american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
154 AMERICAN POLITICAL POETRY<br />
is true for many rappers as well. However, at <strong>the</strong> same time, some<br />
rappers confirm <strong>the</strong> worst stereotypes about hip-hop culture, and<br />
much ma<strong>in</strong>stream hip-hop embodies an <strong>in</strong>dividualistic, hypermaterialistic<br />
and consumptive agency. Much of it is also violent and<br />
misogynistic. The rhetorical strategies of hip-hop’s contestatory urban<br />
agency vary widely, but <strong>the</strong>y consistently challenge hypermaterialism<br />
and hedonism.<br />
In chapter 4, I use five songs and parts of a sixth as case studies to<br />
explore hip-hop’s contestatory urban agency. The first three are about<br />
9/11 and <strong>the</strong> complexities of post-9/11 America. These songs are<br />
especially pert<strong>in</strong>ent given <strong>the</strong>ir similarities to and differences from <strong>the</strong><br />
K<strong>in</strong>nell and Baraka poems <strong>in</strong> chapter 1. They illustrate two dist<strong>in</strong>ct,<br />
but still overlapp<strong>in</strong>g, approaches to <strong>political</strong> lyrics and contestatory<br />
urban agency. In “Are You Satisfied” (All of <strong>the</strong> Above 2002), J-Live,<br />
a former New York City public school teacher, destabilizes public officials’<br />
unify<strong>in</strong>g post-9/11 rhetoric even as he laments <strong>the</strong> loss of lives.<br />
Mr. Lif’s “Home of <strong>the</strong> Brave” (Emergency Rations 2002) directly<br />
attacks American imperialism, eschew<strong>in</strong>g J-Live’s more even-handed<br />
approach. Because I am explicitly concerned with urban agency, post-<br />
9/11 New York is an apt space for exploration. After those two songs<br />
and brief discussions of Mos Def’s “What’s Beef ?” and Jean Grae’s<br />
“Block Party,” I write about <strong>the</strong> Notorious B.I.G., one of hip-hop’s<br />
greatest icons. The lyrics of “Respect” and “Th<strong>in</strong>gs Done Changed”<br />
(Ready to Die 1994) symbolize <strong>the</strong> tensions of contestatory urban<br />
agency as well as any hip-hop songs.<br />
Hip-hop’s contestatory urban agency is bounded by two poles that<br />
rappers cont<strong>in</strong>ually challenge. At each pole, a hip-hop foundation<br />
marks <strong>the</strong> territory—on one side braggadocio, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
pessimism. The first pole is best expressed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> title of Nas’s “The<br />
World Is Yours” (Illmatic 1994), which implies that urban actors are<br />
capable of realiz<strong>in</strong>g any goal. “Block Party” echoes this pole when<br />
Jean Grae raps, “The world is what you make it.” This sentiment has<br />
been expressed countless times <strong>in</strong> what are usually referred to as<br />
“uplift<strong>in</strong>g an<strong>the</strong>ms” or some derivation <strong>the</strong>reof. This pole <strong>in</strong>advertently<br />
echoes conservative <strong>political</strong> orthodoxy often used to suggest<br />
that poverty is proof of bad character, and that <strong>the</strong> poor are lazy and<br />
<strong>the</strong> rich simply harder workers. The o<strong>the</strong>r pole is best stated by Mos<br />
Def’s “The Rape Over” (The New Danger 2004), a parody of Jay-Z’s<br />
“The Takeover” <strong>in</strong> which hip-hop megastar Jay-Z exclaims that he<br />
“runs” <strong>the</strong> rap music <strong>in</strong>dustry. In Mos Def’s version, “old white<br />
men,” MTV, Viacom, and “corporate forces” are “runn<strong>in</strong>g” hip-hop.<br />
At this pole young African Americans <strong>in</strong> hip-hop do not even control