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Moya Bailey

Review of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop and Why It Matters
By Tricia Rose
Basic Civitas

And let the Church say, “Amen!” It’s unusual to begin a book review with a black church call and- response staple, but Tricia Rose’s timely mediation in The Hip Hop Wars had me testifying as I read. Her critique of the state of hip hop and her challenge to the contrived conversations that have developed around it are long overdue.

A professor of Africana studies at Brown University, Rose grew up in the 1970s in the Bronx, where hip hop
was born. Her connection to the art form blossomed there, leading to her critically acclaimed 1994 survey of the genre, Black Noise. Hip-hop’s rising popularity prompted commercial interests to take note, transforming its images into easily digestible caricatures and stereotypes of black people as thugs, pimps and hos. Before long, it had become an ideological whipping boy for the right, a scapegoat for the supposed decline in American morality. Rose expresses grave concern that the public sees hip-hop as a stand-in for black people, black youth in particular.

Apologists for hip-hop argue that rappers are simply telling the truth and exposing the realities of urban life as they live them. American society deserves indictment for its institutionalized sexism, racism and homophobia, but Rose argues that while structural oppression informs the music, it does not absolve hip hop of its own misogyny and gratuitous violence. Then she goes beyond this obvious debate, condemning the corporate profit-seekers who exploit hip-hop culture and calling for accountability from those who make the music, from rappers to industry execs. She leaves no stone unturned, even examining the influential rapper Jay-Z (who often gets a pass from hip-hop academics) alongside more notorious rap artists. She also brings attention to listeners’ activism, describing an incident at Spelman College where the rapper Nelly canceled a philanthropic visit to avoid a discussion with feminist students about sexist images in his rap videos and lyrics (full disclosure: I was among the protest organizers).

Helpfully, Rose includes a section on organizations and individuals who are working to create a new face for hip-hop and provides resources for readers who want to be part of the solution. For those unfamiliar with the hip-hop debate, this is an excellent introduction—and a way to get your game up.

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MOYA BAILEY is a graduate student in women’s studies at Emory University. Her research is focused on health care disparities in marginalized groups, and she is also committed to issues of representation in media.