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Rap Music and Street Consciousness (review)

2007; University of Illinois Press; Volume: 120; Issue: 475 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/jaf.2007.0026

1535-1882

Dawn Michaelle Norfleet,

Caribbean history, culture, and politics

Reviewed by: Rap Music and Street Consciousness Dawn M. Norfleet Rap Music and Street Consciousness. By Cheryl L. Keyes. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002. Pp. 304, bibliography, photographs, transcriptions, index, glossary.) Rap Music and Street Consciousness is a comprehensive history of hip-hop from its inception in the 1970s as a local "youth arts mass movement" (p. 1) to its current status as a worldwide phenomenon. The book focuses on rap music and the musical aspect of hip-hop, summarizing major developments and issues relevant to rap music in the larger context of hip-hop culture and popular entertainment. Seeking to balance the perspectives of scholarly researcher with that of cultural insiders, Keyes places hip-hop in its broad context, without which the history would be a rather unwieldy combination of facts, legends, and rumors. The book is divided into two parts, beginning with "The Sociocultural History and Aesthetics of Rap Music." This section discusses the cultural forces from outside the United States that influenced hip-hop's immigrant founders, from West African bardic retentions to the traditions of Jamaican public dances before the 1970s. The study also cites the rapping radio personalities in the United States and the musical poets of the 1960s and 1970s as key influences on the birth of hip-hop. This section discusses the recorded contributions of acknowledged forefathers of hip-hop culture (Kool DJ Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash) and ends with developments at the turn of the century. The bulk of the historical discussion focuses on the period between the mid-1970s and 1990. The second part, "The Critical Perspectives of Rap Music and the Hip-Hop Nation," analyzes major controversies and discussions within the hip-hop community, including conspiracy theories believed by hip-hoppers and the impact of commercialization. Topics include the role of women in a field that celebrates male perspectives and the stories surrounding the deaths of icons Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. in the mid-1990s. One of the many strengths of the book is its coherent discussions of potentially confusing stories in hip-hop, such as the much-publicized friction between the "East Coast" and "West Coast" hip-hop communities (pp. 167–71). Keyes carefully separates facts from rumors but insightfully acknowledges the importance of both in constructing hip-hop history. A weakness of the book concerns its definition of the "Hip-Hop Nation." Keyes states, "The Hip-Hop Nation comprises a community of artists and adherents who espouse street performance aesthetics as expressed through the four elements of hip-hop. At the hem [sic] of the nation's ideology is Afrika Bambaataa, the organizer and founder of the Zulu Nation" (p. 157). This loose definition gives hip-hop a quasi-organizational status and makes it difficult for readers unfamiliar with the culture to draw distinctions between the Hip-Hop Nation, the Zulu Nation (a specific organization where a membership form is required), and the hip-hop community, which most commonly refers to the informal association of people whose aesthetics are primarily shaped by hip-hop. Is the Hip-Hop Nation (capitalized in the text) different from the hip-hop community (not capitalized)? Furthermore, not all those who consider themselves members of the hip-hop community necessarily acknowledge—or are [End Page 113] even aware of—the contributions of the pioneers of rap. Are these individuals, then, not a part of the Nation? There may be a subtle difference between "Nation" and "community," but Keyes does not explicitly make the case for this distinction in the text. I found it difficult to determine whether Keyes's use of "Hip-Hop Nation" was emic (defined by the community) or etic (defined by the author herself). Nevertheless, the strengths of Rap Music and Street Consciousness far outweigh any weaknesses. The strengths largely lie in Keyes's reliance on a people-centered approach, rather than on pure cultural theory. Much of the research data was obtained over a period of two decades through personal interviews with people in various positions in the culture, from rap musicians to video directors. Rich in detail and analysis, this book is perhaps one of the most comprehensive in rap music...