Since the end of the 1980s, rap culture and rap music have become extremely popular in all countries around the globe. Because of its essential commercial application in American popular culture as the dance-related song (the demand for a new product) and because of the need of each new generation of American youth to identify itself musically according to its own terms, the history of rock and roll has unfolded in an often confusing succession of substyles or subgenres that represent a broad range of expression. Today, many teens (generation Y) idealizes rap music that glorifies and promulgates immoral choices and criminal activities. Rap music is so popular today because it reflects and symbolizes freedom and rebellion, belonging to a particular suture and unique identity for both blacks and whites.
The birthright of rap demanded that this traditional function be redefined as American youth “fell into” power and began to exert influence on society, largely because of their number and their middle-class purchasing privileges. For, in addition to its entertainment value, rock and roll also must be judged as political and social to an unprecedented degree (Boyd 43). Its point of view was conditioned initially by adolescent frustration and soon after by youthful cynicism, on the one hand, and idealism, on the other. This redefinition of the popular song included forays into subjects and moods foreign to the mainstream’s entertainment experience. Thanks mainly to the champions of the folk revival of the 1960s and the dynamic African-American musicians leading the Civil Rights Movement, serious — and highly volatile — problems such as social injustice, hypocrisy, war-mongering, and the destruction of the environment entered the rock and roll sensibility. Just as great a departure from custom Counterculture forced the issue during the 1960s. (A similar phenomenon must be observed in the subjects and nature of films directed to the American public during the same period.) The threat was undeniable and uncomfortable to many adults; the fact that teenagers were making it was radical, a cause for much hand-wringing by those threatened (Iwamoto and Creswell 23).
Rap culture has come to accept a premise already in force in folk music and fine-art music, that the subject of music is the entire range of human experience. Whereas many advocates welcomed this openness in the spirit of uncensored expression and as evidence of the music’s “coming of age,” opponents redoubled their efforts and publicized their genuine horror, all the while repeating their time-honored battle cry that the personal and public behavior of young Americans is influenced directly and in the most negative way by experiencing this repertory of the song (Jenita et al 175). Much criticism, ranging from thoughtful to hysterical, has been focused on a cult of violence initially associated with the 1990s subcategories of punk and heavy metal and more recently with gangsta rap and the “hate” rock of white supremacist groups.
During the latter half of this century, the reaction to rap music has become a clash of cultures. There is no consensus regarding musical tastes. In many ways, biases play a large role in the reaction. Because creativity goes back to the roots of a culture, clashes occur between the roots of European and African musical sounds and words. In Euro-centric music, creativity means change, sometimes quite subtle, with one melodic message building upon and replacing another. The melody is central (O’Reilly 2008). Composers try new musical forms and methods, new sounds. Different lyrics often interact, building upon a western melodic sequence of sounds. Creativity in Afro-centric music depends on repetition and the revitalizing sounds of the beat. The rhythm is primary. The words fit the beat and overtly express human emotions. Such constants are all the more noticeable in rap music that is predominately tied to African sounds and explicit lyrics (Kopano 204).
In fact, rap music has become the blame for what was wrong with the country’s emerging adults. Popular music that not only sounds different but has suggestive lyrics aimed at children frightens many parents. The response has been a series of attempted controls that have encompassed government as well as economic and commercial forms of censorship. With prevailing social racism, rock songs by African Americans, no matter how creative, were suspect and an affront to the open segregationist views of the 1950s and 1960s (Rose 54). To be financially successful, black music became marginalized in the popular culture with white “covers.” Many black musicians received little or no compensation when their songs were recorded by whites. When rap music began appearing in the public consciousness by the mid1980s, it represented a joining, gang-type of expression. The adult fear was that American youth would indeed “join” and empathize with the black adolescents’ urban experience. Despite the fact that there were some white rappers, black artists dominated gangsta rap with black codes and street lingo explicit enough to be understood. Even though almost three-quarters of all rap albums were bought by white youth, rap music remained a black phenomenon. The lyrics confronted audiences with issues of racism, sexism, and black feelings toward white authority. Unlike adult concerns about heavy metal music’s effects upon the fragile minds of a few troubled individuals, rap music was thought to cause a volatile reaction from entire audiences (Rose 87). In April 1989, Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” was accused of being the cause of the Central Park “wilding” rape. The suspicion was that black youth were unthinking, animallike, and ready to erupt into a frenzy of “wilding” and rioting. Adults, primarily white adults, had an overriding fear that black youth were dry kindling, ready to burst into flame with any stray spark. Inflammatory songs such as “Cop Killer” could incite an entire race to murder the nation’s police (Boyd 76).
The accusations about rap lyrics became not just a racial issue, but also reflected gender and social issues concerning sexism, sexual harassment, rape, and murder. Much of rap has been sexually explicit, such as As Nasty as They Wanna Be by 2-Live Crew, which included the songs “Me So Horny” and “Dick Almighty.” The reaction was outrage over Ice-T’s “Cop Killer,” from the album Body Count, which infuriated people with the lyrics “Die, die, die, pig, die!” Public outcry against “Cop Killer” included death threats against the record company employees until Ice-T announced he would pull “Cop Killer” from the album. Internationally, Irish radio stations and Australian live shows also banned “Cop Killer” (Rose 62). Violence and extreme behavior as found in rap lyrics sell (Rose 73). Before he was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, Tupac Shakur, one of gangsta rap’s biggest stars, was encouraged to be extreme in his antics and rap lyrics by the multimillion-dollar record industry. His first album, All Eyez on Me, released in early 1996 for Death Row Records, sold over five million units. The more confrontational he was, the more newsworthy he was, and the more his releases sold. To some he became a hero; to others, a demon. According to Connie Bruck New Yorker (1997) examination, Tupac was caught in the middle between his own character and the commercial image his record company required, and he paid the highest price of all.
One of the most vivid examples of rap music and violence is “Ice-T” a rapper who advocates killing cops in a song released in 1992 which, simply enough, is titled Cop Killer.” But the simplicity of the controversy ends with the literal reading of the song by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), who saw it as an invocation to kill cops; acting on their reading of the lyrics, they called for a blanket boycott of Time-Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros (Rose 52). Records. CLEAT was reinforced by Governor Guy Hunt of Alabama, who demanded that record stores stop selling the album, Body Count (also the name of Ice-T’s speed-metal band). Hunt’s request was met by several national chains: Sound Warehouse, Super Club, and Trans World. In a letter to Time-Warner signed by 57 Republicans and 3 Democrats, Congress condemned the song, the artist, and the company. President Bush and Vice-President Quayle joined in the condemnation; Oliver North, not to be outdone, called for action, suggesting that charges of sedition be brought against Time-Warner (Boyd 88). The commentary on Cop Killer by these public figures-turned-critics was enlivened by words typically associated with disease and the filth that spawns it, literal and figurative; the implication was quarantine. The language directed toward Ice-T and his song was drawn from the vocabulary of repulsion: “sick,” “obscene,” “vile,” “despicable,” “ugly, destructive, and disgusting.” This is strong language for any reviewer, even critics of rock ‘n’ roll. But for cultural critics of the past decade working the trend of linking art, social agenda, and politics, it has pretty much become standard critical vocabulary. Although the stance taken and the message given by Ice-T rivals that of another notorious musical release, The Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen,” the reaction to Cop Killer plays not so much as a response to the shock of an attack on an authority figure as a directed effort to make good use of an opportunity to push an agenda. Rap as a musical form resists the usual effects of crossover. It’s foregrounding of the rhythm, the lack of melody, the aggressive politics of the lyrics all defy attempts at covers (Rose 43). Thus, even though the fashions of hip-hop culture have become commercially viable, the core of rap remains fundamentally tied to its inner-city locale; the resistance of mainstream American culture to rap is directly analogous to the resistance to rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s.
Such lyrics were valued for their sophistication, their cleverness, their calculated substance. They clearly address sexual issues in this instance a yearning for a consummated love relationship but unfold in a perfectly indirect manner, without any trace of vulgarity. The world they represent, it might be noted, is not necessarily the world as it ever was or is, but a world conceived in a delightful or bittersweet fantasy. After all, Tin Pan Alley songs were frequently generated for the escapist entertainment of the Broadway stage or the Hollywood film. The words of this song are overtly sexual (Rose 42). They testify to an easy-going pride in the manly art of seduction with explicitness judged as disarming and risqué in some quarters but normal and refreshing in others. One might easily argue that, in substance, the themes of these two songs share pronounced similarities. Yet in manner, they must be perceived and, in fact, were perceived as worlds apart. It is a matter of historical record that a majority of young people in the United States indicated their preference for the more realistic approach by their grand-scale enthusiasm for rock and roll during the second half of the twentieth century (Parker-Pope 2008).
It is possible to reject views and opinions discussed above stating that rap music takes its roots in African-American culture and reflects the inner self and ideals of African-Americans. In terms of text, the song traditions of the African-American community and the rural white community reflected a level of realism and honesty that flew in face of the mainstream’s rules of decorum and its penchant for romantic “sweetness.” Not only were such songs cast in the unvarnished language of colloquial speech, but they were also often based on the life experience of the music’s creators. It is music-dominated, for the most part, by young black males, and this has impeded the chances for its artists to cross over into the mainstream of American culture (Rose 39). The majority of rap artists, notwithstanding the Fresh Prince, have eschewed the emasculation often deemed necessary for mainstream commercial success. Unlike Michael Jackson or Prince, their sexuality is not masked or ambiguous and their music is aggressive, outspoken, and often angry. In the media, to say “rap” is to say young, black, and male; it also suggests violence. Yet Cop Killer is a rock song, Body Count is a speed-metal band, and the audience for the group is predominantly white suburban teenagers. Ice-T has repeatedly made this point. “I think by being rock it infiltrated the homes of a lot of parents not used to having their kids play records by rappers (Petracca and Sorapure 72).
Cop Killer is a fantasy of getting even. It depicts a member of an outgroup taking extreme action. It is the last angry cut on an album written in response to injustice, police brutality, and the denial of legitimate recourse to those populating the margins (Rose 98). That it is hateful, vengeful, and threatening is undeniable; however, it does not organize opposition as much as it dramatizes the state of mind of the powerless. It is an excoriating expression of black rage that deliberately offers no solutions. CopKiller Killer” works within a tradition of black music’s use of hyperbole and conforms to the type of speech described by Frederick Douglass when he related the role of his speech to the social conditions of blacks. Underlying the juxtaposition of the Los Angeles riots and the Ice-T boycott is the narrative that Cop Killer incited the masses to action; the song, not the Rodney King verdict and the police brutality that was on trial, caused the riots (Sullivan 605). Thus, a narrative has been constructed that reassigns blame; a demagogue incites the volatile and irrational masses to insurrection. Silence the voice and you have removed the problem (Vannini 2002).
Historically, the Afro-rhythmic sounds were alien and the words are shockingly suggestive to Euro-centric ears. In the historical progression of the blues-jazz-rock-rap songs, critics, especially those of European heritage, accused such music and their composers of causing disruptions to cultural values, inciting violence, and of being detrimental to society. At the same time, teenagers sought not just new musical sounds but voices and words to speak to them individually as they forged adult identities. The music was ever-appealing (Rose 88). Adolescent upheavals also meant surviving stresses about sexuality, romance, morality, parents, authority, and government. The emerging new forms of rock and rap music can speak personally to these older children. Because teens’ tastes are still forming, still impressible, as many approach adulthood their quest centers around the music, if not in lyrics and sounds, then culturally by breaking previous modes with taboo words and musical actions. The biggest taboos concern incitement to violence toward women and authority figures such as the police and the word “fuck” and other sexually explicit utterances. With such music obviously aimed at teens, parents worried about possible out-of-control rebellion and cultural and societal depravity. The fear was incitement, possibly leading minors to aberrant behavior, such as misogyny, racism, and violence (Boyd 82).
Thus, the historical roots and ideals of African-Americans cannot justify the extreme violence and open rebels depicted in many rap songs. Rap exemplifies the anxiety present in the commercialization of minority voices, in the conflict between the money to be made in a free market and the lack of control over cultural production. Associated with youth, rap has always been viewed by the purists as an oppositional voice. Unlike pop, it does not conform to a safe, neat, commercial package. The threatening nature of rock music has always made it commercially successful (Martinez 266). The scrutiny of rap music by the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PRMC) may partially account for Ice-T’s foray into hardcore rock with Body Count. But given the commercial interests, the attempts at regulation of content as a form of social control seem relatively futile. What is curious about the controversy surrounding Cop Killer is that it took so long to erupt. The song debuted in the summer of 1991 on the Lollapalooza tour, was recorded in the fall and was released in March 1992. The controversy didn’t erupt until June 1992 (Boyd 92). Figuratively, Cop Killer is about fighting back and getting even, about taking charge and not just resisting. The timing of the controversy surrounding it suggests a reaction to another event covered nationally in the last week of April: the Los Angeles riots. The media images of the Los Angeles riots presented an opportunity for authority to mobilize against the voices of the inner-city represented by the rappers. As rapper Chuck D has often been quoted as saying, “rap is the CNN of Black America.” By linking disorder with rap music and its incumbent associations, the coalition of police and legislators appropriated a convincing soundtrack for the images dispersed through television. The pressure placed on commercial outlets has effectively restricted the flow and the content of rap music, yet Ice-T starred with rapper Ice Cube in the movie Trespass. And his album, Home Invasion, threatened further violation of previous cultural boundaries (Boyd 73). The media itself, then, becomes an area of territorial conflict; hence, the battle is to decide who and what may appear or be heard there. Symbolic politics, issues of control and silence and exclusion, are evident in the formation of groups for improvement or protection such as The Coalition for Better Television and explain the logic of shutting down dialogue in mass culture. It is an attempt to restore traditional social arrangements and reduce diversity. Images of chaos circulated in the media and associated with rappers and black urban youth reinforce conservative arguments for control but not for real reform (Boyd 76). The immediate recourse of the Bush-Reagan administration in assigning blame for the Los Angeles riots to the relaxed liberal policies of the 1960s seeks to remove the problem from the realm of action to the realm of the symbolic. In doing so, they conform to a reactionary model characteristic of political extremism. “In almost every generation,” Lipset and Raab write in their study on political extremism, “old American groups which saw themselves displaced, relatively demoted in status and power by processes rooted in social change, have sought to reverse these processes through the processes of moralistic movements or political action groups.” That this will be increasingly difficult to do and that mass culture will be the site of many more battles has less to do with social enlightenment than with the exigencies of the market (Boyd 87).
In sum, rap music has deep historical roots but it still reflects violence and opposition to the state. Rap music is so attractive to generation Y because it symbolizes personal freedom and rebellion, a feeling of belonging and uniqueness. The role of rap art and of the artist in culture has been hotly debated for some time, in both the art world and mass cultural productions. Unlike previous reactions to musical changes, such anxieties are aimed not at particular artists as individuals, but at an entire racial group.
Works Cited
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