Hip Hop and Politics
Source: blackyouthproject.uchicago.edu
Topic: Hip Hop
Sort Desciption: relating totheinfluence of hip hop on the development ofyouth politics, ... Research on hip hop and politics typically centers around three themes: ...
Content Inside: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Black Youth and Politics Project Hip Hop and Politics Tanji Gilliam, University of Chicago A review of the major theoretical arguments and important empiricalfindings relating totheinfluence of hip hop on the development ofyouth politics, particularlyamong U.S. African American communities. 2 Hip Hop and the Media Introduction Almost every text on hip hop culture begins with a narrative of origin. These histories typically announce that hip hop started in the late 1970s in the South Bronx, New York. Commercial recording information generally follows, with the 1979 single “Rappers Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang proclaimed as the first hip hop release. 1 Finally, some statement of impact or importance commences the author’s study. This paper seeks to identify the political ideas in hip hop broadly and in rap music in particular. The aforementioned “biographical” information for hip hop is relevant if only for its sheer irrelevance to hip hop’s contemporary existence. First, it is important to note that 2004 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of commercial hip hop. Therefore it is necessary to contextualize hip hop’s various shifts and transmutations to the present day. Instrumental in this effort is an understanding that hip hop is no longer exclusively a culture of “the streets.” Therefore any serious study of the impact of today’s hip hop culture must take into account its presence as a national, mass-mediated and multimediated entity. 1 Although Nelson George identifies “King Tim III (The Personality Jock)” by The Fatback Band as the first rap record. George, Nelson. 2001. Buppies, B-Boys, Baps, & Bohos: Notes on A Post-Soul Black Culture. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 16. 3 Hip hop’s influence can be measured within the following five major outlets: television, film, radio, magazines, and the Internet. 2 While much of the research on hip hop focuses on ...
politics