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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168 AMERICAN POLITICAL POETRY<br />
from <strong>the</strong> campus of <strong>the</strong> University of North Carol<strong>in</strong>a at Chapel Hill.<br />
As such, <strong>the</strong>se examples should be considered local, specific ones, but<br />
also ones that provide evidence for <strong>the</strong> dynamics of live shows at small<br />
clubs throughout <strong>the</strong> United States. The demographics of Cat’s<br />
Cradle, moreover, br<strong>in</strong>g up some difficult but illum<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g questions<br />
about <strong>the</strong> state of hip-hop, which I discuss later <strong>in</strong> this chapter. 7<br />
The o<strong>the</strong>rwise lost experience of <strong>the</strong> <strong>political</strong>—citizens act<strong>in</strong>g<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> a public space with coord<strong>in</strong>ated effort—is a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive<br />
characteristic of <strong>the</strong> hip-hop show that po<strong>in</strong>ts to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>roads many<br />
hip-hop artists make aga<strong>in</strong>st a <strong>political</strong>ly dis<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong>dividualism<br />
that encourages us “to get what we can for ourselves and not be too<br />
troubled by <strong>the</strong> problems faced by o<strong>the</strong>rs” (Sennett 31). The hip-hop<br />
artists I discuss here often challenge this brand of <strong>in</strong>dividualism; as<br />
such, <strong>the</strong>ir shows have different social and <strong>political</strong> value as well as a<br />
different niche <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> consumer market than contemporary multiplat<strong>in</strong>um,<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>stream hip-hop. Their live shows balance <strong>the</strong> way that<br />
much ma<strong>in</strong>stream hip-hop styles “socially competitive consumption as<br />
a viable mode of civic participation and personal fulfillment”<br />
(Smith 71). In his article on social mobility and <strong>the</strong> “hip-hop mogul,”<br />
Christopher Holmes Smith suggests that for wealthy hip-hop<br />
lum<strong>in</strong>aries such as Combs and Master P and <strong>the</strong> artists who emulate<br />
<strong>the</strong>m, a successful rapper’s “upwardly mobile ascent is not te<strong>the</strong>red to<br />
a sense of ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong>dividual propriety or communal accountability” (80).<br />
Under <strong>the</strong>se prevail<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>stream conditions <strong>in</strong> which <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
wealth and a “consumptive ethos” (71) are paramount, <strong>the</strong> live hiphop<br />
show at a small club is a sorely needed corrective. These shows<br />
unveil an aspect of hip-hop culture that is concerned both with<br />
collective experience and with collective—ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>in</strong>dividual—<br />
identity. As Patrick Neate writes, hip-hop must ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> some <strong>in</strong>dependence<br />
from <strong>the</strong> “corporate giants that do nei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> form nor its<br />
worldwide consumers any favors” (257–258). Live shows at small<br />
clubs work to counter unchecked <strong>in</strong>dividualism, passive consumerism,<br />
and big bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>se live shows artists and audience create a communitybased<br />
space. Hannah Arendt’s work on <strong>the</strong> necessity of well-def<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
public spaces for participatory politics illum<strong>in</strong>ates <strong>the</strong> hip-hop show as<br />
a space that enacts collective agency and identity while giv<strong>in</strong>g citizens<br />
an experience of a practice that is fundamentally <strong>political</strong>. Arendt’s critique<br />
of Western representative democracies focuses on <strong>the</strong> ways that<br />
<strong>the</strong>y exclude citizens from “participat<strong>in</strong>g, and hav<strong>in</strong>g a share <strong>in</strong> public<br />
power” (On Revolution 255). She contends that <strong>the</strong> primary understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of citizenship <strong>in</strong> contemporary Western cultures centers on