Why does rap music glorify misogyny, Black criminality and violence?
Because that’s what Black people want to hear!
We can only blame ourselves for the way hip-hop portrays Black people! It’s the biggest-selling music genre on the planet because Black people buy it. If Black people weren’t paying to hear songs about murder, sex and drugs, the big record labels wouldn’t go out of their way to sign gangsta rappers and young thugs! And since hip-hop is part of Black culture, the music simply reflects what we like to hear and how we see ourselves.
It’s not a conspiracy; it’s just business.
What if I told you that none of that is true?
In 2015, fewer than a third of all the platinum hip-hop albums ever made came from gangsta rappers. Back then, Outkast was the biggest-selling rap group of all time. Jay-Z was the biggest solo act, but a white boy (Eminem) was arguably the most violent miscegenistic artist in rap history.
So what happened?
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, in 2015, revenue from streaming and subscription services surpassed physical album sales and downloads. For the first time ever, the revenue for music companies (and their artists) was determined by streaming companies and their algorithms—not how many people actually purchased an album.
This is when things changed.
And if you think gangsta rap grew out of public demand and “the culture,” here’s a story.
On July 18, 1989, NWA’s Straight Outta Compton became the first gangsta rap album to be certified platinum by the RIAA. Of course, it only makes sense that music companies would try to replicate that success. Before then, only 11 rap albums had ever sold a million albums:
Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill
Run DMC, King of Rock
Run DMC, Raising Hell
Whodini, Escape
LL Cool J, Bigger and Deffer
The Fat Boys, Crushin
LL Cool J, Radio
Salt N Pepa, Hot, Cool and Vicious
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper
Run DMC, Tougher Than Leather
Kool Moe Dee, How Ya Like Me Now?
One month later, on Aug. 22, Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was certified platinum. But, for some reason, record companies didn’t flood the market with militant, pro-Black music by revolutionaries who could actually rap.
Why not?
Thank you Dr. Mary M. Marshall, Jools, Sharon, Cee1405151_123, Renman23 and many others for tuning into The Wake-Up Call! Join us every Friday for the live discussion.
Today’s Reading List:
When the Irish Weren’t White by Michael Harriot
Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Noble
Snoop Can’t Criticize ‘Roots’ When He’s Serving Poisoned Kool-Aid Too by Michael Harriot
