The Language of Hip-Hop
Eric Potts II
HUMN240-H4WW
05/01/2014
For my chosen article I choose Rakim, Ice Cube then
Watch the Throne:
Engaged Visibility through Identity Orchestration and the
Language of Hip-Hop
Narratives by David W. Rice, only
because of my love for hip-hop music and the culture. David is a psychology
professor at Morehouse College
and also the Principle Investigator of the Identity Orchestration Research Lab.
His objective throughout this particular article was to widen the outlook of
grassroots stereotypes over the black men. Some of the stereotypes perceived as
the black man being criminal, athlete, or entertainer just to name a few.
Easily the misinterpretations and narrow understanding of black masculinity
positioned the black male voice to be somewhat invincible. One of the platforms
used by the black males to speak, teach, and narrate their life stories is the
popular culture known as hip-hop. The author had to be very cautious when
summarizing black man through any one particular prospective in regards to
hip-hop, which is very important in any form of work because instead of
attempting to enlighten those who are narrow minded and stereotype, David’s
work could have been stereotypical as well as hypocritical.
In
this article David utilized a small portion of lyrics from some of the most
pronounced hip-hop artists of two different generations, Rakim, Ice Cube,
Jay-Z, and Kanye West. Rakim and Ice Cube for one era then Jay-Z with Kanye
West for the next era. Comparing the lyrics of each of the artist, breaking
down the meaning behind the parables for those who are not fans or don’t
understand the hip-hop language, is David’s main goal with this article. In
these parables the artist tells stories of their lifestyle including the
upbringing, daily activities, and hardships they have to endure. While
analyzing the lyrics of the artist, David uses his knowledge of psychology
implementing the principle of Identity Orchestration research to define the
purpose of the artist lyrics.
As
I read through the article I was surprisingly amazed by the way David examined
and explained the meaning behind the work of art with the artist. Personally
being a huge fan of every one of the hip-hop artist used in this article, I can
identify the feeling put into the work of the artist, I can understand the pain
their feeling because I am apart of the culture. I now understand that these
artists are speakers, motivators, and teachers of a whole cultures lifestyle,
and if we as the audience don’t try understand the true meaning of what’s
behind the parables then we too are subject to making the mistake of
stereotyping the black man. David was on point and accurate when he used his
research of Identity Orchestration to recognize the black male in it’s entirety
without judging.
I
truly believe in the importance of introducing a formula to understanding
different cultures that will ultimately assist with eliminating the prejudice
thoughts we deal with. What is also a very point that David made was a black male’s
transition from adolescent to men, elaborating on the way they showed maturity through
their lyrics. Even the hip-hop culture has grown immensely because more people
form different lifestyles are beginning to understand.
References
1. RICE, DAVID WALL,
(2013,Feb). Journal of Popular Culture. , Vol. 46 (Issue 1), p173-191.
19p. DOI: 10.1111/jpcu.12020.
