Rap, politics, and social consciousness
I was, back in early high school, into rap music. What I was into then was the usual stuff that was big in the mid-90's: Snoop Dog, Warren G, LL Cool J, Coolio, etc., as well as the originals like Grandmaster Flash. A lot of rap back then had a socially conscious message - for example, think of Coolio's "Fantastic Voyage":
I'm trying to find a place
Where I can live my life and
Maybe eat some steak
With my beans and rice,
A place where my
Kids can play outside
Without living in fear
Of a drive-by
Part of the reason I lost interest in rap music was because the message in the popular songs shifted from being occasionally socially conscious to almost entirely about glamorized gangbanging, absurd levels of misogyny, etc. (I've no doubt that there continued to be socially conscious rap songs, but they weren't on constant play on the radio stations, and I wasn't into it enough to go in search of the lesser-known gems.)
The past few months I've been checking out a monthly sampler of popular new rap songs, and I'm both surprised and pleased to find that the socially conscious message seems to be returning. Obama's election seems to have a great deal to do with this. For example, Young Jeezy's "My President is Black":
When thousands of peoples is riled up to see you
That can arouse ya ego, we got mouths to feed so
Gotta stay true to who you are and where you came from
Cause at the top will be the same place you hang from
No matter how big you can ever be
For whatever fee or publicity, never lose your integrity
Or Maino's "All the Above":
I done been through the pain and the sorrow
The struggle is nothing but love (nothing but love)
I'm a soldier, a rider, a ghetto survivor
And all the above
... When I think that I can't,
I envision Obama,
I envision the diamonds,
I envision Ferraris
If the world was perfect,
All my niggas behind me
Ain't you happy I made it?
That I'm making a statement?
I can't remember which song it's in (there's been a number I've been listening to recently) but one of the songs from last month's sampler used those lines, "Martin Luther walked so Obama could run, Obama ran so the children could fly," and I have to admit (and yes, I know how stupid this is) it actually made me tear up for a moment the first few times I heard it. I'm just hearing such hope in some of these songs. It's a cautious and tentative hope, but it's there nonetheless. And it makes me acutely aware that no matter how emotional Obama's election was for me, that is only a shadow of what it was for many people; I will never know what it's like to be the member of a race that is traditionally disenfranchised and disempowered, and then see one of my own make it into the Presidency. I was grateful and proud to see him elected, but he wasn't a personal symbol of hope for me, because I have grown up in a situation where I didn't need that personal symbol of hope. But listening to these songs reminds me that for many people, Obama's election was more than a proud moment; it was a sign of victory over historical brutality and continuing oppression, a beacon of optimism that things will change for the better, and a symbol that they too can succeed despite circumstances where, often, they're seriously disadvantaged from the beginning.
I'm trying to find a place
Where I can live my life and
Maybe eat some steak
With my beans and rice,
A place where my
Kids can play outside
Without living in fear
Of a drive-by
Part of the reason I lost interest in rap music was because the message in the popular songs shifted from being occasionally socially conscious to almost entirely about glamorized gangbanging, absurd levels of misogyny, etc. (I've no doubt that there continued to be socially conscious rap songs, but they weren't on constant play on the radio stations, and I wasn't into it enough to go in search of the lesser-known gems.)
The past few months I've been checking out a monthly sampler of popular new rap songs, and I'm both surprised and pleased to find that the socially conscious message seems to be returning. Obama's election seems to have a great deal to do with this. For example, Young Jeezy's "My President is Black":
When thousands of peoples is riled up to see you
That can arouse ya ego, we got mouths to feed so
Gotta stay true to who you are and where you came from
Cause at the top will be the same place you hang from
No matter how big you can ever be
For whatever fee or publicity, never lose your integrity
Or Maino's "All the Above":
I done been through the pain and the sorrow
The struggle is nothing but love (nothing but love)
I'm a soldier, a rider, a ghetto survivor
And all the above
... When I think that I can't,
I envision Obama,
I envision the diamonds,
I envision Ferraris
If the world was perfect,
All my niggas behind me
Ain't you happy I made it?
That I'm making a statement?
I can't remember which song it's in (there's been a number I've been listening to recently) but one of the songs from last month's sampler used those lines, "Martin Luther walked so Obama could run, Obama ran so the children could fly," and I have to admit (and yes, I know how stupid this is) it actually made me tear up for a moment the first few times I heard it. I'm just hearing such hope in some of these songs. It's a cautious and tentative hope, but it's there nonetheless. And it makes me acutely aware that no matter how emotional Obama's election was for me, that is only a shadow of what it was for many people; I will never know what it's like to be the member of a race that is traditionally disenfranchised and disempowered, and then see one of my own make it into the Presidency. I was grateful and proud to see him elected, but he wasn't a personal symbol of hope for me, because I have grown up in a situation where I didn't need that personal symbol of hope. But listening to these songs reminds me that for many people, Obama's election was more than a proud moment; it was a sign of victory over historical brutality and continuing oppression, a beacon of optimism that things will change for the better, and a symbol that they too can succeed despite circumstances where, often, they're seriously disadvantaged from the beginning.