Thursday Section, Group One: Authenticity, Capitalism, and Cultural Production

Eminem- Mockingbird (Sylvester)

Authenticity

Authenticity is a social construct. As such the idea of authenticity is stochastic. It depends wholly on a set of qualifiers defined by an identifiable social group and is always subject to both change and scrutiny. One constant of determining the authenticity of a work is to look at the underlying intentions of the artist and how these intentions relate themselves to the times. By intentions we cannot look solely to financial desires. It is a social standard in American culture to desire economic success via enjoyable routines. In order to understand the authenticity of a song the underlying intentions of the art pieces message beyond face value financial desires. If the underlying intentions are in fact nothing beyond the exploitation of social patterns for the sake of profit then it can be said that a song is unauthentic.

Eminem’s song Mockingbird is an example of an authentic hip-hip rap. Eminem’s style is very reminiscent of story telling. He often takes on the role of protagonists and narrator during his pieces. Using the first person voice Eminem conveys stories born from actual life experience. Mockingbird is drawn from actual life experience. Eminem details the relationship with his ex-wife and the strain his work life had on their family dynamic.

“Daddy's always on the move

Mama's always on the news

I try to keep you sheltered from it

But somehow it seems, the harder that I try to do that

The more it backfires on me”

Though the story certainly dips into Eminem’s time as a successful rapper the story is conveyed in a way that is relatable. The inability to provide for one’s family and the difficulty of being a working parent are all common permeable social issues. Eminem does not discuss a romanticised social situation, nor does he glorify his position as a successful rapper. Rather it is Eminem’s intent to instill a truth about life that permeates all classes and cultures. This method of story telling allows Mockingbird to provide a form of social commentary, that is, lyrically discussing a current issue. Social commentary and the genuine origins of the story Mockingbird conveys a very real sense of authenticity.


Discussion: What do you believe constitutes a genuine tale? Can genuine origins exist within unauthentic hip-hop? What shapes authenticity within a culture?

Capitalism: Wanna be a Balla’- Lil’ Troy (Jacob)

Capitalism

This song is by Lil’Troy and talks about coming up in the drug business. It is autobiographical in a sense because he talks about the way he became a rapper and what he had to do in order to reach national status as a rapper. Throughout the song, there is a sense of nostalgia because as much as he likes the life he has chosen to lead, he says that there has to be a better way.
“[M]aking money the fly but there’s gotta be a better way”.

This all relates to capitalism in two ways. One, Lil’ Troy was a drug dealer who used his money to establish his music business, thereby becoming an entrepreneur, and gaining national recognition. With this national recognition he became a part of Universal Music Group and was able to leave the drug business. (Although he went to jail for selling drugs)

The second way this relates to capitalism is that by signing with a major musical group he becomes the product itself that is part of a private, bigger company now distributing the profits among other shareholders. The music, his image and his stories are all part of what people want to buy or consume. The image that consumers want is that of people living the high life and having extravagant things.

Discussion: What role do the origins of rappers play in their image as capitalistic entities? How does consumer fetishism relate to voyeurism when discussing the packaged images of hip-hop artists?

The Roots featuring Raphael Saadiq- What They Do (Shonlisa)

Cultural Production

This song is about the frustration The Roots feels about the current state of hip hop during the 90s. The MC of the group, Black Thought, complains that many hip hop artists are unoriginal and are afraid to step out of the typical rapper’s persona. This persona is a combination of a playa, balla, and thug. In the first verse, Black Thought says, “The principles of true hip hop have been forsaken/ It’s all contractual and about money makin’/Pretend-to-be cats don't seem to know they limitations/ Exact replication and false representation.” For me these lines are a key example of cultural production because he is describing how the industry is manufacturing rappers and how artists are playing into the role for a pay check. These rappers then make music about a cultural practice or lifestyle they may not necessarily be a part of in order to better market a targetgroup of consumers.

The lyrics to a song work as the bait to entice the consumer while the music video works as the hook that reinforces the perceived ideals of hip hop artist. Music videos play a key role in cultural production because the images artist rap about are now visible and can then be duplicated. In The Roots video, they do a spoof of a typical rap video that would include half naked women, a mansion, flashy cars, a random beat-down scene, and a lot of champagne bottle popping. Even though the group is surrounded by these extravagant things they appear as if they don't notice it or that they are bored with it. Black Thought encourages a shift from the culturally produced norms of hip hop. He expresses how he wants artist to challenge the norm and states, “Infinitely go against the grain, that’s why my motto’s to...” and Raphael Saadiq chimes in with “never do ...what they do, what they do, what they do.”

Discussion: What aspect of your own image, if any, may be the result of cultural production? To what extent do you suppose perceived identities super cede actual ones in day to day interactions between cultural groups?

Tha Crossroads- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Elizabeth)

Cultural Production

Sociologist David Brain defines cultural production as the “collective production of skills and practices which enable social actors to make sense of their lives, articulate an identity, and resist with creative energy the apparent dictates of structural conditions they nonetheless reproduce.” (Watkins 557) In ‘Tha Crossroads’, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony presents to us their life in what is known as urban culture.This song is about the friends and family members who are passing away, and how each member will meet him, or her at the “crossroads,” where two roads meet such as earth and heaven. Friends of Bone who have died include Wally, Boo’s Uncle Charles, and Easy-E.

Lyrics:
“while you laughing, we’re passing, passing away”
“can somebody anybody tell me why, we die, we die, i dont wanna die ”

Video:
Music video shows Wally dying due to gunshots in an alleyway.
Group of five young African-American men walking, but three of them diminish and fade away, or pass away.

Tha Crossroads music video demonstrates the real status quo of young black men in the “hood.” The ghetto or hood is a place portrayed as a feared part of the neighborhood where casualties happen frequently among young black men. It’s the ghetto hardship that Bone Thugs N Harmony sing about, which is how their lives were, and are, carried out every single day. It seems as though their top priority is to to keep themselves alive, because you never know when your life will end living in the urban ghetto. Throughout the song they are constantly praying to God to stay alive and appreciate dead family and friends, such as Eazy-E, who was diagnosed with AIDS and died at the age of 31. Bone turned this ghetto hardship into a form of hip hop. This lifestyle is often perceived as a form of blackness, or African-American subculture because from this standpoint, young African-American males who live in the “hood” may identify with this culture of struggle illustrated in the video.

Discussion: Do you think Bone does a good job of presenting what urban culture is all about? Or is it more than what is being portrayed in the song?

Lil Wayne Hot Boyz Bling Bling - Lil Wayne Weezy Bling Bling (Group)

Authenticity, Capitalism, and Cultural Production

Money, jewelry, mansions, and cars are the focuses of Lil Wayne and the Hot Boyz’s song, “Bling Bling.” Wayne and companies choice to focus on materialistic things makes a fine example of the consumer fetishism typified in many rap songs. Even the songs title, “Bling Bling,” suggests a glorification of the consumer society. Money and things are what elevate social status in “Bling Bling.” To them, the street life is only a means to a goal. The “street life” is their business and they are profiting from it.

“Candy coated helicopter with that leather cover”

As the title suggests, Lil Wayne and the Hot Boyz adorn themselves with expensive ornaments. In the video, urban fashion is represented with baggy jeans, chains, hat to the back, fresh white T. Hot Boyz and Lil Wayne present urban culture as having possession of women and cash. With this, in the video you can see females in bikini suit dancing and surrounding the men, expensive cars, and large estates. They mention having possession of expensive rings, watches (Rolex), a helicopter, 30 inch rims, and a private plane.

“Bling Bling” is very materialistic in its approach. Visually, the music video is a continuous parade of what they perceive as making it. Fancy clothes, lavish woman, and gaudy jewelry all culminate to portray a sense of high class living. focuses on the financial aspects of the Hot Boyz’s standing as rappers (the salary). On the other hand there is no ties back to a sense of community beyond their immediate group. The video lacks any visual representation of life in urban areas and the lyrics are devoid of social commentary (reality). Rather, scenes such as the expensive cars driving trough domestic neighborhoods and the helicopter panning over urban areas demonstrate Lil Wayne and the Hot Boyz’s intent to contrast the urban settings with their lifestyle. However, the emphasis of salary over reality may still be an authentic approach by some. In an interview with the Hot Boyz, leader Birdman revealed that the purpose of the video was to celebrate their own “rags to riches” story. In this way the video represents a very true sentiment on behalf of its authors.

Discussion: Does capitalism conflict or coalesce with the idea of authenticity? Based off visual and audio ques alone, is it at all possible to determine the underlying intentions of this or any other song? At what level does the presence of multiple women in music videos today convey a sense of capitalistic achievement?