Can Calling Hip Hop Anti-Black Be Anti-Black?
Malcolm-Jamal Warner and the problems with "anti-Hip Hop" commentary
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Can Calling Hip Hop Anti-Black Be Anti-Black?
In a recent interview on Monica Pearson One On One, actor, poet and author Malcolm-Jamal Warner delivered some opinions on the state of “Hip Hop.” The soundbite version (which of course is the one that most media/people picked up on), was his assertion that “success in Hip Hop is predicated on being anti-Black.”
The sentiment is a variation of one we’ve honestly been hearing for decades. Warner critiqued the usual things — overuse of the N-word, content which includes violence and misogyny — that are found in the “Hip Hop” that, as he says, “gets the exposure.”
Nothing we haven’t heard before.
Nothing we’re going to solve here.
Now, there is a lot to unpack in his comments, including his clear anti-rap bias. After all, he begins by insisting “Hip Hop” (and by Hip Hop he means rap) can’t possibly traverse the depth of subject matter that poetry can.
That’s just silly.
His attention-grabbing statements also not-so-coincidentally align with his own lane of “positive” content, and in this case, the recent launch of a new program, “Not All Hood,” which is based on these kinds of discussions.
That all being said, there’s no debate that there are anti-Black forces at play in the entertainment business — because there are anti-Black forces at play everywhere. And while Warner does make the point that “not all Hip Hop” is like this, there is a case to be made that these kinds of comments unfortunately add to the public perception that “Hip Hop” is nothing more than a bunch of musical filth-flarn-filth.
A quick note: To be fair, this discussion is most relevant to, and should be engaged in, and among, Black folks themselves. I’m always cognizant of my place in these cultures, and strive to know when I shouldn’t be sitting here attempting to Manny-splain things…
Still, as a leading advocate for Hip Hop’s role as a powerful, and largely untapped tool that can uplift the lives of many people, including and most importantly Black folks, I feel it’s important to point out what I see as some glaring problems when high-profile individuals choose to speak on “Hip Hop” without offering really important and much-needed context alongside those comments.
IF YOU KNOW ME, YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS…
Let’s start with some Q&A:
Is there content within rap music that can be interpreted as anti-Black? Or at the very least, content which goes against what would be considered positivity toward or among Black people?
Yes.
Has this been an issue with rap music for decades?
Yes.
Have people been saying what Malcolm-Jamal Warner said for decades?
Yes.
Has repeating these same concerns for decades solved the problem?
Nope.
Isn’t some of this subjective anyway? Is some of what is being criticized just a reflection of true and honest perspectives, as dire as that may sound? Isn’t some also just visceral, embellished storytelling, in the vein of Donald Goines or Hollywood itself? Doesn’t it always seem like older critics forget we came up on “F_ck The Police,” “Put it in Your Mouth,” “Big Momma Thing,” and “Shook Ones”? Isn’t there also a bunch of music “being pushed” that isn’t full of these negative characteristics?
Um. That’s a lot. But yes, sure.
So isn’t this all just similar to other genres of music or art or film or media in that what “gets the exposure” is often violent, misogynistic, and overtly sexual?
Kinda, yea.
Does that make it “ok”?
No. And if you factor in how these things can influence historically marginalized and exploited populations, it’s definitely worse.
OK, so boom. Warner has a point?
An over-litigated and incomplete one, but sure, I guess.
Ah, that’s right… You believe that when the general public hears these kinds of comments — especially people less familiar with the genre and its associated culture, but also older, jaded folks who ARE attached to the culture — it tends to just reinforce the impression that this is ALL that rap music, its culture, and by extension, people associated with rap, have to offer, right?
Oh, for sure! I mean, you can tell just by reading the comments any time a story like this is posted on the internet. He doesn’t even make the distinction between the music and the culture. For many people, this is all Hip Hop is or has become.
So when figures like Malcolm-Jamal Warner or Questlove? make sweeping statements about “Hip Hop” when they’re actually only referring to the most prominent and accessible rap music of the day, wouldn’t it be so much better if they were to emphatically distinguish between what they’re talking about and the rest of “Hip Hop?”
Oh, God, yes! That’s literally what I’m trying to—
Because knowing what WE know (and, ideally, what they SHOULD know) about the entirety of what “Hip Hop” is and has to offer — the brilliant creativity and Black excellence which exists all throughout the vast rap music landscape… Rap’s linguistic and emotional depth… Its musical innovation… The non-rap, multi-elemental aspects that fall under and around Hip Hop’s artistic umbrella… Hip Hop in the Pulitzers, at the Olympics, in Carnegie Hall, but also in community centers, lunchrooms, street corners and basements… The use of Hip Hop in educational spaces, in mental health settings, and as a vehicle to improve the lives and livelihoods of young people, particularly Black and brown people who have been traditionally underserved, under-resourced, under-loved, and underestimated by the rest of society — isn’t it, at the very least, a huge missed opportunity when given the platform to speak on “Hip Hop” to exclude any mention of these things?
You didn’t have to interrupt me, but YESSSSS!
Because it doesn’t help people understand how much Hip Hop ISN’T anti-Black?
Exaaaaaactly.
Ah. So, we can agree that Hip Hop music and culture is much more expansive than just songs about “misogyny, murder, mayhem and disrespect of fellow Black people,” and that it can uniquely and powerfully uplift Black people in many ways, including those described above?
According to tons of folks, absolutely!
Then I have to wonder — could intentionally holding back all that information — diminishing, ignoring or neglecting to mention those things — all while framing “Hip Hop” as “anti-Black” be, in of itself, anti-Black?
Oh… Oh wow… I mean…
I’ll rephrase the question. A hammer can be used as a tool. It can also be used as a weapon. Yet when we talk about hammers, we don’t default to their head-bashing abilities and call the hammer anti-construction. Similarly, knowing that Hip Hop is a vast, multi-purposed tool that can — and is — being used to uplift Black lives, isn’t it wildly disappointing that folks with platforms don’t take the opportunity to talk about THAT? Especially when they rarely offer any alternatives, other than themselves?
You know… You bring up great points. And you’re very handsome.
Anyway, the point is, first: We need to collectively do better at making a clear distinction between “whatever rap music is popular today” from “Hip Hop.”
Yes. Some rap is “negative” and perhaps “anti-Black.” Heard, chef!
(A lot of rap isn’t, but ok.)
“Hip Hop,” on the other hand, might be the most pro-Black artistic and social movements in history, and I believe that one of the main reasons it struggles to live up to that potential is because so many people keep failing to distinguish between the two, or remind people that the other even exists!
High-profile individuals hurt the cause by spending their publicity capital criticizing the genre, yet none of that energy highlighting the culture. Criticizing the industry without celebrating the ingenuity. Pointing out the problems without pointing out solutions or alternatives.
At this point, it’s kinda like the equivalent of mispronouncing Kamala Harris’s name.
They should know better by now. Plus it’s insulting.
HIP HOP ISN’T THE PROBLEM. IT’S THE SOLUTION
KRS-One once profoundly stated, “If Hip Hop has the ability to corrupt young minds, it also has the ability to uplift them.”
Not only is Hip Hop as a whole inherently pro-Black, but it is also pro-peace, pro-love, pro-unity, pro-having fun, and pro-humanity. These are not theories or hopes. These are the basic tenets of Hip Hop culture, as laid out by its originators, its participants and its culture keepers, and as demonstrated across the nation and throughout the globe in a multitude of ways that we keep overshadowing by continuously regurgitating the same anti-popular-rap complaints we’ve been dishing out for decades.
And I know some of you have been itching to say something along the lines of, “But he was only talking about mainstream rap!!!”
Sure. But if you look at any of the responses to these kinds of stories on social media, it’s clear that many people take only one perspective from statements like this — that “Hip Hop” today is terrible.
That’s because throwing in an oh-so-brief and unenthusiastic, “not all Hip Hop is like this…” doesn’t change the tone of the overall message any more than when candidate Trump told us that Mexicans were bringing drugs and bringing crime, but that “some, I assume, are good people.”
In fact, I gotta say… I really find it interesting that many of the folks who get attention for calling out the negativity in Hip Hop, rarely seem to offer up any names of folks who are doing it “right.” Warner has said multiple times that he’s only talking about what “gets pushed” but never seems to lift up those who aren’t being pushed, that he feels should be.
I mean, if you’re so concerned about the lack of what’s being pushed, PUSH SOMETHING!
Of course, he does push his own alternatives — the “positive” messaging in his poetry, his music, his events, and his new podcast… Hmmm, I wonder if there might be $ome incentive for folk$ that are PUSHing that “po$itive” lane to PUSH over and over again just how bad 99.9999% of Black music i$…
But I digress.
Our work here, and here, and here, for years, has promoted the work of artists and the efforts of people and organizations that use Hip Hop to uplift. They, and their work, are most certainly not anti-Black.
We can, and should, continue to have discussions regarding content, imagery and anti-Blackness in rap music — but I will always contend that if we really want to have that conversation, it has very little to do with anything Warner or other critics have said in the past, and everything to do with correcting the circumstances that create the conditions in the lives of young people who craft or consume that content in the first place — anti-Black policies and agendas that are at play long before any random young person decides to start doing music.
Ironically, Hip Hop can literally help fix all of these things, in the most pro-Black ways possible.
That should be the conversation we’re having.
-M
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📅 UPCOMING DOPE & INTERDISCIPLINARY HIP HOP EVENTS
Aug. 10 [Newark, NJ]: Hip Hop 50/Olympic Breakdancing Watch Party
Aug. 11-18 [NYC]: Hip Hop Film Festival
Aug. 13 [Edgartown, Mass.] Duke Black Alumni presents Dr. Mark Anthony Neal in conversation with 9th Wonder
Aug. 19-22 [D.C.]: Podcast Movement (Not Hip Hop related per se, but I’ll be there presenting an “Expert Talks” session, so if you’re there, or in D.C. and want to say hi or book me for something or interview me or whatever, let me know!)
Aug. 23-24 [Newark, NJ] - 24 Hours of Peace
Through Sept. 4 [L.A.] The GRAMMY Museum: Hip Hop America - The Mixtape Exhibit
Opens Sept. 8 [NYC]: FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT is a retrospective of this singular artist’s evolution from early graffiti art styles to his current practice of contemporary abstraction.
Oct. 11-12 [Chattanooga]: Chattanooga Hip Hop Summit
Nov. 3 [D.C.]: Masego at The Kennedy Center
Nov. 9 [D.C.]: Andre 3000 at The Kennedy Center
Nov. 16-17 [L.A.]: Freestyle Session World Breaking Finals
Jan. 11, 2025 [D.C.]: Club Quarantine Live with D-Nice at The Kennedy Center
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JOB LISTINGS
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(RELATED: Jamila Sams on Hip Hop Can Save America!)
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The Hip Hop Museum in NYC is hiring a Director of Curatorial Affairs
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