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Author gives hip-hop a bad rap

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published March 7, 2005

Hip-hop has become one of the most dominant cultural influences in our society, bridging divides between race and class while spreading from America's urban streets to its most rural enclaves.

But author John McWhorter says the music poses a serious threat to the success of blacks if academics continue to assign tangible values to a genre he calls little more than music with an irresistible beat.

McWhorter brought his message to Tampa Saturday night as the featured speaker of the Carter G. Woodson Lecture Series, a joint effort of the local Simga Pi Phi chapter and Market Street Mortgage.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's about as important as disco," McWhorter told 300 people at the Grand Hyatt. "It's no more revolutionary than, for example, Stayin' Alive .

McWhorter, who has risen to fame by challenging the conventional thinking of left-leaning African-American leaders, is turning his focus squarely on the pervasive music of such artists as 50 Cent, Puff Daddy and the late Tupac Shakur. And he doesn't spare the so-called conscience rappers like Mos Def and Nas.

The criticism flies in the face of intellectual leaders such as Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson, who boast of finding social value in the music. It's those thoughts, and the rise of hip-hop courses on college campuses, that bother McWhorter the most.

"The point is that there are a lot of people out there now who think hip-hop ... is politics," McWhorter explained. "That this music promises some sort of second civil rights revolution. They have a serious problem."

McWhorter conceded that hip-hop's reflection of gritty urban life qualifies it as the "black CNN." Yet he criticizes artists for not offering any solutions or calls to action. It offers a defeatist attitude and has no chance of sparking a revolution that isn't likely to happen, McWhorter said.

But McWhorter's harshest and most valid criticism of hip-hop was its degradation of women.

"It is standard to be taught that 51 percent of the human species are cattle. I think we all know the words that are involved. One of them begins with B and one of them begins with H and those have now become mainstream words."

McWhorter said it's not just those choice words found in hip-hop themes but far more horrid treatment: a boast of a rigorous romantic encounter that results in a woman having to be hospitalized; an attempt to abort an unwanted children by kicking the girl in the stomach.

McWhorter doesn't unrealistically call for an end to hip-hop and rap, but does suggest that with its snapshots of racist incidents, it is taking the focus away from a greater goal: overcoming racism. Echoing the theme of one his earlier books, McWhorter said blacks don't need racism to be totally eclipsed to succeed in America, but they often get distracted by the remaining vestiges of segregation and discrimination.

I listen to too much old school to be a fan of today's hip-hop, but I can't say I'm in total lock-step with McWhorter. For one thing, he insisted none of its has value, but there are some fairly recent rap songs with positive messages: the Black-Eyed Peas' Where Is The Love ; Nas' I Can and Kanye West's Jesus Walks come to mind.

And instead of allowing hip-hop to exist as mere music, as McWhorter suggested, shouldn't we challenge artists, producers, record labels and radio stations to promote more positive songs? As West says in Jesus Walks, he was told no one would play a hip-hop tune with Christian themes. Surely Clear Channel, which frequently contributes to Republican campaigns and is the nation's largest owner of urban radio stations, could try to apply some of its conservative political beliefs to the hip-hop scene. The medium is too powerful to go unused for noble purposes.

Finally, I couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be to see a debate between McWhorter, who certainly made some good points, and West, who actually has recorded a pair of hip-hop albums. McWhorter said West is a dynamic speaker who could read the Indianapolis phone book and make it interesting.

But for all of West's oratorical skills, McWhorter said he often leaves West's speeches wondering what exactly blacks should do to advance their cause.

Surely West would have a response to that, and he'll have a chance this week. Cornel West speaks at the University of South Florida's Special Events Center Thursday at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but if it was a debate between West and McWhorter, they could charge concert prices and draw a crowd.

That's all I'm saying.

--Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 7, 2005, 14:57:17]