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When the oppressed becomes the oppressor: Willie Lynch and the politics of race and racism in hip-hop music.

Article Excerpt
Insanity playin' on your vanity As they stomp your sense of self Tellin' you what you need to succeed

The Last Poets *

Racism is an incubus that has haunted every culture in the United States since its inception. Today, aspects of the hip-hop genre embody that spirit by promoting self-hate through exploitation, misogyny, greed, and denigration of who Blacks are as a people. The hip-hop culture and its style of music have crossed all racial and culture barriers and has been deemed the music of the twenty-first century. Yet the hip-hop culture often cloaks itself very powerfully with monolithic images in television, magazines, and music videos.

Much of the contemporary hip-hop music today has evolved from the violence of gangsta rap. Many hip-hop artists profess in their lyrics and videos to be simply speaking the truth about their realities; however these lyrics and images do not empower African Americans in these situations to get out. Instead the cycle of homicide, drugs, poverty, domestic violence, and AIDS continues to manifest itself in the black community.

Some hip-hop artists have taken on the tools of oppression and become the oppressor by perpetuating historically negative images and messages that many whites and others still hold true about black people. Part of these tools of oppression may have been invented as early as 1712.

This article addresses how Willie Lynch's infamous 1712 letter (1) is authenticated through the negative images and messages presented in hip-hop music and its effects on youth culture.

The Difference between Rap and Hip-Hop Music

Rap music has been phenomenally successful during the past decade. Songs by rappers such as Jay-Z, Eminem, and Ludacris consistently grace the music charts with their hypnotizing beats and saucy lyrics. The theme of such songs as often mentioned by rappers is "keeping it real." But "keeping it real" comes with a hefty price including defying history and degrading women at the expensive of being a successful rapper. This paper discusses the ramifications of being a rapper and the potential effects rap lyrics have on U.S. Black culture.

Today, the terms "rap" and "hip-hop" are used interchangeably. Some people have suggested that there is a difference. Rap music was a conduit to...

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