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,
As I’ve stated, Lee’s critiques of the media, those in positions of power, the consumption of the audience in the black community, and his trope characters are all present today. We see similar images in television and movie roles available for black people and in rap and hip hop music representations. The media has an immense amount of power in how the black body is portrayed. The music industry carries a similar power in deciding what will and will not sell in music. These executives are the deciding factor of what is “authentically black” and interesting to
Those with access to traditional sources of power can affect society by utilizing their status to influence the perspective of a stereotype. Jay-Z, with his prestigious empire of wealth and international impact, is a perfect example of this sort of power brokering. Jay-Z has become a cultural icon to the black and minority masses, having seen him grow from a young hip hop rapper to a music and film producer, actor and extremely successful entrepreneur. Through lyrics, both his own and of other rappers he produces, he manipulates his massive fanbase to support his movement to stop the racist stereotypes put in place against blacks and other minorities by the (typically white) elitist leaders of business and politics. For example, Jay-Z blames his childhood experience on Ronald Reagan, who was President from 1981-1989, which was during the crack epidemic. Through the following lyrics from the rap Blue Magic, “Blame Reagan for makin’ me into a monster” (“Blue Magic”), Jay-Z highlights to his listeners the oppressive actions of the elitist leadership. His use of “...
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
“Blacking Up” is an inspirational and eye opening film that looks at racial identity through hip hop and its culture. The film explores the tensions that surround white identification with the hip hop culture. Typical white people identify hip hop with responses that are uncharacteristic. They are termed as a “wigger” or “wannabe” who think they can become part of a strong culture. The film clearly identifies these people as those trying to connect with others who usually won’t accept them. I have watched this film before for my Hip Hop class in high class and was happy to watch it and learn more about the hip hop community.
As Kendrick entered the stage shackled to his black comrades with a soulful saxophone playing in the background, it is obvious that the imagery of imprisonment was a commentary on incarceration in America and its similarities with slavery. By amplifying this modern twist on slavery, Kendrick provokes American viewers to reflect on the struggles that black Americans still go through today. At the start of his performance he goes on to rap “I’m African-American — I’m African” as if he was correcting himself. This isn’t surprising as black identity is hard to establish in a country that implicitly detests you, but explicitly fetishizes your culture. Stuart Hall discusses this in his text when he states, “’the primitive is a modern problem, a crisis in cultural identity’…the modernist construction of primitivism, the fetishistic recognition and disavowal of the primitive difference” (Hall 125). There is no wonder why Kendrick, like many African-Americans, finds comfort in placing his identity with the mother land rather than his true country of origin. How can the black multitude stand in solidarity with a country who will continuously praise black culture but refuse to recognize the black struggle? Kendrick Lamar then conjures imagery of Africa, where he danced and rapped in front of a raging bonfire, one of the most powerful imagery included in his entire performance. One can interpret
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).
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
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,
...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.
...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.
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,
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.
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