I sincerely believe that understanding the history of blacks in America is to understand the paradox of Hip Hop. Blacks have traditionally been subjected to numerous forms of exclusion and subjugation, yet, blacks have continued to find ways in which to reinvent themselves and strive for the eventual goal of self-ascribed personal autonomy. Hip Hop has allowed young Black men the ability to earn an honest income and a platform from which to inundate the American consciousness with the realities of the urban experience. Michael Eric Dyson describes ways in which young African American men can empower themselves, his understanding of a “post racial” America, and the significance of hip hop in America.
Begins at 15 mins
Please comment, I would love to know what everyone thinks.
Marcus, this is really excellent--thank you so much for sharing these videos. The first one is particularly moving, in part because of Michael Eric Dyson's intended audience (he's speaking TO black men, and they are the "you" in his language).
ReplyDeleteThe first video is good too because it has a beat behind it (albeit a pretty repetitive one) and even though Dyson isn't "rapping" as such, his words are still emphasized according to intonation and emphasis, which is reminiscent of and mixes with the beat behind him, as well as the heartbeat, as Professor Smith-Moore pointed out in lecture last night.
What's good Marcus! I just watched this video. I was questioning the notion of Post-Blackness and Post-raciality and whether it exists or if its even possible. It would be a utopian ideal however I don't think its wise to negate or erase the cultural particularities and experiences of who our respective peoples are in order to blend blandly into a post-racial color blind soup where we forget who we are and our historical particulars in order to assimilate into the dominant structure which historically attempted to eradicate that self awareness to begin with. I liked his juxtaposition of the struggles of lgbt peoples with that of African American movement to show some commonalities in terms of existing within an oppressive structure, situating as the undesirable 'other', struggle for rights, etc...Historically, I don't think that this has been much considered by the hip hop movement in the past and present. My question is how come? There are some emerging artists (in the last decade) that have taken the microphone and used it to spit lyrics to bring their issues to the forefront, but they don't seem to break through into the main stream, unless of course they are in the closet. But back to Dr. Dyson- he is knowledgeable and on top of his game about hip hop/rap, an excellent theorist and the posts were totally relevant to the class especially since he discusses an issue largely omitted and shunned in the hiphop/rap community of whose absence is largely evident. great post.
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