My
Critical Investigation
“I’m always stoned, I’m all high, just brought a new gun lets go do a drive-by” [1]
How do hip-hop artists such as Chief Keef represent
violence, sex and drugs through their music and what is the effect on their
audience?
Over the years rap culture has changed
and has been heavily manipulated in order to entertain audiences and satisfy
their needs. Rap music videos are a media genre that is attracting a
considerable amount of attention[2];
old school rap and modern day do not serve the same message and can arguably be
seen as binary opposites; talking about completely different messages. Old
school rap was seen in a more positive light for a number of reasons for
example drugs were seen as a very negative thing during the 80’s era and many
songs during this time period were dedicated to slandering the drug use taking
place. Artists such as NWA delivered anti- drug messages such as - “If you
smoke caine you a stupid motherfucker!”[3]
To bring negativity towards the topic of drugs.
Today however rap is of violence, “this
highly stylised, energetic music movement took its inspiration from diverse
black American cultural forms to create an idiosyncratic, inventive – and
sometimes controversial – music style”[4].
Chief Keef has become the face of this new music movement, what was once seen
as not cool and bad has now become the norm due to the meaningless messages
being passed through rap music that continues to spread. “Nothing to gain but
killing your brain” [5]
was once the definitive memo on the topic of drugs within rap; however it has
now become defamatory towards women and glorifies drugs, sex and violence.
Chief Keef’s influence is seen as a negative by many and people have used
social media to critique the 18 year old rapper calling him “a product of his
environment” [6]
and even describing him as “a little crazy gangster”[7].
The media today consists of many
different representations, stereotypes and different ideologies presented by
different people. When looking into rap artist Chief Keef’s music we see how
his music can be negative and violent due to the high number of props that can
be found within his music videos such as guns and drugs. This ultimately
re-enforces the negative stereotype that black males are violent and dangerous
which links to Alvarado’s theory (1987) [8]
in which black males are said to be exotic, dangerous, humorous and pitied. This is considered to be a very negative
representation of black males however it seems that Chief Keef presents some of
those aspects within his rap videos. For example in Chief Keef’s song ‘Love no
thotties’[9]
presents humorous aspects in his lyrical content – “couple bucks for these
bitches let me slap them on they ass” and also presents the dangerous aspect by
waving loaded guns in the air whilst driving. Rapper ‘Waka Flocka Flames’ is
one of Chief Keef’s known inspirations and even took pity upon the 18 year old
“you can’t blame a kid... everybody aint grow up in Chicago in the murder
capital...”[10].
There are many other representations
and stereotypes of black men in the music industry alone, many of which are
associated with drugs. A very common stereotype surrounding black males is that
they are drug users[11],
within Chief Keefs music there is a strong presence of drugs and therefore
re-enforces the stereotype that black males are drug users, additionally the
rapper has had a number of drug related charges including driving under influence[12].
This strongly links to Perkins theory (1979) that stereotypes are not always
false – supported by empirical evidence[13].
“Violence in Chicago is not a new
occurrence and neither is the imagery of violence portrayed in hip-hop”[14].
Chief Keef’s music contains a lot of violent content as he insults even the
deceased[15],
this can have a very negative impact upon the audiences watching, especially
those who belong to the psychographic group of aspirers as they tend to be
younger[16].
Chief Keef’s primary audience would consist of males with a socio-economic
classification of E, aged 12-19. At this age it seems that they are more
influenced by what they watch and see and so Chief Keef could have a very
negative impact on the behaviours and attitudes of many young children who
follow his music as they could ultimately endorse the same ideologies as Chief
Keef and could perhaps start to glorify drugs also.
A spiral of controversy surrounds Chief
Keefs music; some bloggers “urge radio stations to stop playing his music
because of the negative effect he has on the city’s youth”[17]
which indicates that Chief Keefs music is to an extent a stature of negativity
within his city. The media effects theory[18]
is how media can affect society and how society affects the media; this can
have negative implications as people tend to copy what they see in the media,
especially those of a younger age. Medhursts theory [19]also
applies to Chief Keef and his music as he can be seen as a stereotype and
therefore a short hand in the media that everyone is able to identify easily.
Black stereotypes within the media
today are not hard to come across, when analysing in depth the iconography in
Chief Keef’s music there was a number of different weapons such as guns and
many videos such as “my lil niggas” had a large number of black males which
could connote a gang thus re-enforcing the stereotypical view that black males
belong to a gang and also linking to Perkins theory [20]
that stereotypes do contain some element of truth as Chief Keef is a part of
the gang ‘the black disciples’[21].
The lyrics presents in his music are
also sexist towards women and speak about women as objects rather than human,
which is one way in which Chief Keef negatively represents women in his music. When
analysing Chief Keefs music video for the song – “Ight Doe” a number of
representations on drugs, sex and violence were found. One way in which
violence was represented in this song is through the use of props. In this song
it can be seen that Chief Keef is holding a loaded gun, by doing so it
re-enforces the stereotype that black males are dangerous[22]
and ultimately has an effect upon the younger audiences watching as they may
aspire to be like Chief Keef and play with weapons too. In the video drugs are
represented in a glorified manner through actors (Chief Keef’s associates)
smoking drugs alongside him. Finally the representation of women in this video
is negative and is re-enforced by the fast paced camera movement anchored with
the lyrics of the song – “I don’t want that bitch, she’s been around like
revolving doors”[23].
This has a very negative affect upon the audience especially those who “aspire”[24]
to be like Chief Keef for a number of reasons, one being that they may follow
his actions and act the same way he does which links strongly to the ‘bobo doll
experiment’[25].
“Throughout time there have been a
number of panics over a variety of issues, ranging from crime and the
activities of youth, to drugs and sexual freedom”[26].
Moral panics have been described as a condition, episode, person or group of
persons which emerge to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests[27].
Chief Keef can ultimately create moral panic in a number of ways, firstly
through violence, when looking at the image of Chief Keef people see a number
of negative representations and stereotypes which ultimately create moral panic
for audiences (particularly older audiences) as Chief Keef’s younger fan base
is rapidly growing. However Chief Keef has been involved in a number of
anti-violence campaigns[28]
which has drawn a lot of criticism; “who thought this was a good idea?”[29]
The idea of moral panic[30]
revolves around the concept that a certain (usually small) minority pose a
threat to society – something that Chief Keef can certainly be associated with
as him and his gang display gun props in their videos and rap about the murder
rate within Chicago; 433 murders in 2011[31].
In addition to this it has a negative effect upon the younger audience who
aspire to be like the 18 year old rapper as they will think what they see is
‘the norm’[32]
and therefore could pose threat to society if many people start to adopt the lifestyle
Chief Keef lives. However during the mid-1980’s there was a great amount of
moral panic with minorities posing great threat to society within the music
industry with artists such as N.W.A releasing songs called “Fuck the Police” [33]and
so historically there has always been moral panic present within the rap
industry which “portrayed images of gangs, guns, violence and sexism” [34]similar
to Chief Keef.
It is arguable that censorship is
equally as troubling as the music being produced. “All kinds of writing can be
censored, from books to newspaper articles to music lyrics”[35].
Much of Chief Keefs music videos show poor censorship which would arguably have
an effect on many of the audiences who are able to view the music as it would
give them a deeper ‘sense of realism’[36].
With such poor censorship younger audiences are able to see the way in which
Chief Keef speaks about drugs, sex and violence which is in a very negative
manner and this could ultimately influence them into thinking it is cool and
following Chief Keef. However some of Chief Keefs more explicit tunes have been
unplayable my radio stations due to the content – “we can’t play that on the
radio it’s dirty”[37].
However many audiences feel as though the music is not the same without the
full lyricism. This clearly has an effect on the audience[38]
as it means that with the poor censorship going on in the music industry that
they are exposed to all the inappropriate content that is out there which can
have a negative impact upon the audience however provide them with a sense of
identity [39](links
to Blumler and Kat’z uses and gratifications theory) as they will be able to
relate to the uncensored content Chief Keef puts out.
However Chief Keef and the stereotypes
surrounding him have been brought to the spotlight via twitter, twitter not
only targets Chief Keef and the stereotypes surrounding him but now comments
about his fans “fuelled by stereotypes about class and poverty”[40]and
so ultimately now his music is having a stronger effect on the audience as they
are become part of the stereotype of poverty and class that Chief Keef faces.
A number of theories can be linked to
Chief Keef and the music he creates which ultimately helps to decide whether
these representations of Chief Keef are accurate or false or have been created
for the media in order to fit a certain agenda. One theory that links to Chief
Keef would be the copycat theory [41],
this theory simply suggests that audiences will copy what they see and Chief
Keef himself could be an example of this theory as he took influence from older
artists such as ‘Waka Flocka Flames’.
Many rap artists have surely grown up
in such environments being both victims and perpetrators to varying degrees,
even if they lyrically embellish their own street credentials[42].
It seems that ultimately Chief Keef at the age of 18 has become a stature of
negativity but at the same time truth, being one of the most representative
people within the rap industry to speak of such controversial topics such as
drugs, sex and violence as ‘the norm’ [43].
Whilst reaching out to a large demographic his music provides audiences with a
sense of escapism[44]
that cannot be obtained without his negative lyrical content. The media today makes audiences feel that his
music is something that they are able to relate to especially with the medias
constant re-enforcement of what Chief Keef only speaks about – ‘Violence, sex
and drugs’.
WORD COUNT: 2,009
[2] Gina, M, ‘A Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music
Videos and African American Female Adolescents’, March 2003, Pg. 437
[3] NWA, ‘NWA – Dopeman’, 1998
[4] National Film Theatre, ‘National Film Theatre June 2005,
Bfi, June 2005, Pg.16
[6] Griffin, T, ‘Wild Shit Sells (Chief Keef’s Fame), 2012,
http://blackexcellencex.wordpress.com/tag/gbe-gang/
[7] Charlamagne, ‘Fame Won’t Stop Chief Keef’s Gang
Banging, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rplnVtnko, January 2013
[8] Hylton, K, ‘Race and Sport’, 2008, Pg. 130
[9] Chief Keef – Love No Thotties, September 2013,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdL_e7CtNJA
[10] Kershaw, T, ‘The Religion and Political Views of Chief
Keef’, http://hollowverse.com/chief-keef/, 2013
[11] Hutchinson, E, ‘The Assassination of the Black Male Image’,
1994, Pg. 14
[12] HNHH, ‘Chief Keef Arrested for DUI’
http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/chief-keef-arrested-for-dui-news.9797.html
[14] Griffin, T, ‘Wild Shit Sells (Chief Keef’s Fame), 2012,
www.blackexcellencex.wordpress.com/tag/gbe-gang/
[15] ‘Chief Keef Laughs At The Death Of Rival Rapper JoJo, Who
Was Gunned Down In Chicago’,
http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/heartless-chief-keef-laughs-at-the-death-of-rival-rapper-jojo-who
[16] Anderson, H, ‘Strategic Marketing Management: Meeting the
global marketing challenge’, 2000.
[17] Frye, C, ‘The Religion and Political Views of Chief Keef’,
http://hollowverse.com/chief-keef/, 2013
[18] Bryant, J, ‘Media Effects: Advances in Theory and
Research’, 2008, Pg. 50
[20] Rosenfelt, D, ‘Feminist Criticism and Social Change’ 2013,
Pg.70
[21] Kontos, L, ‘Encyclopaedia of Gangs’, 2008, Pg.106
[22] Hylton, K, ‘Race and Sport’, 2008, Pg. 130
[23] Chief Keef – Ight Doe, September 2013
[24] Mullet, S,
http://sophiemullettmediaa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/7-young-and-rubicam-4-cs.html
[25] Brain, C, ‘Approaches and Methods’, 2000, Pg.116
[26] Sands, M, ‘Moral Panics’, http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/lcs9603.html,
November 1988
[28] Black Youth Project, ‘Chief Keef’s Participation in
Online Anti- Violence Campaign Stirs Controversy’
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2013/03/chief-keefs-participation-in-online-anti-violence-campaign-stirs-controversy/,
March 2013
[29] DeLuca, M, ‘Anti-violence campaign draws criticism for
rapper Chief Keef photo’
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17485146-anti-violence-campaign-draws-criticism-for-rapper-chief-keef-photo, March 2013
[30] Burns, H, ‘What are Moral Panics?’ 2000
[31] Deblois, S, ‘The real facts of the Chicago murder rates’
http://scottdeblois.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/the-real-facts-of-the-chicago-murder-rates/, April 2013
[32] Fourie, P, ‘Media Studies: Media History, Media and
Society’, 2010
[33] N.W.A. – ‘Fuck the Police’, 1988
[34] Giovacchini, A, ‘Poverty and Prejudice: Media and Race’
June 1999, Pg.1
[35] Magoon, K, ‘Media Censorship’ , 2010, Pg.8
[37] The Breakfast Club Interview,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAGD4oZJ-cE, 2012, 2013
[38] Mills, S, ‘The Media Effects Debate’,
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/Effects_debate_trash_TV_MM18.html,
2008
[39] IOSS, LLC,
‘Communication Theory’, 2001, Pg.81
[40] Galil, L, ‘Chief Keef: Chicago’s Most Promising Anti-Hero’,
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chief-keef-might-be-a-solution-to-chicago-violence/Content?oid=7521203,
2012
[41] ‘Modelling or Copycat Theory’,
http://www.slideshare.net/MrsUzumaki/modelling-or-copycat-theory, 2010
[42] Bogazianos, D, ‘5 Grams: Crack Cocaine, Rap Music, and the
War on Drugs’, 2012, Pg.67
[43] Fourie, P, ‘Media Studies: Media History, Media and
Society’, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment