SPECIAL KAY’E
PUTTING THE C INTO RAP
A video has been doing the rounds recently on MTV Base and other similar
cable and satellite music channels. The singer seems to be celebrating being
locked up in jail. The lyrics of his song suggest that he finds prison life
difficult and has a family who loves him and wants him to do right. However,
nowhere in the song does he express any remorse for dealing drugs, which,
at least according to the video’s storyline, is what led to his incarceration.
In fact, towards the end of the video, we see him and his knucklehead fellow
inmates doing a dance, their hands and legs in irons.
There’s considerable worry among some cultural observers about the imagery
in the video, not to mention the mentality behind the song. Are these kinds
of images progressive? Are the messages behind these kinds of songs really
useful? Apparently, these observers see hints of an underlying racist agenda
and images that hark back to the days of slavery. Maybe the less said about
that the better. I’ll leave the
intellectualising to those with the brains to do it. Any observer with any
knowledge of African American
culture though, will be aware that the glorification of criminality among
black male youth is so prevalent, that it’s almost a cliché.
Black men locked up in jail are not reviled as criminals but are rather hailed
as victims of an oppressive and racist society. It’s often said that
a young black male coming out of jail is much more likely to get respect from
his peers than one graduating from college. It’s also alleged that there
are more young black men in jail at any given time than there are in higher
education. Some actually find this funny and a source of raucous comedy. Personally,
I find it all rather sad. Mr ‘Locked Up’ is by no means unique.
I’ve been taking a closer look at the state of black music today. I
run the risk of being dismissed as an old fuddy-duddy (and yes, I say it was
all much better in my day) but something seems to me to be going badly wrong.
And it’s not as if I’m reminiscing about the 1950s or a similarly
long lost age. Just flick back five to 10 years ago and the decline is clear
to see. There’s no soul in black music anymore, no feeling, and definitely
no positive message. These days, it’s all about the beat. It doesn’t
matter if a song has inane lyrics, inept vocals and an insipid melody. If
it’s got a ‘banging beat’, then it’s a good record.
Real
musicians
have become practically obsolete. It’s all about computers and drum
machines.
Extremely good looks seem to be another vital ingredient for a successful
career in the music industry today, whether you’re male or female. Maybe
it’s always been that way. These days, though, it boosts your career
if you’re prepared to look like you make money selling your body –
and again, it
doesn’t really matter if you are male or female. None of this applies
if you’re a male rapper of course. You can be as ugly as sin, keep your
clothes on if you choose and still be a star. Actually, the more you can look
and talk like a hardened criminal, the higher your chances of being a hit.
And on the subject of rappers, the degree of mediocrity in so-called R’n’B
singing is such that even rappers now feel confident enough to get in on the
act. They’re having massive commercial success at it too. What is going
on?
And is it just me or does it seem that the only things they’re capable
of singing or rapping about are sex, money, drugs and guns? The videos we
use to promote these songs bombard us with images of criminality, violence,
huge mansions, swanky cars, people splashing money like it’s water on
expensive champagnes and, of course, hordes of semi-naked women waving their
assets around.
Turn over to MTV2 or VH2 meanwhile, and the contrast is stark. You get an
eclectic range of songs with imaginative lyrics and thought-provoking videos.
There is nary a hint of nudity to be seen and the references to sex are practically
nonexistent. And it’s this disparity that moves me to ask some uncomfortable
questions.
So why this tirade against black music? How’s any of this relevant in
a magazine like Positive Nation? Tune in for my concluding piece next issue
and I’ll try to give some answers.
ekaggwa@ukcoalition.org
