Do you ever sit and wonder how it feels to be a African American in modern day American, oe even why as Black people some of us distance ourselves from the community? Our generation may not have lived in the time but many of our ancestors took on the obstacle of living in the days of slavery. As a culture we all have plans regarding, the money we make, the money we lose, black ownership, socio economics and business acumen. We want to all transform our success into something bigger. Through the use of imagery Jay-Z communicates the life of an African American in modern day of American and how as people we are grouped within a certain social class , even a culture in his cartoon music video “The Story of O.J” by using images that displaying …show more content…
We have such a strong and meaningful past that we know little about. Jay Z communicates this within the use of African American symbolic cartoons intended to resemble racist imagery, over exaggerating the facial features of black people . As stated in the article “Jay Z’s New Music Video Uses America’s Long History of Racist Cartoons to Deliver a Haunting Message” by Austin Elias de-Jesus he explains , “The design of the characters reinforces the retro look and that caricatures of black people. Each cartoon has a symbolic meaning relating to the history of African Americans. Jay Z is communicating to his people explaining it doesn't matter how successful or poor you are your social class means nothing in the eyes of racist people. He plays on America’s long history of racist cartoons from Fleischer Studios, Warner Bros. Jaybo who is characterized in reference to both racist Little Black Sambo books and cartoons from the 19th century, who’s illustrator was the originator of racial stereotypes”. “The Story of O.J” narrates images of racist characters such as mammies, pickaninnies, and Uncle Tom's . These racist characters develops the video to give more realistic understanding of slave auctions, lynchings and burning of crosses.Also relating to stereotypes in the video it presents Jaybo eating watermelon developing the fact that African American are known to be eating watermelon, and watermelon has an historical background within the black community.Which also gives a connotation in relation to a racial background. The song also engages in stereotypes of how Jewish people make better investments resulting in them owning different properties throughout America.In the article “Jay Z’s New Music Video Uses America’s Long History of Racist Cartoons to Deliver a Haunting Message”,Austin Elias De-Jesus explains the tale of four African American women with different skin tones,
In one of the chapters, ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’ the author reveals how blacks in America use the music to express their anger and commitment to emerge as great people in an unfair community. Most songs are written to educate the society on the negative effects of racism. They encourage the society to love one another and embrace unity. The human nature is founded through a social platform where philosophers claim that people were created to love one another and live with peace and unity. Through this book, it is clear that the blacks in the hip-hop generation are money minded. However, this is expected in a world where the economy is tough. The author claims that the youth are the people who are majorly affected by racism. Many of them have been arrested for pity mistakes which are magnified in the courts due to the impression that the society has on the black people. They engage in dirty activities like drug dealings that that put them on the wrong side of the
Spike Lee’s Bamboozled is a contemporary critique of the black community, how it’s exploited, how it’s viewed, and how it fails to resist the persistent prejudices it faces in and outside of itself. Though this film is sixteen years old, many of his criticisms are still relevant to today’s media portrayals of black people. It is a continuing cycle that has yet to change on a large scale. Within the film we see a multitude of issues throughout that plays on the so called authenticity of blackness, the selling out of some of them, the poverty and desperation of others, the failure to use platforms of power for change, and the blind consumption of entertainment despite it’s harm to the image of black folk.
Rap started as a social movement during the mid-1970’s, once the 80’s arrived it started expanding dramatically, and became popular among white suburban youth. During the late 1980s and early 1990s rap became overtly political with its messages, which expanded its popularity further. Unfortunately, political rap lost its popularity in the mid-1990s; regardless of this artists and their voices have been marginalized because of corporate control. Although there does not seem to be a direct connection between rap music and its whitening, the author claims that it is not coincidental. Despite the political messages within the genre, rap has been viewed through a racist
Artists have an interesting perspective about hip hop’s relationship to racism, and racial exploitation. Black and white artists have totally different opinions towards hip hop and its relation to racism. Lots of black artists have come from the poorest situations and made a life for themselves by rapping or singing about hip hop. They rap with passion, courage and energy. Lots of white rappers, who usually come from nice backgrounds, have enough funds to start
One of Williams main topics of concerns is the wrong messages that “public airwaves” are sending to their listeners and followers. Williams claims rap and other medias are representing and sending the wrong message about African American communities. She mentions that rap music once held a positive message but now rap music is bombarding the public with the use of profanity, violence, and obscenity throughout their lyrics and music
Hip-Hop’s criticism of George W. Bush is a good example of hip-hop’s reflection of Black public opinion. The Republican candidate who already had a low approval rating of 57% amongst African-Americans received an even lower approval rating after his lackluster efforts to support Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Jones, 2003; Cillizza & Sullivan 2013).
...atching MTV music shows or any music channel on television. As we continue to watch these programs, we will then notice that almost all the rap and hip-hop artists being shown are African-Americans. It is the particular lifestyle, and behaviour that is connected to what particular artists chose to vocalize about. This usually can harm the image of African-Americans due to the fact that many artists aid in the misconceptions of their particular race such as the example provided with 50 Cent’s song entitled P.I.M.P. These lyrics and song titles simply reinforce the negative image some individuals may have of both Caucasian’s and people of colour. Rap and hip-hop is one of the most intimate, personal, legitimate and important art form. Instead of perpetuating injustice, and prejudice artists should be addressing these different issues in a different matter.
Asian-American rapper isn’t downplaying his heritage. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 15, 2004, from http://www.cdl http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/entertainment/10306249.htm Wu, F. H. (2002). The 'Secondary' Yellow: race in America beyond black and white. New York: Basic Books.
In Stuart Hall’s “What is This “Black” in Black Popular Culture?” the historical implication of popular culture in the U.S is examined and the influence that blackness has in it is deconstructed. According to the text, the departure of European concepts of culture after WWII sparked a hegemonic shift as the United States emerged as a world power. Due to this, the U.S. became the epicenter of global culture production. However, since America has always had a large ethnic population due to slavery, the true face of American popular culture was black American vernacular traditions. Even today, slang that emerge from black ghettos and communities become highly popular with people of other races. In fact, much of black culture is not just our culture,
The lyrics from the rap by Jay-Z entitled "99 problems but a b*tch ain't one" has great lyrics showing the way rap and Ebonics has effected the way African Americans are viewed as today in both a positive and negative aspect. In the first verse Jay-Z gives us a good example how rap with the use of Ebonics has made him rich when he says,
As hip hop culture became prevalent in pop culture, so did black culture. Hip hop stems from black struggle. Their vernacular, songs, and spiritual ways were different from what whites were used to. Their different lifestyle of “living on the edge” was intriguing yet inaccessible for the whites living among them. Thus, this initiated America’s fascination with the culture. It became about what people assume and perceive about black people rather than what they actually are. In essence, an essential to cool is being on the outside, looking in. In the media and celebrities today,
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
...ssed the people of the black diaspora, Black Entertainment Television and the pop-media in general are not liberating the black people from the chains of poverty and they aren’t promoting the progression of African American culture but quite the opposite.
Jackson’s argument is related to the statements made in The Freshest Kids because of the construction of whiteness, which discriminates against Black culture, devalues and ignores the true meaning of Hip Hop on the basis that it is a Black movement. Through the gaze and the construction of whiteness, Hip Hop loses its place amongst American society because it is negatively tied to African culture and is seen as worthless. However, even when American society starts to acknowledge the existence of Hip Hop, primarily white Americans only look at the physical aspect and become ignorant towards the true meaning; doing a disservice to Hip Hop and African culture. Jackson’s argument holds true and is relatable to The Freshest Kids