Hip Hop Culture: Reflections of Transcendence and Cultural Significance in the 21st Century, An...

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Running Head: HIP HOP CULTURE: REFLECTIONS TRANSCENDENCE AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

U n i v e r s i t y o f M i n n e s o t a – T w i n C i t i e s C O M M 4 2 2 1 / 3 9 9 5 W P r o f . M a r k P e d e l t y

Hip Hop Culture: Reflections of Transcendence and Cultural

Significance in the 21st Century

Ethnography Report Lateef D. Oseni Hip Hop, in the nature of its inherent attributes has always been about embodying triumph and success. I argue that the forces of global, commercial growth and the cultural, community roots of Hip Hop can coexist and thrive together; and because Hip Hop has always been about the attitude, for rap artists to embrace and celebrate multiple personas is in fact legitimate and reflective of authenticity and lived human experience. This ethnography aims to explore this phenomenon and tell this story thorough the lens of experience of Hip Hop ritual, theory, and personal narrative.

Fall 2013

08 Fall

2 Hip Hop Culture: Reflections of Transcendence and Cultural Significance in the 21st Century

Introduction

Hip Hop is a genre exactly like none else. Birthed from a culture of the inner city, it grew

from its origins in the Bronx in the late 1970s, to having a commercial and cultural impact that is

represented in cities and locales all over the world. As a cultural phenomenon it has had an

impact as great as any genre of music in history in this short period of time. All the same, Hip

Hop has maintained strong ties and a well-documented relationship with the communities from

which it came. The causes, lifestyle, and spirit of people of color are things that Hip Hop music

and culture have captured and voiced throughout its history, and evolved to include audiences

around the globe who identify with its aesthetic and its message.

Hip Hop’s uniqueness lies in its ability to utilize its roots to transcend and speak to

universally to different audiences and walks of life with its themes. Therein lies as well perhaps,

the key to its commercial success, whilst maintaining its roots in community and collectivism.

An ethnography is meant to explore phenomena in human culture and highlight the aspects that

make these cultural happenings salient from a literary standpoint. In completing this

Ethnography, I wished to showcase the importance of Hip Hop to the global economy of culture

in that, it has managed like no other genre before it, to develop roots in community and the social

movement of peoples, and maintain those roots as it has transcended to impact cultures of any

and every kind across the world.

The experiences of college students, individuals with a diversity wingspan as large as that

of Hip Hop, are in many ways representative of the aforementioned impacts. In applying the Hip

Hop lens to this audience, as did Petchauer in Hip Hop Culture in College Students Lives, I argue

that we can and do learn that Hip Hop breeds authenticity with its cultural practices and ideals,

novelties, and multilayered existence. As a result, coexists at its core with the force of its global

Hip Hop Culture: Reflections of Transcendence and Cultural Significance in the 21st Century

popularity and commercialization. This is contrary to the popularly held belief that Hip Hop

must disguise or submerge its essence to gain mass appeal, as Mickey Hess and other scholars

have argued. Hip Hop benefits the students and others who partake in its culture because of its

ability to frame and speak to nearly every aspect of living, especially as a young adult. This is

evident from the experience at concerts, where crowds are engaged in not only entertainment, but

also inspiration and uplift, to the rituals and everyday influence it has borne upon the lives of a

diverse population of people who have consumed the culture.

Hip Hop, in the nature of its inherent attributes has always been about embodying

triumph and success. I argue that the forces of global, commercial growth and the cultural,

community roots of Hip Hop can coexist and thrive together; and because Hip Hop has always

been about the attitude, for rap artists to embrace and celebrate multiple personas is in fact

legitimate and reflective of authenticity and lived human experience. This ethnography aims to

explore this phenomenon and tell this story thorough the lens of experience of Hip Hop ritual,

theory, and personal narrative.

Thick Description: A Hip-Hop Foray Into Community Empowerment, Revival and

Celebration

Throughout campus during the first few weeks of school, flyers had been posted from

telephone post to bus stop booth advertising the hip hop event of the fall, the second time

annually that it has taken place. A full day’s worth of music, spoken word poetry, food and

drink, community activism and uplift – all in the name of Hip Hop. “One Day. One Community.

One Love”. This concert was affectionately branded as Hip Hop Harambee, a unique title

stemming from a rallying cry used in Kenya. In Swahili, harambee means “pull together”.

Although Hip Hop Harambee featured a headliner who could be considered mainstream, an up

and coming artist for the Island Def Jam Music Group – a pioneering label in the Hip Hop

culture, the 9 hour show was cloaked with a line-up of several local and regional acts spanning

multiple avenues, lenses and affiliations of Hip Hop. Performers ranged from turntable DJ’s and

live producers to revered local underground emcees, and even an R&B/soul act, in addition to

spoken word artists and the aforementioned Def Jam headliner.

I arrived for the latter third of the show to an outdoor lot, which served as the site and

stage of the show, here I was greeted by event security and a handful of volunteers at a table,

distributing copies of a brand-new magazine, “Greenroom”1, which was launching with a

premiere issue that night at the show. I entered to a buzzing intermission, filled with the sounds

of a DJ’s mixed set of popular Hip Hop songs and instrumentals. Though it was an all ages

concert, the clearly dominant demographic was young adults, many of whom were college

students, due to the proximity of the venue to both the University of Minnesota and Augsburg

College in the West Bank/Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Various vendors were spread out on

the lot, and as such, a faint smell of liquor filled the air, as well as cigarette and perhaps

additional types of smoke. One thing that quickly becomes evident to me is that young people,

college students especially, are truly creatures of the night. Hip Hop is also a genre that embraces

the night atmosphere, thus creating a perfect marriage of time and place on this occasion.

And so, with this crowd – a healthy blend of college students, young adults, and a few

middle-aged concert goers, I entered and began to absorb the experience. As I tend to do

whenever I enter a large space on my own, I began to seek out people that I know or recognize,

to greet them and begin conversation. To my delight, I met some acquaintances and had a few

1 The Greenroom magazine was launched this year by a Minneapolis native who as a community activist, music manager and blogger, launched the magazine with the aim of bringing together news and perspectives in hip-‐hop/urban music with commentary and advice on health and wellness. Among the articles in the inaugural issue was an interview with a popular New York hardcore rapper who owns and operates a juice bar in the Bronx.

brief exchanges. Early on during my stay at the concert, there is a very reserved, but vibrant

energy, the steady buzz of anticipation for the headlining act. The DJs on set deftly continued to

spin old and new favorites, chopped and mashed together with a spellbinding fluidity. This is the

same manner in which I have heard and know the best of DJs to entertain at concerts, nightclubs

and other special events and parties. These DJs, as is their role in the true essence of Hip Hop, in

my ideal view, built the energy of the crowd between sets of performers. I, with much of the

crowd audience, swayed, rocked and through hands in the air when we heard familiar and lively

songs in their rotation.

The first performer I saw at the concert, one of two that I was present for, was very

eclectic duos performing an experimental brand of hip hop, infusing both electronic DJ sampling

and emceeing. I wasn’t very much enthralled by the performance, but I could not help but be

entranced, as what they were doing was unique and so much different from the Hip Hop that I

was used to seeing. There was the drummer, whose long dreads resembled a Rastafarian, who

provided loud and boisterous production to complement the emcee, who, as opposed to rapping

traditionally, intermittently sounded broken verses, chants and onomatopoeic phrases, which he

echoed using his sampling machine, making for an electro/techno infused Hip Hop experience.

By the end of this performance and ensuing intermission, the energy had built

considerably, and the venue was now packed, as those who came to see the headliner began to

pack the front rows. A rather interesting diversion, this intermission, under full nightfall, featured

a fire thrower in the rear of the parking lot dazzling on-lookers with his twirling torches.

And so it was now time for the headlining act, the blue-chip rapper that many of the

concertgoers, including two eager female college acquaintances that I met at the concert,

exclusively came to see. As the two hosts, a noted spoken word artist, and an

independent/underground Hip Hop luminary respectively, introduced the headliner, they called

for call and response to amp the crowd and build the energy to a fever pitch in anticipation.

The headliner came to the stage with a poised but frenetic presence, and a style all his

own. He instantly took control of the crowd, prompting them to throw up hands, and yell

expletives, among other responses, before diving into each of his bass-heavy melodies. He

prefaced his performance by telling the audience his journey to the big leagues of rap, and

thanking those who were with him from the start and consumed his unsigned mixtape releases

and relatively unsung debut album. This was especially unique and interesting in the context of

the event, a grassroots celebration of Hip Hop in community.

Watching the headliner’s performance, I instantly admired how skillfully he commanded

the stage and the microphone – rapping/emceeing really takes skill, and the headliner embodied

the essence of Hip Hop by using his skill of mic-control to captivate the crowd in an especially

affective way. All of us experiencing the show could feel his presence, and were moved to

participate with him.

As he closed the show, myself and other concertgoers longed for the headliners to

perform “one more song” – as the chant broke out. He left giving his kind regards to all attendees

and the city, and promoting his latest project. All throughout his performance the headliner

seemed confident and playful, and at the same time, powerful on the stage. And this was the

feeling of empowerment through Hip Hop that was reflected throughout the entire day. There is

something to be said of the transformative phenomenon of this vacant parking lot becoming a

stage. A stage not only for the performers, but also for the audience goers, to express their love

for the culture and the community.

Ritual Analysis – Hip Hop Transcendence: Community, Commercialism and Cultural

Influence

Many rituals can be derived from elements of Hip Hop, and the Hip Hop Harambee show

that was the subject of my thick description. As a matter of fact, it can be aptly stated that Hip

Hop is a ritualistic culture. It is the rich tradition of ritual that comes from hip hop that has made

it into the global phenomenon that it is today, and brought it to multi-national and global stages

of success. Concerts and festivals such as the daylong Hip Hop Harambee event are

commonplace as rituals in Hip Hop culture. It brings together and draws crowds into urban

communities, where many diverse acts share the stage in the name of hip hop. A notable element

of this show was the headlining artist and how this relatively small local stage was able to attract

a major label commercial rap artist to headline such a show.

The concert was exemplary of the transcendent nature of Hip Hop and its ability that is

unique to its genre: to still seamlessly go between its urban grassroots, community cultural roots

and mainstream and global commercial culture. Mickey Hess argues in “Metal Faces and Rap

Masks” that, in essence authenticity cannot be reconciled with commercial success in the Hip

Hop genre. He makes valid points, but in taking a stance primarily of tension between

commercial artistry/persona and authenticity, the theme of his reasoning is, from my perspective,

flawed and perhaps misguided. I would argue on the contrary, that Hip Hop’s unique and

authentic elements, at its core, are what have made the genre successful. On a broader level, hip

hop’s authentic, innovative, and creative personality elements have influenced global culture and

commerce, and affected the way societal views tied to race, urban living, and other political

concepts.

It appears that Hess’ stance is that Hip Hop artist use alternate personas at the expense of

their personal identity, and that these representations submerge the artists authenticity and

integrity. He states: “such play can take the form of a mask itself, as rap artists obscure, confuse,

or split their identities to subvert the often conflicting standards of authenticity and marketability.

The persona artist constructs a second, distinct identity that goes beyond a change in name.”

(Hess, 2005) In continuing his critique of the dichotomy between commercial and authentic, he

states “standards of authenticity within rap music have often challenged commercial success, as

artists and listeners maintain allegiance to a nostalgic authenticity of the culture’s brief existence

outside the recording industry.” Though Hess makes valid points regarding the concept of

commercial Hegemony over artist persona and the authenticity of the product, as there have been

examples of such, he is wrong about this idea being the prevalent attitude and driving force of

Hip Hop and having an enduring effect vs. the power of the roots of the genre. The spread of Hip

Hop culture has proven to be rooted much more so in the retention and reflection of authenticity

than the opposite. It is in fact the nature of authenticity that has made Hip Hop popular as

cultural and commercial product. However, Hip Hop’s authenticity is not necessarily authenticity

in narrative, but rather authenticity in intent, feeling, and spirit. To suggest that personae are

inauthentic would be to suggest that hip-hop artists cannot employ imagination without

sacrificing authenticity. This is a standard that is seen nowhere else, why should it be so in Hip

Big K.R.I.T., the headliner of the show, mentioned in his performance his appreciation of

those who supported him from the beginning. Much of his music relates themes of his humble

Mississippi upbringing. This was an especially significant statement in that it affirmed that,

despite his status as a commercially notable hip hop artist for a major recording company, he still

owes his beginnings to the grassroots element of Hip Hop and being authenticated by the urban

local from which he came and the underground, as do many rappers who have historically risen

to fame. Big KRIT is one of many rappers who are the product of the classic “Horatio Alger”

metanarrative – the profound stories and myths that are representative societal culture and

worldview - that is discussed in the course. Hip Hop, at its essence, arguably embodies and

projects this metanarrative more so than any other subculture or genre of music.

It is from the aforementioned theme of coming from nothing - from the “streets”, or one’s

“hood” or the “underground”, to borrow from the Hip Hop star Drake’s hit single having

“Started From the Bottom” - that Hip Hop gains its sense of authenticity, and the attitudes that

come with it, comprising its most attractive qualities. Hip Hop texts and rituals use these

qualities to generate kinetic consumption, or a deep sense of affective feeling and presence

within the culture of Hip Hop (Petchauer, 2012), which can be witnessed by attending an event

like Hip Hop Harambee.

Steve Stoute, a noted record executive and producer turned advertising mogul, explains in

his book The Tanning of America, that the Horatio Alger metanarrative of the urban

neighborhoods in which it began and grew, birthed attitudes and themes that have come to

characterize the hip hop of today: having a bold and unapologetic approach to life, reflecting

authenticity and applying these attitudes to mindset of aspiration towards success and the finer

things in life. He describes Hip Hop and its origin as “no less than a remix and reinterpretation of

the American dream.”

Referring to the development of Hip Hop music and culture and its spread across

America’s urban regions, he explains:

“Hip-hop, in marketing a new brand of hope, was simply doing what it always did well by borrowing from the classics and adding its own twist. Once an

updated version of rags to riches was in the code, part of America’s DNA, the art form widened its audience exponentially. If you were generationally attuned, had an understanding or empathy toward impoverishment and/or dysfunction, and were aspirational, you were in.” (Stoute & Rivas, 2011)

When performers like Big K.R.I.T., who’s stage name stands for “King Remembered in Time”

take the stage and salute the crowd for coming to the show, express love for the underground and

grassroots by performing at these types of events, and employ call and responses such as “F***

these haters” (haters refers to one’s detractors, enemies, or anyone impeding and individual’s

success). It shows the unapologetic and aspiration character of Hip Hop music and culture, and

this is what draws people to gather in concert and celebrate these principles as a ritual. I can

personally attest that the culture is something that is many ways essential to and reflective of my

self-concept, which is why I resonate with the music so much. The fact that Hip Hop music has

become globally essential is one that I would most attribute to these themes, and how resonant

they are to a vast majority of everyday people, which in turn has driven its commercial success.

Emic Analysis – Hip Hop Building Blocks: Personal Discovery, Touchstones, and Reflections of Identity beyond Borders

Leyla is a 24-year-old African-American woman, although her identity is not of a

traditional nature. She is a first-generation immigrant, as she arrived to the United States just

prior to entering college. A graduating senior, hers is a worldly and traveled perspective, as

throughout her life she has lived in many different places. The Hip Hop culture, surprisingly

enough, is still one that has resonated with her in ways unique from traditional perspectives, and

played a key role in shaping her own evolving worldviews and developing her new identity as

Black in America. She cites Hip Hop, both its positives and its flaws, for making salient to her a

lot of concepts that are significant to her personal journey.

All the same, Leyla’s relationship with Hip Hop and the role it plays in her life it is still

authentic in that it reflects the aspirational nature, communal orientation and cathartic energy that

Discussing her experience at Hip Hop Harambee, Leyla states that she was first drawn to

the show from hearing about it via friends who attended the first annual event last year.

“I didn’t go last summer, I really wanted to go. And so this year, I [decided], I’m going to go. I wanted to see what it was about.”

She was additionally drawn to the artists performing, including Big K.R.I.T. and Shabazz

Palaces. “A friend put me on to him.”2 She says about Big K.R.I.T.

“When his new [mix]tape dropped, King Remembered in Time, I said yeah, I really like this and then I went back and listened to his older tapes…his sound, his style. It’s different, and it has a lot of soul influences that I really like…and I like the things that he raps about.”

Leyla compares the experience to another concert she attended in the past to express her

positive experience at Hip Hop Harambee. “I went to Soundset 20123, and it felt uncomfortable

to me” She discusses the fact that Soundset didn’t feel like a Hip Hop space, and her ensuing

statements speak to her enculturation and how attuned she has become to the culture during her

time in the US.

“What made the environment different was that it was a lot more of an intimate space…and more people of color. As a black person, that’s important.”

2 The process of discovering Big K.R.I.T. that Leyla alludes too is not an uncommon one in Hip Hop culture, and even in the big business industry that has come from it. Many artists gain or maintain popularity from circulating mixtapes – free extended or long playing releases -‐ to generate an audience. This is become especially prevalent with the cultural shift of music to digital technologies and the internet. Hip Hop has adapted to the change in a way that reflects its roots in urban community and the duality of community and commercialism. The internet has become a community and forum through which music is shared, discussed, and promoted through blogs, streaming and the like, and one or many acclaimed mixtapes is the first step toward an emerging Hip Hop artist’s commercial success. Among circles of friends like Leyla, especially in college, discussion of new music often revolves around new digital releases such as mixtapes and friends will “put on” one another to artists that were previously unheard. 3 Soundset is another annual Minnesota Hip Hop concert which takes place at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN

Leyla did not always identify as a Black woman in the sense of its cultural context as we

know it in the US. Leyla, a Muslim woman, is an East African woman who grew up in Saudi

Arabia. She shared with me that her first exposure to Hip Hop came from listening to her father

play records at home and in the car while growing up in Saudi Arabia. This exposure in itself

was a rather unique one, given the culture of that area of the globe, where Hip Hop, or music for

that matter, wasn’t a prevalent cultural entity in public life. Her first exposures to Hip Hop, and

similar/predecessor forms of music came from a familiar, but perhaps unlikely source.

“[Growing up in Saudi Arabia], that in and of itself makes it an interesting environment, because there are no public places to go to concerts, or whatever, like that just doesn’t exist…but my dad exposed me and my sisters, at a really young age to everything…Rap, R&B, Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Motown… He was the Hip Hop Head. He still is.”

Leyla recalls instances during her youth of listening in the car as her father would play

artists like Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson and Bob Marley, but also Hip Hop acts like The

Fugees and Tupac Shakur. She admits, bashfully, “I also kind of got sucked into the whole

commercial rap phase too, in high school especially.” This was in effect an initial introduction

to Black music, and subsequently the culture. A pattern of exposure that is unique to the context

of her upbringing abroad and the journey she has travelled.

“In Saudi Arabia, like abroad, we had access to the music and all, but not necessarily all aspects of the culture. You know what I’m saying? So that’s why I never really went to a lot of concerts like that until, I would say the past two years. [So my exposure] started with the music, but not necessarily living in the culture”

She talks about her personal journey, and as she discusses with me she makes it clearly

evident how hip hop, as well as other predominantly black forms of music, have become a part

of it, and a touchstone for synthesizing her identity as a Black woman in America, albeit a new

one. Her relationship with Hip Hop was not always one of affinity, and as a student at the

University, she began a conflicting process of gradually reconciling Hip Hop music and culture

with her personal beliefs.

“I moved to the US in college, my freshman year. In college I kind of hit this phase, a very spiritual phase of my life, a very religious phase. At the time, I thought I was being a lot closer to my faith, Islam. What I was taught was, if you want to be a better Muslim, you have to cut out music, and you have to cut out all these negative things that are distracting you from your relationship with God…so for a time I kind of cut out music.”

Leyla shares with me that what restored her interest in Hip Hop was being exposed to

“conscious” Hip Hop artists, notably the duo of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, known as Black Star

“Listening to Black Star…I think that’s what kind of woke me up and got me back into it again…I was like yeah, man, this is real, this is really good stuff. And whoever told me that music is not good for you spiritually or intellectually or whatever, was lying. There is Hip Hop out there that can be totally fulfilling, and help you get through stuff.”

She was exposed to these artists during college through her affinity for poetry, and

watching YouTube clips of Def Poetry Jam (hosted by Mos Def). As we talked, the connection

between Hip Hop and Poetry became more salient to her. She engaged in Poetry, Hip-Hop and

Spoken Word through a student group on the U of M campus called Voices Merging, which

could be considered a counterpart to the Headz Up/Word Perfect student group and event that

Petchauer references in Hip-Hop Culture in College Students Lives.

“As a college student, who was as a freshman kind of rediscovering my identity and myself, and my racial identity in particular as a black person, because I didn’t always identify, Voices Merging definitely gave me a space to find a community that was interested in this kind of art…I’ve always loved to write. I’ve always loved writing poetry… I now see it as poetry, I see Hip Hop as poetry”

Leyla has now opened herself up to all kinds of Hip Hop, but still feels conflicted by

what she sees as negative aspects of Hip Hop.

“We love the beat, we love the culture and what it stands for, but we don’t love the violence and [misogyny] toward women.”

However she offers a very thoughtful way of looking at the issue and putting it in

perspective. She points out that one of the great qualities of Hip Hop is the way it recognizes

contradiction in life.

“Everybody is a contradiction…that is who we are as human beings…That’s what I love so much about hip hop. It actually embraces contradiction…it is a living contradiction”

Leyla’s story in many ways speaks to Hip Hop’s versatility and its ability to travel,

transcend various socio-cultural boundaries and resonate universally with people from all

backgrounds. These are critical aspects that create the duality of commercial and communal

authenticity within the young genre, and its presence as significant cultural force beyond the

music. Leyla describes Hip Hop as complex, dynamic and rebellious, and for her it was a

window to Black and urban culture, which she now embraces. What she appreciates most in

addition to being a lens, is Hip Hop’s ability to give way to voice.

“Wasn’t that how it started? As a microphone for people and their issues and what’s going on?”

Etic Analysis – Hip Hop as a Biographical Lens, Reflecting Layers of Authenticity

Ultimately, Hip Hop, as a musical genre and as a culture, reflects human nature and the

fact that we are all live as individuals with a myriad of complexities, and embrace multiple

identities as individuals. In no instance can we truly forsake or suppress one facet of our identity

or identities in lieu of another. Sometimes these aspects of identity contradict, but to know Hip

Hop, as Leyla described in my interview with her, is to embrace these contradictions. Hip Hop

speaks to the many lived experiences and emotions, and creative imaginations of people from all

walks of life. It exists both politically and socially, in the party and in the public square. It exists

to entertain, but it also seeks to uplift and connect. All of these representations of Hip Hop are

valid, and contrary to Hess’s belief, few of these representations seek to mask their counterpart,

but rather coexist, and speak to one another as layers of the lived Hip Hop experience.

Perhaps the strongest element of Hess’ argument comes with his address of the issue of

record labels control over rap artists. Hess states that “this historical and ongoing tension creates

an anxiety, or doubleness, for the rap performer, who must at the same time market himself or

maintain ownership and control of his identity.” (Hess, 2005) It can be acknowledged that threat

of Hip Hop falling under hegemony indeed exists. But ultimately, just as individuals are multi-

faceted and layered, the “doubleness” which Hess describes doesn’t come from fear or lack of

authenticity, but the ability to express these multiple facets and layers to appeal and speak to

different audiences, and only the Hip Hop that embodies the various characteristics of Hip Hop

that have been discussed – aspiration, attitude, feeling, and the like – can truly be embraced an

experience longevity. “Doubleness”, for many rappers in this instance is not deterrence, but

rather a gift. Kanye West is a modern example of an artist who has historically throughout his

career attempted to balance integrity, relevance and financial success, and thus showcased multi-

layered facets of his personality and artistry over the course of his career, by his own design. His

example, as well as that of many other popular contemporary rappers like Jay-Z, Nas, and more

recently Kendrick Lamar emphatically demonstrate that the global influence that Hip Hop music

and has achieved commercially is not mutually exclusive with its cultural impact, nor is it

disconnected from its cultural roots.

As Tricia Rose explains "Even as they struggle with the tension between fame and rap's

gravitational pull toward local urban narratives, for the most part, rappers continue to craft

stories that represent the creative fantasies, perspectives, and experiences of racial marginality in

America.” (Rose, 1994) Record labels cannot truly turn the essence of hip hop into strictly a

commodity, as the only successful hip hop artists have been those who autonomously choose to

embody the attributes of the culture, no matter the way, shape or form. This comes from being

actively engaged in the ritual of the culture no matter how differently it is manifested from the

next artist. The same way, we as the individuals who consume and partake in the Hip Hop

culture, may vary, conflict or even contradict with our beliefs, tastes, or aspects of our

personality, but we embrace all these layers and facets of ourselves as authentic and valid, and

we “embrace contradiction” as Leyla describes, through using the Lens of Hip Hop.

What I learned most from Leyla in our interview is that her experience with Hip Hop is

quite different from the norm, and still is a precise testament to Hip Hop’s transcendence.

Leyla’s story shows us that, Hip Hop can affect and speak to any individuals lived experience as

they are exposed to and engaged with the rituals of the music and its culture. Hip Hop’s process

of enculturation is one that is universal, and doesn’t exclude by geographic location, background

or creed, as long as one ascribes to the qualities and rhythmic rituals of authentic aspiration and

uplift.

A large part of understanding Leyla’s perspective and the thoughts that she, and many

other youth in colleges and universities, cities and towns around the world, is understanding that

Hip-Hop has many layers of personality and we must embrace it in all its forms. To cast any

representation of Hip Hop aside as inauthentic is to ignore the shared roots of all of the genres

manifestations, be they commercially appealing or underground, or even negative, as in the

example of misogyny toward women. Jeff Chang states that Hip Hop at its essence has continued

to grow to reach audiences as far and further abroad as Leyla’s, despite its array of positive and

negative representations.

“Some of that is true. But rap music is only a part of the movement, and if you look beyond stereotypes, it’s clear that hip-hop culture has become one of the most far-

reaching arts movements of the last three decades. The best artists share a desire to break down boundaries between “high” and “low” art – to make urgent, truth-telling work that reflects the lives, loves, histories, hopes, and fears of their generation. Hip-Hop is about rebellion, yes, but it’s also about transformation.” (Chang, 2007) Leyla’s commentary shows us that Hip Hop is no longer bound by borders with regard to

its influence, and in reaching someone of a non-traditional background like her own. The music

that she consumed not only served not only as a entertainment as it was when she went to the

concert, but also served to challenge and shape her beliefs and way of thinking. Hip Hop was to

Leyla not only a window to a new place and a new culture, but also as a touchstone of her youth,

her homeland and her personal journey. This is possible because of the transcendent nature of the

genre and the culture.

Conclusion

Through the journey of ethnography, we are able to truly see Hip Hop for what it is, as a

culture. The research, observation, and valuable insight from subjects, especially Leyla, the

interviewee, allow for a unique approach to be taken to truly analyze Hip Hop culture,

holistically, using multiple humanistic and literary lenses. A concert like Hip Hop Harambee as

the catalyst, it is seen that Hip Hop as a genre occupies an especially unique space. The Hip Hop

Harambee event was a Hip Hop experience that bridged the gap between Hip Hop’s commercial

appeal and its roots in community, social movement and uplift. The event showcased Hip Hop’s

key attribute of being truly transitional between these two concepts. This is a statement that

arguably cannot be made for any other genre.

In examining the context of the Hip Hop Harambee concert and its embedded content and

rituals, as well as a young woman’s personal story it is noted that in moving from the margins to

the mainstream, among many debates that has arisen is the whether Hip Hop has submerged its

authenticity in order to appeal popularly across audiences, and whether authentic Hip Hop

culture can ultimately coexist with commercial interests. Though Hess’ arguments of the rap

industry and false personas bear merit, it is evident through a holistic analysis, observation, and

consideration of the multiple dimensions of Hip Hop music and culture that the far more

prevalent force in making hip hop globally influential, both culturally and commercially, has

been authenticity as opposed to facade. Michael Eric Dyson, noted as a “Hip Hop Scholar”

discusses the ability of Hip Hop’s ability to remain connected to its roots in lieu of its

commercial and global expansion and export: “Remember that roots are meant to nourish, not

strangle. But you can maintain your integrity - God yes, even your authenticity, though its a

much more complicated matter than living in the hood or speaking a certain way - and still be

successful.” (Dyson, 2007)

Dyson’s analogy of roots can apply to any of us who are natives of the Hip Hop culture,

subscribe to its ideals and partake in its rituals. As Leyla reminds us, Hip Hop’s roots connect to

all of our lived experiences, and we can learn much about ourselves from our experiences with

Hip Hop. The cultural roots of Hip Hop remain a salient inspiration to any one who has engaged

with the culture or listened to a Hip Hop record, to be bold, to aspire to greater, and to express

oneself.

References Chang, J. (2007, November). It's A Hip Hop World. Foreign Policy (163), pp. 58-‐65.

Dyson, M. E. (2007). Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip Hop. New York, New York: Basic Civitas Books.

Hess, M. (2005). Metal Faces, Rap Masks: Identity and Resistance in Hip Hop's Persona Artist. Popular Music and Society , 28 (3), 297-‐311.

Petchauer, E. (2012). Hip-‐Hop Culture in College Students' Lives: Elements, Embodiment, and Higher Edutainment. New York, New York: Routledge.

Rose, T. (1994). Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in America. Hanover, New Hampshire: Wesleyan University Press.

Stoute, S., & Rivas, M. E. (2011). The Tanning of America: How Hip-‐Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. New York, New York: Gotham Books.

Hip Hop Culture: Reflections of Transcendence and Cultural Significance in the 21st Century, An...

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