UNIT 4: CONTRADICTIONS & CONTROVERSIES

Students will ask and answer the question of why Hip-Hop has an anti-police element?  Students will also explore what “Beef” is and its role in the East Coast/West Coast polarization in Hip-Hop and the resulting violent deaths of artists Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.  Students will reference and understand the role played by Cointelpro and the Black Panther Party on Hip-Hop.

• Watch Hip Hop on Trial Debate on Versus : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3-7Y0xG89Q take notes and post some of the arguments the resonated with you on our Canvas discussion page

I: Part 1:  Eulogies (2 Days)

Students will examine the roll that Hip-Hop plays in reporting news, often times simplifying issues into white/black polarized realities. Assuming the same homogeniety as those criticized by Hip-Hop.

• Read: “The Hip-Hop Declaration of Peace” in “The Gospel Of Hip Hop”
• Listen to “Eulogies” by Professor A.L.I. feat. Raekwon take notes
• Watch R.I.P. by Frontline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch09kzCnWEo
• Listen to “All That I Got Is You” by Ghostface Killah feat. Mary J Blige
• Watch “TROY” by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOcVWQY2bc
• Listen to “Renee” by Lost Boyz
• Listen to “Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Grenada Last Night” By the Coup
• Listen to “I Ain’t Mad At Ya” by 2pac
• Listen to Tito B’s tribute to Speedy Loc called “Starz The Limit”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljz88xVKVPw
• Listen to “Never Seen a Man Cry” by Scarface
• Listen to “Children’s Story” by Slick Rick
• Listen to “We’re all in the Same Gang” by the West Coast All-Stars
• Watch this Stop the Violence Movement video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxztZs_atM
• Why is death and/or suffering/poverty so intertwined in these narratives? Have the stories of mighty kings and queens kept by the griot or the Zaynab elegies, been replaced with stories surrounding average human beings and their suffering and if so why? (2 paragraphs)
• Read 1-3 on Authenticity in “Hip Hop’s Amnesia” What role does authenticity play in these powerful narratives of loss?
• Listen to Beneath Mom’s Feet by Professor A.L.I.

 

II: Part 2: Elroys (2 Days)

• Listen to “Malcolm and Me Part 1” Interview with Professor A.L.I.
• Watch “F— the Police” by NWA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WiT-c3NA0M
• Watch “Sound of the Police” by KRS-One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbaCyKtI_gY
• Watch this clip by Dead Prez “Police State” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c_UdWo4Zek
• Listen to “6 in the Morning” by Ice T
• Listen to PSK by Schooly D “the gangsta rap origin song”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4478SMAc2qM
• Listen to “Boyz N The Hood” by Eazy-E: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwOEDNGW5mA
• Read “Hip Hop Activism” in the “13^th Outstanding” in the “Gospel of Hip-Hop”
• Why is there a negative police sentiment in Hip-Hop? Is it justified? Is it right in your opinion? Why or why not?

 

III: Part 3: Expletives (5 Days)

Students will be tracing the misogyny and expressions of seeming self-hate in Hip-Hop and discovering a long lost feminist movement in Hip-Hop.  Why is Hip-Hop, even Conscious Hip-Hop steeped in homophobic reference and expressions of heterosexual masculinity/femininity?

3.1. Racism

Students will engage in deep dialogue around the usage, counter usage and the omission of the N-word in Hip-Hop and it’s broader implications.  (Students will not be using the word in the course as a matter of discourse, but reference it as the N-word, for reasons of safety and course politics of inclusion)

• Listen to the “N Word” by Professor A.L.I., take notes and answer if this is it what you expected, why or why not?
• Watch Paul Mooney clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqQKWSwlYHo
• Watch James Baldwin clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0L5fciA6AU
• Watch Michael Eric Dyson clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHaoZQx-VnE
• Watch the N-Word v. Cracker debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7mpk4dVJJ0
• Watch the CNN Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQiBNRGkQ-U
• Watch “Who Can say the N-Word?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voyrC_g1sgI
• Watch teacher defending use of N-Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uvJzr0zZvk
• Watch V-Nasty spit a “freestyle” using the N-Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pim1sbajVeA
• Watch the Lil Debbie clip re: the N-Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCQBTwdS6po
• Watch the V-Nasty clip re: the N-Word:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZHmmRGoNuE
• Watch Oprah interviewing Jay-Z regarding the N-Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlC5pQkpA0A

3.2 Feminism (2 Days)

• Read “Remix #2: “Lift as we Climb!”: Classic Blues Quees and the Black Women’s Club Movement, Neo-Soul Sistas and the Hip Hop Women’s Movement” in “Hip Hop’s Amnesia” by Rabaka
• Watch Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6QKqFPRZSA
• Watch Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc (consider the images she uses in this video)
• Watch Queen Latifah’s “UNITY” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cHxydDb7o
• Watch Yo-Yo’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rJe2tOS90E
• Watch The Lady Of Rage’s “Afro Puffs”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqIJ3e0OJw
• Watch Roxanne Shante’s “Reveng”e: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVy2LHKFG18
• Watch The Conscious Daughters song “Fonky Expedition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHZPmEAQihs
• INSERT ACTIVITY/ARTICLE ON MYSOGYNY
• Watch the following “Ya Playin Yaself” video by Jeru the Damaja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0zHaI4Soqk
• Read the following article and pull out 20 female MC’s who speak to you and are honoring the traditions of this movement: http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2014/03/25/500-female-emcees-everyone-know-davey-ds-ultimate-list/
• Read http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Humanities_History_and_Social_Sciences/Cultural_Studies/Cultural_Landscapes/Volume_I_Issue_2/Cultural_Landscapes_Journal_1_2_2008_C_Anita_Simmons.pdf about Black Womanhood, Misogyny and Hip-Hop Culture
• Read: http://misogynyinhiphop.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/0/0/11007713/researcharticle1.pdf about the perceptions of Misogyny in Hip-Hop
• Read Article: How Women Accept Offensive Songs: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-rauch/how-women-accept-offensiv_b_1429886.html
• Read Article: A Black Woman’s Plight: Our Women’s Struggle In the Music Industry: http://ericstrong88.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/a-black-womans-plight-our-womens-struggle-in-the-music-industry/
• Read Essay: Misogyny in Rap Music: A Content Analysis of Prevalence and Meanings: https://webfiles.uci.edu/ckubrin/Misogyny%20in%20Rap%20Music.pdf?uniq=fn1t7r
• Read Master Thesis: Sexism and misogyny in American hip-hop culture: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/25447
• Read Essay: Get In Where You Fit In: Hip-Hop’s Muted Voice On Misogyny: https://www.csun.edu/csbs/departments/pan_african_studies/pdf/get_in_where_you_fit_in.pdf
• Read Essay: Controversial Rap Themes, Gender Portrayals and Skin Tone Distortion: A Content Analysis of Rap Music Videos: http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/c63310/ArticlesFromClassMembers/Dongwoo.pdf

 

3.3. Queer Rap (2 Days)

• Read “Remix #4: “If We Must Die!”: The New Negro Movement, the harlem Renaissance, and the Homosexual Hip Hop Movement” in “Hip Hop’s Amnesia” by Rabaka
• Watch Macklemore’s “Same Love” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0
• What do you think about this article: http://www.queerty.com/that-time-macklemore-stole-thrift-shop-from-a-queer-new-york-rapper-20130827/
• Watch Lord Jamar’s video clip on Homosexuality & Hip Hop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-JCfrisIBI
• READ FOLLOWING ARTICLES AND WATCH VIDEOS (INSERT HERE)

IV: Part 4: Economics (2 Days)

Students will examine the expressions of pimping in Hip-Hop music its origin and the metaphor of pimping in its relationship to the artist/label dynamic.  The changing dynamic of Hip-Hop as commercialism takes over will also be discussed.

• Read the Pimperialism/Econ article (INSERT LINK)
• Listen to the HipHoponomics by Professor A.L.I. and consider the debate at the end, which side do you agree with?
• Listen to Pimperialism by Professor A.L.I.
• Read the Battle Royal Chapter from Invisible Man (PDF to be sent to you)
• Watch the following Kool Moe Dee clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwDR2g6WbX0
• Read “Old White Men/Who Owns Hip Hop” In Asante’s Book
• Read: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthblatt/2014/04/10/what-the-history-of-hip-hop-teaches-us-about-entrepreneurship/ and write a short essay on what the responsibility is that comes with the wealth

IV: Part 5: Beef (2 Days)

• Watch Beef: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnujdhezJ6U and post discussion questions
• Watch this excerpt from Beef 2, regarding the beef between LL Cool J and Canibus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmW447Lhvnk
• Watch this video by Canibus dissing LL Cool J over the fall out via his verse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z63cQKWlDgQ
• Optional: Watch Beef 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOL-NfjvKxc
• Optional: Watch Beef 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id6D7Xvi-Dw
• Optional: Watch Beef 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2YaoSg3eQU
• Listen to Beef by Talib Kweli
• Listen to Beef Stew by Professor A.L.I.
• Read Powerpoint on Low Intensity Warfare: http://www.stefanwolff.com/file_download/138/Low+Intensity+Conflict.pdf.
• Write a Who Killed Tupac or Who killed Biggie essay researching the readily available witness narratives online—substantiate your hypothesis on who was behind the killing with evidence 3-4 pages.
• Optional: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ILZcUsqgM about Tupac

IV: Part 6: #TheRevolutionWillNotBeHashtagged (4 Days)

Students will become connect the works of Gil Scott, the Last Poets and Grandmaster Flash, to Public Enemy, Paris, Immortal Technique, and Dead Prez.  Students will analyze lyrics and begin to understand and draw connections to the politization of different eras and the issues that Hip-Hop addressed therein.  Occupy Oakland by Professor A.L.I. and Zion-I and J-Live’s Satisfied will be explored here as well.

• Watch Chuck D Clip about Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57H_lM-JXi8
• Watch Public Enemy’s “Channel Zero” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ldag3feiNE
• Listen to “Black Steel in the Hour Of Chaos” by Public Enemy
• Listen to “Martyr” by Immortal Technique
• Listen to “Satisfied” by J-Live
• Listen to “Break The Grip Of Shame” by Paris
• Watch the full 7 min, “Fight the Power” video by Public Enemy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnS53fNfpkE
• Watch Lowkey Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4OI0GUCI_A
• Listen to “The Revolution Will Not Be Hashtagged” by Professor A.L.I.
• Watch this “Occupy Oakland” clip by Professor A.L.I. and Zion-I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kDQv_5VW-U
• Read “Bigger Than Hip-Hop” in “Hip Hop’s Amnesia”