Hip Hop and Politics

The evolution of the hip hop genre in politics has less to do with ideals and more to do with enlightenment and the popularity of its teachings. Hip hop charts and billboards in the current decade incorporate statements that address key social and political concerns. To begin, a basic history of rap music and how it evolved from a music genre to a platform for addressing crucial political concerns is required. Gil Scott Heron produced "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" in 1971, which pioneered the use of hip hop as a vehicle for political discourse. The song featured references to major political subjects such as the Vietnam War, the NAACP and the Watt Riots in Los Angeles. Fundamentally, it set the foundation for future politically engaging hip hop content. In the 1980s, Grandmaster Flash released “The message”, a track that discussed social-political issues that were evident in urban housing projects. Therefore, evidence and literature shows that the power of rap lyrics has never been just a genre of music, but rather a powerful force that changed American politics for the better.

Politics and hip hop have been interlinked since the invention of the genre in 1970s. The composers of rap modified the music as a form of social activism. It helped create a new form of expression for the minority as they voiced the exclusions and injustices against them (Bynoe 3). The genre has been used to inspire action and convince their followers of a particular political worldview. In the 1990s, Washington DC was polarized on many issues including taxes and gun control. Concurrently, hip hop was becoming popular with black people in America. Bipartisan supporters felt that rap music fueled a system of destruction of American values. On the other hand, black rappers used the genre to draw public attention (Watkins 45).

The influence of hip hop on politics intensified in the 1990s. In fact, the music inspired more youth population to involve themselves in politics. For instance, President Bill Clinton attacked Sister Souljah during a speech regarding the Rainbow Coalition spearheaded by the artist. The Speech instigated the production of public service announcements by various artists including En Vogue and Queen Latifah. The artists aired on MTV, GH-1, BET, Fox, among other National networks. Particularly notable was the message that they delivered during these awards (Bynoe 4). They inspired a movement known as Rock the Vote, and the purpose of the organization was to mobilize partner organizations to rally young people to register for the forthcoming polls. They managed to register approximately 350,000 young people and as a result, they managed to reverse a 20 year cycle where registered youth were declining drastically. Rock the vote debuted a first program to register voters by phone. Also, they developed their first website that offered online voter registration. By the end of the elections, the population had increased by 20 percent (Bynoe 6). Among other politically progressive messages were the fights against the horrors of political brutality. In addition, Rock the Vote launched an online voter registration application that allowed its visitors to apply for any absentees. Over 20,000 people were using the service. To promote publicize the facility, Rock the boat hit the road and made stop-overs across 25 cities in the United States. The main aim of the tour as to enlighten and educate young people to register. Through its efforts, the end of the tour led to an increase of voter numbers by 500,000 (Bynoe 5).

Recent politics has been significantly influenced by hip hop. Although the music faced some patches of failure, Obama’s election as president was attributed to celebrity promos by these hip hop artists. For instance, prior to Obama’s election in 2008, he had massive support from Will. I. Am, Jay Z, Ludacris, among others. Barrack Obama’s election was not only a political drive but also, sequence of events that brought together minority communities; and this is largely attributed to hip hop music and its affiliates such as R & B. In the years nearing the 2008 elections, President Obama collaborated with various hip hop artists in his campaign. Will .I. Am worked together with various music artistes in music video sampling on Obama’s “Yes We can” speech. The video aimed at educating, registering and mobilizing fans through hip hop music and culture. During the campaign, artists such as Dead Prez sometimes burnt dollar bills in their bid to express the evils of capitalism (Bynoe 6).

Table: Timeline of Hip Hop and Politics

Year

Activity

Political Influence

1970

Release of the revolution comes

Founded the use of hip hop in engaging the government

1971

Gil Scott Releases “the revolution”

The song refers to major political topics such as Vietnam war and Watt Riots

1982

Grand Master Flash release “The message”

It discussed political issues in urban housing projects

1987

Public Enemy released Album Yo.

The song emphasized on injustice to the black community.

1990

Professor Henry Gates defends 2 Live Crew from facing trial for obscenity.

The crew fought for undermining of black rights.

199

Bill Clinton attacks sister Souljahs.

The rapper was fighting against Political alienation of black people

2000

Rock the Vote launches automated voter registration app.

Over 200,000 black people were registered due to their influence.

2004

P.Diddy launches “Citizen Change” campaign which aimed at targeting young voters.

Voting was commercialized in order to influence the government.

2008

Modern Hip hop artiste support President Obama.

Political make shift was achieved due to influence of hip hop.

Source; (Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute 3)

Further influence of rap music on politics was seen due to the creation of Hip-hop Summit Action Network. It was founded with an effort to harness national significance of hip-hop. The network acted as a compound for educational advocacy and communal concerns that were important to liberation of youths in politics. The first convention was held in Newark, New Jersey. To promote the message of unity and power, a social justice platform was prepared by the political hip-hop activists. They volunteered time to hundreds community festivals and parades. They initiated the online voter registration and promoted the secretary of state Birthday Card program. The movements supplied over 150 organizations and schools with free voter registration kits including registration forms and manuals. The campaign rocked in over 85 radio stations that aired rock and rap music (Watkins 10).

Inspired by other genres such a Jazz, R & B and rock, hip hop was established by African Americans and Latinos in an attempt to draw attention on urban neglect and controlled democracy. Without apologies, these rappers expressed their messages by using their skin color to artistically express the complexities in the lives. It acts as voice for the powerless and angry individuals who were faced by the harsh reality of groups that were treated as outsiders. It produces socially conscious narratives by addressing issues of poverty, violence and oppression (Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute 4).

Hip Hop aimed at influencing violence and oppression by political and authority figures. Rap used nommo (an African tradition) to infuse words with power and eventually triggering rhythm. Importance of rap in the contemporary society cannot be underestimated. For instance, Kendrick Lamar’s album on To pimp a butterfly, graced the recent hip hop charts with political messages were particularly hearkening to groups that were considered ‘public enemy.” Some of the common messages in hip hop music include institutionalized hood politics (Potter 90). Institutionalism in Lamar’s composition paints a picture of pain, suppression, subjugation and discrimination. He highlights way in which African Americans have faced racial discrimination by narrating the stories of Michael Brown, Freddie Gay and Trayvon Martin. These stars were struggling with suppression and despair, and therefore they used their music to generate a new model for hip-hop. The aim of their music was to embrace hope for politically alienated communities such as Blacks, Asians and Latinos.

In many ways, rap has rebuked government misconduct, police hostility and advocated for the rights and differences in wages for blacks and whites. The songs provide a connection of politics and internal struggle of the black American community (Ogbar 39). Numerous commentaries on government transgression, police cruelty and exploitation have been voiced by hip hop artistes. The music provides a critique of individuals in power and challenges in authority. This attack is not surprising because black residents and brown communities have been subject to police brutality in many decades leading to the 21st century. Black community have been subject to deaths and shootings. Malcom X spoke of Gestapo tactics applied by police when dealing with black people. Provided that one was black, the rest of the public thought that white policemen were warranted for trampling the man’s civil rights. Armed with righteous indignation of Malcom X’s statement, hip hop has been used as a form of truth-telling regarding racist cops (Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute 2).

Contentious rap music has since been the target for censorship. For instance, President George W. Bush and his Vice President created a firestorm of controversy after criticizing the song Cop Killer by Ice-T. The song was composed in reference to Rodney King, (an African American motorist) was beaten up by LA police. Soon after the song by Ice-T was released, the generals who beat King were cleared. This initiated demonstrations in Central Los Angeles. Although it was viewed by many as an unhealthy role of violence in raps, the song was a reflection of how hip hop has changed the political climate in the United States.

Politics and women in hip hop is a field of critical focus especially in a society where the rap scene is male-dominated. Sister Saouljah and Queen Latifah have become very political in the past and politicians have exploited their words for political gain. After the 1992 LA riots, Queen Latifah was quoted stating “If Black people kill Black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people” (Banjoko 38). The soon-to-be President Bill Clinton disclaimed Sister Souljah’s statements by likening her words to the white racist, David Duke (Banjoko 38).

Alternatives

Mixed Success of Hip-hop and politics

Currently, Hip Hop’s biggest concern is the attempts to dilute and redirect meaningful social and political change when faced with oppression (Brown 26). This is true because the approach is making its way into the corporate sector. Principally, the corporate agenda is to reduce it to meaningless disposal songs in order to diminish politics to a voting system involving a headline and a scandal. This challenge can only be remedied if hip hop can be used as a tool for consumerism and activism.

Hip hop has come under political clout from presidents who regarded the genre with contempt. This should not be the case. Instead, political leaders should embrace the genre and accept that they could be used to enforce changed in a positive manner. For instance, Beyoncé and Jay Z created a fundraiser for Obama by selling their show tickets at $ 40,000 each (Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute 2). The same can be reciprocated by politicians in order to create a cohesive society. The failure by politics to embrace rap as force in the society was seen in 2004 US election. Some of the efforts at politics made crucial declarations but they fell-short of their promises. For instance, Puff Diddy fronted the national “Vote or Die” movement but he did not achieve the impact he hoped for. There were no significant number of young people that turned out. In such a situation, support by government would be beneficial to both parties.

Conclusion

To conclude, the paper elaborates how rap and political regimes have been interlinked since its discovery. Although hip hop movements have influenced US politics in huge way, it is yet to be seen whether it could as well change the world. Naysayers disputed hip hop and predicted its untimely demise but instead, the genre has revolutionized the political scene in the US. Political change requires hard and tedious work as the hip hop advocates for Obama’s success can attest. It is high time that politicians use hip hop for the betterment of Americans as opposed to castigation, as seen in the discussion. Contrary to the messages that most hip hop artistes convey, it would be good for them to foster unity rather than division across racial lines. Commitment to political organization and civic engagement should be embraced in order to transform neglected communities.



Works Cited

Banjoko, Adisa. Lyrical Swords: Hip Hop and Politics in the Mix. San Jose, Calif.?: YinSumi Press, 2004. Print.

Brown, Courtney. Politics in Music: Music and Political Transformation from Beethoven to Hip-Hop. Atlanta, Ga: Farsight Press, 2007. Print.

Bynoe, Yvonne. Hip-Hop and Politics. Greenword Publishing. 2014

Hip Hop Achive and Research Institute. Hip-hop and Politics Timeline. 2017. Internet Resource.

Ogbar, Jeffrey O. G. Hip-hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap. , 2007. Print

Potter, Russell A. Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1995. Print.

Watkins, S C. Hip Hop Matters: Politics, Pop Culture, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005. Internet resource.