Comments on Marco McWilliams and the film "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhythms"

Class was packed full of interesting discussion. Marco first drew us into the fact that hip hop is a part of everyone's life, and has some impact on us all, even if we don't realize it. He also cleared up the difference between rap and hip hop- rap consists of vocals and hip hop is a lifestyle; a culture- 2 very different things. He told us about block parties, and how crucial they are in the developement of hip hop as part of black culture. Block parties are community parties that were born from urban communities that had little private outdoor space. He referred to them as cookouts that the whole block is a part of, and, more importantly, participates in. There is no discriminatiing involved in who is invited; the guests are your neighbors and community members. People meet eachother, hang out, socialize, and have a genuine interest in getting to know one another. He told us that the suburbs rarely have block parties because they have big yards and want privitization of leisure. In the urban communities, homes are very close together, there are more multi-family residences, there is little/no yard, porches are extended outward, and people are more forethcoming publically. There is no desire to seclude oneself away from neighbors and everyone else.

---> a noteoworthy part of this discussion was how class jumps across racial lines when it comes to the topic of block parties. Even the wealthier black suburban neighborhoods are significantly less likely to know their neighbors and partake in block parties compared to those who live in urban communities.



--->What does it mean when someone in the minority is referred to as acting "white"? Does that mean that they stray away from the stereotypical behaviors (and perceived class) of their minority group? Is that the term given to minorities who are successful in this country? For example: Is that a term used to describe a black person who lives in the suburbs and/or is college educated?


A story to go along with this topic that was brought up in class discussion:
I have a friend who is half Dominican and half Puerto Rican. She lives in East Greenwich, and I have heard her joke around about being "the whitest Spanish girl ever". TO her, it seems as though there is a marginalization, or a "disconnect" she feels when she visits her Puerto Rican family members. She says its because she doesn't know Spanish, she doesn't have the same sense of "Puerto Rican pride" that they seem to share, and she doesn't refer to herself as "ghetto" like she sometimes refers to them.



Marco led us in discussing about how racism and sexism are represented in the larger society, and are not born out of hip hop. The U.S. is a culture of violence. Hip hop was born in the displaced ghettos; the war zones. It was a response to the systematic violence forced onto a people.

"The violent man", as described in the video, is a metaphor for manhood and masculinity, symbolized through several things, like the visual and audio references to the gun. "Are black men trying to deny or defend their own frailty?"
The "hip hop music videos today are filled with violent hypermasculinity. An example of this is depicted through physicality. Black men elicit perceived power through body posture, and white men elicit perceived power through intellect.

'BET is the cancer of black manhood in the world"

Feminization of other men to make them seem powerless was discussed in the video s well. 50 cent was used as an example, when he called Ja Rule out for being a "bitch ass ni**a" for crying in his music video. There is no room for femininity or emotion that depicts anything but power and hardness in black hip hop videos. Also, when it comes to homosexuality, it became evident that the rap artists are aware of the fact that they are appealing to both sexes, even though they don't admit it. The homo eroticism that is evident through "greased up bodies and shirts off, as well as through sagging pants-which comes from being in jail and not being allowed a belt.
Further, it was noteworthy to learn that the corporate executives to many hip hop labels are white men in suits. These are the men who make the ultimate decisions, the men whose signatures are on the checks of the rap artists. These are the men in the most control; they are profiting off of the violent, ignorant depictions of the suffrage of the black race in music videos.