As a white educator who has taught quite a few hip-hop classes over the years, I wanted to share some thoughts and resources related to the present moment.
First, if you're a white person who listens to rap, think long and hard about *why* you listen to it. Do you love the lyrics? Can you recite every rhyme? Do you know what the lyrics are about--what they're *really* about? Or are you someone (like I was at the beginning) someone who just loved the beats, nodding along to the kick drum and bass line? Maybe the lyrics aren't that interesting or important to you, or you can't quite understand what they're talking about. Saul Williams writes in The Dead Emcee Scrolls, "When the beat drops, people nod their heads 'yes." Ask yourself: "what am I nodding 'yes' to?" If you don't know, or don't want to know, that's a privilege, and that's a problem. Learn where the music came from. Read Jeff Chang's Can't Stop, Won't Stop; watch Wild Style or Hip-Hop Evolution.
Some required reading on the origins and development of rap:
—Tricia Rose, Black Noise and The Hip-Hop Wars
—Imani Perry, Prophets of the Hood
—Robin D. G. Kelley, "Kickin' Reality, Kickin' Ballistics: Gangsta Rap in Postindustrial Los Angeles."
Some documentaries:
—The House I Live In, dir. Eugene Jarecki
—13th, dir. Ava DuVernay
More recent writing:
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration"
—Erik Nielson and Andrea Dennis, Rap on Trial
—Kemi Adeyemi, "Straight Leanin': Sounding Black Lives at the Intersection of Hip-Hop and Big Pharma"
—Craig Jenkins, "We're Losing Another Rap Generation Right Before Our Eyes,"
—Joseph Goldstein and David Goodman, "Seeking Clues to Gangs and Crimes, Detectives Monitor Internet Rap Videos"
I wrote my book in hopes that it could be used to teach casual fans of rap how to listen more critically, and to consider how they can begin to engage in anti-racism. I'm happy to share excerpts with anyone who's interested.
Also worth considering: if you don’t like rap, or you find yourself in conversation with someone who doesn’t like rap, consider what the criticisms are based on. It’s just fine if it doesn't appeal to your taste: I don't like country music, or EDM. Just doesn't do it for me. But is it because "they don't speak proper English?" Is it because "they can't even sing?"
Is it because "they don't even play instruments? They just push buttons and scratch up records?"
Is it because "they just steal other people's music and call it their own?"
Is it because "all they do is rap about guns, drugs, and hos?"
Those criticisms are all racist. They have nothing to with one's taste, and have everything to do with stereotypes of Black Americans that have been circulating for centuries. They also plagued jazz, blues, early rock and roll...
Conversations like this are a good way in to talking about race with your friends (and, I guess, your enemies). As Katherine Ellis said in a recent blog post, "Music is very good to think with."
Don't just listen: think, talk, and act.
I'm more than happy to recommend more specific resources, songs, etc. or simply to have conversations with people looking to do better--I'm still a work in progress myself. Please feel free to reach out.
Here’s a playlist of “conversation starters”—I may add to it in the next few days—and I hope to add some lesson plan sketches over the course of the week--stay tuned.
Stay safe.