american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang

176 AMERICAN POLITICAL POETRY
just one of many wrought by a visually -dominated consumer culture
of films, music videos, television, and the Internet. But for hip-hop, it
points to an existential crisis. Nelson George, one of hip-hop’s most
astute mainstream commentators, laments that music videos, though
indispensable in disseminating hip-hop culture globally, have transformed
the art form’s fundamental aesthetic from its very public gestation
period in city parks and on street corners in the Bronx and
Queens to one that thrives on sophisticated marketing, image construction,
and video editing. He claims that hip-hop video “has
removed live performance from the center of its aesthetic”
(111–113). Of greater consequence is the danger this dynamic presents
to the axiomatic exchange between audience and artist key to
hip-hop aesthetics.
In contrast to George’s claim and Greg Dimitriadis’s concern that
there is an “increasing lack of space for live production and congregation”
(191), hip-hop shows at small clubs work to keep live performance
at the center of the aesthetic partly by engaging hip-hop fans in
a coordinated political experience. But the question remains: What is
it about the small club hip-hop show that brings the hip-hop aesthetic
back to live performance as a central aesthetic axiom? What is it more
specifically about the hip-hop show in a small club that is different
from a hip-hop show in a large arena or stadium? Are the dynamics of
a politically engaged public space unique to small clubs? In addition to
dramatically cheaper ticket prices and a relative freedom from corporate
and institutional influence, the primary factor that differentiates
small clubs from large arenas is the sense of immersion possible in a
small club.
The full immersion of the audience in a show is due somewhat to
the close architectural confines, the usually hot temperatures inside,
the high decibel sound levels, and the inability to separate oneself
from the energy unless one leaves the club. The close confines and
small stage, which usually separates the audience from performers not
with floor space but vertically by just a few feet, lead to increased intimacy
between performers and their audience. In this atmosphere it is
not unusual to see artists walking around the club before or after the
show, signing records, and directly engaging audience members during
the show by addressing them, talking to them, and giving them
handshakes. All of these possibilities are dramatically foreclosed during
the large arena show. It is reasonable to conclude that large arena
shows may be capable of creating a sense of collective identity, but not
coordinated collective agency, since collective agency and political
practice, as Arendt shows, depend upon intimate intersubjective