Marx and the Rap Machine

Ennis O. Newman

University of Memphis

Marx and the Rap Machine

During the Civil Rights era, Soul music became the rhythmically-charged conduit exposing the conditions of inequality and social injustice endured by marginalized people of color, to the world. What Soul music was for the Civil Rights Movement and the subsequent Black Power and post-Feminist movements, Hip Hop became for a post-industrial, postmodern, post-soul America. In the contemporary context, Hip Hop culture is embraced, celebrated, and assimilated into myriad cultures worldwide, and through commodification and corporate annexation, it yields a substantial corporate economic profit. Some contemporary consumers and producers of the culture contend that this profit has been gained through relinquishing much of its founding essence.

Drawing from Marx’s Estranged Labor (1844), I attempt to situate Hip Hop as commodified culture through an engagement of how rap artists, as agents within the culture, are alienated from their art/labor, thereby, creating a manifestation of false consciousness that may problematize its authenticity. My conclusion, while not offering a concrete resolution, speculates on the growing momentum fueling the so-called “Underground Hip Hop Movement”, and explores the possibility of dialectic between the commodified aspect of the culture, and this burgeoning underground movement. Is this an attempt by the agents of this culture to reverse its corporate appropriation, collapsing it to regain the authenticity of its past/origin and thereby negate its commodification? Or, will this resurgence propel this culture toward transcendence, bringing a synthesis between the two—and perhaps evolve into a more self-conscious culture?

Social movements like the Civil Rights protests gave the world not only a vivid account of the barbarous injustices and violence inflicted upon people of color, but conveyed the potential of a collective consciousness within America’s marginalized masses. While these socially alienated groups struggled to negotiate and assert their identity, this collective conscious was imbedded within the artistic expression of that time, most dominantly portrayed through music. Songs like “Keep On Pushing” by the Impressions, or James Brown’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud” became social chants adding momentum to the Civil Rights movement, energizing people to continue struggling for an end to the social injustice and inequality. This cultural expression was not only a means of disseminating the sentiments of a dissatisfied people, but resonated the ideology of Black Pride and identity, and provided a pulse or “soundtrack” to the experiences of the era.

The sixties and Civil Rights would peak (historically) in 1968 with the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., but much of the work and pursuits for equal access in America was unfinished—and the nonviolent approach to achieving equality had become less popular, especially by the very backbone of the movement: the youth. By the early seventies we would see a more aggressive campaign of social struggle, with the rise of the Black Power and Feminist movements respectively. The promises made by government officials during the long walk of the Civil Right movement had gone unanswered. There were disproportionate amounts of unemployed people of color due to the massive relocation of factories to the suburban areas, “white flight”, and gentrification. Although Brown vs. Board of Education In Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation, Jeff Chang provides a very disturbing illustration of the economic plight of one particular borough in New York City: the South Bronx. This neighborhood suffered a devastating blow with the loss of over 600,000 manufacturing jobs, (Chang 13). Toward the mid-seventies with over 40 percent of the industrial sector gone, average household income was reduced to $2,430, just half of the New York City average and 40 percent of the nationwide average, (Chang 13). The South Bronx, once an area populated by middle class whites and immigrants, was being abandoned for “cookie cutter suburbs” being developed in New Jersey, Long Island, and Queens, (Chang 12-13). With substandard schools, housing, few jobs, high drug use, and criminal activity, the South Bronx, NY was ripe for the birth of a culture enabling the empowerment of the alienated and disenfranchised. had rendered that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, school boards nationwide were addressing the situation with “all deliberate speed,” thus students who were schooled in poor neighborhoods didn’t have the resources of the more affluent schools, usually white.

It all began on Sedgwick Avenue, with the house parties orchestrated by DJ Kool Herc-known through Hip Hop legend as simply “The Father,” a counter-narrative to the deplorable social conditions plaguing the South Bronx, and many communities like it all over the nation, although those who were instrumental in bringing this culture into existence most likely were unaware of the power it would yield. In the beginning, Hip Hop music was mostly confined to the house party circuit, where DJs would spin old soul records to get the crowds into the vibe, and while mixing records with similar tempos together, the DJ would allow the emcee to drop a “Yes-yes Ya’ll” to the crowd, and/or provide poetic entertainment through freestyle rhymes. There were a few artists who would go on receive notoriety in a larger context. Some include Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Run DMC, though it would be the latter who would show the world and the music industry just how economically viable this art form could be. While most of the music produced by this culture was allegedly “nonsensical” as described by M. Elizabeth Blair in her essay Commercialization of the Rap Youth Subculture, there were songs that contained social commentary/awareness, like Kurtis Blow’s The Breaks, and the Furious Five’s The Message (“It’s like a Jungle sometimes/it makes me wonder/how I keep from going under”), but the commercial success to bolster hip hop to a broader audience came with Run DMC’s cross over hit—a reinterpretation of Aerosmith’s hit “Walk this Way” selling 3.3 million records, (Blair 499). This commercial success was perhaps the beginning of this culture’s appropriation into mass mainstream culture. Almost three and a half decades old, hip hop music/culture is far removed/alienated from its roots in social protest, it has become subsumed by the rap industry machine that acts as a capitalist force, creating and exploiting artists for capital gain of power, prestige, and property.

Analyzing Hip Hop culture in a Marxist context, it becomes evident that the rap artist is many times removed from the product of his or her labor, as well as from the labor itself. In Estranged Labor, Marx contends that the more value can be applied to a product produced by a worker, the less valuable that worker becomes; the more objects (products) a worker produces, the less he/[she] can posses—thus the worker falls under the dominion of the object…, (Marx 71). Using a Marxist theoretical framework, the music industry machine, i.e. respective record labels and music conglomerates, can be characterized as the Marxist’s bourgeoisie class, in that record labels commodify every aspect of an artist’s presentation and existence, exploiting him or her for capitalist gain. The rap artist in most cases aspires to the status of the bourgeoisie, to own, control, and exploit the labor of others, but capitalist forces serve to alienate the rap artist and relegate him to the position of the rap proletariat. Once an artist signs a recording contract with a label, so begins their relegation to the underclass. The record company is viewed by the artist as the means of their successful climb to the bourgeoisie class, when in actuality, the artist leases himself or herself and their labor—in this case the production of music—to the record company. The artists does not, in most cases, own or control the means of producing his or her product, which thereby leads to, in Marxist philosophical terms, the alienation of the artist. The record company employs the services of musical producers and/or musicians, who represent Marx’s conception of the petit bourgeoisie, to construct the various compositions to accompany an artist’s lyrics. Yet, in numerous cases, the artist does not even own, construct, or produce his or her own lyrics. That is to say that the artist does not own or have right to the very lyrics that he or she records. Furthermore, artists rarely own the master recordings, or “masters”. In some instances, even when the artist produces his or her own lyrics or music, many record companies retain publishing rights to an artist’s material, including written lyrics or songs and/or other music instrumentation. Quite frequently, a record company will exhaust exorbitant amounts of money in the recording and packaging of an artist to create a marketing niche for the prospective artist—exploitation in the purest sense—to be accepted into the American consumer mainstream. The individual creativity the artist may have possessed initially is compromised at least, if not completely destroyed, by the condition of alienation that results from the capitalist exploitation of the record company of the artist, as well as the assimilation and molding process the rap artist is forced to undergo in order to fit into a socially constructed and easily digestible consumer market.

The consumer, in turn, believes the presentation of the artist and is largely unaware of the exploitation and alienation of the artist. That is to say that the complete package that is presented in various media outlets, from radio to music video, is in actuality fragmented, as the artist does not own the complete presentation of himself from production process to product. The consumer, however, takes in the artist’s presentation as complete and self-evident, in that the consumer is shielded from that exploitation and alienation, and the capitalist nature of the record company is rendered invisible. The saturation of the media with imagery associated with the artist—in the form of lyrical content, musical production, (assumed) material possessions, and even wardrobe and personality—is most evident in the music video, the premiere medium of exploitation of the artist.

Not only is the artist alienated from the means of production and the product, but he or she is also alienated from the self. The presentation of self, the persona of the artist, is as alienating as his or her distance from the means of production and product. The original creativity and personality of the artist, then—his or her species being—is lost through processes of exploitation by the bourgeoisie record company, from the signing of the record contract to the construction of the music video. It is also worth noting that Marxian hegemony theory can be used to further illustrate the peculiar relation of how patriarchal capitalist views/values are reinforced through the dissemination of pop culture, easily seen in lyrics and/or videos—music that advocates the suppression and/or abuse of women, conveys hypersexuality and hyper-consumerism through objectifying objects.

Through the advancement of technology, there has in the last few years arisen the potential for a shift in music industry power dynamics. This notion was first conceptualized with the creation of independent record labels as an alternative means of retaining more of the artists’ creative control over their art/work. An example of such an alternative can be seen with Stones Throw Records, which is home for an artist who has vast underground notoriety going by the alias: Madlib. Though based on the West Coast, Madlib has obtained worldwide appeal because of his eclectic musical tastes and styles, sampling rare, yet—obscure jazz records and producing hip hop/fusion jazz creations thought to be masterpieces. Madlib, while not owning Stones Throw Records, (Peanutbutter Wolf is the owner and CEO) is allowed to retain control of his creations, and is a highly sought after producer on the underground scene. Madlib is also the creator of a fictional band called Yesterday’s New Quintet, where he explores other dimensions of his own musical expression and is self-taught on drums, keys, and bass to name a few instruments.

Like Stones Throw Records, the independent record company, no matter how autonomous it hopes to become, must still seek distribution of its product from a larger, more economically powerful company—thus recreating the cycle of alienation and exploitation again. Another threat is the internet and burnable compact disk, which have become a thorn in the side of record companies. Songs can be “illegally downloaded” by way of file sharing, if the consumer wishes to not purchase an album, or if someone has purchased the album, computers are able to duplicate copies of that album onto a blank compact disk. Record companies have worked extensively to stiffen penalties for participants of what they call “file sharing/illegal downloading,” involving the courts and other institutions such as colleges and universities where students have access to internet-capable computers with compact disk burning capabilities. While multi-million dollar 48-track studios have many years of use yet ahead of them, aspiring artists now possess access to a means to control their art/work. Home computers can host virtual studio software programs which allow artists to create original music, sample existing tunes, and record and duplicate their recordings, thereby reinforcing the potential for the self-sufficient artist/worker. Through home studio technology, the aspiring artist can become the complete package: artist/producer/engineer/duplicator/distributor/manager/public relations etc. While this approach sounds plausible in theory, most artists would avoid this avenue for many reasons: mostly because the potential for capitalist gain with a record company already more than well established is greater than the potential for gain through a solo self sufficient approach.

Thus, can it be assumed that artists are in fact not aware they are being exploited? Also, to what degree and/or depth are they alienated from their art/work/product? If the artist chose to employ a self sufficient approach to producing their own art for the purpose of mass consumption, knowing they may never achieve the same economic status as a major record conglomerate, could it be possible for the artist to exploit themselves, on a lower tier or grassroots level? Could the artist become self alienating—removing from themselves not only their own labor, but also their own species-being, in pursuit of capitalist success? The implications of the application of Marxist philosophy are far-reaching and multi-faceted, in that the capitalist record companies can be further analyzed in relation to their exploitation of the artist. The role of the petit bourgeoisie class, including managers, producers, and agents, can be analyzed for their role in the exploitation of the rap proletariat as well as its collective aspiration to the bourgeoisie/capitalist class; and the role of the consumer as receiver of the “work” of the artist.

Marxist philosophy is instructive in understanding the conditions of the contemporary rap machine and the affect that it has on the production and definition of art, culture, and the furtherance of a radical political agenda. The burgeoning underground/independent movement within Hip Hop culture/music seeks to honor and further promote an aesthetic reflecting the roots of this culture, and in turn negate its appropriation. However, could this also undermines the possibility of transcendence of Hip Hop culture—the possibility for it to become self conscious and to re-interpret itself? While capitalism has been an economic force and medium used to further appropriate and exploit the culture of Hip Hop and those agents within it, capitalism has also created a means of exposing the world to a culture born from the fires of protest and dissent, allowing the world to witness and participate in this movement, either through direct or indirect intensions.

Works Cited

Blair, Elizabeth M. “Commercialization of the Rap Music Culture” That’s The Joint

(2004): Routledge: New York. 497-504

Chang, Jeff “Necropolis.” Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation

St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2005. 7-19

Marx, Karl “Estranged Labor.” Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Prometheus Books: Amherst, New York, 1988. 69-84

The Problem with Authenticity in Hip Hop

The Problem with Authenticity in Hip Hop

Hip Hop began as a multifaceted, “youth oriented” (McLeod 134), expressive art form in the early to mid 1970s. This cultural movement would arise following the Civil Rights and Soul Music era. The social climate in the United States saw little change from the days of the Civil Rights movement, especially in the eyes of the marginalized population. While some people of color were beginning to benefit from upward mobility, many had become dissatisfied with the direction of the previous movement. Unequal access to societal resources, inadequate jobs paying reasonable living wages, and stratified schools were ever pervasive. Relationships between communities of color and law enforcement saw little, if any improvement and the economic infrastructure of the country was in flux , as the urban centers were quickly becoming barren necropoleis . With factories relocating to the suburbs, many urban neighborhoods, primarily occupied by people of color, were left dilapidated and eroded. At this moment, in a post-industrial economy, these victims of “urban flight” and gentrification would experience “radically altered communal sensibilities…” (Neal 363).

The origins of Hip Hop hail from one of the roughest, most severely impoverished sections of New York City: the South Bronx. In Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation, Jeff Chang attempts to illustrate just how devastating the economic plight was in this particular area. This neighborhood suffered a devastating blow with the loss of over 600,000 manufacturing jobs. Toward the mid 70s, with over 40 percent of the [industrial] sector gone, the average annual household income was reduced to $2,430, just half of the New York City average. The South Bronx, once an area populated by middle class whites and immigrants, was being abandoned for “cookie-cutter suburbs” under development in New Jersey, Long Island, and Queens, (Chang 12-14).

From such a tumultuous social climate, and from the ashes of struggles toward social justice, it seems this new social forum was destined to come forth. An offspring from the ever-pervading societal frictions, Hip Hop music was created by marginalized youth who felt their voices were being deliberately silenced and ignored by the dominating powers-that-be. During its early years, this social phenomenon was seen by its critics as “nonsensical,” (Blair 499)—nothing more than a pattern of deviance, and was considered to be counter cultural.. Over the decades, it has evolved from myriad artistic and elemental articulations, simultaneously existing at the time of its inception. These elements, considered by members of this community to be the four basic elements of the culture include djing, break dancing, graffiti art, and emceeing. Hip Hop, post-inception, has been reinterpreted into a multi-billion dollar industry, globally renowned, and assimilated into many cultures.

While such exponential growth has done much to further this culture’s influence and appeal, it exists not without criticism. There have been debates, both internally and externally, as to whether this musical culture has abandoned its so-called credo, or the tenets of its “glory days.” Many participants, who consider themselves “die hard” agents within this culture, feel that corporate appropriation has worked to erode Hip Hop from its more street-based authentic origins. In rap, there are several forms of representation in which materialism is the over-arching theme. Rappers are portrayed on radio and through videos as “flossers,” or individuals who exhibit a lifestyle of vast material success via self-aggrandizement. Opponents contend that such portrayal of materialism has driven Hip Hop into a state of mediocrity, or even as one current famous rapper coins, “Hip Hop is Dead,” (Hip Hop is Dead, 2007). This paper will attempt to explore how authenticity is defined by agents within this culture. Moreover, this paper will show the difficulty in discerning what is authentic and/or inauthentic within Hip Hop.

Hip Hop Genesis: A Brief Background

Regardless of the myriad impressions people have when discussing what is real within Hip Hop culture/music, it is difficult to situate Hip Hop within any context of authenticity without exploring its origins pre-commercial assimilation. Historically, the music of a particular era has resonated the thoughts, philosophies, and ideals of that era. In the Civil Rights movement, there was Soul Music, providing to the world a soundtrack illustrating the barbarous inequalities experienced by a socially alienated and marginalized people in the United States. In the article “Postindustrial Soul: Black Popular Music at the Crossroads,” Mark Anthony Neal states, “ As the genre [Hip Hop] represented a counter narrative to black middle-class mobility, it also represented a counter narrative to the emergence of a corporate-driven music industry and a mass comodification of black expression,” (Neal 363, 371). Hip Hop music, akin to soul music (and even jazz), is a microcosm of a collective Black experience, and was born out the frustrations and sentiments of a dissatisfied people. These people felt abandoned by their Civil Rights leaders, and became disillusioned toward that movement and its traditional “strategies,” (Neal 370). They began seeking more aggressive means of voicing disdain toward their social exclusion, as well as critique of the oppressively dominating culture .

The four basic elements of Hip Hop were in fact pre-existing displays of artistic expression, as well as resistance to mainstream culture. They were independent of one another in their respective forms, but would intersect as the culture’s identity core. What began as mere block jams and house parties as an alternative to gang-related “turf wars” and other criminal activity would become one of the most influential youth-oriented social phenomenon, and simultaneously one of the most economically lucrative genres to date. Neal illustrates a pre-comodified grassroots Hip Hop “largely relying on word of mouth and live performances as a means of promotion…,” (Neal 363).

Without having access to more conventional means of promotions, graffiti artists became very instrumental in helping to get the word to other boroughs in New York City. At these parties, DJs such as Kool Herc—the “Father,” (note: Kool Herc is attributed the name “Father” due to the innovative style of djing he brought to the Bronx, and many consider him the originator of the Hip Hop party), would spin soul records, highlighting the “breaks,” or the breakdown of a particular composition, and loop the break. DJs soon found that patrons of the parties loved dancing to this part of the music, thus the second turntable was introduced, and djs would scratch between two of the same records to prolong popular breaks. B-boys and B-girls or break-dancers, would display “def” -defying acrobatic moves to the break beat, captivating onlookers. Rappers would, at the request of the DJ, offer a call-and-response chant to the crowd, e.g. “Yes-yes ya’ll, and you don’t stop!” (Note: Kool Herc is also credited for bringing this “toasting” or “chatting” from his native Jamaica, to the Bronx). This form of chanting, or rapping, quickly evolved into a sport of poetic jousting, or “freestyle rapping” between two people, and in many cases, entire groups representing rival neighborhoods. Freestyle rapping incorporated improvisational rhymes in the spirit of competition, and was seen by many within the culture as a healthy alternative to physical altercations between rival individuals, neighborhoods, etc.

During its developing years Hip Hop music, seen as a passing “fad,” was easily ignored by the corporate lens, thus allowing the culture to develop independent of industrial appropriation; this was not to last. Though many critics of Hip Hop culture/music offered no more than unilateral critique, the appeal and influence of the culture began reaching a new demographic: white suburban teens. It is not difficult to see that with the technological developments in music production and sound recording, corporate annexation was inevitable. Historically, subcultures experiencing annexation by the dominating culture are victims of undesired commercial reinterpretation. Hip Hop was no different. Members of this cultural community felt a stronger sense of connection pre-annexation, as it was “representative of a concerted effort by youth urban blacks to use mass-culture to communicate communal discourse across a fractured and dislocated national community,” (Neal 371). What was once a reactive stance against the “social isolation,” in which urban black youth used to create for themselves a viable “communal space,” (Neal 371), was rapidly being reinterpreted into the next hot commodity.

The Problematic notions of “Real”

As an ardent participant and practitioner within Hip Hop culture, this writer has often scrutinized certain artists, albeit subjectively— who were not “staying true” to the original philosophies of the culture. Of course, if one were to be asked what those “original” philosophical tenets were, they may have difficulty in providing a clear answer. In the initial stages of writing this paper, the goal was to determine why some Hip Hop artists alter their persona, and in turn, alter the way in which they present their music to the consumer population.

Through rigorous research, it becomes difficult to present Hip Hop authenticity as a fixed, concept. In fact; the meanings tend to be constantly in flux . How can we define authenticity? The usual answer would be derived from an implication of dichotomy existing between Hip Hop’s origins and what it is today, or in more contemporary terms, the mainstream versus the underground. It is traditional in Western customs to categorize singular concepts in order to attribute definition, and through definition, a measure of control. The debate between the popular mainstream and the so-called authentic underground is nothing new. While Motown represented a more progressive sound, Stax, and even Hi Records represented a relatable sound, more “down home,” and the latter stood in a reactive position to the former.

In the article “Authenticity within Hip Hop and Other Cultures Threatened by Assimilation,” Kembrew McLeod examines pervasive claims of authenticity within Hip Hop culture. “By mapping the range of meanings associated with authenticity as they are invoked discursively, we can gain a better understanding of how a culture in danger of assimilation seeks to preserve its identity,” (McLeod 134). McLeod sees claims of authenticity as “reoccurring,” and central to “key cultural symbols in Hip Hop music,” (McLeod 134). According to McLeod, expert Seitel states, “Studying metaphors can uncover basic underlying principles that people use to conceive of and evaluate their own speech interactions…,” (McLeod 135). McLeod creates a qualitative platform, highlighting “semantic dimensions,” which he breaks down into six categories: social-psychological, racial, political-economic, gender-sexual, social locational, and cultural.

While researching Seitel, Neal, Rose and others, McLeod “derived an indigenous coding scheme from the data,” and further found that, “analysis was not the hip hop community, broadly, but was a discursive context in which the following two symbols co-occurred: “authenticity” and “hip-hop,” (McLeod 137). From numerous internet blogs, interviewing Hip Hop recording artists, and exploring any place where a discourse of authenticity and hip hop occurred, McLeod was able to examine the meaning of linguistic cultural symbols in the context of Hip Hop culture/music . McLeod witnessed how artists and people belonging to this community viewed claims of authenticity, invoking the all too familiar phrase of “keeping it real,” (McLeod 139). He cited how DJ Muggs, a multi-platinum producer for the group Cypress Hill became agitated by the ubiquitous phrase “keeping it real,” “claiming it was a trendy ‘flavor of the month,” (McLeod 139). This phrase, while saturated into the socialized yet mutable notions of what is considered “real” in Hip Hop, presents a paradoxical dilemma, further emphasizing the difficulty of providing any concreteness to such a subjective study.

Hip Hop gets Upgraded

As Hip Hop culture developed and evolved over the next three decades, part of its identity became imbedded within its sound according to geographical location. For example, an East Coast or New York based artist may choose to perform over electronically-reproduced sample-heavy beats, which contain multiple sonic elements, and reflect the social terrain of their home. New York city is seen by many as not only the Mecca of Hip Hop’s origins (which carries its own connotation of arrogance), but a towering metropolis of millions, all living in extreme proximity to one another, invoking hostile attitudes, etc. Such a social make-up of clustered homes/apartments, dense traffic jams, hostile police/community relations is resonated throughout the music of that locale. In juxtaposition, the South is classically seen as a place that moves to a slower pace, where people are spread out from one another, seemingly more relaxed than in their Northern counterparts.

Historically, there has always been tension between the North and South. The South was looked down upon for relishing in its “peculiar institution” of slavery, while the North had a more abolitionist /anti-slavery stance. Current music in the South is represented by slow-tempo beats, and heavy bass grooves, further accentuating an implied “laid-back” characteristic. Similar context could be applied to the West Coast, and its cool “surfer” image, etc. Lately, there has been, among the many debates within the Hip Hop community, a need to associate blame with regard to who is responsible for the current trend of “simplified music” and the erosion of Hip Hop culture from the tenets of its origin. Similar to the East Coast/West Coast tensions of the mid to late nineties, many artists from the East Coast have pointed an accusatory finger toward the South, who seem to dominate the Billboard charts and radio rotations with their “laid-back” dance themed music.

Interestingly, one could posit that while for a time Hip Hop music was distinguishable by geography, it has become much less so, with artists such as Mims, who performs the chart-topping “This is Why I’m Hot,” (Music is My Savior 2007). Mims, while his music may sound as an authentic production of southern Hip Hop, is himself from Washington Heights, NYC. In fact, there has been a rising trend where artists from the East Coast have adapted Southern style of rap performance, usually as a marketing tactic, thus appropriating that region’s sound. While some agents of Hip Hop culture’s so-called authentic underground contend that platinum record sales by an artist is a testament of complicity in this culture’s continued “erosion,” the platinum-selling mainstream artist is considered authentic by the recording industry based on album sales. Many underground artists, whether by means of securing major recording contracts with popular labels, or opting to take the “indie” route, seek to obtain platinum status. This is done by advertising the idea that excessive platinum sales not only broaden your marketability, but also equates to artistic success.

Chang provides a fair tone describing this dilemma when asking, “What did it mean to ‘keep it ‘real’ anymore,” (Chang 447). Further, “Could one preserve any kind of individual agency or did one have to ride with the new flavor of exploitation,” (Chang 447). It becomes difficult to attribute credit as to who created these categories of distinction. Were they an authentic production created by members of the Hip Hop community as a measure of asserting agency, (i.e. underground, as associated with being a “real emcee”), or have these distinctions been grafted and/or annexed into the mainstream’s marketing lexicon, further modifying this culture toward a more consumer friendly product, targeting the white teen demographic through reinterpretations of defining “real”? Media outlets (radio, video, etc.) boast they are “keeping it real,” as opposed to their competition.

Material apparel is adorned with “keep it real” phrases, and present images that symbolize and celebrate illegal criminal activity via informal economy, (i.e. “snowman,” or “doeboy,” are slang terms for illegal drug selling.). In the article “Getting’ Paid,” Kalefa Sanneh exposits how Jay-Z has “ushered in a new era of corporate rap,” and stands as perhaps the most recognizable balance between the thug, and the business man. Jay-Z co-owned his former label Roc-A-Fella records, Rocawear clothing line, a production house (Roc-A-Fella Films), and is now the CEO of Def Jam Records (Sanneh 276). He (Sanneh) contends: “Many rappers have made money, and lots of it, but none have rapped so eloquently about making money, or about the lure of wealth and ambition. Jay-Z has succeeded by treating hip hop above all as a corporate enterprise, by embracing ruthless professionalism as his guiding aesthetic. As he once put it, “What y’all about to witness is big business, kid,” (Sanneh 277).

Conclusion: Is Hip Hop truly dead?

This work’s original intentions were to investigate the reasons that motivated artists to “alter” their personae and performance in regards to their pursuits toward commercial success. This writer sought to draw from distinctions of communal identity within a broadly construed perspective of Hip Hop culture/music, and imply a dichotomous relationship between the spheres of underground Hip Hop music, and mainstream rap, attempting to illustrate how the former was by nature more authentic than the latter. Kembrew McLeod’s work provided perhaps the most practical offering toward a collective meaning, showing how members of the Hip Hop community seek to protect sacred symbols of this culture by distinguishing what is authentic and/or inauthentic. Chang’s Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation places an accessible link to the years of this culture’s commercial ascension, and the consequences of that ascension.

Hip Hop has benefited from commercial success, in that it has become a serious global influence in the lives of people from multiple cultural and class backgrounds, especially youth. However, the world must not forget that this culture was forged from the fires of frustration, from social alienation, and the thirst for a marginalized peoples’ humanity to be recognized. We see cultural preservation at stake when corporations dissect a phenomenon that has altered society, appropriate it, and reintroduce that phenomenon as nothing more than a product for consumption. While accessible by humanity (as a product), the humanity within this culture has been compromised, and what was once sacred becomes hollow. There is a generation of youth who have come into the knowledge of this Hip Hop culture, but they are disconnected from its past, thus they may have no stake in its future. In Nas’s Hip Hop is dead (Hip Hop is Dead 2007), he observes:

“…Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game
Reminiscin' when it wasn't all business
They forgot where it started
So we all gather here for the dearly departed
Hip hopper since a toddler
One homeboy became a man then a mobster
If it dies let me get my last swig of Vodka
R.I.P., we'll donate your lungs to a rasta
Went from turntables to MP3's
From "Beat Street" to commercials on Mickey D's
From gold cables to Jacobs
From plain facials to botox and face lifts
I'm lookin' over my shoulder
It's about eighty niggaz from my hood that showed up
And they came to show love
Sold out concert and the doors are closed shut…”

Works Cited

Blair, Elizabeth M. “Commercialization of the Rap Music Culture” That’s The Joint (2004): Routledge: New York. 497-504

Chang, Jeff “Necropolis” Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2005. 7-19

Chang, Jeff “Making a Name” Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2005. 67-85

Chang, Jeff “New World Order” Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2005. 437-465

McLeod, Kembrew “Authenticity within hip hop and other cultures threatened with Assimilation” Journal of Communication; Autumn 1999; 49, 4; ABI/INFORM Global

Neal, Mark Anthony “Postindustrial Soul: Black Popular Music at the Crossroads” That’s The Joint (2004): Routledge: New York.

Sanneh, Kalefa “Getting’ Paid” Jay-Z, criminal culture, and the rise of Corporate Rap

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/14384/

References

“Hip Hop is Dead” Nas (lyrics) (Def Jam/Columbia/The Jones Experience 2006)

“Real Niggaz” Jay-Z featuring Too $hort (lyrics) (Roc-A-Fella Records)

“This is why I’m Hot” MIMS (EMI/Capitol Records/American King Music 2007)

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