Colourism, a little word that harnesses pain, as well as confusion amongst many people both of the past and present. This concept is nothing new, it is something that has and is being felt by plenty. It plagues nations and is caused by imperialism, self-hatred, self-degradation, envy, greed, along with lust. It’s fueled by ignorance, stupidity, blindness, unobtainable white beauty standards placed onto unsuspecting people once simply absorbed by their own society, and now compelled to fulfill these standards, which are unobtainable for many. As topics such as sexism and racism, colourism reaches beyond just one medium. It affects many areas of life as well as hinders the quality of life of those negatively regarded. One of the strongest and most effective ways to implement the ideals of colourism (i.e. “[That] lightening the black physicality is socially acceptable because white skin is the superior and sought after ideal unlike black skin which is inferior.”) is through media. Hip-Hop, which has grown exponentially through the past 20 years, has used it’s great following to pursue spread ideals that have been implemented through the music. Emphasized by the rhetorical analysis written by VaNatta S. Ford; where she keys in on a statement: “There has not been [...] a rhetorical examination of the ways in which colorism impacts rap lyrics”; as well as the rampant destruction of the image of darker skinned women in particular. Time and time again, they lyrics of many superstar in Hip-Hop/Rap, calls the fairer of black women in particular the better. Though this idea of placing lighter people on a pedestal is nothing new, but through this musical movement the classifications of blacks has evolved. Term such as “Red bone” and “Yellow b... ... middle of paper ... ...t; n*ggers were dirty and loud.” Works Cited Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye NYC: Plume/The Penguin Group, 1970 McCarthy-Brown, Nyama. "Dancing in the Margins: Experiences of African American Ballerinas." Journal of African American Studies15.3 (2011): 385+. General OneFile. Web. 18 May 201 Ford, VaNatta S. "Color blocked: a rhetorical analysis of colorism and its impact on rap lyrics in hip hop music from 2005 to 2010."Journal of Pan African Studies 5.1 (2012): 270. Academic OneFile. Web. 18 May 2014. Charles, Christopher A.D. "The derogatory representations of the skin bleaching products sold in Harlem." Journal of Pan African Studies 4.4 (2011): 117+. Academic OneFile. Web. 18 May 2014. Banerji, Shilpa. "Study: darker-skinned Black job applicants face more obstacles." Diverse Issues in Higher Education 21 Sept. 2006: 20. General OneFile. Web. 18 May 2014.
Haskins, James. "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade." Black Dance in America. N.p.: n.p., 1990. 130-37. Print.
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
Based on the title of the book alone, it is easy to say that racism is one of the many social issues this book will address. Unlike the normal racism of Caucasians versus African Americans, this book focuses on racism of the black elite versus African Americans, also known as colorism. Colorism is the discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically by others of the same racial group. Margo Jefferson says, “Negroland is my name for a small region of Negro America where residents were sheltered by a certain amount of privilege and plenty” (p. 1).
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
It goes without saying that hip-hop has changed. It began as a social practice of African-centered liberation to transform the black community or bring the youth together in unity, but towards the 90’s and onto the hip-hop scene in todays day and age, it is anything but that. The youth of today will know Tupac Shakur and beautify or streamline his self-destructive “thug life” but remain in the dark of figures like Mutulu and Afeni Shakur. Although this is a sad reality to live in, it is not hip-hops responsibility to change this. It is the responsibility of artists alike representing an oppressed populace to speak meaningfully in their art, in someway or another, for the liberation of their people.
The Association of Black Psychologist (ABP) (2013) defines colorism as skin-color stratification. Colorism is described as “internalized racism” that is perceived to be a way of life for the group that it is accepted by (ABP 2013). Moreover, colorism is classified as a persistent problem within Black American. Colorism in the process of discriminatory privileges given to lighter-skinned individuals of color over their darker- skinned counterparts (Margret Hunter 2007). From a historical standpoint, colorism was a white constructed policy in order to create dissention among their slaves as to maintain order or obedience. Over the centuries, it seems that the original purpose of colorism remains. Why has this issue persisted? Blacks have been able to dismantle the barriers faced within the larger society of the United States. Yet, Blacks have failed to properly address the sins of the past within the ethnic group. As a consequence of this failure, colorism prevails. Through my research, I developed many questions: Is it right that this view remain? How does valuing an individual over another cause distribution to the mental health of the victims of colorism? More importantly, what are the solutions for colorism? Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persisted effect on the lives of Black Americans. It has become so internalized that one cannot differentiate between the view of ourselves that Black Americans adopted from slavery or a more personalized view developed from within the ethnicity. The consequences of this internalized view heightens the already exorbitant mental health concerns within the Black community, but the most unfortunate aspect of colorism is that there is contention on how the issue should be solved.
The cultural theory helps expand the knowledge of “hip hop” as an idea and influence on society. Mark Anthony Neal discusses the development of the understanding of hip hop by dissecting the layers and complexities of the culture, “Hip-hop music and culture emerged as a narrative and stylistic distillation of African-American youth sensibilities in the late 1970s,” within What the Music Said (Woldu 18). Urban history is a large, yet vital characteristic throughout the study of hip hop and its progression; Russell Potter shows how critical the representation of black musical expression and the “history of vernacular speech” is for the hip hop community in his book, Spectacular Vernaculars (Woldu 19). As decades pass and the hip hop scene expands, the history of this culture becomes influenced by more historical movements and creations. However, that is not the only historical significance that runs deep within the hip hop culture. The history and influence of the black feminist movement within the hip hop scene became a demanding characteristic in the development of the hip hop culture. As the gender divide became an evident aspect through the hip hop generation, women, especially female rappers,
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.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
By carefully analyzing the synapses between the existential Negro and the Hipster, we can deduce the reflections on the wider umbrella of American popular culture. The elements of music, politics, language and general human characteristics resulting from American popular culture all worked together to create the “white negro”- a person who can be simply referred to as a white person with black or “negro”
15 March 2014 Springer.com. Riley. Springer:’’ Rap and Hip-Hop Genre Today’’. April 2004 15 March 2014 Springer.com Ruiz, Jonathan. Cross-Cultural Rhetoric.
Colorism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. In other words, colorism is the saying that one sade of the same race is better than a different shade of that race. Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Colorism is hatred with your own race, and racism is hatred towards another group. Colorism can be considered racism though, because even though