As The Chasm Grows... (The Black HipHop & Black-American Cultural Contrast)
When you think of Black-Americans, what image(s) come to your mind? Honestly, what do you see when you think of a Black-American male and a Black-American female? Now that you have an image when you think of Black-American culture, what are your thoughts now? If it doesn’t take long for images and ideas about our culture to come to your mind; take a moment to now think if those images/thoughts are fueled by stereotypes and would any of those images/thoughts be considered offensive in any way? Now let’s do the exact same exercise but this time I want you to think of HipHop culture. Is there any overlap in terms of images/thoughts you had concerning Black-American culture when you pictured HipHop culture?Â
Given that many of the most popular artists in HipHop are Black people, I don’t think it is uncommon if the two cultures were in alignment when you thought about both and therein lies the crux of this book. The HipHop Community has many subcultures and genres of art forms that are immensely popular worldwide; given the aforementioned statement regarding the race of some of HipHop’s most recognizable figures, it is easy for those outside of the Black Community to meld both Black HipHop and Black-American culture together. The goal of this book is to show how over time a divide has grown between the two and as that chasm grows it is likely time to start defining each culture a little more clearly. As a representative of Black-American culture, this is the groundwork I hope to lay here.
