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 167<br />
acquiescence,” which leads to a fundamental suspicion of strangers<br />
and “<strong>the</strong> bond of a crowd” as opposed to <strong>the</strong> bonds of <strong>in</strong>timates (3). Live<br />
hip-hop shows, however, are exist<strong>in</strong>g sites where rank and file citizens<br />
can participate <strong>in</strong> a coord<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>political</strong> practice that generates<br />
collective agency. Live shows that take place <strong>in</strong> small, <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />
clubs are powerful <strong>in</strong>stances of both community outreach and<br />
community-build<strong>in</strong>g. In <strong>the</strong>se shows, hip-hop artists, <strong>in</strong> conjunction<br />
with a responsive audience, create a collective agency, where<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
audience members are at least momentarily empowered to enact<br />
change, to practice subversive action, and to speak out about <strong>in</strong>justice<br />
and current <strong>political</strong> issues. Michael Eric Dyson has suggested that <strong>the</strong><br />
rap concert “creates space for cultural resistance and personal agency”<br />
(5–6), but <strong>the</strong> primary focus should not be on <strong>in</strong>dividual agency<br />
because it is problematic <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>political</strong> realm. Instead, <strong>the</strong>se shows<br />
ultimately create space for collective agency and identity, and audience<br />
members partly forgo <strong>the</strong>ir personal agency for a will<strong>in</strong>gness to<br />
“act <strong>in</strong> concert.”<br />
In this section I draw upon Hannah Arendt’s notion of “act<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
concert” <strong>in</strong> order to illustrate <strong>the</strong> ways that <strong>the</strong> live hip-hop show can<br />
be an <strong>in</strong>teractive space of collective agency and coord<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>political</strong><br />
practice. In live shows, performers and audience jo<strong>in</strong>tly produce a<br />
space of <strong>in</strong>teractive engagement <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong>y can contest dom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />
cultural values. In <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g pages I outl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> dynamics of live<br />
shows at small clubs, briefly discuss five shows as case studies, and consider<br />
some significant problems with audiences at live shows, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> difficulties of translat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>political</strong> action from <strong>the</strong> clubs <strong>in</strong>to larger<br />
public spaces. My face-to-face experience with <strong>the</strong> live performances of<br />
<strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g artists contributes to my conclusions: Rob Base and DJ<br />
E-Z Rock, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Biz Markie, The Roots,<br />
The Coup, Talib Kweli, Eyedea & Abilities, Liv<strong>in</strong>g Legends, Murs,<br />
Little Bro<strong>the</strong>r, Dilated Peoples, Pr<strong>in</strong>ce Paul, Aceyalone, Mr. Lif, Aesop<br />
Rock, Bro<strong>the</strong>r Ali, Micranots, Atmosphere, Cunn<strong>in</strong>lynguists, Brand<br />
Nubian, C-Rayz Walz, Cannibal Ox, J-Live, Sadat X, and Zion I.<br />
These shows, and o<strong>the</strong>rs like <strong>the</strong>m at small, <strong>in</strong>dependent clubs across<br />
<strong>the</strong> country, help illum<strong>in</strong>ate <strong>the</strong> ways that hip-hop artists utilize alternative<br />
channels for community-build<strong>in</strong>g and participatory <strong>political</strong><br />
engagement. These shows all took place <strong>in</strong> small clubs or on college<br />
campuses; such venues are crucial to my <strong>in</strong>terpretation of hip-hop<br />
shows as examples of Arendtian public spaces and should be differentiated<br />
from large arena shows. I return to <strong>the</strong> problematics of large arena<br />
shows later <strong>in</strong> this section. F<strong>in</strong>ally, all of <strong>the</strong> shows I discuss as case<br />
studies took place at Cat’s Cradle (capacity 600–700), located a mile