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Monday, November 17, 2008

Politics The New Power

Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 10:25 AM

Does Obama mark the death of what brought about the death of rap, namely the gangsta rapper? Let's think about this for a moment.

What made the gangsta rapper so popular in the first place? He represents a mode of power. He has guns, jewels, big wheels, and "hoes in every area code." And the gangsta can justify his anti-social (and apolitical) position as a consequence of economic realities. He did not make himself what he is; this is what the streets made him.

For young black males of our period (the 00s), the gangsta was (outside of professional sports) the leading and most accessible (in terms of comprehension) representation of black power. This representation went unchallenged until the spectacular rise of Obama, who in mode is the gansta's opposite in every way: Obama is educated, maintains a family unit, and is pro-social and political. What happens now? Will the gangsta be exposed as puerile, limited, and backward? Will he be laughed at when he shows a mouth full of gold instead of a brain full of ideas? And if the gangsta does crumble, what will this mean for the state of hiphop? A resurgence of oppressed modes? A return to the modernizing projects of the late 80s? We live in interesting times.

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I predict a parade of words and phrases to rhyme with "Barack" and "Obama." And references to songs like "Black President." Beyond that, all bets are off. If the economy continues to tank, they'll just have more to bitch about, regardless as to who occupies the Oval Office.

Posted by K.C. Fennessy on November 17, 2008 at 11:40 AM

It depends. Has every last possible dime been wrung out of the process of distilling the most destructive stereotypes of young urban black men down to a marketable essence and selling that glamorized version to an audience consisting largely of suburban white teenagers? If so, then yes, the gangsta era is drawing to a close.

Posted by flamingbanjo on November 17, 2008 at 12:00 PM

there will always be bad guys, and we'll always want to hear about them

Posted by Mr Bigg on November 17, 2008 at 3:19 PM

nigga pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Posted by G on November 17, 2008 at 5:07 PM

Wasn't "Hoes in different area codes" by Luda? If so, he is definitely NOT a gangsta rapper.

Posted by i know that wasn't the pt of the post, but... on November 18, 2008 at 7:54 AM

@2: i totally agree. gangsta rap will only die when it stops being a profitable genre.

Posted by douglas martin on November 18, 2008 at 2:19 PM