A Commentary On Gangsta Rap and Society Pt 1

Gangsta rap. The term itself often provokes a less than favorable response from America’s traditional guardians of the mainstream. Since its inception, media, politicians, and community activists have at various points blamed virtually every societal ill on the rise of the genre, as if those problems were nonexistent in the US prior to the mid 1980’s. Gangsta rap exists at all, in fact, as a result of the aftereffects of heartless Reaganomics era cuts to education and the arts, the high unemployment rate in Black communities (still a fact of life for many of those communities), and the lack of an adequate outlet (outside of comedy) for Blacks to air their societal views in terms they were comfortable with. Remember, Black Americans were forced to express themselves in a conciliatory manner when addressing White Americans or face persecution or death until the 1960’s. In our formerly segregated society, the limited number of Blacks who were successful despite the pervasive violent racism of the era almost always spoke deferentially in the presence of Whites. Black churches, the main cultural template during slavery and still a major force in the Black community, reinforced the notion of Blacks speaking in docile tones and non threatening phrases by equating servility with “Christian virtue”. Keep in mind, in addition to those factors, American society in general was obviously more conservative in its definition of what was “acceptable”; persons of any stripe who enflamed certain passions (e.g. Socialists, Liberals, Alcohol Consumers, “Race Mixers”, and people who alluded to sex or cursing in print, speech, or on film, etc.) were guaranteed at least ridicule and at worst incarceration or vigilante violence.But, as with many other aspects of American life, response was swifter and endlessly more cruel for the minority offender, whose very post slavery existence was an affront to the South and certain interests in the North. In spite of the prevailing conditions, Black vernacular, which had at least since the 19th century has had the ribald elements familiar to any Black comedy listener, was a constant cultural influence but was construed as ignorant speech by Whites and elite Blacks. So not only were docility and servility emphasized as the only acceptable form of speech for Blacks, any element in the speech which alluded to their Southern origin (i.e. Africanisms such as ain’t) would lead to humiliation and as thus was also discouraged by the Black community’s “talented tenth”.In the wake of the 1960’s, however, finally began to loosen its cultural belt. Comedy, an American cultural staple, provided the platform upon which America first lurched towards finally fulfilling its free speech promises. Comedians such as Lenny Bruce (with his scatological brilliance) and Dick Gregory (one of the first political comedic geniuses and a pioneer of “non minstrel” Black entertainment) made their mark.JFK’s election seemed to signal a new day of bright possibilities; perhaps the old repressive ways could at last be set aside.The birth control pill allowed women the freedom to openly enjoy sex and their sexuality for the first time.Television was being dominated by real life scenes of carnage from Vietnam, images which likely would not have seen the light of day 10 years prior. Black Americans threw off the yoke of bigotry via protest, forcing the federal government to complete the job by legislating their freedom for the second time since slavery ended. Instead of saying “Yes sir”, Blacks were openly shouting“I’m Black and I’m proud”, a major achievement. The loosening of standards also led to Black vernacular’s elevation from derisive to “cool” speech in the mainstream. Movies like Shaft, Superfly, and The Mack were famous examples of Black vernacular’s “new” commercial viability. Whites, who aped Amos and Andy or minstrels in an earlier age to mock Blacks, were more likely to be listening to a Richard Pryor records and respecting the experience. The larger culture’s more liberal attitude was reflected in movies and television via directors like Norman Lear, whose shows tackled formerly taboo issues and Martin Scorsese, whose brutal Godfather arguably ushered in the modern action drama.Indeed, the open attitude of the 60’s carried into the 70’s and beyond as US society was irrevocably changed. But of course, such a societal sea change could not occur without immense resistance and an eventual backlash. Cultural conservatives, political and otherwise, were distressed at what they viewed as “their (read: repressive) America” being “torn asunder” by “bleeding heart liberals”. (to be continued)