CHAPTER 7: GANGSTA RAP

By: Courtney Brown

“

Hip-hop is thus a cultural

artifact, just as country-

western is a cultural

phenomenon, and is loaded

with social and political

meanings bespeaking race,

nationalism, and economic

class, among other things”

(236).

CONCEPTS USED IN CRITIQUING

GANGSTA-RAP

• Psychoanalytic

Theory

• Marxism

• Feminism

• Visual Rhetoric

“Hip-hop in general is a

heavily visual genre, given its

presence in music videos,

movies, fashion and our

everyday personal experience in

public places. How the visual is

constructed so as to access

social codes that everyone

knows but cannot “speak” is

thus central to its appeal” (237).

PSYCHOANALYTIC

Gangsta-rap is centered around psychoanalytic critical

methods, in that it says or implies what is forbidden to be said.

It relies on re-interpretation in the form of prohibitions,

anxieties, controls and cultural understandings in order to

convey its messages.

Psychoanalytic Theme: Expresses repressed desires.

Reoccurring Theme: Appeal lies in its forbidden nature

(repressed desires)

RACISM

“Density and predominance of visual symbols are

important ways in which visual rhetoric emphasizes a claim

it wants to make” (239).

Gangsta rap is dominated by African Americans

Caucasian rappers are considered exceptions

Success of Caucasians corresponds to positive

relationship between black sponsorship (ie: Riff Raff,

Eminem, Aesop Rock, Mac Miller)

RACISM

“…gangsta is the “permissible” expression, verbally and visually,

of the kind of appalling racist attitudes that we have all heard but

know that we cannot and should not express. Gangsta works in

racist ways, I think, because it helps its audience along to replicate

in their heads a number of racist stereotypes” (238).

African Americans pervade the social and visual realms of the

scene. (ie: music videos, guest appearances, features on albums,

touring companions, various forms of business ventures)

Caucasians and other races are the minorities.

In blacks adopting the

phrase, the term is stripped of

its offensiveness

IE: Queer Criticism: Gay

people referring to

themselves as queer,

reversing the negative

connotations.

Still denotes racism due to the

exclusivity of its use among

certain ethnicities.

It is considered inappropriate

for people who are not African

American to use the term.

Racist because it is not

allowed to be used equally.

CONSTANT USE OF THE “N” WORD

Stance 1 Stance 2

GANGSTA RAP REPRESENTS EXCLUSIVITY

Chief Claim extracted from Gangsta Rap in

terms of Visual Rhetoric and Psychoanalytic

Theory:

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE “N” WORD

I grew up in the south and lived in a very culturally vibrant area

at times, by that I mean “hood”. Even when I was very young, it

was common to use that word and the only sanctions that came

about were in regards to how well you knew someone. I would

have never used that term in regards to a black person I had just

met however; I had many friends of color that I would refer to as

nigga, as they would with me. Additionally we used a lot of other

racial and sexual orientation slurs to refer to one another but it

was never looked at negatively.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE “N” WORD

Accordingly, my black friends often had other black

friends who found the idea appalling and

disapproved of the use of the word for, or by white

people. After moving up North, I’ve noticed that a

deficit in black people is usually accompanied by

trepidation in regards to anything that might imply

racism. I’ve also noticed black people here usually

disapprove of being called nigga by anyone, although

I haven’t tried it myself.

MARXIST CRITIQUE

“When gangsta says it is “keeping it real,” but it

articulates the racist assumptions of which we are all at

least aware even if we know we should reject them, then

gangsta both expresses and naturalizes a racist ideology. It

perpetuates false, racist assumptions at the same time it

assures us that the assumptions are real’ (240).

Cant really be real due to a lack of positive

representations.

MARXIST CRITIQUE

Author provides several lyrical examples of rappers

rapping about gun culture, pointing out how the

specific examples are invalid and provide evidence

that the rappers do not possess the authentic

familiarity with guns that they pretend to.

Implicates the yearning to be perceived as

dangerous due to cultural projections.

MARXIST CRITIQUE

Perpetuates a racist ideology of black stereotypes in doing so.

Brent Staples, and Editorial columnist for the New York Times sums up the

cultural reflection of gangsta rap, stating: “The key phase is "uncritical

mirror." The music "plays" at rape and murder in a way that celebrates them”

(Staples).

“…The final irony is that some gangster rappers are middle-class guys

posing as inner-city killers. A rapper from Onyx named Suave recently took

offense when accused of middle-class origins. "That's bull, I'm a real

[ expletive deleted ] ," he told Frank Owen of New York Newsday. "I've been

seeing people get shot all of my life." Here, by way of Suave, is the problem

simply put: In the streets, middle-class normalcy for blacks is viewed as an

inferior state of being” (Staples).

FALSE CLAIMS MADE BY GANGSTA RAP

What does gangsta rap say about African Americans?

African Americans “keep it real” or present the truth

about their culture.

1. African American culture is violent.

2. African American culture is overly sexualized.

3. African American culture is crassly

materialistic.

1 . AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE IS V IOLENT

“So the ideology of racism depends on the commonsense

but false assumption that African Americans are violent. Yet,

one cannot without great social cost go around saying so in

public” (241).

Gangsta texts are fraught with violent words, images and

sounds

SOUNDS: oratory effects of gunshots, pistols slides, shells

hitting floor are commonly used in the background of songs.

VIOLENT WORDS

The Beatnuts: "It ain't nothing you should laugh

to/ I'll shoot your moms if I have to”.

Mobb Deep: “No time to do, well on that 'cause

my brain reacts. Front if you want kid, lay on your

back”.

Tupac Shakur: High till I die, loced till they

smoke me, the shit don’t stop till my casket drop”.

VIOLENT IMAGES (VISUAL RHETORIC)

VIOLENT IMAGES

VIOLENT IMAGES

EXCEPTIONS

Growing number of

exceptions.

Artists who rap about

spirituality, change,

opposition to black

stereotypes, violence and

other positive topics.

IE: Cyne, Common, Hopsin,

Chance the Rapper, The

Roots, Blackalicious

RAPPERS WHO RAP POSITIVELY

The Roots: “I pledge allegiance to my cosmic guide, I couldn’t fit

in 3 dimensions if I tried”.

Knowmads: “No stranger to the madness, anger and the sadness,

my mind reflects the world like the pages of an atlas.”

CYNE: “Be the overachiever the human heat seeker”

Blackalicious: “Eating right feeling conscience like health is first.

Said a prayer that's sincere and you felt it work. Times I feel I

wanna shout, man it's real that way. When I'm thinking things that

make you feel that way”

2 . BLACK CULTURE IS OVERLY SEXUAL

“Gangsta perpetuates this commonsense ideology

of racism by articulating that which cannot be said

aloud, that African American culture is obsessed

with sex” (242).

Feminist Critique: Men disrespect women by

regarding them by sexually objectifying them and

deeming their only value as their ability to sexually

service men

VISUALLY

• Music videos and ads

make men the focal point

• Women are dressed and

act lasciviously.

• Provides a

predominantly male-

oriented stance.

(Action Bronson)

WORDS

Narrative lines are men oriented

Lyrics use terms such as bitch, whore and ho.

Threats directed at females

EAZY E: “Dumb hoe said somethin that made me mad.

She said somethin that I couldn’t believe, so I grabbed the

stupid bitch by her nappy-ass weave. She started talkin

shit, wouldn’t you know; reached back like a pimp, slapped

the hoe…”

C O N S E Q U E N C E S O F S E X U A L E X P L O I TAT I O N

“It makes it easier to disrespect all African Americans if

gangsta itself is telling us to disrespect African American

women. It makes it easier to believe in sexual degradation if

we are given license to believe in general degradation and

devaluation” (243).

Reoccurring Theme: Various facets of racism are

sustained and perpetuated through stereotypes in gangsta

rap.

3:BLACK CULTURE IS CRASSLY MATERIALISTIC

Associated Racist Notions:

Black people are more likely to steal

They are more heavily supervised in retail arenas.

Spending money for spectacle as opposed to

spending for necessity or functionality.

VIDEOS

Ostentatious cars,

liquors, parties,

houses, attire,

throwing money

around

(P. Diddy)

VISUALLY:

Gold and

platinum jewelry,

elaborate

accessories or

displays of wealth.

(NWA)

CONSUMERISM

Marketing certain

brands through

displays densely

packed merchandise

(New Era, Supreme,

HUF, Nike, Adidas,

Obey, DGK)

(Wu-tang)

SUBVERSIVE STANCE

Rappers often turn into business mobiles. There is

nothing wrong with turning your fame into

successful entrepreneurship in a different field.

IE: OFWGKTA, P. Diddy, G-Unit, Beats by Dre, Phat

Farm.

OFWGKTA

CONCLUSION

Gangsta rap and its culture reinforces racist

attitudes among whites.

Expresses thoughts of racism that may be

repressed until acted out through the genre.

Hip-hop has the potential to be used as a

weapon against racism and while it sometimes

is, those times are unfortunately, the exceptions.

WORKS CITED

Staples, Brent. "Editorial Notebook:; The Politics of

Gangster Rap." The New York Times. The New York

Times, 26 Aug. 1993. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Brummett, Barry. "Chapter 7: Gangsta Rap."

Rhetoric in Popular Culture. 3rd ed. S.l.: SAGE

Publications, 2010. 35-45. Print.