Evolution of Hip-Hop Culture in Mainstream America
Ever since the initial emergence of hip-hop in America, there have been many debates over the progression of the genre as not only a type of music, but rather as a culture and lifestyle as well. Throughout the years, scholars have looked into the evolution of hip-hop as a culture in mainstream America, and more recently in the world in general. Researchers have posed many questions concerning this emerging genre and lifestyle in order to better understand this seemingly elite and unique culture as it moves more towards mainstream. What is hip-hop? Who is it for – or can all enjoy and participate? What are the components of true hip-hop culture? Is mainstream America exploiting the uniqueness and elusiveness of hip-hop culture or is hip-hop culture evolving and possibly corrupting mainstream popular culture? These are just a few of the questions we will look into while exploring the history and nature of hip-hop culture.
Hip-hop was created by and for African-American and Latino youth and focused on “sticking it to the man”. Just like many other major trends in popular culture, its initial and primary focus was on civil rights and equality. According to Derrick P. Alridge in his work “From Civil Rights to Hip-Hop: A Nexus of Ideas”, “Hip Hop pioneers such as Kool Here, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, among others articulated the post-civil rights generation's ideas and response to poverty,
drugs, police brutality, and other racial and class inequities of postindustrial U.S. society” (Alridge 226). Early hip-hoppers from the 1970’s were the creators of a new black culture social critique as they focused on the inequalities, mostly between Whites and minorities in America, which made hip-hop very popular and important since it came on the heels of a powerful African-American civil rights movement in America. Even now, hip-hop artists, such as Michael Franti and Kanye West, rap about American hypocrisies in our government, social discrimination and the like. While not all hip-hop artists choose to focus on such serious themes in their music or art, those that do are attempting to give a voice to the hip-hop, or more specifically the black, community and inspire those who listen to their music to become an active part of their future and society in terms of exposing and correcting inequalities and injustices. Alridge points out that hip-hop artist, Michael Franti, uses references and potent lyrics in his music that are very reminiscent of powerful black, civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (Alridge 227). In Franti’s song, “Oh My God” he references certain powerful moments from American history such as the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy and social issues such as “stealing DNA from unborn” referencing stem-cell research. However, not all criticism of hip-hop culture are as positive. In Alridge’s article he states that some civil rights scholars view modern hip-hop culture to be “devoid of a sound intellectual activist tradition” (Alridge 227). Nevertheless, modern hip-hop artists and cultural activists claim civil rights scholars to be out of touch with reality and are failing in their current methods to speak to black youth (Alridge 228).
Nearly 40 years has passed since the global emergence of hip-hop. James E. Brunson III states hip-hop to be “a North America cultural phenomenon that was created in the early 1970s” and its components such as graffiti writing, rapping and dancing, among others, “function as a source of identity formation and social status” (Brunson 7). Hip-hop began initially as a form of expression primarily for and by African – America and Latino youth. However, more recently it has morphed into a highly publicized and commercialized phenomenon reaching the masses. Brunson ascertains in his work, “Showing, Seeing: Hip-Hop, Visual Culture, and Show-and-Tell Performance”, that what was once an honest expression of culture and feeling as original hip-hop has now been commercialized and exploited into a ”global force” and multi-billion-dollar industry (Brunson 7).
Hip-hop culture has since recently fallen far from the relatively innocent manner of early hip-hop culture. More recently the genre has turned towards commodifying pornography within the midst of its actions. Mireille Miller-Young delved into this phenomenon as she studied the evolution of hip-hop culture and “pornification” of the genre. Miller-Young states in her findings that “hip-hop and pornography have partnered to commodify black sexuality in a new genre form, employing black women’s bodies as the hard currency of exchange” (Miller-Young 262). Originally, the hip-hop genre focused primarily on the theme of youth revolt against authority, but now there is a greater focus on women, drugs and money. For example, mainstream popular rappers like Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne feature lyrics almost exclusively about women’s body parts or performing explicit and lewd sexual acts which can be viewed as degrading and disrespectful to women. Lyrics from Lil Wayne’s chart topping hits such as “never met the bitch, but I fucked her like I missed her” and “eat her till she cry, call it wine and dine” are just two brief examples of the pornographic imaging that is now running rampant through hip-hop music and culture as a whole (Lil Wayne, rapper). By adhering to the marketing theory that “sex sells”, hip-hop culture has been mainstreamed and is evolving to a less moving and meaningful culture. Most likely in the future, humanity will not look back on Lil Wayne’s rap lyrics as a contribution to society.
Hip-hop has evolved throughout the years through the rise and fall of popular culture. What was once considered to be an creative and unique outlet of expression for primarily African-American and Latino youth, is now fairly mainstream and considered to be a cultural phenomenon all its own. There are still many facets of hip-hop that contribute to the culture as a whole. Generally speaking, the enigmatic and unique nature that was once early hip-hop is now gone because hip-hop can speak to and resonate with any and everyone. While it is still a component of hip-hop culture, it is no longer just based on civil rights and injustices in the black community, but has taken on more of an entertainment role.