Finding a 'Voice'
‘Are you an actor or an activist?’
Lifesavas
Today, rap music is a secularised form of preaching about anger… people buy into rap because it articulates their anger… the potential of rap music is to get people in the streets and say ‘We’re gonna take what is rightfully ours’…1
Hip Hop has been described negatively as a ‘moronic inferno’, whose artists ‘are, virtually to the man, bullies and braggards whose targets are inevitably those weaker than themselves – like women.’2 And if you think back to our earlier topics, which discussed such things as ‘gangsta rap’ and gender issues, it’s easy enough to find examples to back this claim. It’s this same kind of argument highlighted when National Party spokesperson on social services Katherine Rich stirred up a media frenzy over government funding for two Christchurch women to study Hip Hop music and culture in the US, Fiji and Samoa. Taken out of context, Hip Hop’s commercially exploited side – rather than the many positive aspects we’ve already discussed – was manipulated for greatest political gain by those wrangling for power.
But if we look, once again, back to Hip Hop’s roots, and to the messages that ‘spoke’ to others in those early days, the ‘bullies and braggards’ argument tends to fall away. If we look at all the messages we’ve discovered that sit under nearly every aspect of Hip Hop (even the ones we may not like so much) there seems to be a common theme…
The Message
Don’t forget those who’ve fought before / Our struggle continues more and more / Yeah it’s a struggle, it’s a struggle / The system’s got us in a muddle / So strive to get outta this puddle / E tu, stand proud, kia kaha, say it loud…
Upper Hutt Posse – ‘E Tu’
With the release of the EP ‘E Tu,’ the message from Aotearoa’s own Upper Hutt Posse was loud and clear. The lyrics, a mixture of English and Te Reo Māori encouraged Māori to stand up; be proud; be strong. This simple, yet powerful message is not just valid for Māori in Aotearoa – it speaks to all marginalised groups, to all individuals who feel they are not ‘heard’ or valued in the world.
It’s a message about justice for all – not ‘just us’.3 It’s a message about respecting people’s basic human rights – that ‘whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly’.4 As Mother Theresa once said, ‘Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity’.5
Conscious Rappers
Some critics describe the period 1987-1992 as the ‘golden age’6 of Hip Hop7 and this was certainly true in terms of socially conscious rap. In the United States Boogie Down Productions organised ‘Self Destruction’ in 1989 featuring several artists promoting awareness about black-on-black violence. A similar campaign in 1990 saw West Coast rappers like Ice T, Digital Underground and NWA come together with ‘We’re All In The Same Gang’.
Socially-conscious female artists also emerged during this period, with MC Nikki D releasing her single ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ (about abortion) and Salt-n-Pepa releasing ‘Lets Talk about Sex’ which promoted AIDS awareness. This time also saw Queen Latifah, in her ‘Ladies First’ video, using powerful images of female freedom fighters.8
Public Enemy, one of the most important and successful African American political groups in the history of rap9, set the standard for politically conscious lyrics that provided both a political commentary on American society and on the world as a whole. Their 1990 hit ‘Fight the Power’ called for its audience to ‘fight the powers that be’ and backed the message of being Black and Proud.
Public Enemy’s raw insights into social and political conditions of African Americans have now progressed towards a larger goal of Black consciousness. They give voice to the notion that the real public enemy is not only white America, but Blacks too. They take swipes at everyone from the liquor industry (who they accuse of excessive marketing to Blacks), to Blacks own attitudes to alcohol, and also to sportswear corporations, ghetto marketing and exploitation for profit.10
But who drink it like water / On and on till the stores reorder it / Brothers cry broke but they still affordin’ it / Sippin’ it lick drink it down oh nooo / Drinkin’ poison but they don’t know / It used to be wine / A dollar and a dime / Same man, drink in another time / They could be as hard as hell and don’t give a damn / But still be a sucker to the liquor man.
Public Enemy – ‘1 Million Bottlebags’
Stop the Violence
Give me relief / Squash all beef / Don’t let these arguments destroy us…
KRS-1 – ‘Squash the Beef’
American rap artist KRS-1 (short for ‘Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone’) also took a public stand – rapping lyrics that urged people to ‘put aside the gold chain and braggadocio and to straight out tell people what is happening in the black community’.11
KSR-1 (as well as others including Kool Moe Dee, Public Enemy, and other industry pros) started the Stop the Violence Movement (STV) after the 1987 shooting of DJ Scott La Rock, which included songs and concerts. KRS-1 also published articles urging his, and other, communities to control the conditions that were increasing the incidence of violence. STV’s compilation album (Self Destruction) was issued with an accompanying booklet designed to ‘stimulate discussion of teenage criminality and its causes’ and to show that rap music was a useful tool for teaching reading and writing. The money raised went to fund programmes dealing with illiteracy and other problems in the inner city.12
A Latina woman in New York talks about the importance of community and political agitation/involvment. From Nga Tahi - Know the Links.
»watch video
Bilingual and Proud
At the same time as Black rap was getting more political, bilingual rappers emerged - claiming that they were Puerto Rican and proud.13 Raperos (Latin MC’s) like Vivo C, Ruben DJ and Queen Latina rhymed about drugs, abortion and AIDS.14 While Latinos, especially Puerto Ricans, had participated in Hip Hop from its very early days, and bilingual MCs highlighted their cultural 'influences' in new ways.
At home in Aotearoa, these examples of cultural ‘possession’ of Hip Hop inspired many of our most committed artists – including Dean Hapeta (Te Kupu), who has continued to produce albums and singles that ‘offer a hardcore insight into colonialism, resistance and power struggles’.15 As a respected member of the Hip Hop community, Hapeta demands mana (integrity), tino rangatiratanga (absolute sovereignty) and acknowledgement of tangata whenua (the indigenous people of the land).16
In the following topic, we’ll look closely at some of the more specific political messages coming from Hip Hop, both from our own country, and those overseas. In the meantime, it’s interesting to reflect on the raw and honest story-telling in the final verse of Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five’s The Message – a perfect illustration of why Hip Hop deserves its place as a chronicler in any serious political discussion.
You grow in the ghetto, living second rate / And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate / The places you play and where you stay / Looks like one great big alley way / You’ll admire all the number book takers / Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers / Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens/ And you wanna grow up to be just like them / Smugglers, scramblers, burglars, gamblers / Pickpockets, peddlers and even pan-handlers / You say I’m cool, I’m no fool / But then you wind up droppin’ out of high school / Now you’re unemployed, all null ‘n’ void / Walking around like you’re pretty boy Floyd / Turned stickup kid, look what you done did / Got sent up for an eight year bid / Now your manhood is took and you’re a Maytag / Spend the next two years as an undercover fag / Being used and abused to serve like hell / Till one day you was found hung dead in a cell / It was plain to see that your life was lost / You was cold and your body swung back and forth / But now your eyes sing the sad sad song / Of how you lived so fast and died so young.17
- What do the lyrics of Upper Hutt Posse’s ‘E Tu’ encourage Māori to do?
- Who is entitled to human rights, according to Mother Theresa?
- When was the ‘golden age’ of US Hip Hop, according to some?
- What was Public Enemy’s 1990 hit ‘Fight The Power’ about?
- What was the movement started by KSR-1 and others?
- What are the issues behind the song ‘The Message’?
Extend your thinking
Do you think the people addressed in political rap take notice of the messages aimed at them? Why/why not? Can you think of a more successful method to spread important political messages? Why do you think they’d be more successful?
Do you listen to messages aimed at your group’s behaviours or needs? Why/why not? How do you know which messages are worth listening to? How can you tell?
1 Woodert, La’Chelle April 1994, as quoted in ‘Rock & Rap Archives’ No. 123.
2 Burchill, 1998 – in HHC March 1999.
3 first spoken by Lani Guinier, American Law Professor who encouraged ‘justice for all, not just us’.
4 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca .
5 http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca
6 The same era saw B-boying drop out of sight and be mocked, and some crucial blows dealt to graffiti as a result of no longer having the ability to paint on trains due to paint resistant coatings. Also, the Black nationalism that this era celebrated is precisely what forcibly drove many Latinos out of Hip Hop for a time as they were no longer considered 'authentic'. So only a 'golden era' for some.
7 Marable Dr. M. 2002 ‘The Politics of Hip Hop’ Published online a http://www.urbanthinktank.org .
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Waiti, D. ‘Spotlight On: Angles on Global Hip Hop Culture’, in ‘The Next – an Impression of Hip Hop Expression’.
11 Best, S. & Kellner, D. Spring 1999, ‘Rap, Black rage, and Racial difference’: ‘Enculturation, Vol 2, No.2.
12 Rock & Rap Archives No.63/Dec 1988 http://www.rockrap.com/archive/archi63a.html .
13 M. del Barco, ‘Rap’s Latino Sabor.,’ in Droppin’ Science: Critical essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture, Perkins, W E Temple University Press, Philadelphia 1996.
14 Danica Waiti, D. ‘Spotlight On: Angles on Global Hip Hop Culture’ and 'The Next - An Impression of Hip Hop Expression'.
15 Ibid.
16 Mitchell, T. ‘Kia Kaha (Be Strong!): Maori and Pacific Islander Hip Hop in Aotearoa-New Zealand’ in ‘Global Noise: Rap and Hip Hop outside the USA’, Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
17 GrandMaster Flash & The Furious Five - ‘ The Message’.
