerous rappers were assassinated. A few months ago, Kuniva (member of D12 crew) was found dead. Tupac Shakur remains certainly the most famous rapper to have been killed. Snoop Dogg was arrested at an airport last week because he carried weapons in his bag. Puff Daddy recently shot at three people in a bar but was found not guilty after a friend of his had accepted to take the blame.
The third level of violence is more interesting, as it sets a link between music and reactions on the part of the audience. Fights now occur in radios or in concert places: in an incident reportedly stemming from a feud between rap stars 50 Cent and the Game, a man was shot and wounded in 2005 just outside a top hip-hop radio station in New York City. In 2006, riots took place at Fifty Cent’s concerts twice.
Even if those “incidents” are quite revealing, rap cannot be held guilty if listeners take lyrics on the first degree. Rap participates of a general atmosphere that reeks of insatisfaction. It vehiculates thoughts that life is bleak, insecure, and that people have to be prepared to fight if they want to survive. Still, rap does not encourage violence anymore, rap talks about violence, make it commonplace in some way, but does not push listeners toward violent actions.
To conclude, links between rap and violence are multiple, but always indirect. Rappers themselves can be violent, but it cannot be proved rap music triggers off violence amongst millions of people who listen to it. Rap music is a business, and the more rappers are “hardcore”, the more albums they sell. Hence a clear escalation in provocation, the master of which is Eminem.
An unequal and insecure society created rap as it is today: indeed, “inner-cities” experience violence every day and this reality is altered by rappers who enhance the veracity of facts. The music industry promotes this type of alteration, as it is market-effective. This thus is paradoxical to accuse rap.
[1] Eminem, Encore (2002, Aftermath Records)
[2] Dr Dre, The Chronic (1992, Death Row)
[3] Fifty Cent, Get Rich or Die Trying (2001) + movie
[4] Apache, "Kill d'White People", Apache Ain't Shit (1993, Tommy Boy Music)
[5] Wu Tang Clan, Blood for Blood (1997, Priority Records)
[6] Fifty Cent, I’m Supposed to DieTtonight, The Massacre (2004)
[7] D12, I’m Gonna Get my Gun, D12 World (2002)
[8] Dr Dre, Big Egos, Chronic 2001 (2001, Death Row records)
© Brice 2007
1 commentaire:
ouais ben en attendant les fans de Franck Michael et de Michèle Torr sont quand même un peu moins violents ... alors faut arrêter de raconter des conneries hein...
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