Black Music Month: Where Does Hip Hop Fit?

By Felicia Pride

A celebration of Black Music Month isn't complete without a look at the role of hip hop. Not just from an artistic viewpoint, but also from a socio-political one-where we explore questions like, how has hip hop helped to articulate the politics of its time? Or how hasn't it? More than Words caught up with cultural and political journalist Marcus Reeves, author of the newly released book Somebody Scream: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power (Faber & Faber, March 2008) to understand hip hop's role in the powerful legacy of black music.

More than Words: Where does hip hop music fit into the larger picture that is black music?

Marcus Reeves: Well, currently it's the driving force -creatively, culturally, and financially-of black music. Hell, it is black music right now because everything from Lil Wayne to Justin Timberlake is considered hip hop music. But at its core, hip hop, or more specifically, rap music is just the beat-driven poetry of the generation after the civil rights and black power movements.

MTW: Your book connects hip hop with historical and social political contexts such as the Regan years and the emergence of crack. Can you talk a little bit about those connections?

MR: We all know two of the most devastating events to occur for black America within the last 20 or 30 years was the election of Ronald Reagan and the rise of the crack industry. Reagan because of his cutting educational, welfare and job programs which benefited working-class and poor people of color. These cuts, indirectly, helped fuel the rise of crack-and the violence and death and incarceration it would leave behind. Not only were these changes reflected on the street, they were reflected in rap music. From the Furious Five's "The Message" and "White Lines" to Run-DMC's "It's Like That" to Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" to NWA's "F____ Tha Police" and so on, rap music has been reflective and reacting, primarily, to those two events and their aftermath.

MTW: What do you think are some of the successes and failures of hip hop, culturally speaking?

MR: One of the biggest successes of hip hop was surviving this long. Remember it was supposed to be fad. Next, it succeeded at spreading beyond New York City to reach other communities of color. It succeeded at providing a creative outlet, a voice, and an identity for a post-black power generation. And as it grew. hip hop music and culture succeeded at mainstreaming (even globalizing) urban black culture. It even normalized it for a new generation of American white youth. I would even be so bold as to say a significant part of Barack Obama's success during this presidential race was the rise of hip hop, especially among white youth.

But, unfortunately, where it succeeded is also where it, I can't say failed, but it went astray. Selling the world stereotypes of black people as thugs, drug dealers and over-sexed hoochie mamas. It strayed by also normalizing the dysfunctional behavior and language (the n and b words and other unmentionables) of the black ghetto. The blame for this should also be shared with the record companies who pushed for these developments and continue to profit from the coon show. But as far as saying hip hop failed at anything is drastic because that would mean its whole creation was to achieve some noble goal. And, really, it's only reason for existing was to show how kids with nothing could rock the house with their style. They went beyond that and rocked the world. So over all, I think the mission was accomplished.

MTW: You declare rap as "one of the most important art forms leading into the twenty-first century...." Why do you believe rap is important?

MR: First of all, it's important because it's a spoken-word music that speaks and reflects the story of black America and America, in general, over the past 30 years. Despite what ills plague commercial hip hop music, it still is the most potent platform youth of color have to speak their joys and concerns to a large audience. And that democratization of youthful expression has connected young people around the world under hip hop's banner of style, uber-confidence, do-for-self, and honesty.

MTW: What do you think is the future of hip-hop music?

MR: It will continue to grow and expand. Face it, hip hop is a piece of Americana. It's utilized by every American music genre from rock to jazz to country. Every region of the country has its own hip hop music movement and, at one point, ruled the charts. And given that hip hop has always thrived via technology-from turntables and mixers and samplers and stolen power from telephone poles-it will thrive through the Internets' leveling of the music industry. Will it continue to be as relevant as it was in the late '80s and early '90s? It all depends on if a group of kids want to step out there and make the music say what it hasn't said before.
Want more? Read an excerpt of Somebody Scream.