Gretler 1

Garrett Gretler
Professor Barnard
English 120
13 May 2015
Misrepresenting Representin'
It's all about the bitches, the money, and the cars. Or is it? For over a decade, Hip Hop
has carried stigmas that limit its cultural capacity to misogyny, vanity, violence, and bravado.
These are all elements that Hip Hop has been guilty of assuming and applauding. In music
videos, Hip Hop artists are shown flaunting their "chains"gold necklaces that serve as a status
symboland jewelry while surrounded by half-naked women dancing provocatively in a
backdrop of mansions and luxury cars. Their songs often consist of a glorification of a criminal
lifestyle from selling drugs to murder. Accordingly, it is hard to condemn those who hold a
negative perception of Hip Hop and it is even more difficult to defend the aforementioned
values. In truth, Hip Hop culture is misrepresented by a homogenized pop cultural context
wherein these values and attitudes are the norm.
This is clear in its origin. Pop culture's portrayal of hip hop is one born in the ghettos and
urban areas where violence and drug dealing is seen as a justifiable means to obtain wealth. This
type of behavior is even admired by fans and artists alike. While this stems from its origin, it is
actually antithetical to it in that Hip Hop was used to decry and tell stories of the ghettos harsh
condition rather than commemorate them. It is important to understand the social and political
context of Hip Hop's origins. According to professor of African Studies Tricia Rose, it was born
during the "1970s in the South Bronx during a time marked by extreme political conservatism
and economic downfall" (qtd. in Rebollo-Gil). The communities that suffered the most from this

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were those consisting of minorities, especially in urban and inner city areas. Hip Hop was used to
alleviate some of these hardships and bring some lightheartedness into the gloomy and dark
conditions which plagued these neighborhoods. Because of this, scholars Guillermo Rebollo-Gil
and Amanda Moras note that it "became one of the premier forms of expression for the youngest
members of the inner city black and Latino communities in New York" (Rebollo-Gil). So not
only was Hip Hop able to make joyor solaceaccessible to those who otherwise existed in a
trying environment, Rose also points out that it gave themthe "disenfranchised 'minority' youth"
of these communitiesa voice where they "could express their angst and speak freely" (qtd. in
Rebollo-Gil). The origins of the Hip Hop culture is near-sacred to most members of its
communities, and it is often used as the banner to which many of its artists exist under; they
carry on the tradition of both uplifting the downtrodden while speaking out against social and
economic issues of the time. While this is widely known to participants of the culture, the pop
culture's consciousness of this narrative and tradition is lacking. Further, because of the current
representation of Hip Hop, people often overlook the social and political nature of Hip Hop thus
silencing the voices of its initial communities as well as its broader one that exist today.
So how did Hip Hop devolve from a venerable art form into the deplorable
manifestations that exist of it today? Scholar Michael Barnes states that it was once the dominant
opinion that Hip Hop had become commercialized and that a consequence of that was its
adulterated existence now (Barnes 5). However, as Barnes points out, Hip Hop was commercial
from its advent by hosts charging admission for the house parties and "jams in the park" as well
as DJs' fees for "the mix-tapes that served as the first means of spreading the culture outside of
the confines of the Bronx" (Barnes 6). So clearly, a commercial motivation and approach in
themselves were never detrimental to Hip Hop. They even lead to its longevity as otherwise "the

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subculture may have simply died out" (Barnes 7). It is how this commercialization affected Hip
Hop that is to blame, especially how an industry foreign to the roots of its culture came to
dictate what commercial success means in Hip Hop. MTV had been criticized for airing artists
who were dominantly white. People magazine notes that in 1983 on MTVs roster of some
800 acts, 16 [were] black (qtd. in Turner 6). Scholar Jacob Turner comments on the need for a
sexual appeal by black artists "in the clearest terms [that] sex sells and can be used as a point of
entry for marginalized Black artists who struggle to garner attention from music channels like
MTV and VH-1" (Turner 6). This is not to say that sexuality doesn't have a place in music, but an
inauthentic, feigned sexuality for profit and over-sexualized emphasis set the stage for the
misogyny that is now so prevalent in hip hop; this is exemplified by rapper Big Sean in his song
"I Don't Fuck With You" in which he profusely refers to his ex-girlfriend as a "lil stupid ass
bitch" whom he incites scorn from as he claims that he has "a bitch that text [him] / she ain't got
not clothes on" (Sean). This also illustrates how Hip Hop artists had to bend their knees and
shape their content to conform to industry standards to enjoy any commercial success. Author
Barry Kitwani articulates this industry pressure as forcing "rap artists to come to terms with what
is seen by corporate owned recording studios as currently marketable in order to secure any
serious form of mass distribution" (qtd. in Rebollo-Gil). This doesn't justify it, it simply explains
how misogyny and other negative attitudes became so prevalent in Hip Hop: adherence to
industry trends.
Within that framework, one can understand how the other malignant elements of the
culture came to be so overt and ubiquitous in light of how "marketable the image of the young,
poor, foul-mouthed black male with a criminal or otherwise violent past offering consumers a
sneak peek into 'his life'" came to be (Rebollo-Gil). By coupling this archetype with glamour and

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seemingly positive in light of the end results: copious amounts of money, the "respect", foreign
cars costing a typical American's yearly salary, and loose women paralleling the most coveted
cover models. This can be observed in the Playaz Circle's song "Duffle Bag Boy", "duffle bag"
serving as a reference to the exchange of money acquired during a large drug deal. One of the
artists is heard bragging about the gains of his exploits saying, "I'm in a foreign car, smoking out
with the doors ajar / Suede sun roof hanging out the big top / We leave the dealership, head to the
rim shop" (Circle). By associating the criminal activity with a lavish lifestyle, it made it
appealing to the listeners and artists alike. A perpetuation of hegemonic stereotypes about blacks
became a novelty to suburban kids and an imposed identity to many inner city kids who had now
traded in their voice against the inner city plight to embrace it by the grandeur that the music
industry now promised them as subsequent to crime.
The music industry itself deserves scrutiny because it has had so much clout on the
devolution and homogenization of the Hip Hop culture. There is solidarity from Michael Barnes,
Rebollo-Gil and Moras, as well as Quinnipiac University scholar Melissa F. Weiner that the
sector of the music industry that largely controls the version of Hip Hop pop culture is exposed
to lies in the hands of a few companies. Additionally, they allude to the implications: that these
companies are disconnected from both the origins of the culture or any concern with its political
or social nature in lieu of capital interests thus creating a brand of Hip Hop centered around what
is profitable. Michael Barnes discusses the age of Big Media in the 1990s, namely that the music
industry became solidified into a few key companies during this time: Universal Music Group,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI who were internationally
responsible for three-quarters of the "music market" (Barnes 8). Weiner expounds on this by
noting that these corporations who are responsible for the production of the music are closely

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tied with the television channels and radio stations responsible for popularizing it. "As a result
artists are promoted and played by the same people that contribute to the production of their
music" (Weiner 5). This creates a monopoly on the control of exposure the general public has of
Hip Hop into the hands of a few corporations. Rebollo-Gil and Moras further these insights when
they explain that despite some black-owned record labels in Hip Hop, they are overshadowed by
the white-owned corporations (Rebollo-Gil). While race is mentioned, the real focal point and
implication of this is a contrast between record labels that are owned by active participants in the
culture verses labels that merely intend to profit off of it. Ren the Vinyl archaeologist offers
congruent firsthand commentary into this as a DJ. When asked why he thinks Hip Hop is at its
current state, he says, "Corporate changes, corporate stations, the industry male white
corporate execs who don't know anything about the culture or know how to market it" (qtd. in
Barnes 9). These corporations would be the ones to induct Hip Hop into the masses
consciousness. Hip Hop was not introduced into pop culture by people who could actually speak
for it, but by people who intended to exploit it. The inevitable consequence of this is a narrow
misrepresentation of what Hip Hop is.
The long-term consequence of this is the homogenized "Hip Hop" you hear today on
these corporate television channels and radio stations. Jeff Chang, a journalist who often writes
about Hip Hop, comments on how the previously detailed consolidation of control over the
industry during the 1990s, "Hip Hop's greatest expansion into mass culture," affected the music:
" there was a steady narrowing of voices available through the major [label]'s channels, a
decrease in the diversity of sounds, opinions, ideas, news and art available to mass audiences"
(Barnes 8). It would be "the corporatization of the music industry" that would create "a
monolithic representation of commercial Hip-Hop marked primarily by violence, illicit drug

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sales and misogyny" (Barnes 8). This reinforces and expounds on the concept previously
conveyed about how Hip Hop values were lessened; the corporations that largely controlled the
music industry found what was profitable and diluted the commercial face of Hip Hop into just
that. To collect the pieces, Hip Hop originated as a positive form of expression from oppressed
minority groups, it came under a corporate monopoly, these corporations pursued the most
lucrative abuse of Hip Hopa perpetuation of its worst characteristicsand this perpetuation
became the sole, or at least dominant, identity for Hip Hop in pop culture.
Then does Hip Hop have a distinct contemporary form from this identity? The listeners
seem to think so. Weiner conducted a study of black college students' perception of Hip Hop.
Though she found that some of the responses would support pop culture's rendition of Hip Hop,
she found others were contrary to it. About a tenth believed that Hip Hop "provides positive
messages for its listeners and represents today's Civil Rights Movements" (Weiner 11). Roughly
a third believe Hip Hop has "the potential to disseminate knowledge to promote social change"
(Weiner 11). One student even said that they find "much of the hip hop [they] listen to
inspirational and that it gives hope for a better future" (Weiner 13). These sentiments are
articulated by others and echoed in different ways. Some say that it empowers them and even
gives artists a platform to discuss "government, injustices, and inequality" (Weiner 12). Clearly,
there is more to Hip Hop than is represented by its pop cultural context. While other people react
negatively, it is easily explained because the study denotes the respondents ignorance of some of
the less widely-known but more positive artists like Common, Talib Kweli, and The Roots. The
positive responses to Hip Hop tended to be those who were aware of these and other similar
artists, seeing Hip Hop as "promoting community [and] as maintaining alternative messages to

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that which exist in mainstream media" (Weiner 9, 11, 12). The problem then is not with Hip
Hop, but with the misrepresentation of it by corporate entities.
This positive views about Hip Hop are not only held by black students or listeners. I am a
white Hip Hop artist and have been since I was 15. I have attended a number of events, both as a
fan and a performer, and have been actively involved in the local Hip Hop community since I
was 18. My affinity for the culture has compelled me to dutifully learn about its progression,
artists, and everything it entails. Of my experience, I can attest to the truth of the positive
response of the aforementioned listeners. Hip Hop personally has been a place for me to uplift
others, offer political and social commentary and critique, as well as satisfy a need for selfexpression. Members of my local Hip Hop community share these passions and are united by a
love for the culture, one another, and the world at large. The community has welcomed other
cultures, observed generally by Hip Hop's eclectic nature, and people of all sorts without
discrimination aside from attitudes and values antithetical to positive progression. The
community represents a contradictory culture to its pop culture representation. Because the
community's artists and the greater community of positive Hip Hop it belongs to does not
conform to industry standards, Weiner notes that it "is usually produced independently in small
studios or by artists themselves," and her words are acutely true (Weiner 6). Without the mass
appeal or the corporate funding, this explains why artists of this kind very rarely burgeon into
pop culture. However, these are the true progeny of the Hip Hop culture in keeping in line with
its roots, its message, and its striving to uplift those in need, create good times, and be a voice
and an instrument of change to create the music of revolution.
It all starts in the local communities and the consumers. It is the community's
responsibility to provide artists who uphold the true essence of Hip Hop, and it is the consumers

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responsibility to support them. Corporations will always be able to find a proverbial blackface to
wear the costume of the criminal black man for the allure of wealth and fame that it promises. It
is only within the consumers' capacity to correct this by withdrawing support of artists who
would continue the exploitation of the Hip Hop culture and provide it to those who would further
its true cause. Over time, the industry would adjust, indiscriminate of sentiment and only
concerned with profit. This concern is not inherently wrong, and what is imperative is what this
concern is applied to. If consumers begin to support more benevolent artist, the industry will
become more benevolent.

She herself describes a form of Hip Hop called "'message rap' [remaining] rooted in the
longstanding tradition of oppositional cultures rooted in the African American community that
use cultural artifacts and elements to critique and subvert dominant ideologies within society"
(Weiner