#Ferguson Critics Roundtable: Is Hip-Hop Doing Enough?
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DAVE: I think Kanye's working at like three levels above every other artist in the world right now, and everybody is gonna catch up. If he's gone, he's gone to where we're all going. The world is an extremely complicated, turbulent place, being changed ever faster and faster by human technology. And Kanye reflects that exquisitely. He's kinda crazy? An egomaniac? Sure. Like lots of artists. But to dismiss him is a mistake.
And we should note, too, the statement Killer Mike made on Instagram: as eloquent words as we've heard about Mike Brown's murder as we've heard from anyone.
AQUA: Agreed, Dave. Let's not forget Kanye West saying "George Bush doesn't care about Black people" made the President react. Of course his follow up wasn't the best, but like Andreas mentioned, a simple tweet could go a long way. Sadly, corporate interests or even plain apathy could be blamed for the radio silence. But Mike Brown hasn't been dead more than a week, maybe some mainstream MCs will develop a conscious backbone in the next few days?
CLOVER: Cole’s response is genuine and I love that he took that initiative. More so, I love that he’s a young rapper using his instrument. Important to note that we’re talking about artists addressing not just one incident, but rather the climate and culture of police brutality and race. The visible unrest is something many young people are seeing on a national level for the first time, whereas as the older hip-hop generation has been here. I think Kendrick will say something at some point. There’s no way Kanye won’t say something—and I think he knows people want him to so maybe he’s preparing something epic. Lost in all this is Jay Z, by the way. Not sure what we expect of him at this point.
IYANA: To swing the conversation over to Ferguson and the other killings, I think there is also a discussion to be had about hip-hop actively contributing to the way law enforcement views (and fears) our young black males. Although the image of the black man as a threat precedes the genre itself by hundreds of years, the fact remains that its glorification of crime and violence does nothing to change the scope.
If we continue to brag about how skilled we are at shooting, robbing and killing one another, we reinforce the idea that whites should be threatened by our very presence. I am not remiss to the reality that some will hate us no matter what we wear, say or do, but the prominence of hip-hop culture has become our current representation amongst groups that don’t know otherwise. For some, rappers represent all black people.
David Banner had a point about police and vigilantes not seeing value in our lives because we don’t. The Chief Keefs of the world are not conducive to getting anyone to value our existence. We don't want take any responsibility because we don't want to give anyone's ideas any validation. But that implies that we have no power over what happens to us.
ANDREAS: Can we also keep in mind that there is a bigger issue at hand being the fundamental fear of the African-American male? I think we missed a very important conversation when Mark Cuban made his controversial remarks about crossing the street when he sees a black man with a hoodie and a white man tattooed from head to toe. Notice that all the black man had to do was be black and wear a pretty common article of clothing while the white man had to go through great lengths to be deemed as a threat.
Why is that fear still present and what role does it play in the police murdering unarmed black men and then use the common excuse of "he attacked me" or "he was going for my gun" or "he was resisting arrest?"
As a community, hip hop needs to step up and engage in this dialogue. A cop only knows what he sees regardless of how the police department's defense team will spend an inordinate amount of time shredding the victim's character. All George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn saw were black men that they deemed "threatening." The cops suggest they were scared of Rodney King, Eric Garner, Michael Bell and a litany of others.
And, for some reason, it always comes back to hip-hop. The attack on our culture is coming (again), but these artists have to be proactive in protecting the culture that made them financially successful.
BIKO: I think it's more nuanced than that. Hip-hop has only reinforced the negative stereotypes that have been perpetuated by mainstream media for the last 150 years. While rap music has empowered those of us from the culture with a worldview, it has at times normalized and popularized street culture. Yes, police see kids wearing hip-hop styles and see criminals, however this type of stereotyping has been happening long before rap even hit the scene and that's why people are so pissed right now. They feel nothing has changed since our parents and grandparents were turning up in the streets in '60s.
GREGORY JOHNSON: It’s frustrating because hip-hop contains multitudes, right? There has always been a wide spectrum of artists attempting to use hip-hop as a culture and vehicle and means to lots of ends. You had your folks trying to be heard and seen, get paid, inspire and tell truth, all sorts of aims. Ultimately it’s voted on by some combination of organic attention, and well-marketed entertainment from the usual corporate suspects.
We feel as if “conscious” socio-political commentary has been silenced, but Immortal Technique is still making and performing music and addressing social ills. Killer Mike is still out there tackling some of these subjects. Jean Grae was mentioned earlier, she's still making music and making commentary. dead prez and their RBGz fam A-Alikes are still addressing police brutality and antagonism towards the community, as in their recent song and video "Person of Interest" that predated the Mike Brown killing and came out the week of the Eric Garner killing. Homeboy Sandman tackled the Sterling controversy. Lupe never shies away from those topics either. So there are still artists out there supplying it, but where's the demand gone?
Maybe the people are resigned and apathetic about police brutality, even as individual communities in Florida or Missouri or New York or California are enraged—if there isnt a national will outside of the affected communities that this is intolerable and must change today, then its going to be as it was in the '20s, the '50s, the '60s, '80s, '90s and even now—police violence predated blues and soul and rap songs about it, sadly.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
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AQUA: It's almost comedic to think of how Chief Keef, and other rappers, are all over their Instagram toting guns, then look at the armed force that is the Ferguson police department. It shows why a counterpoint to the Chief Keefs of the rap world is necessary. I can't help but think of the struggle rapper that shot his own friend after an argument in a bodega after a rap video shoot. This guy unloaded a full clip into another human being, almost casually. In no way am I blaming hip-hop for such an event, but to say there isn't at least a minimal influence would be naive. Images like these are what cops are taking as gospel when it comes to dealing with communities they patrol.
DAVE: I think that to suggest rappers are in any way responsible for the way police or politicians or white America views black people is very unhealthy. Police, politicians and white America are 100 percent responsible for their (our, I suppose I should say, as a white person) prejudices and racism and irrational fears. It is absolutely a police officer's job to learn not to make the assumptions, not to submit to the fear, that you mentioned. They (we) suck at this, unfortunately. But we can't hold rappers responsible. Not even one iota.
JOHN KENNEDY: I can't cosign the idea of hip-hop being responsible for the perception of Black people in America. It ventures into the realm of respectability politics, where we have to present ourselves a particular way to afford the rights and respect that we're born with. When Eminem makes a song about killing the mother of his daughter, no one assumes that White, blonde men are killers and wife beaters. Do I love the glamorization of gun violence in music? Not particularly. But no number of Chief Keef videos gives police the authority to play jury and judge instead of officer of the law.
Media as a whole is a problem, though. From Hollywood to hip-hop to reality TV—we're not the ones in control of the images that are portrayed. Which is why it's so important to have Black people in ownership or leadership positions at these corporations, particularly Black people with an interest in balancing the stereotypes that we're bombarded with.
It's getting better, though, which is why it's so promising to see sensible artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole find success, and with that, a large platform to spread awareness and balance the messages in music. Labels need to give their consumers more credit—today's generation is no less interested in political and socially conscious music than the one that's preceded it.
GREG: I agree, Dave. I do think hip-hop, like punk, is art (granted, commercial art) first before its supposed to be a propaganda tool, and thats always fascinating to wonder how much weight we can really ask a subculture to carry in the face of larger ills. Hip-hop has seen some of its finest moments when it satirizes American excess or at least holds a mirror up to it—sex, drugs, violence, hedonism. But its also like punk, in that it's very powerful when it rejects and rebels against the mainstream, against the Man.
With the romantic image of the gun-toting outlaw, which goes back in hip-hop at least as far as Wild Style, if not to the Bronx projects themselves, it’s always been at least one of the voices in the hip-hop conversation. But then its more powerfully a part of the American conversation right? Cowboys and gangsters dominate our entertainment all throughout the 20th century and even today.
Whats dangerous is the constant projection of American vices as uniquely urban vices, or hip-hop vices, but back to the point about rejecting and rebelling, certainly I enjoyed eras in hip-hop more when rappers were rejecting certain American vices as wack or rebelling against potential traps and pitfalls to be avoided, and I wish it were more popular now. Im not ashamed to admit that much.
DAVE: I agree. Hip-hop is an art form. It's going to change and morph according to its own mysterious rhythms. I think critics often overestimate their (our) ability to control prevailing tone or trends or subject matter than artists want to engage in, that fans want to hear (and pay for). I don't think it works that way. Art is more amorphous than that. People's appetite for it—for what sounds and styles are going to move them—is more mysterious.
That's a good point, John. About the labels needing to trust the public more. Of course, at the same time, the labels themselves, the music industry as a whole is in such upheaval right now: Smart, forward-thinking folks like TDE will see this as a time to take a risk and invest in an artist like Kendrick, and reap the rewards. But it's probably not surprising that do many companies are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Because their heads are being cut off!
IYANA: I wouldn’t place the initial blame on hip-hop, or say that it is solely responsible, ever. But to say that it in no way contributes to how society views us, is to relinquish our own power. We glorify violence and killing each other in a way that communicates a message to others. This is not to say that if the Chief Keefs didn’t exist, that we would all of a sudden be viewed as a pristine people, but these things do not help. And if we aren’t contributing positively to how the world sees us, then we are contributing negatively. Period.
It is oxymoronic to say rappers should be socially responsible/conscious, and then say that hip-hop hasn’t contributed to the way our people are viewed. Do we have the power to transform our reality, or don’t we? Don’t get me wrong, I love things of the ratchet sort, but I cannot in good conscience say that it doesn’t affect our image at all. It does.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
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JOHN: I've agreed with much of what's been expressed by Aqua, Dave, Andreas and Clover early in the discussion. The goal is public awareness, and while not every artist or celebrity is intellectually built to speak about societal ills and how everyday people can help change things in the community, something is better than nothing. These artists are making their livelihoods off the same people who are targets every day when walk out of their homes (sometimes home isn't even safe).
To me, it's not about being moved enough, or educated enough—these are their fans and many times their own loved ones who are most directly affected by police brutality. So if you're a rapper who wasn't raised by two parents in higher education like Talib Kweli was, or didn't rack up debt to Sallie Mae like J. Cole, and you're just not informed or eloquent enough to provide moving dialogue, you should still be using your platform to spread awareness. Wear a T-shirt with Eric Garner's likeness on the front. Tweet #justiceformichaelbrown. Use the power that's been given to you—it's your responsibility.
But can I take this somewhere else real quick?
We've been discussing all of the artists who obviously should be lending their voices to what's taken place in Ferguson and around the country, with the police abusing their power and the citizens they're sworn to protect. Of course Kanye West and Drake and Nicki Minaj and Jay Z should be vocal—these victims look just like them. But also, where are the Iggy Azaleas and Macklemores and G-Eazys? What rent are they paying to the culture that they're appropriating for their own fortune? Mac Miller tweeted something vague about Michael Brown's murder, but at what point do we start calling white hip-hop artists to task for their responsibility to bring awareness to the issues?
AQUA: Great point, JFK. Something from Macklemore may make what's happening resonate more with a demographic someone like Young Jeezy (who I don't think anyone has mentioned and was one of the first big rap artists to make a statement) may not ever reach. We should do our parts to big up artists who are willing to speak and act regardless of the ramifications.
GREGORY: John, exactly—this ties back to what I was saying about police brutality having to be intolerable for the society at large. As much attention as Eminem brought back to Detroit, that hasn't stopped the rest of the country from nodding and smiling at the Chrysler commercial then shrugging as the city's emergency manager is cutting water off in thousands of homes. Civil rights did not reach the tipping point in the national consciousness until it became not just a cause célèbre (though that helped) but a national embarrassment. I personally find the criminalization and killing of unarmed black youth to be a national embarrassment, as do many of us, but aren't we really all still in the minority, pardon the pun?
CHLOE HILLIARD: It's hard for artists to be socially and politically aware when they operate in a world of fantasy. Ninety-nine percent of their image, content and brand is about wealth (obtained by no legal means on wax) and laying out their competition. How can they encourage the masses to know their rights and demand better treatment from the police when they talk about killing or robbing their fellow man?
We can't look to the radio rappers to have an insightful view on how to handle the murders of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Ezell Ford, John Crawford III because most of them aren't even connected to their communities. Did you see how long it took Jesse Jackson to come out of his Rainbow Push retirement home and say something? Damn near a week.
When was the last time Kanye stepped foot in Chicago? Jay Z hasn't been to Bed Stuy in how long but performs at Barclays. In hip-hop, the mentality is once you make money you are better than. Who has time to save or educate the hood when you have strippers to tip and whips to drive.
JOHN: Props to Jeezy for being proactive and actually going to the city of Ferguson to show his solidarity. But as you've said, Aqua, his reach a bit different than Macklemore's. These are the times where it becomes evident who's down, and who's just here because they need some "edge" or to reinvent their career. I don't care which rappers you're cool with or how spot-on your Southern accent is; if you're going to live in this culture, be hip-hop all the time, not just when it's convenient. You're "the realest?" Prove it.
And agree with Greg, this is a human rights issue just as much as it's a racial issue. We need all of these figures raising awareness, protesting or mobilizing the people if we're going to see true change.
KEITH: The way I look at it is we are all citizens of the world. Meaning that whether holding a microphone or pushing a broom, we should each raise our voice when we see an injustice. The problem arises when we place extra pressure on celebrities to speak out.
In other eras, celebrity was so larger than life that fame could be used as an impactful tool (think Harry Belafonte during the '60s civil rights era, the aforementioned Nina Simone, and Bob Marley linking Apartheid struggles with black and minority struggle all around the world in the '70s). Today, celebrity is boiled down to an Instagram posting. I'm happy to see J. Cole, Killer Mike and the like keeping up the good fight.
But yeah, fuck 2014 celebrity. I'm more concerned with everyday folks making a stand.
HILLARY CROSLEY: To Murph's point, I didn't even think about whether rappers had made any constructive comments around Mike Brown until yesterday, when I realized Nelly, the rap champion of STL, hadn't said anything. But you know what? I don't really care about their opinions at this point. I am more concerned with the actions of President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, Captain Ron Johnson and Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson.
Right now, those are the players moving (and losing, on purpose!) the pieces in this game. I'd much rather focus my attention on where the hell Darren Miller ran off to, what supposed stolen cigars Thomas says the cops found on Brown's body and what happened during the altercation, once and for all.
Do you realize that it's Friday, nearly seven days after Brown was shot and no one's seen an official police report? What. Do you know that someone tweeted the entire incident but some witnesses still haven't been interviewed by the police? Huh. Do you know that Brown's shooter has been gone from Ferguson, where he shot a teen dead and is part of an on-going investigation in which his name was just released publicly today, for days? OK.
Do you understand that the Ferguson police released a surveillance tape of a robbery Chief Jackson admitted had nothing to do with Brown being stopped by Miller? Stop it. Do you know that means, if we believe the eye witnesses, Brown was literally shot dead because he was "walking in the middle of the street and blocking traffic," according to Jackson?
Forget a rap song, though it would be much appreciated, but I need justice. However, if Jay Z really does have Obama on the text, it'd be awesome if he could ask to speak with Attorney General Holder and get us, the Hip-Hop community, some concrete answers. This whole situation is like a wildly unfunny comedic spoof of "Ghosts of Mississippi" or something equally racist and murderous.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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