H.H. AS CULTURE.

FINAL

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!Hip"Hop As Culture#
!So extensive and subtly pervasive are the idea that set art upon a remote pedestal a person would be repelled rather than pleased if told that he enjoyed his casual re"creations in part least because of their aesthetic quality# John Dewey

Dewey suggests that a true work of art does not exist in a realm apart from everyday experience$ an argument particularly pertinent to the discussion of African"American music% How do you de&ne Rap Music? If you say that it and Hip"Hop are one and the same$ your answer is wrong$ and you have probably not considered the true meaning of culture% Rap is the wrapper of the candy that is Hip"Hop% It can be big business$ selling its soul for money% Rap is Hip"Hop doing Hollywood$ just as Debbie did Dallas% True Hip"Hop devotees are repelled by rap% Rap degrades Hip"Hop as a pimp's misogyny degrades a virtuous woman% Hip"Hop is a way of life; rap is a mere illusion% The casual observer sees the trappings of rap music$ like the baggy pants of an African American youth$ as simple symbols of rebellion% On the contrary$ the expression of Hip"Hop expression is$ on every level$

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integrated into the weave of human existence% Hip"Hop is the voice of Generation X; it is its way of life% The pride we have in our music exudes from every pore$ and shapes our reality% As my own perception grows$ the chasm between the reality of African American cultural experience and the Melting Pot myth becomes increasingly apparent% Peoples of diverse cultures and backgrounds are not being integrated into a homogenous group but rather quite the reverse% As I pursed Bachelor's and Master's degrees in the Fine Arts$ I searched$ not only for African American paintings$ but also for black thought% A black aesthetic and pedagogy for the oppressed% While Rap music is taken on by the world$ the culture$ philosophy and politics of Hip"Hop have been recognized by few% To pursue the multi"faceted phenomenon that is Hip"Hop$ it must be realized that more than just music is at stake% True understanding beyond the message's medium involves the acceptance of a black aesthetic$ black culture% A new way of perceiving the world$ a new way of quantifying beauty% As an art form$ Hip"Hop is revolutionary% It seeks to create an economic base for aspiring businessmen$ to redeem the black dollar and to make sense of black anguish% It becomes a way of life and incorporates a set of criteria by which one may judge whether or not an art work is unconditionally black% Black beauty is revealed through the paradigm of Hip"Hop$ and Eurocentric standards hold no sway% It is not art for the sake of art but art grown from necessity%

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Asians$ Hispanics$ and Europeans alike " the world loves Rap music% The entire planet dances to an African American rhythm% Other peoples try to be rappers$ to be part of the genre$ but frequently their imitations just don't work%

!Whites can imitate or copy soul but they can't create out of context# (James Stewart$ Black Fire$ an Anthology of Afro"American Writing% Eds% LeRoi James and Larry Neal$ New York$ William Morrow & Company Inc% )*+,-

The Beastie Boys exemplify misplaced aggression within the Hip"Hop movement% The false anger in their music is typical of the interpretations made by non"oppressed peoples of Hip"Hop% They thought that the genre could be learned and mastered% They did not realize that Hip"Hop is more than music$ but a lived experience% A stand up comedian once said$ !Since white people are burning down black churches$ black people should burn down the House of Blues% White people have no business singing the blues% They are not oppressed# Capitalist society always &nds a way to make money from black talent% Black artists are not controlling the incorporation of their culture into the world of business% You are no more than a Rap fan if you do not have a personal philosophy of Hip"Hop; if you have not been in touch with H%E%R%$ wonderfully coined by !Common as !Hip" Hop and her Essence are Real#; if you do not change your politics and they way you see American Culture%

Euro Americans have tended to view the artist as working in a realm that has little connection with their communities$ with politics and even with the pro&t motive%

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The artist$ therefore$ tends to be celebrated as the paragon of rugged individualism%

The collective consciousness that is Hip"Hop seeks to reveal and remove all forces that oppress Black Thought% Whites$ Asians$ etc%$ if they really seek to remove Hip"Hop from the context of a Black Aesthetic$ must become abolitionist !James Browns#% Only the arrogant could suppose that Hip"Hop can truly exist beyond its context% A new Vanilla Ice is just a temporary fashion$ without the true philosophical construct that would make his artistic claims credible% I am yet to see a real !John Browne#$ a sincere artist with an understanding of the sacredness of Hip"Hop% African Americans have paid a heavy price in lending their artistic soul to the world of social intercourse% When Elvis Presley was a young man$ the A&R at the record company wanted him to !sound black#% So he went to a black church to learn how black people sang% And what happened? He became the greatest white singer of all time% And have black people received credit or gain for his interpretations of their creativity? No% Black aesthetics and artistic style made Elvis great% He copied and polished the art form$ but belittled the source from whence it came% Far from recognizing his debt$ Elvis said$ !The only thing that black people cam do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes# Non"black artists who become involved in the Hip"Hop genre are naive% They see Hip"Hop as just for fun$ or even as a quick buck% The fact that they are producing what they believe to be Hip"Hop does not validate their actions$ being a simple byproduct of artistic freedom% Lacking African American authorization it is simple adulteration% Artists should beware of building on a foundation of Hip"Hop% First$ they

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need to understand the source of their attraction$ to have a philosophical viewpoint$ to realize that the music goes much deeper than might initially seem to be the case% Do not let the hologram of Rap lead you astray! Just because you like the beat$ rhyme$ rap or song does not mean you like Hip"Hop% You have been taken in by the package$ the beauty of the .esh% Hip"Hop's beauty is much more than just skin"deep and it must never be trivialized% Hip"Hop is the raw$ agonizing pain of African diamond making process% To embrace it is to embrace its past% Anything less is just entertainment and is deeply disrespectful%

Because one tends to consider music as !entertainment# rather than !&ne art# it is very di/cult to deconstruct Hip"Hop as an art"form$ unlike$ for example$ poetry$ which is taken seriously% Hip"Hop must be considered with the same gravity as any other performing art$ and at the same time$ black people must begin to de&ne their own worth% We cannot prevent the attraction of other cultures towards the art form$ but we can take responsibility for creating a pedagogy and philosophical construct that will end the classi&cation of Hip"Hop as amateur% In the process$ we will become our own authors$ and the conceivers of our own artistic inheritance% We should make an institution of Hip"Hop$ and validate it through centers of higher learning$ not to su0ocate it or prevent further evolution$ but to protect it from the propaganda generated by its capitalistic exploitation on the part of big business and of other cultures% The following quotations show that I am not alone in my interpretation:

!The mobility of trade and populations$ due to the economic system has weakened or destroyed the connection between works of art and genius loci of

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which they were once the natural expression% As works of art have lost their indigenous status$ they have acquired a new one"that of being specimens of &ne art and nothing else% Moreover$ works of art are now produced like other articles for sale; in the market economic patronage by wealthy and powerful individuals has at many times played in the encouragement of artistic production%# John Dewey
Art as Experience

And a New York artist writes on a gra/ti wall; ! The market is saturated with sorry ass raps$ they insult the art of those who rap$ it's o0ensive and rude to those of the Hip"Hop attuned$ to water down this art is too damn crude% The goal of exploitation contorts reality you see$ stereotypical images that don't fool me! But me not fool$ fool is you$ who drools$ and purchase rap tapes that glorifying crime% in order to make 1papes' and keep'em intrigued all the time &lling your head with guns and hoes$ drugs and foes$%%%% &lling your mind with gang banging$ pimping$ crotch grabbin and limpin gangsta rap is played like a cheap whore$ same gun slingin hoe hoppin lyrics which bore% However$ sales of this shit remains steady% Keeping the

pockets full of loot for many$ sellin urban strife and makin it trendy?# by:Echo
unlimited Buch gallery2fall )**3%

Hip"Hop cannot be contained in record stores or radio stations% It goes beyond that% It is the embodiment of lived experience$ of political ideals and

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deep convictions now incorporated into the behavior and philosophy of the generation that gave it life% In the words of female Hip"Hop artist Bahamadia !I try to make good music and get to the essence of what I live Hip"Hop# We take this to indicate that her music comes from her experience and that Hip" Hop has awoken her to the process of self"discovery and to the purpose and ful&llment of music% There is a spiritual and social experience that comes from deep within the African American community% Its essence is generated from the people$ and exists within their world% Hip"Hop is the external proof of that which cannot be seen$ of that which has been tempered in the crucible of slavery and then molded through social and cultural experience into something lovely; artistic expression% The coal that is now more valuable than gold this Beauty$ is Hip"Hop% Art is not just the creation or the product% It is the experience% The generation a4er the Baby boomers is referred to by many as !Generation X# 5 the unknown generation$ seemingly without a purpose or at least without an evident one% Contrary to popular belief$ many people are receiving their political agenda from the art form that is Hip"Hop% An MC or rapper is not a mere entertainer% He or she is a street philosopher% Yes! A philosopher or politician$ seeking to understand and explain the reason and nature of his existence% This is his purpose% America has tried to recreate the Hip"Hop artists in the guise of racist rather than philosopher$ because a racist does not need to think about the reason for his belief% Racism is born from base passions and primitive feelings$ which are embodied in superstition% It is

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far removed from holding an established philosophy and logic% The black philosopher questions dominant American paradigms and challenges the so" called European paradigms% In the process he becomes an historian as well as philosopher or politician$ as he seeks the origin of their thoughts in working a rede&nition of himself and his culture% Review a song of Public Enemy and you will understand what I mean%

!Elvis was hero to most$ but he never meant shit to me the sucker was simple and plain motherfuck him and John Wayne# !Fight the Power#
Public Enemy

Hip"Hop has become the vehicle for the African"American segment of generation X to understand its past$ present and future% It is a culture$ and I have not been the &rst to identify MC2Rappers as philosophers% KRS One and Chuck D% stand out as examples of those worthy of the lo4y title% When Public Enemy released the song ! It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back#$ their aim was to attack the negative$ oppressive forces of America% Even though they never sold as many albums as the popular commercial artists$ an astonishing level of awareness rose within Black culture% To have such an a0ect on one's public is a much truer measure of talent and artistic and cultural integrity than sales numbers$ and anyone person who does not realize that is far from being a true artist% The Diamond making experience of slavery has furnished us with the

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material to create Hip"Hop% African"American youths mine their experience of gospel2spiritual$ blues$ Jazz and funk% Hip"Hop has gained distinctiveness within itself$ even though it continues to display the pain$ agony$ torment$ happiness and joy of the Diamond"making process% No other culture could have generated Hip"Hop% The best they could hope to do would be to imitate that which has already been established%

!Any man who is a foundation layer$ be careful how he builds$ less he builds upon another mans foundation%#
Romans )6:78

This reminds me of a letter that Aaron Douglas wrote to Langston Hughes% !Your problem Langston$ my problem$ no our problem is to conceive$ develop$ and establish an art era$ not white art painted black% Let's have our arms and plunge them deep$ deep through

laugher$ through pain$ though sorrow$ through hope$ through disappointments into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude$ rough$ neglected% Then let's sing it$ dance it$ write it$ paint it% Let's do the impossible$ let's create something transcendentally material$ mystically objective$ earthly$ spiritually$ earthly dynamic%#
Wendell Wilcax$ Gertrude Abercrombie: A Retrospective Exhibition$ brochure )*98

Hip"Hop can never be separated from its past; that would be akin to

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removing slavery from America% Anyone that could even imagine that this is possible has never been in contact with the art that is Hip"Hop% It is not a commodity that can be bought and sold% Hip"Hop is a culture that should be embraced and appreciated by anybody that claims to love rap% When minority students go to Art School$ they are taught Western Pedagogy% They study Picasso$ Matisse$ Gaugin$ Van Gogh and other European artists% Those that are truly aware will be repelled because they are not re.ected in the art they study% Their learning experience will not be totally free% For minority students to experience intellectual freedom$ art directors must encourage them to &nd artists from their own culture and to develop an aesthetic appreciation from their own cultural base% I speak from personal experience% In the pursuit of a Master's degree I attended Virginia Commonwealth University$ and found myself to be the only non"white male on the program% The other students were not willing to expand their horizons beyond the traditional Western approach% They were afraid of coming face to face with their own ignorance of non"Eurocentric knowledge% I o4en felt alone$ and socially and academically distant from the other students$ and this did not change even as I expanded my knowledge of history$ criticism and theories of art% Not even the professors were aware of the damage that their teachings were doing to my psyche; the Eurocentric viewpoint in universities has never been challenged% This subtle form of oppression is the worst of all; it su0ocates the black mind% It educates a non"white away from himself$ giving the student the

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perception that he has no cultural foundation to use as a frame of reference$ and leaving him with no choice but to rely upon a western foundation% The student cannot soar; he is shacked by the need to base his theories on his white forerunners% He lacks the possibility of what some call !Black Thought#; the ability to think as a black man$ and only as a black man can% Western society has been so dominant that it has been able to de&ne itself without outside input% Those of us who do not belong have come of age in a land of racial hypocrisy% African intellectual heritage has largely been pilfered by the Western thinkers% The West has raped and plundered and le4 nothing but its own inheritance to generations% To &nd ways to connect myself with my own culture$ while learning in schools seeped in Western indoctrination$ I had to excavate alone% First$ I reclaimed the power of self"de&nition; I became deeply suspicious and paranoid of everything that the public school taught% Second$ I came to de&ne myself according to Africa's historical contributions% Third$ I realized that once I had reclaimed the power to de&ne$ I would have to retrain the way I processed the information that I was given% In the Fine arts$ one is taught that elements and principals of design are essential to having a successful piece of work% The naive observer does not realize that this is a Western theory of art% African art is based on the lifestyle of the culture$ not set upon a pedestal to be viewed% It is born of the sacredness of the life experience of its creators$ and this is acceptable and successful and not judged through Western visual principles% Western aesthetics are irrelevant to most minorities seeking self"

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identity through intellectual means% Even now$ the art curriculum within a majority of school systems still emphasizes instruction of !Elements and Principles of Design# as the basis of the curriculum$ thus neglecting distinct cultural conceptions of art% Original thinkers$ who have revolted against accepted norms of learning$ are entirely excluded$ as Aaron Douglas indicated when he wrote to Langston Hughes !We must develop art$ not white art painted black#% This is equally true for History$ Science and English% Western culture has always occupied the dominant position in the education curriculum$ from kindergarten to higher education% Therefore$ when we look at the art form of Hip"Hop$ we have to look at our motivation for the new styles and trends we created$ and be sure than they are not just attempts to compromise our cultural integrity and get rich (i%e% crossovers$ or artistic suicide-% We must be united and form pedagogy based on this phenomenon a Gospel of Liberation% Music has always been a gi4 to the African people$ and we can either use it to our advantage or slowly be submerged into absurdity% The revolution is occurring right now$ but its voice is passive% The weapon that is Hip"Hop could be a much more powerful social and political medium than it already is% The radical struggle for transformation is camou.aged within it%

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