I decided to start with the genre that is the most blantant about politics; the artists that aren't afraid to shove it all in your face. These guys make no bones about it - they don't try and smooth anything over, and they don't hold anything back. Of course, I'm talking about Rap. Specifically, Eminem's "White America" which is, I think, the stereotypical political rap.
First, Eminem is not intimidated by the posibility of backlash for his views. In fact, I would go as far as to say he craves the controversy. The last lines of the first verse are enough to illustrate my point: They're sayin' I'm in trouble with the government, I'm lovin' it, I shoveled sh** all my life, And now I'm dumping it on... White America. In rap it is almost as if they are saying "I dare you to try to make me be quiet. I'll say what I want, I have free speech to back me up." The last lines of the song even include f*** you with the freest of speech this Divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have. (The other genre that I think makes the same dare, although in a much different way, is Country. But that will come later).
Secondly, I think Eminem's song here, like many political raps, is focused solely on the problem, and the way things are right now. It's all about him, and his personal woes. There isn't a lot of emphasis on an action or a solution. He seems to have a lot to complain about, but nothing to say about fixing the issue. In his defense, I believe sometimes if enough attention is brought to an issue the hype will force solutions to be made (especially when mass media is involved). Also, I think that the controversial way in which Eminem presents his issues would make any solutions equally controversial, and so perhaps not worth mentioning. On the other hand, he takes no responsibility for anything he raps about, he says "you caused this mess, you clean it up" to whomever he happens to be rapping to. Here, its the "White America" he is accused of demoralizing. If you listen through the very end, there can be no mistaking his message: "F*** you, _________" (various names filling the blank).
In short, I think that he gets his political views accross with no misunderstandings, but I'm not sure how well the mode of delivery facilitates discussion or a call for action.
I think that Eminem is tring to make several points here: first, I think he is attempting to draw attention to how "white america" has such a strong aversion to "ghetto" culture that they pretty much ignore anything he has to say simply because of the image he presents. So, in effect, he says the most shocking things he can think of just to get their attention. Second, I agree with you that many from the rapper culture go way overboard when presenting their political views, and the music they produce really sounds like an angry teenage boy just had a shouting match with his mother (or something along those lines). I really don't understand why people like Eminem wish to perpetuate this immature form of discussion; if you have something to say, pour some wit and thought into it instead of seeing how many times you can shove f*** into a four-minute song.
ReplyDelete