Sociology of Hiphop
Sociology of Hip Hop
Hip hop itself is a hustle and rappers have used it as a legitimate mean to make money and to establish a Black economic power in a mainstream society (Garnes, 2009). This being said, hustling was rooted in the poor urban communities of the United States and was a viable alternative for those reprimanded by the oppression exerted from the White America. Hip Hop was their voice, and through this art each artists has engaged the image of the black hustler into their music at different point of time, but their various ways of representing hustling in their situational setting share a common standpoint and background. Hustling was "the response of the harsh realities" endured by the African Americans and other group of minorities in the United States beginning in the mid 70s (Garnes, 2009). They were living in poor living conditions and were faced with racism, discrimination, poor economic resources, decreased opportunity and struggled to get their rights heard. Hustling was a "cool pose" which they adopted as a way to cope with the restrictive effects of their environment. The process of hustling implied a series of coping mechanisms through the adoption of behaviours, attributes and lifestyles to accommodate, validate one 's manhood and to assure their survival. Those mechanisms adopted from individuals living in poor communities were more or less against the values and norms of the mainstream society in which they were embedded. In fact, the hustler operated outside of the "mainstream 's moral correctness" and constitute but not limited to the drug dealers, the pimps and the gangsters (Garnes, 2009). Perhaps, the tragic trinity of hustling reinforced the stereotypes of the African American as drug dealers, pimps, gangsters and prostitutes by not leaving room for other types of hustling perceived as being more legitimate. It implies the criminal lifestyle adopted by a number of disadvantaged African Americans as a mean to
Hip hop itself is a hustle and rappers have used it as a legitimate mean to make money and to establish a Black economic power in a mainstream society (Garnes, 2009). This being said, hustling was rooted in the poor urban communities of the United States and was a viable alternative for those reprimanded by the oppression exerted from the White America. Hip Hop was their voice, and through this art each artists has engaged the image of the black hustler into their music at different point of time, but their various ways of representing hustling in their situational setting share a common standpoint and background. Hustling was "the response of the harsh realities" endured by the African Americans and other group of minorities in the United States beginning in the mid 70s (Garnes, 2009). They were living in poor living conditions and were faced with racism, discrimination, poor economic resources, decreased opportunity and struggled to get their rights heard. Hustling was a "cool pose" which they adopted as a way to cope with the restrictive effects of their environment. The process of hustling implied a series of coping mechanisms through the adoption of behaviours, attributes and lifestyles to accommodate, validate one 's manhood and to assure their survival. Those mechanisms adopted from individuals living in poor communities were more or less against the values and norms of the mainstream society in which they were embedded. In fact, the hustler operated outside of the "mainstream 's moral correctness" and constitute but not limited to the drug dealers, the pimps and the gangsters (Garnes, 2009). Perhaps, the tragic trinity of hustling reinforced the stereotypes of the African American as drug dealers, pimps, gangsters and prostitutes by not leaving room for other types of hustling perceived as being more legitimate. It implies the criminal lifestyle adopted by a number of disadvantaged African Americans as a mean to
Bibliography: Canton, D. A. (06/2006). The Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Tensions in Gangsta Rap. Reviews in American History, 34(2), 244-257 Edwards, W Garnes, L. J. (09/2010). " Can 't Knock The Hustle": Hustler Masculinity In African American Culture. ProQuest, 71(3), 943 Standford, K