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
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CONTESTATORY URBAN AGENCY 157<br />
“Throw Your Fists Up”: Hip-Hop’s<br />
Contestatory Urban Agency—Lyrical<br />
J-Live’s “Are You Satisfied?” foregrounds several hip-hop tropes <strong>in</strong><br />
exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g post-9/11 America. In do<strong>in</strong>g so, his criticism vacillates<br />
between <strong>the</strong> general and specific: <strong>the</strong> brutality and <strong>in</strong>equality of freemarket<br />
capitalism, President Bush’s policies, and what he perceives as<br />
<strong>the</strong> disturb<strong>in</strong>g quietude of <strong>the</strong> African American and hip-hop communities<br />
on <strong>the</strong>se issues. The chorus of “Are You Satisfied?” positions<br />
<strong>the</strong> song as a general critique of American capitalism and imperialism,<br />
especially under Bush: “The rich get richer, / <strong>the</strong> world gets worse, /<br />
do you get <strong>the</strong> picture? / Whoever told you that it was all good lied, /<br />
so throw your fists up if you’re not satisfied.” The chorus decries policies<br />
that <strong>in</strong>crease economic <strong>in</strong>equality, but more importantly it<br />
directly questions <strong>the</strong> hip-hop community and issues a collective call<br />
for action with <strong>the</strong> “fists up” rhetoric of <strong>the</strong> black power movement<br />
and much <strong>political</strong>-m<strong>in</strong>ded hip-hop. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, “It’s all good” is a hiphop<br />
expression—used for more than a decade—usually uttered as a<br />
dismissal of problems or as a celebratory declaration. (This phrase is<br />
hip-hop’s equivalent of Bobby McFerr<strong>in</strong>’s famous song “Don’t<br />
Worry, Be Happy.”) In us<strong>in</strong>g this phrase, J-Live not only denounces<br />
MCs and listeners who do noth<strong>in</strong>g but say “punchl<strong>in</strong>es and puns”<br />
while ignor<strong>in</strong>g urgent socio<strong>political</strong> problems, especially those stemm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from 9/11, he also signifies on and engages <strong>the</strong> received cultural<br />
tradition of hip-hop culture. He frames his reproach <strong>in</strong><br />
term<strong>in</strong>ology that his audience will respond to with heightened awareness<br />
and sensitivity. He also questions <strong>the</strong> courage of those who have<br />
been oppositional critics <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> past, when he implies that <strong>the</strong> president’s<br />
calls for unity and patriotism have made MCs “scared to<br />
debate” with <strong>the</strong> “same devils” <strong>the</strong>y “used to love to hate.” Times<br />
such as <strong>the</strong> present, he suggest, require more courage and persistence<br />
<strong>in</strong> fight<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>equality and oppression. Hip-hop’s orig<strong>in</strong>ary voices, he<br />
also implies, must be engaged by tackl<strong>in</strong>g urgent problems.<br />
When J-Live specifically denounces Bush, he does so via one of hiphop’s<br />
primary conceits—time. Potter expla<strong>in</strong>s <strong>the</strong> question<br />
“What time is it?” <strong>in</strong> hip-hop vernacular: “With this question, rappers<br />
situate <strong>the</strong>mselves with<strong>in</strong> a black diasporic timezone, outside <strong>the</strong><br />
‘official’ time of calendars” (7–8). Fur<strong>the</strong>r, Richard Shusterman<br />
discusses rap’s “frequent time tags” as a “metaphysical position