Running head:

WEEKLY WRITE UP VIII

Weekly Write Up VIII

Maverick A. Garces
University of Washington - Seattle

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Weekly Write Up VIII
For this last write up, I particularly found the last ciphers portion of their presentation
focusing on Hip Hop and how its associated with this idea of hypermasculinity the most
interestinghow some Black men view their sense of strength, and industry, and machismo,
and manhood through the lens of a gun (Dyson, 2010, p. 92). Its also quite interesting to see
how this school of thought manifests itself in largely low socioeconomic, Black communities and
how this is also related to gentrification and other policies mentioned in Sara Cohens (2015)
Cityscapes. Thus, I decided to create some graf art which combines some of these ideas together.
Hip Hop, Hypermasculinity, and How It All Came About
Since Hip Hop is the voice of choice for many, it has many stories to tell. Rap has the
ability to project a variety of identities, as Kajikawa states in the introduction of Sounding
Race in Rap Songs (2015, p. 16). Rap and Hip Hop in general, seem to be able to reach a broad
range of audience and articulate many different attitudes more so than other musical genres. And
as such, one such trope that is widespread in Hip Hop, and especially gangsta rap, is the hyper
masculine, gun-wielding, thug.
However, this isnt much of a trope as it is a reality for many Black men and women
living in highly urbanized settings. Much of what is heard in rap songs are very much the
authentic, real dealand as Cohen (2015) documented in her research, much of what goes down
in the hood and the ghetto is perhaps unsurprisingly largely tied to the environment these
people live in. One of Cohens principal participants, MC Pyro, chiefly relates the hard life he
has experienced to the marginality and clear boundaries marking divisions of class, age and
territory of the city in which he lives in: Liverpool (p. 233). And evidence of this is
especially seen through the lyrics of one of his songs On and On in which he raps, Yo, this is

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that real-life stuff that we all go through, all of us. / I grew up fast, before I left the classroom / A
bit of fist and a lot more attitude, / No gratitude, I couldnt see my future A more popular
example of this is 50 Cents In My Hood (2005) in which he documents his life in the hood:
Now you can be a victim or you can lock and load / The party jump, with shorty bouncin' that
ass / I won't fuck, gimme a second, I'ma holla, I'ma see whats up / I got my razor in my hand, got
my pistol in my trunk. MC Pyro and 50 Cents lives werent filled with violence because they
were born and raised in a predominantly low-income, Black neighborhoodit was because of
the policies made by the elite, for the elite that put them in that place.

Figure 1. An example of a Hip Hop map of NYC that just goes to show how ones
(urban) environment can greatly affect how you live and what you create out of it.
Unsurprisingly, Dyson in Know What I mean? Reflections on Hip Hop (2010) reveals this
same sentiment as to what effect the urban setting has had on those living in its realmshalfway
across the globe in the U.S. The increasing lack of recreational spaces, the signs of
gentrification, and disappearance of affordable housing all mingle to create a space thats
increasingly violent to those that call the inner-city home (p. 92). So with space and ownership
becoming a commodity due to their decrease in availability, the gun, and thus this faade of

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hypermasculinity has become the face that many men in the hood have had to wear just in
order to survive in such a harsh environment.
And thus, this becomes an issue when others who do not live this life begin to emulate
what they hear and see coming out of the hood. As Cohen puts it, an extreme, almost parodied
version of inner-city life (p. 233). This is when you get rappers that seem to glamorize this
lifestyle when they themselves may not have even experienced it, but surprisemany rappers
most likely do this as it is the violence that is stereotypical of Hip Hop that the white music
industry seems to continually exploit in its marketing schemes. Of course, I do recognize that
there are plenty of MCs that have lived an extremely harsh life, and that their verses do come
from an authentic experience. However, this hypermasculinity thats simply promoted by the
ideals of wanting to come off as hardened and tough has large impacts on how many men and
women act, and also how they view themselvesbut again it is not the fault of Hip Hop and
those that create under this communityit is the fault of those that originally marginalize these
Black and minority populations and then exploit this image further implanting negative ideas of
what many think of these communities.

Figure 2. The last graf art you will ever have to see from me depicting the various
characteristics of the hypermasculine attitude thats pervasive in American culture.

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References
Dyson, M. (2010). Track #4. Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent. In Know What I
Mean? Reflections On Hip-Hop. New York, NY: Basic Civitas Books
Cohen, Sara. Cityscapes. In Shepherd, J., & Devine, Kyle. (2015). The Routledge reader on
the sociology of music. New York, NY; Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Kajikawa, L. (2015). Introduction In Sounding race in rap (First ed.). Oakland, CA: University
of California Press
Jackson, C., (2005). In My Hood [Recorded by 50 Cent]. On The Massacre [Record]. Santa
Monica, CA: Interscope