Making sense of hip-hop’s most recent crime wave.

On Rappers and Rap Sheets
By James Braxton Peterson

The recent spate of rap stars making criminal justice news will come as a surprise to no one, especially those of you who equate hip-hop culture with prison culture. Nor will it surprise those of us who have accepted the fact that, in the black public sphere, record sales (or any sales for that matter) are often bolstered by an association with criminality.

Clearly all of hip-hop culture is not about criminality.  Most rappers do not have rap sheets.  If you consider Akon to be a hip-hop artist, think of the irony inherent in the sensationalism surrounding the recent expose of his criminal career.  The fact that he has exaggerated his prison status in order to sell his artistic persona (and millions of records) only begins to hint at the promotional potential of prison sentences in popular culture.

That said, it might be worth revisiting this recent string of cases to understand the issues and what they mean for both the African American community and the Hip-Hop Generation(s).

The rap vocalist known as Nate Dogg recently plead guilty to battery and trespassing in a domestic dispute that actually was not domestic (the sentence: 3 years probation, domestic violence rehab/treatment, and loss of his 2^nd Amendment rights).

According to the record, Nate Dogg (nee Nathaniel Hale) forcibly entered his ex-girlfriend’s home in Newport Beach, VA. and punched her new boyfriend in the face. This of course occurred before his debilitating stroke (a celestial sentence of sorts) in 2007, but the ironies abound.  After all, one of Nate Dogg’s most famous hooks is a boast about having “hoes in different area codes.” Nate Dogg’s rap persona embraces a hypersexualized sense of black masculinity that requires promiscuity and emotionless interaction with women.

The fact that his girlfriend moved to an area code about as far from area code 213 as is possible without leaving the country, and moved on to another paramour is interesting enough. That it incited enough jealousy in him to assault her new boyfriend is a reversal of just about everything Nate Dogg has articulated in the lyrics of his most infectious hooks.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Diet Could Affect Gender

A new report from Oxford and the University of Exeter in England says that diet at conception can influence the sex of the child. What do you think?

Kendall Richards,
Systems Analyst
“I want a girl but only have ketchup and boiled ham in the fridge. Where does that put me?”

Elizabeth Houston,
Bus Driver
“Maybe, one day, the foods that we eat during conception will stop us from making huge mistakes with dishwasher repairmen from Rahway.”

Beau Justice,
Drop Forge Operator
“And if I’m not mistaken, I heard the diet after birth can influence the weight of the child.”

Today’s photo of the day is in honor of Sean Bell who was murdered by the police on November 25, 2006. Last Friday, a judge found the three officer-assassins not-guilty on all charges. Just wondering: When will Barack Obama say something significant about this?

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Today’s video of the day comes from the O’Reilly Factor, where Michael Eric Dyson and I discussed the North Carolina Republican ad, Jeremiah Wright, and the role of race in the Pennsylvania primary.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell

Marc,

Did you see it? Did you see Barack brush his shoulders off?

Like every other hip-hop generation voter in America I went crazy when he did it. I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a perfect moment.

Barack’s key constituencies are tough because they are his most important assets and his most visible liabilities: African Americans and young people. Within Barack’s diverse coalition black folks, city dwellers and young voters are his steadfast allies, but his opponents consistently use race and age to label him unqualified and inexperienced.

Barack needs to keep his black, urban and young voters while adding laborers,suburbanites, seniors and rural folks into a winning coalition. Great campaigners know how to talk to multiple audiences at once. They send solidarity signals to some while allowing others to remain blissfully unaware.

W. is a master of this “dog-whistle” politics. Especially in his first term, Bush sent piercing rhetorical signals to evangelicals that the rest of the audience was completely incapable of hearing because they don’t get the reference. Think “wonder-working power” during his State of The Union address and “Dred Scott” references during his abortion answers in a debate with Kerry. These are crystal clear signals to some but mean nothing to others.

Marc, last week you said Obama would have to be more like Bush. Well, Barack gave us the dog-whistle remix this week and it was hot.

Barack is much more earnest than Bush. His coalition strategy has been explicit. Obama articulates the reasons we have shared interests and encourages us to see past difference. This is why many of us Barackers are so excited about his candidacy.

But political campaigning is not only about earnest argument. It is also about strategy. When Obama brushed his shoulders off he took the secret handshake platinum.

He displayed all the familiar self-assurance and bravado of the hip-hop emcee. The people who got-it went nuts, while those who don’t know hip-hop just thought he was being funny and confident. This moment hit YouTube and went viral in a matter of hours. It was a signal of solidarity with his base of young, urban, black and brown voters. We loved it.

Marc, if Barack is listening to Jay-Z what do you think are his favorite cuts these days? 99 Problems maybe?

Marc Lamont Hill

“If you feelin’ like a pimp, nigga go and brush ya shoulders off” – Jay-Z

You better watch out or Barack will have to add Jigga to the list of people that he has to denounce in the next debate!

But seriously, Melissa, I think you’re stretching here. My best guess says that the candidate formerly known as Barry doesn’t know Jay-Z from Jay Leno. If he does, he would know that, in order to satisfy the conditions for shoulder brushing, one must be “feelin’ like a pimp.”

Hmmmm. Maybe you’re on to something after all.

For the past year, Barack has been pimping the hopes and aspirations of people around this nation. If he’s been using “dog whistle” politics, it has been to signal to mainstream (read: white) America that he’s not “too black” or “too radical.” Why? Because he knows that black people will vote for him anyway. Indeed, it is this desperation for a black face in a high place that allows us to interpret all of his activities as Negro smoke signals.

Last weekend, I almost spit out my Snapple listening to a group of brothers in the barbershop overinterpret Barack’s every move. “Did you see how he clinched his fist when he said he supports free trade? That was a secret Black Panther sign!” “Remember when he said he supports No Child Left Behind? He meant that no child would be left behind when we go back to Africa!” While “Shouldergate” is a much more plausible circumstance, I’m just not buying that it’s for us. If anything, he was telling white people that he has us all in check.

And yes, that was a secret shout out to Busta Rhymes!