This week we are reading Kamilah Forbes' Rhyme Deferred and watching Danny Hoch's Jails, Hospitals and Hip-hop, two theatrical works that are heavily influenced by Hip-Hop music and culture. As you blog this week on Hip-Hop Theater and Blackness, what connections can you make between Hip-hop theater and expressions of Blackness in Hip-hop music and culture? In what ways does Hip-Hop Theater rely upon African American expressive culture in Hip-hop to define itself? If Hip-Hop Theater is a diverse matrix of cross-racial, ethnic, and class exchanges, how does Hip-Hop's relationship to Blackness offer opportunities to diverse groups to understand African American experiences through Hip-Hop Theater? Think of the ways the four elements of Hip-hop, MCIng, Breaking, Graffiti and DJing, are used both literally and figuratively by these artists.
After reading Rhyme deferred I got a better understanding of what Dubois meant when he said “Black theater should be by, about, for and near Black People.” Within the description of the narration of the text, Forbes used words that the Black community could relate to. For example when Kain battles Herc, the narration in between reads “Each time Kain jumps in, he comes off wack, (Rhyme 493). Another example is before Shameka interviews Kain the narration reads, “Kain appears and slaps Shameka on the ass,” (Rhyme Deferred 477). The usage of the words “wack” and “ass” here relates to the targeted audience of this play, the hip-hip community, because these are words that are associated with this group. You would not see words such as these used in the narration of a play targeted to middle-aged white men. Forbes understands that you must incorporate the nature and lifestyle of the hip-hop community if she wanted to attract them as her audience. In lecture 4-20 we discussed the idea of sampling and how it is used. We say that Danny Hoch sampled Dubois said about black theater and made it into his own definition. This is what we saw in the play. No only did we see different songs sampled throughout the play, but we saw how Kain stole (sampled) his brothers lyrics. Forbes made sampling, which was popular during the time of the play, relevant to her play.
ReplyDeleteHip-hop as an expression of Blackness comes through in Rhyme Deferred. The character Kain portrays the image of hip-hop on the mainstream and what audiences who associate hip-hop with blackness, as to what being black is about. “The crowd surrounding Kain is bling-blingin’, very flashy…admiring their material possessions” (475), the playwright describing a very materialistic African American, selling out to achieve material wealth, while Forbes describes Gabe as less materialistic in his music and in appearance, the crowd or “underground” around him, “is feeling his music, in awe of his lyrical skill” (475), not focused on the aesthetic, but the meaning. This battle of the mainstream versus underground becomes a battle of image, of what is shown of blackness to the world.
ReplyDeleteGabe represents the underground, his art reflecting the history of slavery, the world he around him now and its problems, it goes beyond the surface of skin color politics and material possessions to show how far one has come universally. In comparison Kain’s music reflects only the surface, the sex and riches that he has sold out his own race and art for, and as he forgets his roots and leaves his family behind he forgets the very history of the art that brought him there. It is through Kain’s transformation at the end that the author’s message of Hip-hop representing blackness as a way to pass on history and pride, as tools to bring about change in society and not just entertainment.
Music has always existed as a form of express, expression of many different things. It is a stage for political speech, social reform, and expressing the views of the culture from which it is a product. Hip-hop, coming out of the Bronx culture of the 1970’s comprised of poor blacks, latinos and Europeans living in impoverished conditions gave a new definition of blackness. The blackness would come to represent the group of oppressed, fighting against it with a bold message set to a catchy beat. Hip-hop is a product of what was available as seen with concepts of DJ-ing and MC-ing such as sampling. Theater can also be seen in such a light as because all you need is actors to put on a show, making it a forum of expression available to all people as the sounds of hip-hop were found even in the most resource starving areas. These like mediums will then explore issues in a similar fashion. A theatrical performance will have a certain flow that engages and encapsulates its audiences in the drama being presented much as the latest Jay-z song can generate a sea of heads bobbing in unison during a performance. There is no doubt when either one is successful such success will be a direct reflection of impact on the audience. Hip-hop songs and theatrical works both serve to generate thought, awareness or change through the African American storyteller tradition that can be seen stemming from the era of slavery.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop I realized how many cultures actually make up the hip hop community. An example was the character Flip. A 17 year-old white kid from Montana who says “why would I want to be white?” and calling himself black. The only idea of hip hop he has was from the music videos. He still considers himself a part of the hip hop community even though he cannot relate to the image he usually sees. This is a black man “in the ghetto” with “girls in bikinis walking around.” Another example being the Cuban man who tries to translate lyrics in a rap song from English to Spanish. Ironically, a popular lyric like “mother-fucker” did not translate. I believe Hoch was making a joke about the language used in hip hop music. Some people may not understand the cultural references (like mother-fucker or ho’s) being used if they are not from the area or time, this does not make them any less a part of the hip hop community. There is a link between the hip hop culture and theater just like a link between the cultures inside of the hip hop community. Because hip hop music expresses the opinions, stories and culture in that community, the theatre does the same thing. Hip hop theatre shares the stories of the community, no matter how large that community is (as we see in the film). Hip hop theatre compiles the different stories of the culture into one.
ReplyDeleteIn Kamilah Forbes’ play, Rhyme Deferred, she makes a direct connection between hip-hop theatre and expressions of blackness in hip-hop culture. Hip-hop in general, consists of four elements: MCing, Breaking, Grafitti and DJing. With the help of certain artists, these four elements are merged together as one theatrical performance known as Hip-hop theatre. This type of theatrical performance, “identifies its youth as low-to moderate income youth of the hip-hop generation” (NHP Lecture 4/20/10). Forbes uses specific devices in her language which tie hip-hop theater to expressions of blackness; specifically in the rap/hip-hop culture. “So you do what you need to do, smoke some reefer, drink a forty, get arrested. Write the album from behind bars. I don’t give a fuck. Shoot somebody, whatever you need to do to inspire this album” (483). Kain’s record label executive is a perfect example of what many people perceive typical “blackness” to involve; especially within the hip-hop community. Societal stereotypes of the rap industry involve; how many drugs you can do, how many drinks you consume and how many times you can get shot. Forbes made her record label executive character act like the typical “mainstream” thinking of what the industry entitles. She associated black stereotypes (drugs, alcohol, language and jail) with what Kain needed to do in order to sell his album. This implies that in order for Kain to be a successful artist, he had to increase his “blackness” level by doing the stereotypical black things. This idea goes along with relating hip-hop theater to black theater traditions, which involves “subverting the normative whiteness associated with the American theater” (NHP Lecture 4/20/10). Hip-hop theatre and expressions of blackness is all about being different and working to create something new; away from the mainstream “whiteness”.
ReplyDeleteIn Danny Hoch’s article “Towards a Hip-Hop Aesthetic…” he states that the four elements of hip-hop are graffiti, dj-ing (mc-ing), b-boy community, and rap. (Hoch, 2-3). Kamilah Forbes uses all four of these elements in the play Rhyme Deferred. Forbes uses rap throughout the whole play. The whole play is either rapped or sung. The b-boy community is extremely prevalent throughout the play. There is break dancing throughout the show as well. A great example of this would be in the opening monologue from Herc, the stage directions tell him that he “pop-locks and draws on the air.” (Forbes, 472). When Kain’s underground self Gabe defeats Kain in a battle, they are mc-ing. Their beats battle each other and the words that they use. Herc speaks of graffiti in his opening monologue as well. He says, “Modern griots-djali spraying graffiti on the walls of our minds… Like prophets echoing truth in the wilderness.” (Forbes, 472). This shows how important graffiti was to this culture; the people creating the graffiti were like prophets to them and helped to lead the way. They also helped to create social codes.
ReplyDeleteNot only does Forbes use a number of references to African American culture, such as the call and response, she also uses literary and theatre references in Rhyme Deferred. I caught a number of illusions and references in Rhyme Deferred to Shakespeare and his shows. Eve states “The ills I do, their ills instruct me so.” (Forbes, 495). In Othello Emilia states, “The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.” This quote is speaking that women learn from the men’s examples and men are the ones who teach us to do these wicked things. Herc, Gabe, and Eve reference the three witches from Macbeth. Herc states “when shall we three meet again?” going until his line “when the battles lost and won…” (Forbes, 505). Forbes uses Shakespeare’s lines and it has the same type of effect that it did in Rhymed Deferred as it did in Macbeth.
We discussed in class the ways in which Hip-hop performance was influenced by black-theatre traditions and specifically Dubois’ concept that black-theatre should be “by, about, for and near black people” (NHP Lecture 04/20). “Rhyme Deferred”, by Kamilah Forbes, looks at the connections between hip-hop performance today and its origins as an expression of blackness within the hip-hop community. The play examines the way that hip-hop began as an expression of this community and then expanded into the mainstream where it has become linked to stereotypes of “blackness.” She illustrates this point through the character of Kain whose success has led him further into the mainstream, so much so that he can no longer identify with the world he is supposedly representing – “you are truly lost” (492). Gabe, on the other hand, represents the “underground” and his lyrics express emotion and experience – “I am an artist who understands humility” (475). Like other examples of black theatre, Hip-hop worked “to subvert the normative “whiteness” associated with American Theatre” (NHP Lecture 04/20) by creating a new style of performance that incorporated a variety of different cultural influences, such as Jazz. However, Hip-hop performance also went further to provide a new way of expressing blackness and addressing civil rights in a way that a diverse, younger audience could relate to. As stated in class, Hip-hop was designed to appeal to an audience identified as “low to moderate income youth of the hip-hop generation” and its greatest strength is its “capacity to connect diverse racial and ethnic audiences” (NHP Lecture 04/20).
ReplyDeleteRhyme Deferred is a great way to explain the ongoing battle between mainstream and underground hip-hop. The way Kain is flashy and not really raping about nothing but making the money and his brother Gabe who is underground is a great lyricist but gets no mainstream recognition for that. A hip-hop play is something that should defiantly be watched because you can get more emotion out of seeing the whole thing played out. I feel like this play made a great point to how if mainstream rappers went underground they would not make it because it is entirely different than mainstream hip-hop. When looking at Dubois statement, “Black theater should be by, about, for, and near black people” this play would definitely appeal to a more black audience or a hip-hop audience, because if you do not relate you probably won’t understand what is going on. In Hoch article he explains the elements of hip-hop that made it was and how it grow in this industry. What is funny to me is how much he follows Dubois statement but when you look at him he is not Black at all. Hoch further explains how hip-hop is in this time right now where, “wants to be accepted and part of it does not. Part of Hip-Hop wants to institutionalize, and part of it does not.” (Hoch 9) There is a gap between the two worlds of hip- hop, mainstream and underground, that is the two parts explained in Forbes play. Some like the flashy hip-hop but some like the meaningful lyrical hip-hop, like how hip-hop used to be. That is what makes this so great because this battle of the same world, but a different word keeps hip-hop known worldwide and able to grow to the length it has today.
ReplyDeleteAfter reflecting on Kamilah Forbes’ Rhyme Deferred and Danny Hoch’s “Jails, Hospitals, and Hip-Hop” a link centering upon the question of authenticity is revealed that can be used as a bridge between the discourses of hip-hop and blackness. Throughout our in-class discussions this semester we have problematized the notion of being “authentically black,” asking ourselves what exactly that means, looks like and sounds like. We have also questioned who in our society and culture gets to be the judge deciding what is and what is not “authentic.” Hoch’s monologue “Public Service Announcement” in which he renounces the mainstream, bling-bling, commercial lies of popular rap as being what “hip-hop is not…” connects to the central conflict in Forbes’ Rhyme Deffered as we see Gabe and Kain as warring brothers who represent the clash between the underground (aka authentic hip-hop) and the mainstream (aka inauthentic, sold-out, and false hip-hop). Through their pieces Hoch and Forbes bring to light the desire to define what is and what is not considered authentic or “true” hip-hop echoing the desire historically to define what is and what is not “black.” The project of defining authenticity is not relegated to some nostalgic historical memory of the “Civil Rights Era” neatly “ending” after the close of the 1960’s, but is still a project continuing today in 2010. We have seen through our in-class explorations the reality that even someone as powerful as our President is still criticized today as either being “not enough” or “too much” in terms of his own connection to and personal expression of blackness. Genet asks us, “what is a black?,” Hoch and Forbes ask us: “what is hip-hop?” and also “what is it not?”
ReplyDelete***Apologies for Bonus Material: below is another thought that I couldn’t bear to cut.***
The successful rapper character, Emcee Enuff, in Hoch’s film speaks about the surreal moments he experiences while performing in Japan. This monologue effectively communicates two truths about hip-hop and its role today in popular culture: 1) that hip-hop is undeniably global and no longer (and perhaps never was if we consider its multi-cultural inception in the Bronx—lecture 4/20) the property of one racial, ethnic or class group, 2) and that with this global reach, hip-hop artists and thinkers must ask themselves what exactly are we as artists exporting—even as dollars pour into the pockets of music executives and producers, is the social cost too high if our rhymes valorize disrespect and abuse toward women and laud violence and extreme materialism?
Rhyme Deferred by Kamilah Forbes does a good job explaining how hip hop music and “blackness” are in the same breath, because that’s what hip hop was basically; the lives and trials of black people coming up in a different environment. This is why there are so many black followers of the genre due to African Americans being able to relate to it unconditionally. I like how Hoch talked about mainstream and underground hip hop music, because there is a slight difference to me. In underground you get the raw and gritty music, one that does not hold back with the lyrics. They put it all out there from the poverty, night life, drugs, abandonment, injustices; all of that is brought out in underground music which is why a lot of artist stay underground. They feel as if they can’t express themselves in that same fashion would be considered “selling out” in the black community of “going commercial.” Whereas, mainstream an artist has to water it down for the other audience to listen to it a follow the artist; some call it crossing over, which is where the money lies for the artists. It just seems like in order to really make it and get endorsements and be on big shows, hip hop artists have to conform their once underground lyrics and style to fit a structured, easy going type of delivery on their music, and I feel that says a lot about the society we live in. I say that meaning, it’s like the ghetto, hood, and “BLACK” lifestyle of some the majority African Americans is still not accepted on the main stage.
ReplyDeleteHip Hop Theatre to me is a direct reflection of Hip Hop music. There are many similarities such as MC’s , break dancing, graffiti art, and the art of Djing. All these issues play a part in Hip Hop Theatre as well as Hip Hop Muisc. I watched the movie Jail’s Hospitals and Hip Hop I did not quite understand it but what I did get from the movie is the fact that this man would rather be in jail than work at McDonalds. That says a lot about the society we live in and the way people treat others who are just trying to earn a living. I also watched a small clip of a Danny Hoch interview speaking about Rhyme Differed what caught my eye was the fact that this guy is white and is doing Hip Hop Theatre but also is very talented at it despite his skin color. Also the clip we watched the other day in class on Rhyme Differed was amazing how those young people used Hip Hop in everything even when they prayed.
ReplyDeleteHip-Hop is one of the most misunderstood lifestyles in the United States. To many miseducated Americans, hip-hop is a type of music that encourages violence, misogyny and drug use because of the evolution the genre has taken on with music like gangster rap. In reality Hip-Hop encourages representation of one’s culture within an urban environment while collaborating with people from other cultures to explain the reality of life as an underrepresented person in America. A Rhyme Deferred puts real people to the concepts that which Hip-Hop consists of, helping an audience who may not know much about the Hip-Hop lifestyle learn about a special art form and a political voice. There is much more to hip-hop than a catchy tune or creative hook, as said in A Rhyme Deferred, “Hip-hop is life, hip-hop is religion, hip-hop is Hip-Hop” (Forbes 472). Hip-Hop uses black forms of expressiveness like dance, lyrical combination and art to tell the world, “We’re here, recognize it”. Hip-Hop theatre uses these concepts to tell a full story rather than just one piece of the puzzle. One may never be exposed to the concepts of breaking and graffiti but hip-hop theatre is able to use these concepts in a representation of a certain type of minority life and minority art form. As hip-hop lifestyle grew to include people from all races and cultures it allowed for different minority groups to relate to the struggles blacks have been dealing with since the time of slavery and recognize that they, like blacks in America, can express themselves through hip-hop. With the creation of hip-hop it gave a weapon of positivity to those who were rejected expression for years, allowing them to feel recognized with the idea that these urban realities are harsh and true and the world needs to know.
ReplyDeleteI do not think Hip-Hop is a cross diverse matrix of cultures. To understand what I mean is that you need to examine the cultures that defined hip-hop. Cubans, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican’s share very similar cultural identities. My argument is that these races share the African-American bloodline regardless if they accept it or not. I do not believe it has cross boundaries, I believe it developed blackness with a multiethnic perspective with the key ingredient being black. In essence they are uniquely different as they are uniquely the same. However these cultures share the African Bloodline, indeed there are some unique languages and traits particular to the races. They cannot hide the truth of their roots. If you examine the roots of the aesthetics one could pick and choose which aesthetic hold more substance when it comes to the genre of rap. For example Dj-ing was traditionally a Jamaican attribute but it was introduced to America. One could argue Jamaicans should be the beneficiaries of creating the beat. Otherwise each culture with its African American cultural identity was giving into the creation of spawning hip-hop. Therefore blackness is to hip-hop as African is to African-American. They both contain the key ingredients of fundamental African Identity but placement and culture have created something unique. However I do agree with Danny Hoch when he said, “It could have been born of the fusion-and profusion-of all of these complex conditions and circumstances.” The depreciated urban environment spurred a voice that was starving to break the silence of repression.
ReplyDeleteJails Hospitals and Hip Hop was one of the most interesting pieces that I have ever seen, with Danny Hoch flipping and questioning who has the right to be "Hip Hop". The monologue about MC Enuff is very powerful and I think that the message is really important for everyone to hear. That what some sacrifice in themselves to have tremendous success is too much to handle and the internal pain that these artist feel and the guilt that they feel for selling out on their community is very great and should not be ignored.
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