Hip-hop artists often play to the black ghetto stereotype because it sells albums. For example, one of Rihanna’s latest songs, G4L (Gangsta for Life), is about seeking revenge through gang-like acts of violence. Rihanna has no history as a gang member—she is basically asserting machismo as a black woman through this song. The line following lines exemplify the ‘hard’ role that Rihanna plays:
“We drivin’ by with them headlights off, we know where you stay;
Know what you did, we don’t play that shit nigga, we don’t play”
Rihanna is basically portraying that she is a ruthless killer, not to be messed with. In light of her recent violent relationship with Chris Brown, it’s not surprising that Rihanna might legitimately put on a front as a “gansta for life.” For our purposes, it’s important to realize how well Rihanna’s latest album and image as “hard” has sold. Rihanna’s current popularity fits into Samuels and George’s definition of ghettocentrism. Rihanna is playing to the stereotype of a ghetto black person.
It’s interesting to note that at the same time Rihanna plays to one stereotype—ghetto black—she defies another—helpless woman. Because Rihanna is a woman, her “hard” act is a contrast to the emotionally-charged portrayal of women both in hip-hop and society.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj8A5H8jEbs
Mock, Janet, and Julia Wang. "Biography: Rihanna." People. Web. 4 Jul 2010.
Capitalism has hijacked hip hop, isolating it from its artistic purpose. Since becoming a lucrative commodity, the market demands a certain kind of hip hop, and as with any product made for mass production, the industry adjusts that product to sell rather than to reflect the aesthetic of the art form. The subsequent effect of capitalism on hip hop is that the artist is alienated from the art, so the art is not necessarily representative of the artist.
The song Apartment 223 by Dr. Dooom represents the displacement and alienation that capitalism wreaks upon hip hop, leading artists to adopt marketable characteristics. In Apartment 223, Dr Dooom describes his penchant for oddity and violence, and how his apartment is the center of his machinations. Showing the extent of his appetite for blood, Dr. Dooom suggests that he even engages in quasi Satanic ritual to get more victims: I chant while candles burn/with robes on you will learn/ Christian no Hebrew/ on the balcony I see you/ the devil’s coffin with a corpse of course/ in a mental state earthquake (Dooom). The capitalist demand for rappers to fill a particular profile impels artists to create caricatures of negative black stereotypes. In Dr. Dooom’s case, he creates a character who is so intensely violent that not only is he not governed by good sense, but even earthly powers. It is telling that Dr. Dooom has consciously assumed this violent persona; while fictional, the choice is toward violence, a marketable quality. The capitalist influence on hip hop distorts the art so that it doesn’t necessarily represent the artist anymore, but is a collection of stereotypical images that please a largely white, voyeuristic market.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr9tEqlqbtE
There are many songs that are solely based on the culture of product consumption. It is arguable whether or not these songs actually contain any substance or not but the goal is most likely not to contain substance but to endorse these such products. A culture that has recently been a fad in the hip hop community in inner cities is the “pimping out” of one's automobile. The song “Ice Cream Paint Job” by Dorrough heavily capitalizes on that. Just from the title of the song, we observe that he enjoys the services of paint jobs and also encourages others to do the same. Although he isn't exactly the first one to come up with the idea, he's one of the few artists in the modern hip hop scene that explicitly promotes the idea of giving one's car a stylish and unique look. The reason why these “ice cream paint job” designs are so popular in the hip hop community is because one's car determines one's socio-economic status. When judging a complete stranger, the observer only sees the stranger's apparel and his/her car. The observer often doesn't see where the stranger is from or the type of house he/she lives in. This is why sometimes people spend more on their cars than even their own homes and family because their cars are what people see when they judge. Big companies that were once targeting the rich, white male demographic for car services are now shifting their attention to the people of the hip hop community. Although they are not necessarily as wealthy as the rich, white males, they are more willing to spend money on their cars and the audience may actually be larger than that of the rich, white male population. Dorrough (as far as what the public knows) isn't directly involved in working in the car industry but nonetheless is promoting a culture of consumption of painting cars. This is where the actual big car painting companies come in to do the work in this increasing demand of keeping everyone's cars "fresh".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yfArN-e2OU
“Ridin’ Dirty” by Chamillionaire has aspects of both ghettocentrism and capitalism. Chamillionaire says that he’s “Got warrants in every city except Houston/But I still ain’t losin’” and in the chorus repeatedly tells us “They see me rollin, they hatin’/ patrollin’, they trying to catch me ridin’ dirty.” These lines illustrate the ghetto, fuck-the-police image that has been proven to sell hip-hop records since NWA. Chamillionaire is basically singing about racial profiling by cops, but in the process portrays himself as a pretty bad-ass guy—playing into the ghetto, black stereotype anyway.
Chamillionaire became very popular with this song, and actually won a Grammy Award, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for it. This shows how successfully he’s played the stereotype and profited monetarily. We don’t know for sure, but this song may not even represent things Chamillionaire does. For example, “South to the block we creep, creep/ Pop, pop, hope cops don’t see me” implies that he is possibly involved in a drive-by shooting. Does Chamillionaire really participate in this kind of gang activity in is real life? I doubt it. Chamillionaire is a successful entrepreneur as owner of his own tour bus company and record label, as well as partnership in an auto dealership. Chamillionaire is using ghettocentrism to sell himself as a rapper, and thus gain capital. He works in the world of capitalism, and though he makes money off the image he portrays, does he truly believe in everything he raps about or is some of it said simply to sell records?
Capitalism is a degenerative and divisive force within hip hop. With his guest rapper Krayzie bone, Chamillionaire describe what they feel is baseless racial profiling despite admitting to being drunk and high, and having drugs and loaded weapons in the car. The capitalist motivation to market oneself encourages rappers to use sensational racist stereotypes that appeal to a voyeuristic audience. Furthermore, Chamillionaire refutes his own argument that police racially profile African Americans by juxtaposing his claim next to his criminal life. Chamillionare's "Ridin' Dirty" demonstrates the capitalist influence on hip hop, impelling rappers to market themselves to a stereotype obsessed mass audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwJvgPJ9xw
Questions:
1) Would Rihanna be able to maintain her “hard” image if she didn’t use ghettocentrism?
2) How does Rihanna’s gender affect her participation in the hip-hop culture of asserting machismo?
3) Some would argue that capitalism has made hip hop more available to a wider audience, while others would argue that capitalism has forced hip hop to pander to a mainstream audience with little to no sense of hip hop aesthetics. Which do you agree with? Both? Neither?
4) Eric K. Watts argues that the capitalist society in which we live takes representations of life and spectacularizes them “through the process of mass production and distribution” (Watts, 96). Continuing with Watts’ model, can hip hop reconcile sign and signified, or will stereotypes always pervade mainstream hip hop?
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