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 161<br />
When Mos Def addresses <strong>the</strong> hip-hop community, he tries to<br />
shatter some endur<strong>in</strong>g illusions. The misconception, he reiterates, is<br />
that “what y’all call beef is not beef at all.” Hip-hop’s feuds, he<br />
charges, must engage a wider social context. This redef<strong>in</strong>ition of<br />
“beef” is an aspect of signify<strong>in</strong>g that Henry Louis Gates, Jr., discusses<br />
<strong>in</strong> The Signify<strong>in</strong>g Monkey (1998)—rewrit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> received textual tradition,<br />
<strong>in</strong> this case <strong>the</strong> tradition that def<strong>in</strong>es “beef.” In do<strong>in</strong>g so, Mos<br />
Def moves from hip-hop “beef” to larger “beef,” <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Iraq<br />
War and AIDS. Beef, for him, is <strong>the</strong> tension <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle East, not<br />
<strong>the</strong> tension on New York radio station “Hot 9–7.” Mos Def unequivocally<br />
raps that beef is “geopolitics” and <strong>the</strong> situations <strong>in</strong> “Iraq, <strong>the</strong><br />
West Bank, and Gaza Strip.” Focus<strong>in</strong>g on beefs between rappers distracts<br />
from problems <strong>in</strong> African American communities—poverty,<br />
unemployment, <strong>in</strong>adequate health care, and greedy foreign wars. Mos<br />
Def’s voice redirect<strong>in</strong>g anger from <strong>in</strong>ternal targets to <strong>the</strong> perpetrators<br />
of oppression has long been an impetus for African American artists.<br />
Richard Wright’s “A Five Dollar Fight” (Black Boy 1945) and<br />
Ellison’s “battle royal” (Invisible Man 1952), for example, depict<br />
black men be<strong>in</strong>g turned aga<strong>in</strong>st each o<strong>the</strong>r by powerful white men,<br />
both for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and to focus <strong>the</strong>ir frustration <strong>in</strong>ternally <strong>in</strong>stead<br />
of on <strong>the</strong>ir oppressors.<br />
Because an equal chance to outsh<strong>in</strong>e one’s opponent verbally is a<br />
cornerstone of hip-hop beefs, Mos Def delivers a supreme <strong>in</strong>sult <strong>in</strong><br />
demand<strong>in</strong>g that hip-hop move away from celebrity squabbles: “Beef is<br />
not what <strong>the</strong>se famous niggas do on <strong>the</strong> mic / Beef is what George<br />
Bush would do <strong>in</strong> fight.” Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Mos Def, it is time for hip-hop<br />
to battle those who oppress African Americans. Yet chang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> significations<br />
for <strong>the</strong> term “beef” is <strong>in</strong>sufficient for creat<strong>in</strong>g change.<br />
Stuart Hall warns that rearticulat<strong>in</strong>g values alone will not change<br />
socio<strong>political</strong> realities: “No ideological conception can ever become<br />
materially effective . . . until it can be articulated to <strong>the</strong> field of <strong>political</strong><br />
and social forces and to <strong>the</strong> struggles between different forces at<br />
stake” (42). The project of address<strong>in</strong>g African Americans’ “beefs,”<br />
<strong>the</strong>n, is shared by rappers, activists, politicians, and communities.<br />
The previous songs diagnose problems but do little to propose<br />
solutions. Jean Grae’s “Block Party” (Attack of <strong>the</strong> Attack<strong>in</strong>g Th<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
2003) criticizes negative aspects of hip-hop culture and sketches a<br />
plan for mak<strong>in</strong>g a more educated and self-aware community. In<br />
denounc<strong>in</strong>g “materialistic values,” <strong>in</strong>sularity, and violence, she works<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st two hip-hop tropes—defend<strong>in</strong>g one’s neighborhood and<br />
flaunt<strong>in</strong>g material wealth. She raps, “stop act<strong>in</strong>g like your flesh is<br />
metal / and your hood’s a magnet” because “protect<strong>in</strong>g your turf ”