Blogging assignment, due Friday (April 25), 5pm:

• Construct a rebuttal that will help you argue your point in your final project. In order to do so you will want to:
• Identify a legitimate argument your opposition might deliver (not a straw man argument)
• Decide whether to refute (“you’re wrong because…”) or counter-argue (“you’re right, but… “) it
• Think about how your rebuttal will work for your ethos (e.g. do you want to be perceived as tough, no-nonsense, as caring and understanding, as someone who will stick to her guns, as someone who strives for compromises that all parties can live with, etc.)
• In the post, briefly introduce the argument you want to rebut, and then explain how you would go about your rebuttal in your medium of choice in the final project

Writing for Salon, Brittney Cooper denounced the way that Macklemore handled his Grammy wins over Kendrick Lamar. She wrote, “Macklemore on his best day can barely hold a candle to Kendrick on his worse day. Even Macklemore acknowledged that he “robbed Kendrick,” via a text message that he then sent out screenshots of via social media. However, Macklemore claimed that fear prevented him from taking a courageous stance and saying exactly that when he went up to accept his award. But Kendrick Lamar can’t do anything with a private apology, Macklemore. Far too often, allies refuse to speak up in public while asking for absolution via private confessions. Macklemore failed to use the white privilege that he has readily acknowledged to challenge this structure of power in a moment when the world was watching.”

In the article, titled “Macklemore’s useless apology: Grammys and the myth of meritocracy,” Cooper makes very strong arguments about the pervasiveness of white privilege throughout American culture and history, and how Macklemore has benefitted from that.

To be clear, I do agree that Macklemore could have done more to address his privilege. But, especially compared to most other beneficiaries of white privilege, Macklemore has done a lot – although, of course, not enough – to address and raise awareness of race and privilege. He addressed that he “robbed” Kendrick (perhaps not in the most diplomatic way, but still), he’s addressed the gentrification of hip-hop, he’s addressed that The Heist was a great album but probably not deserving of the Grammy.

Yes, Cooper is right, Macklemore could have obviously done more to promote the issue. Yes, if Macklemore would have done more to raise awareness, it would’ve been praiseworthy. But I don’t think that Macklemore should be criticized for not speaking out at the Grammys.

Macklemore made the best album that he could (and it is a great album). He didn’t choose to be white, he didn’t choose to win multiple Grammys, he didn’t choose to “rob” Kendrick. As Talib Kweli said on MSNBC, Macklemore is “an artist who realizes his position in this culture and is doing everything in his power that he can do. He can’t not be white.”

Blogging assignment, due Friday (April 11), 5pm:

• Create a sound or video remix of one source related to your controversy. You might:
  • Add background music and sound effects to a speech or interview in order to encourage a certain reading of it
  • Add music to a movie clip to reinterpret it (think McConnelling)
  • Cut up, loop, re-arrange audio or video
  • Put two (or more) audio/video sources in conversation with each other by cutting back and forth between them
  • Distort audio material using reverb, EQ, and filters
  • Distort video material using filters and cropping
  • manipulate the tempo of your audio/video material to create a rhetorical effect
• Obviously you cannot do all of this at once. Pick one or two techniques that will work for your source and apply them with a clear effect in mind.
• Upload your project to Youtube and link it on your blog (if you prefer to not make it public, you can upload it to the “Remixes” folder on this wiki)

Report on an event related to the course topic that you have attended recently. This can be a concert, town hall, recording session, observation of artists creating graffiti, etc.

This blog entry will be a ‘micro-ethnography,’ which means you’ll want to pay close attention to what is happening on the ground and be careful with your own interpretations. Attentive description is the key element. There are many different angles you can approach this from, depending on what it is you are interested in and what emerges as important to the unfolding interaction. For instance, you might observe:

• how the participants at the event form different sub-groups and how you could tell one group from another
• what people seem to be paying most attention to
• any ritual or formalized interactive routines (greetings, announcements, sequences of movement that introduce a certain practice)
• participants’ clothing style and other visual self-presentation
•  aspects of the location that bear on the event/interaction
• topics, themes, motifs that re-occur throughout the event. 

Back in November, I had the opportunity to cover a Juicy J concert for the Dallas Observer. As he almost always does, the former Three 6 Mafia MC got the sold-out crowd ‘turnt up’ by playing many of his hits, both old and new.

After midnight, the curtains opened and Memphis’ Juicy J shouted, “Before we start the show, does anybody want something to drink?!” He then started pouring champagne into the mouths of some fans and splashing it into the crowd, which he did throughout the show. During his show at Trees in Dallas, Texas, Juicy J constantly praised what Dr. Michael Eric Dyson has called “the holy trinity of contemporary rap – broads, booze, and bling.”

In a sense, Juicy J’s show was like a religious revival, very emotionally-driven with heavy involvement from the crowd. At one point, he even brought fans up on stage with him and gave them champagne – on the one hand, the audience was the antithesis of a congregation, enjoying and glorifying an almost hedonistic lifestyle of money, girls, drugs and alcohol; on the other hand, the audience was a congregation, toasting champagne in a combined celebration.

The demographics of the crowd reflected the larger demographic of hip-hop fans. Juicy J was wearing all black along with some flashy bling. Some members of the crowd dressed similarly, and there was definitely no shortage of snap-backs and Juicy J gear, such as his “We Trippy Mane” shirts.

In the Run-D.M.C. concert video that we watched in class, the audience was largely young and African-American, like the artists themselves. In contrast, the 38-year-old Juicy J’s crowd largely consisted of white high-schoolers and college kids, which is representative of how hip-hop has become more widely accepted, especially among younger, middle- and upper-class white Americans.

Another significant change in the culture was how technology has allowed Juicy J to interact with his fans. For example, during the show he asked the audience if they had any weed for him, and a crowd member quickly passed up their joint to him – a sort of offering to a rap god. On Twitter after the show, Juicy J showed appreciation to his fans by retweeting fans’ positive messages about the show, as well as tweeting his gratitude:

Dallas tx I love you all! Thx u for the weed

— juicy j (@therealjuicyj) November 30, 2013

Run-D.M.C. fans never had such direct access to their favorite rappers in the way that technology allows now.

Look at a rapper, graffiti artist, etc. (any personality within hip hop culture, either current or historical). What is their ethos? How do they invent themselves as a persona? How does their biography play into this? Are there any potential contradictions and do they manage to resolve them? 

William Leonard Roberts II, more commonly known as rapper Rick Ross, has built a career out of his drug-dealer-turned-rapper persona. In many of songs, Rick Ross rhymes about drug trafficking and murder and various other criminal activities.

But that’s only Ricky Rozay’s invented ethos – far from his actual personal history. Surprisingly, despite his completely invented ethos, Ross has found – and continues to find – a great deal of success in a genre that emphasizes authenticity, a genre that focuses on ‘keeping it real.’

Roberts was raised in Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, Ross attended Albany State University on a football scholarship. And, most notably, between 1995 and 1997, Roberts worked as a correctional officer.

For months, Ross denied his past as a correctional officer. Eventually, Ross did address his past in multiple publications. For example, while Ross admitted to being a correctional officer, he said it was only a job he did for a short time. Defending himself, rapper Ross told XXL, “The stuff I talk about is real. The dope is real. The gun talk is official. Look up [notorious Miami gang member] Kenneth ‘Boobie’ Williams. Look where he’s from. That’s not nothing to be proud of. I wish that on no man. But, just to let you know, that’s what I witnessed. It’s a reality. I cannot discuss certain people that’s still in the streets, and I will not. I took a street oath, and I’mma live by that, and I’mma die by that. And it’s not about a music career, ’cause that sh–, I’m good. It’s about me and being in the streets.”

And then there’s also this from Rolling Stone magazine:

For the first time, Ross talked about his past life as a corrections officer – an opportunity, he says, to “wash my hands” after his best friend was sentenced to 10 years for trafficking cocaine and heroin: “This was my best friend, who I ate peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches with, and pork and beans with, my buddy, my partner, my number-one dude. Suddenly I’m talking to him over federal phone calls. Hearing the way it was building, I knew I couldn’t take nothing for granted,” says Ross. “My homey’s father was a huge influence on my life, too . . . He was the one who was like, ‘Yo, go get a job somewhere, man. Go be a fireman. Or go be a fucking corrections officer. Just go sit down somewhere.”

Yet his story, despite his attempts to defend himself, seems to be a completely invented persona – largely based on real life drug kingpin ‘Freeway’ Ricky Ross. The real-life gangster sued the rapper, but it was eventually thrown out. The judge in the case wrote:

“Roberts created a celebrity identity, using the name Rick Ross, of a cocaine kingpin turned rapper. He was not simply an impostor seeking to profit solely off the name and reputation of Rick Ross. Rather, he made music out of fictional tales of dealing drugs and other exploits – some of which related to plaintiff. Using the name and certain details of an infamous criminal’s life as basic elements, he created original artistic works.”

Whether you think that Rick Ross is a phony disgrace to hip-hop’s authenticity, or an entertaining performer simply putting on a show, Rick Ross’ widespread success seems to point to a shift in hip-hop’s emphasis and standards of what it means to be ‘real.’

Free writing. Use it to start reflection on any of the course strands (or anything about the course) that you can use for the mid-semester section of the learning record. Write about the latest find in your research or a song/video that you find particularly problematic/noteworthy/enlightening.

Lots has been said about Macklemore and white privilege. For my research topic, I hope to examine the social construction of hip-hop, as well as white privilege, and how that relates to Macklemore.

In interviews, Macklemore’s discussed how being white has affected his status and music.

But years before Macklemore was making national headlines, he addressed the topic of his race in “White Privilege,” a song off his 2005 album The Language of My World (listen above).

From the very beginning of the song, Macklemore wonders, “Am I just another white boy who has caught on to the trend? / When I take a step to the mic is hip-hop closer to the end?”

He recognizes that fellow white rapper Eminem helped bring about a major shift in hip-hop. While addressing the issue of white rappers in hip-hop, he also mentions other historical instances of white people hijacking the cultures of others:

The face of hip-hop has changed a lot since Eminem
And if he’s taking away black artists’ profits, I look just like him
Claimed a culture that wasn’t mine, the way of the American
Hip-hop is gentrified, and where will all the people live?

Macklemore goes on to point out the fact that many white people are uncomfortable admitting that they’ve ‘stolen,’ in a sense, the art-form – admitting that they’ve exploited a culture without having to struggle with its burdens.

And most whites don’t want to acknowledge this is occurring
Cos we got the best deal, the music without the burden
Of being black in a system that really wants you to rock

Macklemore is very conscious of his status, almost seeming to predict the debates that occurred after his Grammy wins earlier this year:

I feel like I pay dues, but I’ll always be a white MC
I give everything I have when I write a rhyme
But that doesn’t change the fact that this culture’s not mine

And he continues with the hook:

Hip-hop started off on a block that I’ve never been to
To counteract a struggle that I’ve never even been through
If I think I understand just because I flow, too?
That means I’m not keeping it true, I’m not keeping it true

In the second verse, Macklemore goes even deeper into how white people have often exploited black music and culture:

Marketed the music, now adapted to the lifestyle
What happened to jazz and rock and roll is happening right now
Where’s my place in the music that’s been taken by the media
With white corporations controlling what they’re feedin’ ya?

So is Macklemore a ‘real MC’? Can Macklemore ever be a real MC? He recognizes that hip-hop is “rooted in authenticity, something you literally can’t learn.” Is Macklemore nothing more than another white face benefitting from privilege? Is it enough for Macklemore to recognize and admit to his privilege?  Or has Macklemore been a positive influence on hip-hop?

This is your first free blogging assignment. Use it to reflect on anything having to do with the class so far. This can be on a hip hop-related topic, for instance a song/video/image you found that you want to discuss. But you can also choose to write about aspects of the course organization (e.g. specific assignments), or you might want to come back  to any of the course strands specified on the syllabus and start reflecting about your progress in them so far. As I said, I do not read everybody’s post every week, but if you are writing something that would benefit from my immediate attention (e.g. “I really wish we’d have a couple more readings each week…”), just let me know and I’ll make sure to prioritize.

So far, I’ve especially enjoyed this class because of it’s hands-on approach – all students are not only allowed, but encouraged to chime in with their opinions. Part of the beauty of hip-hop is how accessible it is for people who want to join. For example, anyone with a voice can try to rap. So it’s only fitting that all students are given an equal opportunity to express themselves in class.

I also appreciate how Axel allows us to get away from the original topic, as long as the topic we’re discussing is still related to hip-hop in some way. Learning should be about exploring, not simply following directions, so I find the class not only informative, but interesting and exciting. I not only learn in class, but I’m motivated to continue learning about hip-hop beyond our class material. And that’s how education should be.