- Beighey, Cathering and Prabha Unnithan. “Political Rap: The Music of Oppositional Resistance.”
This paper focuses on a study conducted by the authors that observe the frequency and context of themes commonly found in political rap in which oppositional resistance occurs. They argue that music and other forms of art are used by the non-dominant group to speak against their repression and resist cultural hegemony. In addition to that, they pose that political rap provides other narratives and perspectives of society that are not shown by the dominant groups. I thought that this study was important to include because it highlights the idea that rappers contribute to sociological or cultural insights through their music and lyrics. It emphasizes my point that non-scholars can contribute to offering outlooks that critique the current or historical climates. The limitations that I saw, which they noted in their results, was that the themes that they coded were not as recurring as they had initially predicted which led to their observations about the themes being cut short.
2. De Nora, Tia. “Music Sociology: Getting the Music into the Action.” Cambridge University Press, 2003.
In this academic article, Tia De Nora goes over how music is used to maintain social relations through music tastes, identifying with the music, and how the music is used in one’s social life. This article provides insight into how music can be sociological through Bordieu’s concept of cultural capital and the hierarchy of cultural capital, emphasizing the social distinctions that music can make. I chose this piece because it was one of the only sources that I could find, and gain access to, that elaborates on the sociology of music and how it can be used to navigate social life. Not only does she draw on sociological frameworks, but also uses psychological frameworks to help elaborate her points. This article made me think about my project and structured how I found other sources about the sociology of music and hip hop and rap. One of the limitations that I found with this article is that it’s quite dated, 2003, so it makes me wonder what the study or De Nora’s insights would look like now if it has changed at all. Another limitation is that I wish she had elaborated more on what it meant for individuals to be “carried away” by music or the performance of “passivity” when listening to music and what that might look like beyond the individual level. Especially when how individuals with intersecting identities might have an attachment towards music or how institutions may affect the way individuals consume or identify with it.
3. Du Bois, W.E.B. “Of Our Spiritual Strivings.” The Soul of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches. A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago. 1903. Pp. 9-16
Du Bois’s essay, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” introduces the concepts of “the veil” and “double consciousness” to talk about his experiences with being a “problem” to white America. Du Bois discusses his feelings and thoughts when dealing with white contempt and figuring out a way for him and his community to live a better life. I thought it was important to include this essay as many political and conscious rappers implicitly and explicitly go over their similar experiences with double consciousness, being a “problem,” and the “veil” in the United States. It’s a framework that’s essential to interpret political and conscious rap and helps me navigate how to consume and analyze rap and hip hop culture.
4. Du Bois, W.E.B. “Chapter 7: The American Folk Song.” The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America. Originally published in 1924. Square One Pub, 2009. Pp. 98-103.
In “The American Folk Song,” Du Bois goes over the history of black music and its prevalence in American culture. He considers the origins of black music and African Americans using music as a way to cope and confront the problems of the oppression and discrimination they’ve experienced. Similar to “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” I decided to include this piece because it acknowledges the origins of black music and the ways it confronts social issues or social injustices. Another reason why it was important is that it talks about the disdain of white Americans towards black Americans, but the appropriation and consumption of their culture – which is still prevalent today with rap and hip hop, and other forms of black media. Providing historical and cultural context behind the music, allowed me to understand better the artistry of black music and the pushback from white Americans.
5. Forman, Murray. “Conscious Hip-Hop, Change, and the Obama Era. Urban Culture, Urban Landscapes: Growing up in the American City.” American Studies Journal, Vol. 54, No.3. Library of Anglo-American Culture and History, 2010. DOI: 10.18422/54-03.
This journal article talks about the history of hip hop and how the Obama-Era impacted hip-hop for black Americans and hip hop artists. Forman’s article focuses on the United States entering a “post-racial society” with the election of President Barack Obama in 2008 and the ways hip-hop still comments on past and present racial, class, and other issues that affect black Americans and other minority groups. Forman uses Michael Eric Dyson’s definition of “message rap,” or conscious rap, as “rap that is socially aware and consciously connected to historic patterns of political protest and aligned with progressive forces of social critique.” Unlike other sources that I’ve included in this bibliography, it has included more recent issues and events such as Hurricane Katrina and Obama’s campaign before and during his presidency (as this article was written during his first term) that show the resurgence of hip-hop in the later 2000s. This article highlights the optimism and hopes that the Obama’s campaign and presidency brought to black Americans and other marginalized groups in the United States, which reignited hip-hop both to celebrate Obama’s win but also critique his goals and potential role in perpetuating the cultural hegemony or using his power to fight against it. Having a more “recent” text that includes recent events that shaped the development of hip hop to where it is now was useful and filled in some of the gaps that I could only get from op-eds and blog posts. I chose Forman because he had co-written a textbook that goes over the history and development of hip-hop in 2004. However, with this article, I had hoped he elaborated more on the commercial discourses of gangsta rap or other subgenres of rap and looked at it from a lens beyond the point of “hood workers.” For instance, referring back to artists or communities that consume or criticize hip hop media.
6. Persaud, E. Jerry. “The Signature of Hip-Hop: A Sociological Perspective.” International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol. 4, No. 1. June 2011. Pp. 626-647.
Persaud’s paper introduces the rise and growth of rap and hip hop and what sociological perspectives are typically missing from other analyses. He elaborates on various hip-hop artists and groups that forged the way for hip hop to be as successful as it is today. He also includes the ways that institutions and organizations, primarily the government and the media industry, has either supported or made it difficult for black hip hop artists and groups to deliver their message. Persaud’s paper was helpful in my research as it provided me artists, songs, and events that were important to the development of hip hop and how these various aspects act as a foundation to the on-going success of the genre. Although this paper does include some sociological perspectives and insights about hip hop culture and its development, a majority of the paper focuses on the cultural and global impacts it has made. It would have been more helpful to me if the author expanded upon the cultural impacts and how that contributes to society or institutions throughout the paper, as he did in the beginning.
7. Reyna, Christine; Brandt, Mark; and G. Tendayi Viki. “Blame It on Hip-Hop: Anti-Rap Attitudes as a Proxy for Prejudice.” Group Process & Intergroup Relations, Vol 12., No. 3. Sage Publications, 2009. Pp. 361-380.
These authors pose that the anti-rap attitudes that White Americans have is associated with their anti-Black attitudes. With rap music and hip hop being blamed for rise in youth violence, gangs, and other crimes, the authors argue that the scapegoating of rap doesn’t acknowledge the conditions which rappers discuss in their music. White Americans also use stereotypes as a way to make their prejudices and discrimination towards black Americans valid. This article is important as it sheds light on the racialization of rap music and the devaluing of rap because it contradicts societal values that white Americans cherish. Although their methods focused on surveying, I think it would have been useful to see what white participants would have done if they had been confronted with lyrics that address social issues with and without imagery, and whether that may reinforce their prejudices or not. Although the study does well in explaining how stereotypes can affect the way rap or anything associated with it is perceived, I feel like it would have been stronger if they included one-on-one with some participants looking over lyrics and imagery.
8. Richardson, Keanita W., and Kim A. Scott. “Rap Music and its Violent Progeny: America’s Culture of Violence in Context.” The Journal of Negro Education Vol. 71, No.3. Juvenile Justice: Children of Color in the United States. Journal of Negro Education, 2002. Pp. 175-192.
Richardson and Scott assert that rap is the product of America’s historical and contemporary violence, and a form of artistic expression that provides an outlook on the lived experiences of black Americans and other urban youths. The authors highlight that rap music isn’t the only medium that markets or shows violence to children and teens, nor is it the only genre of music that contains violence. They draw on Bordieu’s notion of cultural capital, but instead, uses it to talk about the lack of cultural capital that rappers appear to have or are perceived to lack. After reading this piece, it emphasized the idea that the racialization of rap and the negative attitudes towards it stem from the fact that white Americans and political leaders do not like to be taken accountable for their treatment of minorities. The authors addressing the role the United States has with the popularity and rise of hip hop, and the refusal of white Americans to understand the sociological contexts behind the music and the messages the rappers are trying to put out, was crucial to how and what myths, stereotypes, and misconceptions of rap and hip hop I researched for this project.
9. Stapleton, Katina R. “From the Margins to Mainstream: The Political Power of Hip Hop.” Media Culture, & Society. Volume 20, No. 2. Sage Publications, 1998. Pp. 219-234.
This paper, although slightly similar to Persuad’s piece in terms of providing the history and rise of hip hop, uses Tricia Rose’ argument about hip- hop as a form of social action and creative outlet, especially for the black youth. Stapleton highlights African and African-American culture that contributes deeply to the formation of hip hop and rap and serving as protest music, usually stemming from the telling of oral histories and other genres of black music (blues, jazz, etc.). Unlike Persuad’s piece, the Stapleton focuses more on class and race issues that contribute to the popularity of hip hop and acting as an inspiration for black youth. The reason I chose this piece was because the she elaborates on the technological advances that contributes to hip hop becoming mainstream, but includes that the universal experiences of poverty and other forms of oppression that are expressed in hip hop and rap that made it popular beyond the United States. Stapleton hits on the political and social influence that artists and their lyrics encourage endorse social change for the betterment of the community, primarily for the disadvantaged and oppressed. The only critique or limitation of this paper is that it was written in 1998, and although the information remains prevalent, it would have been more beneficial for me to have something more recent and covers the same issues with more updated and contemporary observations.
10. Trapp, Erin. “The Push and Pull of Hip-Hop: A Social Movement Analysis.” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol 48, No. 11. Sage Publications, July 2005. 1482-1495.
In this source, Erin Trapp introduces the idea of the push and pull factors of social movements by indicating that hip hop and rap artists are social movement leaders. She uses W.E.B. Du Bois’s concepts of “the veil,” “double consciousness,” and the “exceptional man” to emphasize the ways hip hop artists use music to speak against systemic issues and encourage for their community to bring on social change. Additionally, she includes social movement and political theory to expand on her discussion. With this, Trapp focuses on Queen Latifah to impose that gender is a “triple consciousness,” or an alternative conscious, that can add onto the strength of a movement. Her argument highlights that despite the stereotypes and negative attitude towards hip-hop and rap artists, and the genre in general, it has made a significant impact by directly addressing social issues and encouraging individuals to be more conscious and aware. This analysis of hip hop supports the argument of my project that social issues and commentary are accessible through music, especially when Trapp elaborates on their lyrics. Not so much of a limitation, but I thought it was interesting that the author’s language she uses to describe Queen Latifah’s works compared to Tupac Shakur’s, where it was more focused on the language he used in his lyrics (the uses of derogatory language about women). While Queen Latifah’s music was analyzed to reject the ‘gangsta rap,’ yet still contain socially conscious messages, the focus on Tupac’s analysis was more towards his use of obscene language and perpetuation of misogyny rather than his messages. Also, Trapp being a white author and referring to Tupac as “Ghetto Elvis” in the title of the section about him was a questionable choice.