![]() ![]() This problem bubbled and boiled over outside of cities and into white America - this changed the game completely. Violence and misogynoir - hate and prejudice geared specifically toward black women - were becoming common issues for rappers, and the community was torn. 2 Live Crew and Geto Boys were habitual offenders. were by no means the only rappers who glorified these ideals. Dre’s physical assault on Dee Barnes, which only helped to reinforce his “gangsta” image amongst the general public. began emphasizing what we now understand to be key to music of this era: the degradation of the Black woman, the glorification of violence and drugs, and the rise of the “hustler” icon which manifested in both their artistic and personal lives. However, Ice Cube’s departure from the group led to less politically charged messaging and more controversy. The group released countless songs that blew up in the charts, while also discussing issues close to the communities from which they came - including those involving the police and systemic racism. was violent, ruthless, a little scary and unmatched in power and reach. In his book “Somebody Scream!” Marcus Reeves discusses how once the “hustler” figure became an icon that everyone wanted to exemplify, N.W.A took advantage: “The age of crack turned urban Black communities into cauldrons of selfishness, paranoia and violence, and N.W.A turned those sentiments into a fresh musical movement.” N.W.A.’s success was a cultural reset that changed the trajectory of Hip-Hop from that point on by solidifying “gangsta” rap as a distinct subgenre. They were seeking escapes from poverty, addiction and violence in their communities and were in desperate need of power over their own livelihoods. The generation consuming music at this time had almost nothing to lose and everything to gain. sought to take on the livelihoods of these figures and tell their stories. In “The Hip Hop Wars”, Tricia Rose depicts these figures as a complex reality within major cities during tough times. The “hustler” and “gangsta” figures were very alike and originally represented success by any means necessary. The second response is best understood as the emergence of the “hustler” or “gangsta” figure as both a hero and anti-hero for the Black community. By uniting, the community could reclaim its power and fight against the daunting systems at play. ![]() This is reflected in the music of artists like Public Enemy, which contained politically charged messaging and lyrics that appear in songs like “Fight The Power” and “911 Is a Joke” among others. The first response was to push Black unity and resilience, drawing influence straight from the Black Power movement of the ’60s and ’70s, in which the Black community asserted racial pride and empowerment. In his article “ The Crack Epidemic and the Transformation of Hip Hop: A Bronx Tale,” Mark Naison discusses how Black artists responded to the crisis. When crack use surged in cities, legislators brought about the War on Drugs, and economic destruction and hopelessness followed. In the face of the peak of the crack epidemic, these struggles intensified. Beyond that, it is an expression of creativity that Black and brown people use to uplift themselves from the struggles that plague their communities. It feeds into the music, and the music in turn feeds back into it. It is a culture that is a culmination of the history, language and media of the Black community. Hip-Hop is not just a genre, but a way of living for the people who partake in it. Originally a creative tool of expression used by and for Black people, it has transformed into a commercial beast that dominates the way we, as Black people, perceive ourselves. To understand how it reached this point, we must dissect the evolution of Hip-Hop. By no means do I intend to assert that the art form has no value now, but rather that this diverse and complicated genre has found itself riddled with stereotypes. But what about what came after? Hip-Hop’s evolution and growth in popularity during this period led to the dilution of its creative impact and what I would consider to be a stale placeholder of what once was. This title has been rightfully earned due to the creativity and diversity present within the music produced at the time. The years spanning 1991 to 1993 are widely recognized as the peak of golden age Hip-Hop.
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