Hip-hop culture was once seen as an expressive tool used as an advocate for marginalized groups in the inner city slums and ghettos. The hip-hop culture represented stories of change, hope and artistic freedom, which was also seen as a therapeutic way of dealing with less than fortunate circumstances. Although hip-hop culture started off as a means of social comfort for those living in the inner city, the focus of hip-hop culture has now shifted into a mainstream commercialized industry, projecting an unattainable materialistic lifestyle to inner city youth. From reflective writing concerning social, political and personal issues to historical research, songs were used to provide historical meaning and social comfort. Hip hop music has many sub-genres, for example gangster/hardcore rap, conscious hip hop and Christian hip hop. In today’s mainstream culture, hip hop culture is seen commodified industry that sells the image of a glorified criminal, materialistic, misogynistic and fictional subculture. The once praised hip hop culture that was seen as a vivid illustration of black-lived experience and its linkage to Black political power and its ability to motivate and speak the truth to the inner city youth, is now a seen as a commercialized commodity of the mainstream media.
American hip hop culture in today’s mainstream society is praised for its materialistic lavish lifestyle. Television programming channels such as MTV and Black Entertainment Television (BET) are known for their glorification of the hip hop culture world. BET is a hip-hop broadcasting channel that showcases the lives of those who are part of the hip hop culture. The life of hip hop culture is not only portrayed through music but as well through the high society life and high end social gatherings that involve big names in both the hip hop culture as well as the athletic society.
The exploitation of the commercialization of conventional hip-hop plays into many stereotypes of race, gender and class. Hip-hop cultures willingness to become absent to its self by permitting a fictional character to stand in for it by allowing the commercial industry to define how it’s seen and hip-hop culture accepting this representation. Hip-hop culture has allowed the mass media to redefine what it is and what and who it stands for.
Bolu, that was a great post! I think it would be interesting to look further into the issues of how hip-hop went from being this personal, expressive tool to advocate for marginalized groups to something now represented by a materialistic, consuming lifestyle. I think there is a hierarchy in the hip-hop world, wherein there are artists whose music does embody the values of traditional hip-hop, but because they are not mainstream, their voices are not heard as prominently as those who are viewed on BET and MTV. Your post was very well-written and I can tell that this subject is important to you - I look forward to viewing your MRP!
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