{"id":4561,"date":"2022-09-21T16:26:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T21:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/?p=4561"},"modified":"2022-09-21T16:26:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T21:26:20","slug":"hip-hops-obsession-with-combat-imagery-is-about-more-than-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=4561","title":{"rendered":"Hip-Hop\u2019s Obsession With Combat Imagery Is About More Than Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ALPH86ybA6U\">Let the Rhythm Hit \u2018Em<\/a>, legendary New York MC Rakim proclaims: \u201cI\u2019m the arsenal, I got artillery, lyrics are ammo\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3855\" src=\"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-SITE-BANNER2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1195\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Senegalese-born French rapper MC Solaar compares his mic to body armour and warns listeners about his cache of lyrical bullets halfway through <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H5Bo5rbFD28\">La Concubine de l\u2019H\u00e9moglobine<\/a><\/em> (The Haemoglobin Concubine): <em>\u201c\u2026le mic est devenu ma tenue combat \u2026 le Solaarsenal est \u00e9quip\u00e9 de balles vocales \u2026\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/316834\/original\/file-20200224-24655-buzp1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=12%2C18%2C2032%2C1342&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" \/><figcaption>Members of Wu-Tang Clan at Glastonbury 2019. The group took their name from the 1983 Kung Fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang. <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/f0\/Wu_Tang_Clan_West_Holts_Stage_Glastonbury_2019_007.jpg\/2048px-Wu_Tang_Clan_West_Holts_Stage_Glastonbury_2019_007.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kendrick Lamar refers to himself as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2017\/04\/20\/don-cheadle-confirms-kendrick-lamars-kung-fu-kenny-moniker-is-a-irush-hour-2i-reference\">Kung Fu Kenny<\/a> throughout the album DAMN, a reference to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NJnJonRPJ-w\">Don Cheadle\u2019s character<\/a> in the 2001 buddy cop and martial arts film Rush Hour 2 starring Jackie Chan.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/glaG64Ao7sM?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>As all these examples confirm, it\u2019s a common practice for rappers to equate verbal prowess with martial skill. MCs \u201cspit\u201d incendiary lines. Breakdancers \u201cbattle\u201d for supremacy on the dance floor. DJs \u201ccut\u201d samples to their own liking. Graffiti artists \u201cbomb\u201d public spaces with tags.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of hip-hop music and culture denounce such imagery as encouraging actual violence. They often cite graphic examples from commercial American \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/the-great-and-the-grisly-of-gangsta-rap-1.2317070\">gangsta rap<\/a>\u201d to make their case. Yet from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.ie\/en\/cipher\/\">the research<\/a> in which I have been involved, there\u2019s a whole other way of looking at this imagery that casts hip-hop in a very different light.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3855\" src=\"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-SITE-BANNER2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1195\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Planet rap<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Musicologist Griff Rollefson offers a different view of this tendency for hip-hop MCs to use their \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/europeanhiphoporg.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/12\/HipHopAsMartialArt-OxfordHandbook-Rollefson.pdf\">words as weapons<\/a>\u201d. For members of marginalised communities, he argues, hip-hop potentially offers \u201ca discursive and performative field in which to vent frustrations, enact fantasies, build confidence and formulate plots\u201d. It\u2019s a cathartic space free from threat of physical harm or retaliation from authorities.<\/p>\n<p>I would argue that the metaphors of combat in global hip-hop are often concerned with messages of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2009\/10\/12\/its-a-hip-hop-world\/\">empowerment and social action<\/a>. The seeming violence of such expressions serves as a means for practitioners to channel their dissatisfaction with adverse social conditions through creative artistry. On her 2019 track <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8qceP35fafc\">Land of Gray<\/a>, for instance, South African MC Yugen Blakrok \u201cdismembers a fascist\u201d with her incisive \u201cverbal blades\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8qceP35fafc?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FpY3XTS9EZw\">another instance<\/a>, Japanese rapper Zeebra fires off a lyrical \u201cbullet of truth\u201d, changing listeners\u2019 thought patterns and \u201cslowly directing brain cells\u201d toward more enlightened ways of being (Saishu Heiki, 2005).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3855\" src=\"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-SITE-BANNER2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1195\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Musical art to martial art<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At a time when issues of migration, secession and isolationism dominate, an in-depth study of the impact of global forms of hip-hop marks an important change in political and cultural perspectives. As part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.ie\/en\/cipher\/\">CIPHER<\/a> initiative, Rollfeson, the researcher Jason Ng and I are investigating hip-hop\u2019s social importance and re-evaluating its stigmas. The aim is to shift the focus from a strictly US context to look at models from around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Rollefson\u2019s idea that hip-hop is a \u201cmartial art\u201d is a part of this approach. Not only does it position rap within its contemporary context but it also considers the culture\u2019s deep indebtedness to Kung Fu cinematic lore and East Asian philosophy.<\/p>\n<p>Take the Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s debut album <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/15-fun-facts-about-wu-tang-clans-enter-the-wu-tang-36-chambers-187134\/\">Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)<\/a>. The title references the classic martial arts movies Enter the Dragon (1973) starring Bruce Lee, and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978).<\/p>\n<p>Busta Rhymes\u2019 video for the 1997 track Dangerous, directed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/vb9wm3\/hype-williams-changed-hip-hop-forever-with-these-10-videos\">Hype Williams<\/a> (who made some of the period\u2019s most well-known hip-hop videos), takes its inspiration from the 1985 classic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089461\/\">The Last Dragon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3855\" src=\"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-SITE-BANNER2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1195\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ask any old-skool hip-hop head \u201cWho is the master?\u201d and they\u2019ll answer, \u201cSho\u2019nuff!\u201d. This scene is played out in the music video with Rhymes taking the role of martial arts master Sho\u2019nuff. For brown and black kids growing up in the socioeconomically repressed Bronx of the 1980s, what\u2019s a more aspirational narrative, what\u2019s more hip-hop, than the tale of a lone warrior acting decisively, but only when provoked?<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4b6P12eiLpo?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>This influence also manifests globally, but in very different ways. Irish MC Jun Tzu (his <em>nom de guerre<\/em> a nod to Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu), often highlights the continued need for unity in his hometown of Belfast after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=u2w4cg0cdhs\">the Troubles<\/a>. In the single <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wBaJORaQI9k\">Klik Klak<\/a> \u2013 the title imitating the sound of a pistol being racked and readied to fire \u2013 the South African rapper Cream declares: \u201cI\u2019m Jackie Chan with a pen\u2026 I defend rappers in my clan\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just as martial arts principles are handed down from teacher to disciple, hip-hop MCs spread ideological \u201ctruths\u201d through their music. Global practitioners of hip-hop in particular prioritise a resistive aesthetic \u2013 an awareness of cultural identity, personal expression and a fundamental \u201cknowledge of self\u201d in their work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3855\" src=\"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-SITE-BANNER2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1195\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The notion of hip-hop as a martial art also helps to illustrate the community-oriented ethos of the culture. In the cipher, which is the name given to hip-hop performance gatherings, MCs hone their skills and \u201csharpen their blades\u201d in lyrical combat. This rite of passage, where performers are called on to demonstrate their talents and be evaluated by peers, exemplifies the \u201ceach one teach one\u201d approach that characterises much of global hip-hop.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/131851\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/warrick-moses-952412\">Warrick Moses<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-college-cork-1321\">University College Cork<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/warrick-moses-952412\">Warrick Moses<\/a>, Postdoctoral Fellow in Hip-Hop Studies, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-college-cork-1321\">University College Cork<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hip-hops-obsession-with-combat-imagery-is-about-more-than-violence-131851\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Let the Rhythm Hit \u2018Em, legendary New York MC Rakim proclaims: \u201cI\u2019m the arsenal, I got artillery, lyrics are ammo\u2026.\u201d Senegalese-born French rapper MC Solaar compares his mic to body armour and warns listeners about his cache of lyrical bullets halfway through La Concubine de l\u2019H\u00e9moglobine (The Haemoglobin Concubine): \u201c\u2026le mic est devenu ma [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[85,891,892,893,842],"class_list":["post-4561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-new-music","tag-about","tag-combat","tag-imagery","tag-obsession","tag-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}