[The following is adapted from chapter 12 of Listening to Rap]
Mainstream rap music often perpetuates negative stereotypes of the black community. These stereotypes prove dangerous as they become more deeply entrenched in our society, supported by like images across media types. The last few years have seen an increase in the attention paid to the deaths of people of color at the hands of police and vigilantes. The increased attention and ensuing outrage are the result of the more widespread use of cameras—by both law enforcement and citizens—and the ability of social media like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, to spread information and mobilize people rapidly. Social media has helped give rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, which galvanized a nationwide response to these killings.
On August 9, 2014 —about eight months after the Grammy Awards—eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO (just outside of St. Louis). Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson, were suspected of stealing cigarillos from a convenience store before they were confronted by Wilson. Wilson claims that Brown charged toward him, and Wilson fired a dozen bullets at the teenager, claiming that he feared for his life. Eyewitness accounts were conflicting, with some agreeing with Wilson’s account and others saying that Brown had his hands up in surrender. “Hands up, don’t shoot” became a rallying cry of the protestors after Brown’s death. On November 24, the St. Louis County prosecutor announced that the grand jury would not indict Wilson for the shooting. Protests and unrest followed this announcement, not just in Ferguson, but in major cities around the country, and it was during this unrest that “#blacklivesmatter” came into national consciousness, with tens of thousands of tweets bearing the hashtag.[i]
As the movement gained steam, a formal Black Lives Matter organization coalesced, led by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors. The group, which has chapters around the country and internationally, is committed to fighting the many manifestations of state violence, including police brutality; the undue burden placed on black women as a result of “a relentless assault on their children and our families”; mass incarceration; LGBTQ, immigration, and disability rights; and the role of black girls as “negotiating chips during times of conflict and war.”[ii]
From the outset, hip hop has played an important role in the movement. Hip hop has the power to raise awareness, create a sense of community, and to challenge dominant media narratives. A number of hip hop artists have contributed their voices to the movement, such as Talib Kweli, J. Cole, The Game, Jasiri X, and Tef Poe. Talib Kweli went to Ferguson soon after Brown was shot. He participated in actions on the ground, helped to raise over $100,000 for the Ferguson Legal Defense Fund, and sparred with CNN’s Don Lemon on national television. Kweli criticized the media for only presenting one perspective, arguing that what he witnessed as a participant deviated from the media’s narrative of events. Kweli is very active on Twitter, and used it to combat false narratives, present counter narratives, and promote the fundraising efforts.
J. Cole’s “Be Free,” one of the first songs to be released in the wake of Brown’s death, expresses the pain of the struggle and allows listeners to grieve. He displays a kind of vulnerability not typically seen in mainstream hip hop. Cole performed the song on Late Night With David Letterman in December 2014. His performance conveys not only grief, but a kind of exhaustion, expressed through his posture and his behind-the-beat delivery, particularly in the hook. The performance brought Cole’s message—and the concerns of the black community—to a wide audience, one that might not typically be exposed to his viewpoint.
The Game brought stars of the mainstream hip hop community in a visible way on his posse cut “Don’t Shoot,” the title of which was taken from the “Hands up don’t shoot” chant. The track features close to a dozen rappers from all around the country, including DJ Khaled, 2 Chainz, Diddy, Rick Ross, Curren$y, Wale, and Swiss Beatz. Songs like this are part of a long tradition in hip hop (and popular music generally) of bringing a diverse group of artists in support of a shared cause—it has its roots in tracks like Stop the Violence Movement’s “Self Destruction” and West Coast Rap All-Stars’ “We’re All in the Same Gang”—and money raised through sales of the track went to the Mike Brown Defense Fund. At ten verses, the song is a bit unwieldy, and perhaps not as nuanced as some of the other tracks discussed in the chapter: Diddy takes an opportunity to plug his Ciroc vodka and to remind listeners that he produced Biggie; Rick Ross reiterates his catchphrase, “I’m a boss.” None the less, it could function as a way in to a deeper conversation for listeners who may more readily relate to mainstreams rappers that they know. Several artists criticize the media attention given to the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” a viral fundraiser organized by the ALS, at the expense of attention to the killing of Michael Brown. The song includes references to Emmitt Till, Ezell Ford, and Trayvon Martin as well, all victims of racially motivated violence.
Both Powell and bell hooks argue that political rap music is ineffectual unless it is tied to a movement.[iii] While that may be true of the songs mentioned above, artists like Pittsburgh’s Jasiri X and St. Louis’s Tef Poe are not only skilled rappers, but dedicated community organizers and activists. While their names may not be as well known as J. Cole or the Game, they work to affect change from a grassroots level, working daily in their own communities, out of the national spotlight.[iv] Jasiri X launched his One Hood foundation in 2006 to educate young people on how to interpret media critically. Tef Poe co-founded HandsUpUnited, a St. Louis-based organization that sponsors a Books and Breakfast program, a tech institute for young people of color, and a food pantry, among other community-based programs. The qualities that lead to successful grassroots organizing are virtually identical to those which lead to success as an underground rap artist. William Wimsatt, an author and organizer, claims “If you can make a demo tape, you can make a voter guide. If you can organize a party, you can organize a voting drive.”[v]
The Black Lives Matter movement brought blackness (specifically, state violence against black bodies) into the national spotlight in a way that it hadn’t been in a long time, and the efforts of the activists started to shift the ways in which many Americans talked about and thought about race.
NOTES:
[i] Deen Freelon, Charlton D. McIlwain, and Meredith D. Clark, Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice (Washington, DC: Center for Media and Social Impact, 2016), http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-online-struggle-offline-justice/.
[ii] "Guiding Principles | Black Lives Matter." http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/.
[iii] Powell 79; bell hooks, Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1998), 375.
[iv] Bakari Kitwana 2015, 55.
[v] Quoted in Ogbar 2015, 40.