American Politics & Pop Culture

Throughout history there have been many forms of cultural oppression, creating a dire need for a response. Social groups, such as minorities and European immigrants focused on their own cultures ideologies, such as music, spirituality, and their families, in order to fight off forms of oppression, discrimination, and racism. Although a wide assortment of cultural ideologies have formed a meaning of resistance against oppression, political and gangsta rap music artists were successfully able to urge Americans to pay less attention to the cause of rioting, and instead, focus on institutional discrimination, poverty, and governmental negligence. In the article “Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance,� Theresa Martinez suggests that “political and gangsta rap music artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s were utilizing a bold form of oppositional culture in protest and condemnation of perceived racial formation, institutional discrimination, and urban decay in the inner cities� (Martinez, 266). Through the systematic domination of non-European people, European immigrants struggled against the social, economic, and political forms of discrimination, which ultimately led to the formation of institutional discrimination.

By means of controversial rap and hip-hop, musical artists were able to draw attention to resistance of an oppositional culture through the cultural expression of racial development and inner-city decay. The inspirational, yet sometimes contentious lyrics of rap and hip-hop music brought about an awareness of the nation’s social problems, as well as producing forms of riots that left society in shock. A main point brought about by author Tricia Rose is the controversy of public space, or territory, and the challenging fight of what can be said and within which physical space. For instance, Rose describes rap music as being a “hidden transcript,� in which the lyrics challenge inequalities (Rose, p.100). Rose continues on by arguing that, “Cultural expressions of discontent are no longer protected by the insulated social sites that have historically encouraged the refinement of resistive transcripts� (Rose, p.101). Rap and hip-hop music receive much scrutiny because they challenge dominate social norms/ideologies, yet at the same time, they are readily available to audiences all around the world. Although hip-hop and rap are seen as being controversial, especially in terms of territorial matters, the mere fact that they are able to promote global equality through the sounds and messages of their lyrics is phenomenal. Through creative expressions and voices, rap and hip-hop are able to create a sense of power and belonging through an excursion into different cultures.