Place, Authority, and Youth (Caitlin Sacks, Cameron Tidball-Sciullo, Alexia Vincent)

Authority: Austin expresses his belief that the authority caused the graffiti movement through of the fact that society placed the pressing restrictions against the youth of that time to contain them and keep them in their supposed correct “place.” By the time they acted against the rise of graffiti, authorities had removed any and all places in which the youths could call their own, which in turn left them to create their own “place” upon the city walls, stations, and public transportation. Through this time, the police attempted to contain the expansion of the graffiti movement within the youth culture. Society wanted to keep the hierarchical order intact where the youth knew their “place” in the world; however when graffiti took over New York, the police began to become more actively involved in the prevention of graffiti. The Transit Police had a “cat-and-mouse relationship,” as Austin puts it; with the struggle for control over the trains, stations, and storage areas, the writers began to morph with the changes made by the police and alter their ways so that they could continue to create their work even under the eye of the authority. They did so by altering the times they created their works or even their means of escape, causing more work for the Police. As response to the chase by the Transit Police, the writers would leave messages for them, as a way to taunt the police when the writers escaped; however the Police did not take kindly to this act and retorted by writing messages over the graffiti of the artist. In turn, this caused the piece of art to be ruined in the eyes of the writer. The “game” the two parties played allow us to see the present power struggle on the streets of New York at that time. Many artists believed that The Cross Out Crew (the notorious group of people who would tarnish graffiti works by painting over the work, or in other words “crossing it out”) was a section of the police.

A point that Austin brings to the table is that this version of cat-and-mouse is more of a question of bodies: young men versus older cops, local knowledge versus universal law, and commitment to peer culture versus commitment to a salary. By putting the power struggle in this light, Austin shows how the writers had an upper hand in all aspects of the scenario. The old police men were dealing with young boys ranging from twelve to twenty-two who knew the lay of the land and had the map of New York internalized. The police were no match in these regards; however they could try to prevent the writing from being created in the first place. - Grand Master Melle Mel Beat Street Breakdown - lets print off these lyrics for class/we should probably write a small blurb about this.

 The authority began to make more arrests and profile the artists to make it easier to prevent and catch the writers. The police say they had made over four-thousand arrests of writers by the late seventies as well as made profiles of many of the writers. The police used this information to harass youth that they believed to be writers and even sent them to court, however the courts did not see the writing as a major offense. At this time, the writers were more afraid of the police and how they would beat them than they were of what the courts would do to them or their record. This shows how the police began to try and take the hierarchy into their own hands when they did not like the outcome of the court’s decisions against graffiti, and once again tried to place the youth of that time in the nonexistent “place” they should be. Also, here are more songs to look at as well, but they are more modern: http://www.complex.com/art-design/2012/02/the-25-best-songs-about-graffiti/#gallery







 Space: The concept of space and places are very prevalent in the graffiti world. Joe Austin breaks down space figuratively and literally in this article. He comments on how the older generation believes that young people should “know their place” in today’s “hierarchical social order.” It makes me think of the old saying, “children should be seen, not heard.” Oppression is based out of the fear of the unknown, fear of the uncontrollable, fear of what you do not understand. Therefore, adults are constantly oppressing kids and teenagers out of fear and misunderstanding of the new generation and their motives. Youth culture is born out of this oppression, as a way to combat their restrictions and create identities for themselves. Youth are surrounded by spaces that are off limits. Not even discussing gang territories, but instead spaces with age restrictions, such as bars, certain movies, being able to have a license, forced to have a 11 pm curfew. All of these restrictions are implemented by authority figures to restrict kids and teens from doing what they want to do. They’re forced out of certain spaces, so they need to create their own. When writing was becoming popular, these artists created spaces wherever they tagged. Crossing borders between gang territories became common, with the writers having a mutual respect for one another’s work. The point was to spread a message, to become famous. These Puerto Rican and Black neighborhoods were often described as being invisible. Using art was a way for these youth to break out of their invisibility and express themselves in a way that would get them noticed. The youth started out by redefining the purpose of certain spaces. Basketball courts no longer just signified a place to shoot hoops, but it was now a place of artistic and cultural relevance. What was very innovative was the way the writers utilized subway cars. They literally created a moving space, that communicated messages spread over vast areas of land. The mobility of the train cars allowed for these messages to leave the bronx and travel to other parts of New York, allowing the youth to be heard all over. “More than three million people a day [rode] the trains,” which meant all those people would be seeing the message painted on the subway cars. Not only that, but “writers’ works [had] appeared in the backgrounds of innumerable television shows, films, news photographs, paintings, and literary representations” (Austin, 243). All of this media covered allowed the youth to be heard in ways in which they would never have previously thought of.* A main space that youth declared as their own were “the MTA’s yards and layups,” which were transformed into “studio[s], galler[ies], and classroom[s]” (Austin, 246). The writers memorized maps of the subway and the city. They knew all the underground tunnels and secret passageways, but once the police began monopolizing these once unguarded spaces, they had to figure out new ways to sneak around. The writers would cut holes in the fences, quite literally creating a new secret path to enter into the yards. This is genius. Their mentality is that if there is no space, then just create it yourself. Lastly, the youth took advantage of “hiding” in the daylight. They decided to utilize the space that had always been designed for them, such as the mall or a public park. They were being policed from meeting in secret, so they met in the open. This didn’t trigger any suspicions from adults because they were actively using the space that was made for them. It was the cleverest way to deceive the authority while playing by the rules. *On a slightly unrelated note, Austin writes, “ New York City is frequently mythologized in popular literature (and in it’s own boosterism) as a city where a person can ‘make a name for him/herself,’ where the individual can transform him/herself from a ‘nobody’ into a celebrity whose autograph is collected.” I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I instantly thought of Nickelodeon’s Taina. The show aired in 2001 and it only lasted a season, but for whatever reason I’ve had the theme song stuck in my head for 11 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-lEfrRU8iU&feature=related (You’re welcome for that trip down memory lane) I honestly don’t remember the show but I just researched it and it’s about a young Puerto Rican woman growing up in NY and attending a performance art school in Manhattan. I think this is a prime example commodifying hip hop. Albeit, the show isn’t about hip hop as it is about urban youth and sending out the message: I’m going to be somebody in New York. This ties back in with youth being told by adults that they can be anything and do anything they want, as long as they’re home by 11 pm. - I think this video of The Roots represents a really great intersection of hip hop. It combines freestyling while doing graffiti. It’s a prime example of homologies in hip hop culture. It has the elements of flow and layering, the constant spraying from the can of paint as well as the constant flow of words to a beat.






 Youth: With graffiti being practiced by youth generally between the ages of twelve and twenty two, the influence it exerts on the youth is massive. At graffiti’s beginning it was manifested with the sheer intent of creating some sort of “place” in society for these oppressed youth and for communicating that to other youth throughout the expansive city. As graffiti began to mature the youth began “sampling” figures and ideas from various mediums that exist within youth culture and popular culture. By using television figures, anime characters, and even video games, participants were able to show they own artistic take on these things in the media that had been fed to them for however many years. This art form quickly became an extremely popular scene to be a part of, because all over the city people of similar social status were able to relate to each other through graffiti. As graffiti continued to grow and expand throughout the city these meetings began to become so large that specific places needed to be determined in order to host them. This is where the birth of the “Writer’s Bench” came in. These strategically located benches allowed writers to converse, compare, scope out new “canvases”, and meet important people in practicing the art form. These graffiti hot spots allowed youth a place to relate, create art, and learn new techniques from the masters of graffiti. These benches were also the places where you could go from being a nobody to a big, well respected head in the game. It was here that writers could speak on common problems and get encouraged/inspired by important writers. As these “writers benches” became more inhibited it attracted authority attention. And that was that. http://www.allcityblog.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/THE-WRITERS-BENCH-511.jpg

After the discovery of writers benches throughout the city the police were able to compose some sort of profile for what a devious graffiti vandal generally looks like. This forced the participants in graffiti culture to develop more crafty ways to create their art. They began sneaking more, taking less risks, and even circulating orange vests in order to pass as train yard workers. More than anything, graffiti was an outlet for oppressed youths immensely creative energy. But graffiti also served as a common ground for youth to meet at. It gave them something to discuss that was completely their own, something fresh, something new, and something that was constantly adapting to each participant's ideas. Graffiti allowed youth to connect on something they all genuinely cared about

“If the Cap Doesn’t Fit, Wear It”

There is a significant amount of power one has as a bricoleur to criticize, challenge, and instruct mainstream culture. This is because bricoleurs have to be intelligent, cross-cultural, imaginative, and confident; qualities which will enable them to take ownership of their image and commodification and use it to benefit themselves or the groups they represent. Reclaiming suffering and control in society in this way exhibits the power of the bricoleur.

DJ Gangreene’s reference to Odd Future is a great example of the way bricoleurs strategically barge in on positions of fame and power. Gangreene demonstrated how Odd Future uses shock value to garner attention via their premeditated choice of associating with devilry and Nazis. According to Allhiphop.com, two months ago, Odd Future was accused of setting a palm tree on fire on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.

http://allhiphop.com/2012/08/13/hip-hop-rumors-is-odd-future-responsible-for-setting-a-fire-in-cali/

This act was said to reference Odd Future’s song, “Kill People, Burn Sh*t, F*ck School.” A song that begins with “Hey, don't do anything that I say in this song, okay? It's fuckin' fiction
If anything happens, don't fuckin' blame me, white America, fuck Bill O'Reilly.” There is the acknowledgement of the harm that taking the song seriously could cause, and also the sentiment that whatever the outcome is from expressing themselves, it is not Odd Future’s fault because white America’s put them in this position. With lyrics about an absent father, a broke mother, and the messaging, “ Stand for what the f*ck you believe in, and don’t let nobody tell you can’t,” Odd Future seems to have a rather aggressive version of the original message of hip hop, addressing the state of the ‘hood and the frustration at being ignored and put down (rapgenius.com). It seems that the commodities related to Odd Future, such as the eerie, eyeless floating heads on their website and their affinity of “666” seem to build an angry brand, an emotion to which everyone can relate. 666 conventionally symbolizes the Devil, often connotated with Hell. Odd Future has used this historically loaded symbol of hate and (to borrow from Hebdige) juxtaposed it with rap to represent the hell-like conditions of their neighborhoods in LA. By commodifying themselves, the collective has managed to harness the ideation of hate and strike chords with society in a way that rewards them with fame and leadership. They have taken control of their perceived selves and amplified them as if to defiantly say Hey, we’re here. Don’t forget about us because if you do, we will make it a point to regain your attention.

Another example of commodification for the purpose of dignity and power is Nas’s 2008  “Untitled” album, meant to be named, “Nigger.” This racial slur is a loaded pistol pointing a hot bullet at an entire population and has been used perjoratively to deem one as disadvantaged and less than thee. Now why would a black male put himself down in such a way that is so conventionally taboo and harsh? Because as a civil rights bricoleur, identifying and reclaiming the word, he has taken ownership of its subject and approached the issue of racism from a completely different, more confident and controlling manner. Though Nas did succumb to society’s impulses to force him to change the title, he used the commodity perhaps to send the message that yes, he is a nigger and this is how far he’s come. If someone as talented and intellectual as Nas is referred to as a nigger, than call them a nigger because the word will eventually be redefined. Jay-Z commented, "People give strength to words, power to words. If you remove 'nigger,' then you have 'jiggaboo' and 'porch monkey,' the words will keep continuing. How many words you gonna take out? People give the words power. I think we need to direct that [energy] towards the community." (Mtv.com) Nas was directing the energy of the word to society and criticizing it within the "us vs. them" context. 50 Cent accused Nas of strategically going for "shock value," whereas Alicia Keys commented, "If he has something shocking to say, it's because he wants you to pay attention to it." (Mtv.com)

(photo from guardian.co.uk)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1573280/nas-title-gets-support-from-jay-z-alicia-ll-cool-j.jhtml

Contrary to the idea of words, signs, and symbols in Hebdige's words "exploited as an empty effect," the examples of both Odd Future and Nas show the power and meaning behind reclaiming and controlling commodities to make a statement, as would true bricoleurs.

A concept related to our discussion that I would love input on is this. Does hip hop have to be commodified to be appreciated? To "save" hip hop, do the artists have to create a different and new culture of commodities redefining hip hop or can the existing commodities be brought into greater meaning?

Commodification

I was inspired by George's post on the commodification of hip hop, and it made me think of other ways hip hop has been turned into a commodity. I instantly thought of those certain shows on Nickelodeon or Disney which star a predominantly Black or Hispanic cast. Television is an oppressive institution in itself, because it's primary targeting audience is white people. All of the major shows on television and most popular movies today are comprised of a white cast with the token Black and/or Hispanic person. Let's say you're trying to describe How I Met Your Mother. Would you say "It's about a white group of friends and all of Ted's failed relationships how awesome Barney is?" or would you leave the part about their race out of the description? What if I asked you to describe the cartoon, The Proud Family? You may mention their race, because being Black on television isn't the norm. It is considered "the other."


Hebdige notes that the way to dismantle a subculture is to exploit, commodify it, turn it into something thats family-friendly and not to be feared. The Proud Family is a fine example of that, by taking what's supposed to be perceived as "Black culture" and remodeling it into something appealing for children. 

Here is the intro to The Proud Family. It's sung by Solange Knowles (Beyonce's sister).

Take note how in the beginning of the song, you can hear a record being scratched. Also, 12 seconds in, the entire frame is filled by a shot of fried chicken and waffles that the dad is about to eat. They’re enforcing stereotypes by having this in the intro. Not to mention how it’s being observed every single time someone watches an episode.

Here is a more relevant clip about hip hop from the episode Hip Hop Helicopter. 

It starts out with Big Boy and Shaun Robinson MCing this huge event. The first dancers up on stage are The Chang Triplets, an Asian dance group (I’d just like to point out that their skin color is literally yellow). The entire Black and Hispanic audience looks at these triplets in utter shock as they’re on stage. It’s as if they’re saying this is a Black and Hispanic space, not an Asian space. But eventually the crowd is welcoming after watching their routine. Next, LPDZ performs (LaCienega, Penny, Dijonay and Zoey). They are also not given such a great welcoming until they start dancing and the crowd goes wild. In a way, these dancers could be perceived as b-boys and b-girls. 

Lastly, there are 3 characters on the show named The Gross Sisters. They're supposed to be "thugs". Their skin color is blue because they are often referred to as "ashy," and they like to extort money from their peers and authority figures. The creators of the show took the concept of a gang, and watered it down to the definition of a bully, so it was appropriate for families to watch. What's interesting is how they don't fit into any racial category since blue is not a normal skin color. What is that saying? That they're inhuman, or if they were drawn with brown skin it would perpetuate too many racial stereotypes?

I hope this post made a decent connection about commodifying hip hop because as I wrote it, I couldn't decide if my points were strong enough or if I was just going into a rant about a racist cartoon.

Commodity Post

After reading about mainstream culture and the construction of commodity’s of subculture as a way of normalizing by Hebdige I wanted to look at some commodity’s that were made that normalize or deconstruct the hip hop subculture. Hidbige states that there are two different ways of dealing with the threat of subculture first is trivializing or naturalizing the other and secondly transforming it into “meaningless exotica, a pure object, a spectacle, a clown.” The first commodity I found was a Halloween costume of a rapper, the description said, “Dressing up in a rap costume for Halloween is a popular choice for a teenager Halloween costume, an adult Halloween costume, or even for little kids who want to dress up as a rapper.” It continues to say, “Rap stars have found a way to make everything look cool, and it is now possible to dress up like your favorite rapper this Halloween.” This is a picture of the costume,

This Halloween costume turns the hip hop subculture into a “spectacle” playing at some of the stereotypes of the hip hop culture like the baggy pants, jewelry, sideways hat, the slang writing on the shirt and pretending to hold a gun sideways.

The second commodity that I decided to look at was Rappin’ Rockin’ Barbie. Rather then making a “clown” out of the hip hop culture this Barbie is a good example of normalization. It suggests that hip hop is more of just a fashion trend then a serious cultural movement. To me it seems similar to the picture depicting the punk kid that is sitting in the back yard with their mom, it makes hip hop look more like a phase then a culture.

 

Hip Hop Style analysis

During our most recent class session we discussed aspects and characteristics that defined hip-hop "style." After compiling a list of all of these things that define rappers, djs, breakdancing, graffiti writers, music videos, record covers, and lyrical content. I decided I would look over the list and go through my library of hip hop and try to find concrete examples of many of the things we spoke about and try to break them down and find some sort of purpose for them.


I am going to start with the presence of album skits that seem to be on many hip-hop records. I chose to examine the skits Wu Tang member GZA's "Beneath the Surface" record released in 1999. This record is known to be a very classic representation of east coast hip hop, it includes many vivid memoirs of life  growing up in the Park Hill projects in which he was raised. References to drugs, violence, and sex can be seen in many of the songs but because this was GZA's sophomore solo release he touches on many other aspects of life since he has been able to leave the poverty struck project in which he grew up in. Anyways, I found the skits on this record to be very interesting and am going to try to see if I can identify some sort of purpose for their inclusion on the record.


Skit #1-After listening to Skit #1 I immediately thought of the the commodifying of subculture Hebdige discussed in his article. The skit speaks on how connected the world is and that to feel, hear, and understand GZA's experiences in NYC you can be in any place in the world. Hip-Hop is no longer something you have to experience at block parties, or on the corners of low income NYC neighborhoods but has now been commodified commercially and made accessible to anyone throughout the Western world. In 1999 although Hip-Hop was by no means a new development even on record, I still find it interesting he chose to include the technologic advances that allow him to share his message on a global scale.

Skit #2-This skit obviously "samples" from news reports and the mass media in the city. Although, it is clearly satirical and false it shows the hip-hop cultures and GZA's constant feeling of discrimination and over stepping of boundaries in the police department. As we have read over and over in Chang; the hip-hop community and participants in the culture have ongoing "beef"with the police for a myriad of reasons. This skit exemplifies the overwhelming feeling of racism and overly violent actions that existed in the police department responses toward low income minorities at and before the time the record was released. It even says the "random searching" policy in effect was never random and was always focused on minority groups.

Skit #3-Not entirely sure how to interpret this skit. It clearly samples from advertisements that claim they can find people with only a high school transcript a leadership position in a company and I am assuming a relatively large income. However, by the end of the skit it states that they charge an application fee and that no position is ever guaranteed. To me it sounds like a scam, or false advertising. I feel that people of lower socioeconomic status may see this as an escape from their poverty, but then end up losing money and gaining nothing. I would love to hear someone else elaborate or interpret this one differently.

Skit #4-I remember speaking briefly on how children's voices and images seem to be very prevalent in hip-hop and discussing that it may be due to them representing the "future." This skit speaking on gun statistics in the United States that specifically relate to children. It is backed by what begins as a very pleasant, piano line that seems very reminiscent of childhood to me and as the statistics get darker the piano is accompanied by a gloomy section of strings. It end with "Guns are weapons, don't destroy our children's lives"and then a gun shot. I feel as if this was possibly a warning GZA is giving out to future communities to warn against firearms, because from personal experience he saw them devastate people possibly in his neighborhood, surrounding neighborhood etc. Maybe it was a warning he wish his generation received?

So after attempting to somewhat understand these four skits included on "Beneath the Surface" does anyone have any ideas on why he decided to include them, when he could have potentially made similar points through lyrical content in the musical part of the record? Why would these four skits speaking of vastly different subjects be chosen to accompany the album? Is there maybe a common theme all of the skits are tracing on? Here's a nice track of the record as well. Enjoy.

"Black Nazis Don't Copy"

Someone was bound to bring up Odd Future at some point in this class--I might as well be the first.

For those of you that might not know, Odd Future (Wolf Gang Kill Them All) is a Los Angeles based hip-hop collective. When we speak of hip-hop as a cultural entity/movement rather than merely a music genre, Odd Future is almost that epitome. Transcending just rap, Odd Future boasts members in the skateboarding, photography, dance, and graffiti communities. For more information on their background try their website or ask a white suburban middle schooler.

Since Odd Future has transitioned more into the public eye they have been vehemently ridiculed for some of their members’ lyrical content. Certain members of the group (namely Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt—prior to his stint in Samoa) are not shy about their explicit rape, homophobic, and murder references and “Kill People Burn Shit Fuck School” (a younger generation’s “Fuck Tha Police?”) has basically been adopted as the collective’s rallying cry.

Countless responses and blogs have been written analyzing, justifying, and (in every since of the word) demonizing Odd Future’s horrific content, and I my intention is not to continue to beat a horse that has been dead for quite some time. That being said, I feel as if I must bring Odd Future into the conversation regarding Hebdige. Like some in the Punk movement, Odd Future also has been likened to Nazis and devil worshipers (to name a few). This response, though perhaps not unwarranted (apart from rape, Tyler, The Creator’s repertoire includes rhymes claiming Nazi, Swastika, and 666 ties), most of these criticisms have reacted to Odd Future at a purely surface level.

Odd Future has “sampled” the Punk movement in its re-appropriation of faux-Nazi narratives. Lyrics like Tyler, The Creator’s “Seven” (Fuck it, Odd Future some nazis, black nazis don't copy), or Earl Sweatshirt’s “Pigeons” (Double S shit, swastikas on the Letterman, bitch) almost seem like a plagiarism of Sid Vicious’ swastika rebellion. These kids aren’t actually rapists, devil worshipers, or Nazis, they’re teenagers aiming to get a rise out of a generation that they don’t think gets it. It was designed to shock and horrify than as to rally for the neo-Nazi cause:

This represented more than a simple inversion or inflection of the ordinary meanings attached to an object. The signifier (swastika) had been willfully detached from the concept (Nazism) it conventionally signified, and although it had been re-positioned…within an alternative sub-cultural context, its primary value and appeal derived precisely from its lack of meaning: from its potential for deceit (Hebtige 139). 

Though, rather than a socio-political act against British fascism or an oppressive cultural hegemony, the members of Odd Future (mostly 16 through 20 when their Nazi/rape lyrics were in full bloom) did it for its shock value and for the attention (both of which were clearly achieved).

Interestingly enough, as Odd Future has garnered more fame over the past 2 years, their subject matter has gotten a lot tamer. There was virtually no mentions rape or homophobic slurs on their collective’s most recent release and there’s no indication that that subject matter will be returning. Any thoughts to why?

Applying Hebdige to Hip hop: Flow, Layer, Rupture

Let's use this space to flesh out how we can use Hebdige and Rose to understand what hip hop means to hip hop heads. What is hip hop's system of signs? And what do they mean?

What are the key signs, symbols and themes in hip hop culture?

What are the homologies in hip hop culture? (E.g) What are the similarities we can identify across hip hop's different elements? What do graffiti, break dancing, rapping and MC'ing share? Do they have similar structures of meaning?

Consider the images below -- How can we use Tricia Rose's concepts of Flow, Layering and Rupture/Breaks to analyze hip hop culture and style?

How does this work in breakdancing?

What are these artists sampling and layering as they construct their hip hop style and image on these album covers? How are they acting as bricoleurs, combining commodities, images and histories to create new meaning?

What are a few core elements of hip hop culture and style? 
Here and in class I want us to brainstorm some of the key signs and homologies of hip hop so we can start to understand what hip hop means to the subcultural members? 


One that stands out to me is a demand to define oneself and one's neighborhood -- to refuse the definitions and representations offered by mainstream press. To demand space and recognition so often denied to young people of color. That seems consistent in hip hop across time and place...

What else? Respond in the comments here or add your own post with the same label.

Good ol' after school specials

I would have posted this in a comment but I don't think anyone would have looked at it, and it's pretty hilarious. So much for bringing punk into the family, eh?

The Death of Disco

What is a Subculture?
A break from a parent culture that resists the 'mainstream' and strives to create new meaning through subversive channels. Subcultures rely on a segmentation from popular culture while simultaneously asking for the scrutiny of the public eye.

Subculture and Commodity:
Drawing from a diverse background of musical styles and ghettoized cultures, Hip-Hop is mainly framed as a youth revolution stemming from the gentrification of the Bronx throughout the late 20th century. Hip-Hop constitutes a subculture or set of subcultures because of its tradition of constructing meaning through marginalized outlets.

An offshoot of rock music which radically revises the message, purpose, and audience that the musician is trying to reach. While Punk music is stylistically shocking and rebellious, it still does not escape the commodification of subcultures or countercultures in general. Above all Punk music is a stylistic outcry; the sound is excessively abrasive and confrontational, while the fashion is eclectic and bizarre drawing from a broad range of signs, ideologies, and novel critiques on society. When Punk as a subculture becomes a commodity, we arrive at the births of Post-Punk, Hardcore, Emo, and a forever continuing re-territorrialization of shared principles.

The image of a punk is one of clear intentionality.  By using visual cues such as pins and torn jeans, the punk image is able to recycle and rejuvenate old artifacts into new ones.  The theme of punk allows for odd clothing objects to be reinterpreted into the realm of punk just because they are deviant or strange. Although punk started as a clear rebellion from the normal mode of dress even for rockers, it was quickly commodified and brought into the mainstream.  Punk started as a way to define oneself as an outcast, but soon became a sought after style for the fashion industry to cash in. Dick Hebdige highlights how stores that once sold items for the flower children were converted to cash in on the punk craze.  Like hip hop, the image and style of punk was quickly ripped from its roots to sell to the masses.  The watered down version of punk and hip hop that is sold to the masses had come a long way from break-dancing on broken glass and punks sporting controversial images like swastikas.

When closely examined, punk and hip-hop share many similarities. First, both genres frequently focus on race. Bands like Minor Threat were essentially conveying the same message as rappers like KRS-ONE or Public Enemy. All these musicians illustrate that race should not be a way to judge a person, nor their music. Another example is the artistic support to both genres through graffiti and other street art. Moshing in punk combines the same sense of bravado and community as that off b-boying in hip hop.  We have already covered the ways graffiti shaped the hip-hop scene, but it also played an important role in the 1980s West Coast punk scene. Black Flag, a quintessential hardcore punk band, relied on spray painting their logo around Los Angeles as a means of publicizing their live performances.

Beastie Boys - Sure Shot (Live at SNL) by spike_a_157
 


Discussion Questions:
Role of Subculture in Society?
What is lost in definition?
What are the selling points of punk and hip hop that make them a commodity?
When an image/culture becomes a commodity does it lose its reputation or does it make the genuine members more valid? (Posers VS Innovators)

Roots of Hip Hop (Another Dub History)

Listen to these spoken word pieces and consider how we might trace the roots of hip hop to deeper black oral traditions (across the black diaspora) and American folk traditions. 

What elements of rap and hip hop culture to you hear in these older pieces? Think about content (subjects) and form (rhythm, rhyme, style)? What do these tell us about the roots of hip hop? How can we use John Szwed's article to help us interpret these pieces? Can we hear any of the musical effects that we think of as rap/ hip hop innovations in these earlier rhymes/musical speech?

Toasts and Folk Songs

Stagolee



The Last Poets:



Muhammed Ali:

The Individuals of Early Hip-Hop

'White Allies'

There were many white adult allies who were in support of these youth gangs and writers. The believed through the power of education, art, music and dance that the gang members could tear themselves away from the street violence and offer something of importance to the world. They dedicated their lives to helping the voices of the unheard be known, loud and clear.

Manny Dominguez  & his wife, Rita Fecher, were teachers at Dwyer Junior High. They became involved in the Ghetto Brothers, the Savage Skulls and the Savage Nomads’ lives and acted as their allies. Rita Fecher filmed the Ghetto Brothers and interviewed them. These tapes would eventually find their way into Fecher’s and Chalfant’s gang documentary Flyin’ Cut Sleeves.

Dominguez and Fecher became gang advocates, and often held salons in which the members could freely talk about world issues and local struggles. They aided in helping secure the Ghetto Brothers a safe space to meet, a storefront clubhouse, which was funded by the city’s Youth Services Agency. Through their contacts at New York University, Dominquez and Fetcher were able to also get the gangs musical instruments. They even used their contacts in the media to help gain coverage of their stories. Sadly, Dominguez was eventually fired from Dwyer Junior High for being a gang advocate.

Henry Chalfant came from a wealthy, white and privileged background. He moved to New York with his wife in 1973, where he quickly became immersed in graffiti art. From the summer of 1976 to 1979, his hobby of photographing graffiti art became an obsession. He would snap photos for hours of the decorated trains. One day he met a writer named NAC. After telling NAC about his obsession, NAC introduced him to the Writer’s Bench. He quickly befriended the crew and began to document their work, from filming to snapping photographs. The writers were very eager to show off their work in front of a camera. Chalfant even allowed them to even use his Greenwich village studio space for creating pieces.
           In 1980, Chalfant put on his first public exhibition of his photos at O.K. Harris Gallery. Hundreds of writers flocked to his show to admire his work. There he met Martha Cooper, a fellow news-photographer who worked for the New York Post. Chalfant and Cooper played major roles in getting Graffiti noticed by mainstream art critics, curators and gallery owners.
Chalfant became a manager for the Rock Steady Crew, and tried finding them dance battles and venues to perform at. Cooper also did her part in documenting the dancing. Chalfant put on an interactive art show entitled “Graffiti Rock,” which was comprised of graffiti, DJing, rapping and b-boying.

Chalfant worked with filmmaker Tony Silver to create Style Wars which was shot between 81 and 83. The film’s attention was focused on graffiti and bboying in this radical new youth movement that was becoming hip-hop.

Sally Banes was an NYU dance professor who worked with Cooper in covering stories of b-boys and b-girls. Their book proposals were rejected for years. But finally in 1984, Chalfant and Cooper found a publisher and produced the book called Subway Art.

Charlie Ahearn grew up in a middle class family. In 1973 he moved with his twin brother John to New York City to become contemporary artists. He would bring his super 8 camera down to the Lower East Side projects, to film the kids practicing their martial arts. He even worked with them in creating a film called “The Deadly Art of Survival” which was a compilation of their martial arts videos. He quickly became enamored with the street art surrounding him, which was all created by Lee Quiñones. Eventually Ahearn collaborated with Quiñones and FAB 5 FREDDY in producing a hip-hop movie. Ahearn was welcomed into the rap scene and frequented all the flyest clubs with FAB, meeting other writers and rappers. In 1982, he created the film Wild Style starring PINK (a feminist writer) and Lee.

B-boys and b-girls were youths who frequently participated in dancing battles. “They would simply jump in one after another to go off, take each other out, just “break” wild on each other. Herc called them break boys, b-boys for short” (Chang, Ch.4).
Richie “Crazy Legs” Colon was the leader of the Rock Steady Crew. When he was 13 years old, he made it a personal mission “to find and challenge every remaining b-boy” (Chang).  He and his crew spent their time dancing and perfecting their moves, even by accidentally creating new ones. Their skills were highly recognized and praised, and they “had the opportunity to perform with Cold Crush Brothers, Fantastic Five, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmixer D.ST., Funky Four + One, [they] became part of that elite clique in hip-hop” (Chang). B-boying wasn’t just the art of dancing. It “was style as aggression, a competitive bid for dominance” (Chang).       

'Graffiti Writers'

Graffiti writers were integral to the beginning of Hip-Hop with their revolutionary notions of space, exhibitionism, and territory. Most writers choose or prefer to stay out of the public eye, however fame has chosen a few of them to continue their careers in galleries and in movies. Today the majority of writers continue to push the art form despite the danger of crossing territories or being arrested.

Sandra LADY PINK Fabra
Born in Ecuador, LADY PINK was raised in Queens New York throughout her adolescence. One of the few woman graffiti writers in the early scene if not the only woman in the public eye, as It was assumed that females were just the boyfriends of other writers. For this reason much of her art was centered around societal themes like sexism and aristocracy. Many of her canvases are now in prestigious museums across the US and Europe. Stylistically there are few analogues, her lines and colors are striking and simultaneously evasive.

   “Graffiti is an outlaw art. When we train graffiti writers we’re not training fine artists to exhibit in a museum. We’re training criminals. We’re training kids to take their life into their own hands and go out there and hopelessly paint on some wall or some train that will do nothing for you except get you fame with other vandals and criminals”

Andrew ZEPHYR Witten
A Jewish American born in the South Bronx, he described himself as a “wanna-be hippie”. ZEPHYR grew up in the “Park Scene” which he describes as “a freak scene of young kids” coming from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. ZEPHYR developed a more holistic aesthetic through observing and learning from his peers as well as acting from his own drive. ZEPHYR has collaborated with multiple directors on expository hip hop films as well as the photographer Henry Chalfant.

   “Everybody wrote, but no one was all that serious about it, it was just a rite-of-passage type thing. Like you fuckin’ rob a marker, and you fuckin’ mark shit up for six months, then you throw that shit away and get into some other shit”

Donald DONDI White
Born in Brooklyn, DONDI was of African and Italian Desent. Although he was forced to be in gangs throughout his childhood and high school career, he only took upgraffiti in the late 80s after getting his GED and taking an office job for the government. Under these conditions he flourished as one of the most influential writers of all time. He was the first graffiti artist to have a one-man show in the Netherlands and Germany, and his work is collected by European museums. DONDI died of aids in 1998, after his death many murals were erected in his legacy that are still maintained today.

'The Godfathers'
DJ Kool Herc- Kool Herc (aka. Clive Campbell) arrived in the Bronx at 12 years old, fresh off the plane from Kingston, Jamaica. In addition to playing football and experimenting with graffiti, Herc’s passion was DJing—and with access to a powerful sound system (after some needed tinkering) DJ Kool Herc began hosting house parties out of the basement of his parent’s apartment building. These blew up and became increasingly more and more popular. Herc noticed that the instrumental breaks of the songs were what got most folks riled up, so he coined a new spinning technique dubbed “the Merry-Go-Round.” (See video below for a lesson from Herc himself). Kool Herc’s parties got even bigger so he moved them to an outdoor venue: local parks. There was a no-nonsense policy at these parties: any sort of violence was not tolerated. Herc was known to stop entire shows waiting for fights to dissolve. Dance Ciphers also began at Herc’s shows, signifying hip-hop’s first “break boys.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4H2FZjfpo

Afrika Bambaataa- Afrika Bambaataa (real name unknown) was a legend before he even started DJing. Promoting black nationalism and pride, he saw hip-hop being played out through four gospel elements: DJing, MCing, b-boying, and Graffiti (later he would add a fifth: knowledge). After seeing Zulu—a sort-of reverse of the Alamo tale in which the “primitive” Zulu warriors were defeated by the outnumbered British heroes—Bambaataa was awakened to a new sense of black solidarity. Through the channels of hip-hop, he went on to establish the Zulu Nation, a celebration of black personhood and heritage and a revolutionary youth culture. Through his “infinity lessons” the Zulu Nation touched on, but was not limited to, the origins of hip-hop, narratives of black nationalism (without offering racial segregation, self-defense, and right knowledge. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa established “Planet Rock,” the new wave up hip-hop. His appearance was a cross between a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian and an Afrofuturist prophet. Releasing “Planet Rock” as a single, Bambaataa realized he could use music and the Zulus to send a message. http://musicstreaker.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/afrika_bambaataa18.jpg

Grandmaster Flash- Grandmaster Flash (aka. Joseph Saddler) epitomized style in hip-hop. His interest in sound went beyond the decibel level and into the intricacies of the equipment. Though his style was unprecedented at parties, it was so new that he realized he needed a vocal accompaniment to spark the movement. Flash invited past friends to come up on stage and rhyme while he simultaneously spun his new style. “Kool Herc couldn’t draw a crowd after people saw Flash” (Chang 114). Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released “The Message” in light of hip-hop’s new lean towards the MC rather than the DJ. “The Message” was the first rap song to put the emphasis on the lyrics, as the beat was too slow to really rock a crowd. http://theblastpast.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/gal_hip-hop_4.jpg

Run DMC- Run DMC contrasted heavily with the looped and sampled disco/house beats of the pioneers of hip-hop. They instead used booming drum machine loops and were probably the stepping stone from acts like Grandmaster Flash to Public Enemy. Hip-hop was now growing up.

Bob Marley was considered a “worldwide icon of freedom struggle and black liberation” (Chang). His music brought people together politically and emotionally. This new genre of reggae was deeply rooted in Jamaica and brought to America. His music offered a beacon of hope to those who were struggling in this time of political oppression.


'Gangs'

The Ghetto Brothers-  Benjy, Ulpiano, Victor and Robert Melendez: “ the ghetto brothers gang was one of the most powerful, with more than a thousand members in divisions as far as new jersey and connecticut (Chang pg 50)”. As two tracks were forming across the excavation of the bronx, the Ghetto brothers headed up the high road to peace, while the other track was centered around increased gang wars, and blood in the streets. What started with a 1961 Urban Renewal project lead to mass gang treaties in the boys clubhouse, and unity across every vertical, and horizontal line drawn defining the bronx. The ghetto Brothers were also very influential with their music. The eight –song album, Ghetto Brothers Power Fuerza gave out a message that promised peace and harmony for even the “little people…(chang pg 64)”. The ghetto brothers music was said to have been more of the , “Teen-themed latin pop of california [opposed to,] the salsa of the bronx…(chang pg 65)”. Continuing to make a statement across grid lines, the Ghetto Brothers signature song, “ Ghetto Brothers Power”climaxed with a message that there was something better out there for everyone and this new found possibility, segwayed into turf grids disintegrating and, a new style of party. Hope and peace resulted from the Ghetto Brothers even if it was only for a little while.

http://api.ning.com/files/FIBvqt47Vjv59Pic7ktbI6kYHWv6nu0yGSmkM*sTaX09RhnqUAHJ90QnAkypZzOaUfkBhdP5BN1WPSMTvyCJ7zlF*WV9v30L/ghettobroth_powerfuer_101b.jpg


Yellow Benjy- a young teenage diplomat that turned into a young revolutionary because of his skilled way with words. Yellow Benjy was often referred to as the “preacher” and would give speeches that were said to be, “ laced with blood-and-fire Old Testament scripture. Yellow Benjy had a great love for music, and favored the Beatles. (chang pg 51).

Black Benjie- Cornell Benjamin, a 25 yr old half- African American, Half Puerto Rican ex junkie who became the third staff leader of the Ghetto Brothers. Black Benjie became a peace counselor and his efforts characterized the progress of the Bronx. Black Benjie brought on this new idea of not solving pain and suffering with more pain and suffering. Though he made many powerful attempts in cleaning out the Bronx, and ridding it of it’s ugly definitions, his death seemed to be more of a movement for more people than anything he had ever spoke of. Benjie’s death brought on this two way street, one of peace and one of blood.

GANGS~ New Grid Lines (1977)

South Bronx 138th street through 163rd street

·      Bachelors

·      Savage Nomads

·      Savage Skulls

·      Ghetto Brothers

{Grandmaster Flash & Casanova Crew}

Southeast

·      P.O.W.E.R

·      Javelins

{Afrika Bambaataa & Zulu Nation}

North

·      DJ Breakout

·      DJ Baron

East/ West Bronx

·      Night clubs

{DJ Kool Herc}

This breakdown of Turfs is what resulted as the Era of discos began to fade away. As Grandmaster flash, Bambaataa, and DJ Kool Herc gave people something to listen to, gangs turned into, “ little area crews…(chang pg 80)” where DJ’s and Breakdance crews claimed the stage and called the crowds.

"Motherfuck Reagan." - Brother Ali

"But invisibility was its own kind of reward; it meant you had to answer to no one except the others who shared your condition. It meant you became obsessed with showing and proving, distinguishing yourself and your originality above the crowd. It put you on a relentless quest to prove to them that you were bigger, wilder, and bolder than circumstances dictated you should ever be, to try to generate something from nothing, something no one else had, until everyone around you had to admit that you had something that might even make other people-big, important people-stand up and take notice themselves, offer you money, give you power, or try to crush your very soul." (Chang, 111)

(forums.soompi.com)

"I blame Reagan for making me into a monster." - Jay Z

Ronald Reagan displayed the effrontery to encourage "white flight" and drive the 'hood off of a cliff into disparity and hopelessness. 

In the beginning of our reading in Chang has focused on white flight and the devastating effects abandonment had on the African American, Puerto Rican, and Jewish families in New York. These substantial changes to the economy and social structure were heightened during the Regan era. In his campaign add there is an image of a white family moving into a house behind white picket fence and he claims that per day 2,000 Americans are buying houses, in a way saying that we are successful because as a country we are moving out of cities and into houses. The add is supporting the growing power of the suburbs and the flight away from cities. And the entire add is only white folks which displays which audience he is targeting.

Ronald Reagan TV Ad: "It's Morning in America"

The Graffiti is a way of calling Regan out. Though he may have been charming and seem like a nice grandpa he was sneaky and didn’t care about the poor in the cities the cat whiskers represent his sneakiness...

Throughout hip hop's history, there has been a sort of binary response to the culture; open arms and immediate alarm, embraced, yet criminalized. None of the artistic elements of the genre were taken seriously by society initially, such as the poetical elements of rap or the level of athleticism in B-boying. The same goes for graffiti, a dangerous craft that, just like any form of art, can be fantastically executed and message-oriented. Unfortunately, even though graffiti was accepted by it's immediate community of oppressed, Bronx-born rebels, it was a long time before it grew out of it's offensive perception.

John Szwed claims that America has been "post-modern from the git-go, with everything out on the table, history unfolding, putting it all up for grabs." Graffiti is a prime example of this notion and it is no surprise that it was birthed in America since despite some oppression, America has been the country of expression and freedom of speech. Even before the emergence of hip hop, graffiti quietly had it's place in society. When Charlie Bird died in 1955, the tag, "Bird Lives" could be found all over New York City. (birdlives.co.uk) It was a perfect platform for political phrases, such as "Free Huey," referring one of the founders of the Black Panthers or "Dick Nixon Before He Dicks You," which "showcased the lack of sympathy inner city youth felt towards an inherently flawed social, legal, economic, and political system." (http://66wrtg1150.wikidot.com/) 

In 1972, in an effort to win votes for the election, New York City Mayor John Lindsay "launched the first "War on Graffiti" with the exasperated cry: 'For heaven's sake, New Yorkers, come to the aid of your great city--defend it, support, and protect it!'" (Chang, 134) From that point on, the choice was imminent for New Yorkers about the way they perceived graffiti. One either agreed with the rest and felt that it was a violation of their right to look at colorless trains or recognized and appreciated the bold statements that could no longer be ignored.

In the "Beat This!: A Hip Hop History" video, there was a scene with two white men proclaiming graffiti as vandalism, destruction of property. They tried to make a deal with the writers, but as it's been learned throughout history, one can't pay youth to stop expressing themselves. In a moment of clarity, the men actually recognized some of the tags as good art, but blinded by society's general opinion, they concluded by condemning graffiti as a whole. This division of opinion drove stronger tides of racial profiling as the city spent millions in their attempt to win the war.

"Bernhard Hugo Goetz shot four Black teenagers on a train at close range, paralyzing one, and became a national hero overnight. It was a climax that SKEME, a frustrated Black teenager with talent to burn, had foreseen a few years earlier, telling subway riders in a window-down burner: "All you see is...":

(Chang, 136)

Graffiti writers showed nothing but persistence and by 1983, the art spread to Paris and London through the New York City Rap Tour and in '84, Hollywood sought out graffiti artists for the film "Beat Street." Luckily, there seems to have been a shift in graffiti culture in America since the '70s. Now, in films like "Exit Through the Gift Shop," graffiti writers continue to be scrutinized by fine art critics unable to accept "the other" while beloved by the general public, who seem to now give the time of day to understand the purpose of the craft.

Common "I Have a Dream"

"Dear Self, I wrote a letter just to better my soul,If I don't express it then forever I'll hold, insideI'm from a side where we out of control,Rap music in the 'hood played a fatherly role,My story's like yours, yo it gotta be told,Tryna make it from a gangsta to a godlier role,Read scrolls and stow slaves,And Jewish people in cold cage,Hate has no color or age, flip the page,Now my rage became freedom,Writin' dreams in the dark, they far but I can see 'em,I believe in Heaven more than Hell,Blessings more than jail,In the ghetto let love prevail"
 MetroLyrics.com 

Masta Killa "Street Corner"

"I was raised by the stray dogs, blazed off, layed off
Breaking laws, graveyard shifting every day war
Focus now, notice how, things change, soldier
I remain the same, I'm older now, I embrace the pain
I blame the struggle, nearly drove me insane
Thought I lost my head, til my brethren told me the same
No tears for the reaper, I've buried bout a thousand
In graffiti, "rest in peace" sprayed off throughout the housing
I tried to stay civilized, the hood's a prison inside
The only difference is the doors don't slide
Still we trapped in the animal cage, cuz we got animal ways
So we react, with the animal rage
And my sex is real, weapons peel, cheddar's the deal
Seen the depths of hell, now I stare, death in the grill
From the slave ships, to today's bricks, same shit
I'm awake, to the wickedness, and one, with the pavement"

http://www.lyricstime.com/

Ghostface Killah "All That I Got Is You"

 "But I remember this, mom's would lick her finger tips

To wipe the cold out my eye before school wit her spit

Case worker had her runnin back to face to face

I caught a case, housin tried to throw us out of our place

Sometimes I look up at the stars and analyze the sky

And ask myself was I meant to be here... why?"

http://www.azlyrics.com/

Public Enemy "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"

"And everyman's got served
Along with the time they served
Decency was deserved
To understand my demands
I gave a warnin' - I wanted the governor, y'all
And plus the warden to know
That I was innocent -
Because I'm militant
Posing a threat, you bet it's fuckin' up the government"

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/

Boyz n the Hood - "It's Called Gentrification

by Hanna, Cameron, Vic, George, and Nnyno