Tuesday Section: Tony Quach, Gabrielle Alvarez, Marquis Nicolis, Larisa O'Loughlin for vocabulary terms: Globalization, Connective marginalities, Power moves

Gabrielle Alvarez: Jovanotti – Il Rap (1992), “globalization”



Everyone can agree on the fact that hip-hop has gone global, and not just in a form of borrowing United States hip-hop and putting a foreign face on it. All aspects of hip-hop culture, including rap, b-boying, clothing style, and graffiti elements, have spread to countries all over the world and each one has incorporated their own influential touch. As Osumare describes this phenomenon in the context of "connective marginality," different cultures are able to do this because the meaning of hip-hop in general is centered around four main characteristics: youthful rebellion, historical oppression, class, and micro culture. Hip-hop expresses each of these realms in creative ways that can be unique to many different artists from all around the world. Complications can arise because these realms, experiences, and the reasons behind them are often interconnected among different nations, but in the end it leads to further integration and influence of the music.

Driving the globalization of hip-hop across national divides are the processes of advanced technological communication, and consumerist commercialization. However, even with the root of hip-hop holding a United States background, other countries have still embraced the culture as not just music but as a physical and personal movement. The example I use is Italian hip-hop and Italian rapper Jovanotti's "Il Rap." Hip-hop spread to Italy in the mid 1980's and popularized in the early 1990's. The song "Il Rap" illustrates early mainstream Italian rap music, which still had an extremely large American component. As one of Italy's first popular rappers, Jovanotti used this track to boost hip-hop in Italy by sampling the United States' Public Enemy. As the country was exposed to more music and more hip-hop artists gained fame, the globalization process became much more apparent. Italian rappers began to rap about everything from personal struggles in their own lives to political situations concerning the Mafia, and about homelessness, poverty, and other social issues that were specific to Italian communities. Furthermore, many artists have individualized their expressionist music by rapping in local dialects that have been known to be as exclusive as within a single family. Italian rap started with heavy American influence, but like globalized hip-hop in other countries, has become one single culture with Italian elements.

Discussion: Hip-hop developed in the United States and has globally allowed the youth generation to express themselves in a revolutionary way. How do you think other countries incorporate elements such as Africanist Aesthetics and other such dynamics into their music? Can they use these means of expression in the same way that Americans can, particularly African-Americans that have long-standing historical and political struggle connections within hip-hop culture?

Marquis Nicolis: Tres coronas – Ahora o Nunca, “globalization”



Prior to the 1980s, hip-hop music was largely confined within the context of the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began its spread and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. In the beginning of 2001, in the streets of Queens, New York City a rap group was formed under the name "Tres Coronas" (which literally translates to Three Crowns) by three young rappers from Colombia (P.N.O. and Rocca) and Dominican Republic (Reychesta). With their only goal in mind to “crown” in the world of rap in Spanish and Latin America Tres Coronas began to release various mixtapes that were independently sold in certain parts of the United States, Colombia, France and Spain.

Within the construct of the "global-hood," hip hop examines how an expressive culture that began in the impoverished working-class black and Latino communities in New York has developed into a performative and social phenomenon that incorporates verbal skills and other creative elements such as dance and music. Central to Osumare's argument is the concept of Connective marginalities, a term, and multiple layers of meaning that draw from its sociocutural context and audience. Moreover, in this video ahora or nunca t by tres coronas has concept of connective marginalities continues to reflect the cross-cultural performative stage that allows for the exploration of cultural identity by the hip-hop artist. In a sense hip-hop connects minorities of any country, which allows them to use hip-hop as tool for speaking about poverty and other inequalities such as low unemployment, gangs and the civil war in Columbia between locals and the government army. Nonetheless, hip-hop has become an influential voice for youth around the globe. “Given the impact and pervasive confluence of global communications and postmodernism, It should come as no surprise that hip-hop youth culture has proliferated internationally,” and we such groups such as Tres Coronas

Hip hop "has become international in breadth and depth, with thousands of cultures throughout the globe having embraced it in various forms ... American hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been absorbed and reinvented around the world.

Discussion: Although hip- hop has been has sometimes taken for granted in the U.S., how has hip- hop globally come to represent empowerment of the less fortunate in the developing countries. In other words how can it be seen as or represented as there own American dream?

Tony Quach: Eminem – My Name Is, “power moves”



Eminem in 1999 released “My Name Is” on the album The Slim Shady LP under Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment record label. The controversial and often offensive lyrical content made waves with the media and various activists groups calling for bans and censorship. In its first verse the song contains violence, gore, drug behavior, sex, suicide, pop culture, misogyny and religion. As an emcee, Eminem uses his lyrical talents to provide such shock value as an emcee “power move,” or a move to gain power when it moves beyond public acceptability. Eminem uses his glorified experiences with drugs, seemingly intense anger at the world, and thoughts of horrific violence in order to establish respect.

Post Hip Hop’s Vanilla Ice Era, it seemed impossible for a white emcee to make a case in rapping. Labeled by the mass media a gangster rapper, since his lyrics contain violence, misogyny, and drugs, he was not accepted warmly by the public, nor was he fully accepted by the hip hop community. A lot of hip hop fans believed he was going to be another white emcee trying to catch their glimpse of fame by using controversy as his fuel before the flame of his career burns out. Eminem’s lyrical attacks towards various pop culture icons in this song (Pamela Anderson, Spice Girls) originates from his emcee background where he developed his skills as a freestyle battle rapper. Battle rappers’ utilize improvisational lyrics as power moves in the form of grisly metaphors, threats of violence, homophobic declarations in order to “destroy” their opponents.
Discussion: Do you think Eminem’s recent albums still the original power move factors when compared to his earlier works?

Larisa O'Loughlin: Reggie Rockstone and Wyclef Jean – We Glad, “Globalization”



Why is it that Hip Hop has resonated with youth all over the world? How has Hip Hop, which originally started out as a form of expression within a society that marginalizes a people based on race, become an essential part of global youth culture? Osumare's answer is connective marginalities. Connective marginalities is a term in which Osumare uses to explain the connection Hip Hop has globally. It helps to explain the social and historical experiences in which certain youth identify with, particularly in Hip Hop. Connective marginalities are "resonances of social inequalities that can manifest as four configurations in different parts of the world- youthful rebellion, class, historical oppression and culture." (Osumare, 63)

The artist I chose to feature is Reggie Rockstone who is the Godfather of Hiplife, a genre of music in Ghana that combines jazzy/funky Ghanaian highlife, hip hop, reggae and dancehall. This style of music has been around since the 80's, but became popular by Rockstone in '94 when he ignited the Hiplife movement. He went to London in his early year and became a break dancer. He brought his knowledge of Hip Hop back to Ghana and used the youth population to test out tracks, that incorporated African and Hip Hop beats. This Hiplife movement was a youth movement which was heavily influenced by Hip Hop in its early years. The cultural and youth rebellion aspect of the connective marginalities are most present in Hiplife. One professor of anthropology notes that African Diasporic musical forms are fluid in many parts of Africa in that music from artists in the Diaspora have always had success due to the fact that they share many of the same aesthetics- such as storytelling. In Hiplife, you will also see that the youth have taken on the stance of being social critics, criticizing the government, the church or any institution in which they see as being harmful to society. In turn, Hiplife is seen as morally corrupt and a threat to tradition by some of the older generation in Ghana. It wasnt very easy to find a song that wasnt sung in Twi or Ga, but I found the song "We glad" by Reggie Rockstone and Wyclef Jean, a Haitian born American rapper. The theme of the song is rags to riches, which is also a popular theme in American Hip Hop. This song also has some underlying social commentary about the realities of many people in Ghana who are still waiting (but may never) for their chance to "make it" to the top.
Discussion: Do you think Hip Hop could be popularized in another country without having elements of the four connective marginalities?


GROUP SONG: Far East Movement – Like a G6



Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Far East Movement are a group of rappers and entertainers that have worked with various hip hop acts and artists. They performed at Power 106’s Powerhouse 2009 alongside such artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Jon, Kid Cudi, SeanPaul, New Boyz, Pitbull and Flo Rida. Hip hop and its constant evolving state has given birth to such sub genres as electro hop, hip hop rapping with dance heavy beats. Osumare discusses that hip hop and dance appeal to the Africanist Aesthetic. The blend of Asian and American cultures truly shows its globalization. Osumare’s concept that hip-hop all over the world still includes connective marginalities or youth rebellion, expression, oppression, culture and class are all included in the scope of hip hop. The video depicts a culture of partying and regardless of socio-economic class, people gather in celebration with music, food and drink for all sorts of occasions, and as FM explains in their lyrics, “This is how we live, every single night.”

Discussion: "Like a G6" shows how hip-hop culture can be influential in both directions: American hip-hop doesn't just influence other countries. This song shows how Asian influence is brought back on to the United States. Do you think that all of the cross-cultural influences and integrations change the central meanings and expressions that hip-hop originally developed for? How do you think dynamics between countries, like war etc., might influence the way countries can affect each other in terms of the music?