Tuesday 22 April 2014

bibliography

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Final

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




[1] Chief Keef – All Time lyrics, www.metrolyrics.com/all-time-lyrics-chief-keef.html
[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
[5] Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, ‘Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel – White Lines’, 1994
[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
[13] Rosenfelt, D, ‘Feminist Criticism and Social Change’ 2013, Pg.70
[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
[19] Bateman, A, ‘Media Studies A2: The Essential Introduction’ Pg.108
[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
[27] Cohen, S, ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics, 2011, Pg. 9
[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
[36] Bateman, A, ‘ AS Media Studies: The essential Introduction for WJEC’, 2012, Pg. 41
[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
[44] Xania, ‘Propaganda and the Public’ 2009

Monday 17 March 2014

bibliography

Bibliography
Work Cited
Books
Bennett, Peter, Slater, Jerry (2003): A2 Media Studies The Essential Introduction, Canada, Routledge

Casey, Bernadette, Casey, Neil (2002): Television Studies The Key Concept, London, Routledge

Clark, Vivienne. Baker, James. Lewis, Eileen (2003) Key Concepts & Skills for Media Studies:
London. Hodder Headline

Dines, Gail, 2003, Gender, Race and Class in Media, UK, Saga Publications

Humez, Jean M (1994): Gender, Race and Class in Media, London, Sage

Hall, Stuart (eds) (1980): Culture, Media, Language;Working Papers in Culture Studies , 1972-79, London, Hutchinson

Hebdige, Dick( 1979): Subculture The Meaning Of Style, London, Methuen

Jewkes, Yvonne, 2004, Media Studies Readers, London,

King, Geoff, (2002): Film Comedy, London, Wallflower

Laughey, Dan (2009): Media Studies Theories and Approaches, Harpenden, Kamera Books

Nelson, R (1997): TV Drama in Transition Forms, Values and Cultural Changes, Basingstoke, Macmillan

O'Sullivan, Tim (2008): The Media Studies Reader, London, Edward Arnold

Stevenson, N (1995): Understanding Media Cultures, Social Theory and Mass Communication, London, Sage

Williams, Kevin (2003) Understanding Media Theory: New York. Arnold Publishers


Internet
The Amistad Case in Fact and Film
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/74/

Stuart Hall from
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sociology/theorists/stuart_hall.htm

The representation of black people in film from
http://www.helium.com/items/398554-the-representation-of-black-people-in-film

The White Corporate Tradition: Hollywood Representation of Black People from
http://www.africaresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297:thewhite-corporate-tradition-hollywood-representation-of-black-people&catid=136:race&Itemid=351

Black British Film from
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1144245/index.html

Black Hollywood from
http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/06/representation-of-race-and-ethnicity-in-hollywood-films.html

African-American Motion Pictures from
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/Library/african/movies.htm#race

2010 Haiti earthquake from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake

Amistad from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118607/quotes

Representing racial groups from
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=Lhjf5VbWQMF22X1k7bGb4nk1kvkys4vgJV1KMHpsycVxJZhpNL27!-1196327867!1517079229?docId=5001386632


Magazines/Newspapers

Racial Stereotyping from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2005/feb/08/guardianobituaries.film1

Black people in films from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/jun/25/2

Hollywood Films from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/dec/06/film-precious-lee-daniels-sidibe

James Earl Jones from
http://www.independent.co.uk/stage/2009/nov/23/james-earl-jones-cat-roof

Is the media to blame for racism? from
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/britains-black-actors-now-enjoy-bigger-better-parts-still-they-go-unrecognised-is-media-racism-to-blame-588948.html

Will Smith from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/10/will-smith-seven-pounds

Will Smith from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/dec/18/willsmith


Moving Image

Rush Hour (USA, 1998, dir.: Brett Ratner)

The Pursuit of Happyness (USA, 2006, dir.: Gabriele Muccino)

Snakes of Plane (USA, 2006, dir.: David Elis)

48 Hrs (USA, 1982, dir.: Walter Hill)

White Chicks (USA, 2004, dir.: Keenen Ivory Wayans)

Gone with the Wind (USA, 1939, dir.: Victor Fleming)

Amistad (USA, 1997, dir.: Steven Spielberg)

Save the Last Dance (USA, 2001, dir.: Thomas Carter)

Coach Carter (USA, 2005, dir.: Thomas Carter)

Scary Movie (USA, 2000, dir.: Keenen Ivory Wayans)

Down to Earth (USA, 2001), dir.: Chris Weitz)

Lethal Weapon (USA, 1987, dir.: Richard Donner)

Malcolm X (USA, Japan, 1992, dir.: Spike Lee)

Ghost (USA, 1990, dir.: Gerry Zucker)

The Book of Eli (USA, 2010, dir.: Albert Hughes)

Mission Impossible, (USA, 1996, dir.: Brain De Palma)

James Bond (USA, 1962, dir.: Terence Young)

Sunday 16 March 2014

critical investigation

My Critical Investigation

“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.” [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?

Rap culture has change and has been heavily manipulated over the years in order to entertain the audience as years go on. Rap music videos are a media genre that is attracting considerable attention [[2]], old school rap and modern day are arguably binary opposites and do not in any way serve the same purpose. Today’s rap is of violence whereas old school rap was seen in a more positive light for a number of reasons.  In old school rap it was not seen as cool to be involved in a drug scene and many songs from the 80’s era were dedicated to slandering the drug use taking place; even going as far as saying on records “If you smoke caine you a stupid motherfucker!” [[3]]. Chief Keef is a modern day rap artists who is from Chicago, Illinois – a city which in “2012 saw a drastic uptick in the number of shootings and murders across the city” [[4]].

It is arguable that Chief Keef has had one of the biggest influences on modern day rap music and the meaningless messages being passed through it and continues to spread his message of violence, sex and drugs throughout the industry; being involved in over 8 mix tape projects and over 100 songs in the past year. Chief Keef has become the face of rap music and has ultimately defaced the very genre which was once against the things it portrays now. So Chief Keef is a prime example as to how hip hop and rap music have changed over the years in terms of the messages being delivered, in the past it was not seen as cool to be using drugs but now in modern day rap music it is seen as the norm. “Nothing to gain but killing your brain” [[5]] was once the message being sent in rap and hip hop music however it has taken a dramatic turn for the worst and has become extremely defamatory towards women, glorifying violence, sex and drugs. Many people have taken to the blogs to critique Chief Keef’s music in a number of ways, many seeing that Chief Keef is merely “a product of his environment” [[6]] and describing him as “a little crazy gangster” [[7]].

In the media today we see a number of representations, a lot of Chief Keefs’ music are considered to be negative and violent, which therefore re-enforces the negative stereotype that black males are violent and dangerous. This strongly links to Alvarado’s theory (1987) on racial representations of black males stating that they are four things:  Exotic, dangerous, humorous and pitied. This is considered to be a very negative representation of black males however Chief Keef presents all of the four aspects in his rap videos. For example his song “Love no thotties” presented strong aspects of humour as well as the dangers he can pose to society; waving loaded guns in the air whilst driving. Additionally fellow rapper and Chief Keef’s inspiration – ‘Waka Flocka’ took pity on the 18 year old Chief Keef and stated “you can’t blame a kid... everybody aint grow up in Chicago in the murder capital...” [[8]].

This is one of many representations of black men present in the music industry alone. Within the music industry it can be seen through videos that there is a strong presence of drugs and so this is another example of some of the stereotypes surrounding black people; that they are drug users and since chief keef has been known to take drugs this links to perkins theory that stereotypes contain some element of truth. “Violence in Chicago is not a new occurrence and neither is the imagery of violence portrayed in hip-hop” [[9]]. Chief Keef’s music contains all types of different things including violence but not limited to; drugs are also shown, which can have a very negative impact on the audiences watching especially those of a younger age. One of Chief Keef’s primary audience would have to be males with a socio-economic classification of E, aged between 13- 19, at this age the males are still young and are easily influenced. And so Chief Keef’s music can ultimately have a negative effect as the drug use that he glorifies in his music will appeal to a younger audience whore may aspire to be like him; additionally some bloggers “urge radio stations to stop playing his music because of the negative effect he has on the city’s youth” [[10]] indicating that Chief Keef and his music are somewhat a stature of negativity within the city.. The bobo doll experiment is one that suggests that children can mimic what they see in the media which is one way in which Chief Keef’s music has a negative effect on the audience as his younger audience may copy the actions he does. Medhursts theory applies to chief keef as he can be seen as a stereotype and therefore a short hand in the media that everyone is able to identify easily.

When researching into Chief Keef I was able to find a number of different dominant stereotypes in today’s media in regards to black males, analysing in depth the iconography in Chief Keef’s music I saw that their were a number of guns and many videos such as “my lil ni*gas” contained a group of over 20 black males which could connote a gang thus re-enforcing the common stereotype that all black males belong to a gang and also linking to Perkins theory that stereotypes contain some element of truth. Chief Keef has been no stranger to guns and in 2011 was sentenced to home confinement for pointing a loaded firearm at police officers [[11]]. The lyrics present in his music are also sexist towards women and speak about women as objects rather than human which is just one way in which Chief Keef negatively represents women in his music. The abbreviation “THOT” (that hoe over there) is one commonly found in Chief Keef’s music and is seen as derogatory towards women and could in fact have a number of effects on the audience for example younger male audiences may hear this and start to use the term themselves thinking it is acceptable. This is yet again a dominant stereotype present in the media today that men are above women in many aspects and this is re-enforced strongly by Chief Keef.

“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” [[12]].  Moral panic can be put into focus by the use of stereotypes repeatedly being used, as previously discussed modern day hip-hop has a number of stereotypes that are common in society today; many of which are negative. Chief Keef’s music can ultimately create moral panic in a number of ways, firstly through violence. When people see the image of Chief Keef they see a black male with dreadlocks posing with a loaded gun which anchors with the stereotype that black males are all violent and dangerous so when the people see his imposed figure they feel as though the idea of brutality that Chief Keef represents is becoming the norm thus creating moral panic. However Chief Keef has been involved in a number of anti-violence campaigns [[13]] which has drawn a lot of criticism with comments such as “who thought this was a good idea?” [[14]].

The concept of moral panic revolves around the idea that a certain (usually small) minority pose a threat to society. Chief Keef is part of a growing minority of males from Chicago that are part of the gun violence, with 433 murders in the year 2011 [[15]] the city is one that is considered to be a “murder capital” [[16]]. This links to Chief Keef as his music on numerous occasions has glorified the use of guns and murder for example in his music video ‘ight doe’ [[17]] the rapper is seen swinging a 30. Calibre pistol which creates moral panic, in addition to this it has a negative effect on the younger audience who aspire to be like the 18 year old rapper as they will think what they see is cool and therefore could pose threat to society if many children adopt the lifestyle Chief Keef lives. However the moral panic that young audiences may adopt what they see has been around for a very long time, dating back to the mid 1980’s with the releases of song such as “Fuck tha police” [[18]] by N.W.A which  “...portrayed images of gangs, guns, violence, and sexism” [[19]] similar to Chief Keef.

Moving on from moral panic it could actually be argued censorship is equally as troubling as the music being produced from rap artists nowadays. Many examples from Chief Keefs music shows poor censorship which would arguably have an affect on many of the audiences who are able to view the music such as the younger audiences as they will become influenced and aspire to become the somewhat negative image of Chief Keef. Unfortunately it is easier for these younger audiences to have access to this music due to video sharing sites such as YouTube as they don’t have such strict regulations. Radio stations are unable to play some of Chief Keefs’ music due to the explicit language that can be found in some of his songs for example his hit single ‘I Don’t Like’ was not played by a number of radio stations and was too explicit for some radio stations to play; “We cant play that on the radio its dirty!” [[20]]. Despite the censorship and the radio stations that did not play the song, the single became a hit sensation and managed to accumulate over 30 million views on YouTube.

Radio stations do contribute to the success of the song as some did “clean up” the song by getting rid of the inappropriate content however some felt as though “censorship is making it really difficult to figure out what it is exactly that Chief Keef doesn’t like” [[21]] and ultimately the song is not the same without the full lyricism. This clearly has an effect on the audience 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 on the audience.  However on the other hand some feel that it is not up to censorship in radio and T.V to decide how young audiences act but instead feel as though “how your child responds to these negative forces is entirely up to how they are raised” [[22]].

Despite Chief Keef now being a strong figure within the rap industry there are a number of stereotypes surrounding Chief Keef in regards to his ethnicity, gender, age, etc. However he tends to re-enforce the stereotypes around him rather than subverting from them. Chief Keef possesses many of the attributes that are associated with the minority he comes from in Chicago which would be violent, aggressive and scary which links to Alvarado’s theory of racial representations of black males being   Many stereotypes that can be seen in the media are consistently negative and this is usually for entertainment purposes [[23]]. In the music video “3hunna” by Chief Keef you can see the rapper at the age of 15 in possession of firearms with a group of people. This is one stereotype that was then applied to Chief Keef that due to his ethnicity he is part of a gang however being seen in the video with so many people does not help to subvert from the stereotype.

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” [[24]] and so ultimately now his music is having a stronger affect 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 [[25]]. One theory that links to Chief Keef would be the copycat theory [[26]], this theory simply suggest that audiences will copy what they see and Chief Keef himself could be an example of this theory.

And so ultimately Chief keef represents drugs, sex and violence in an extremely negative way. Whilst targeting such a large demographic his music provides audiences a sense of escapism (Kats & blumlers theory of uses and gratification) from their lives and listens to his music. In the media today some audiences may feel his music is something they are able to relate to especially with the medias constant re-enforcement of what chief keef raps about – ‘violence, sex and guns’.



[1] National Film Theatre, ‘National Film Theatre June 2005’, BFI, June 2005, Pg.16
[2] Gina, M, ‘A Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music Videos and African American Female Adolescents’’ Health, March 2003, Pg.437
[3]  NWA , ‘NWA – Dopeman’, 1998
[4]  GSP, ‘Chief Keef and Chicago, Illinois’ Murder Rate: The Glorification of Youth Violence’, Pg.1
[5] Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, ‘Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel - White Lines’, 1994
[6] Griffin, T, ‘Wild Shit Sells (Chief Keef’s Fame), 2012, http://blackexcellencex.wordpress.com/tag/gbe-gang/
[7] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rplnVtnko
[8] http://hollowverse.com/chief-keef/, ‘The Religion and Political Views of Chief Keef’, 2013
[9] Griffin, T, ‘Wild Shit Sells (Chief Keef’s Fame), 2012, http://blackexcellencex.wordpress.com/tag/gbe-gang/
[10] http://hollowverse.com/chief-keef/, ‘The Religion and Political Views of Chief Keef’, 2013
[11] Konkol, M, http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130114/chicago/cops-shot-at-chief-keef-2011-after-teen-rapper-pointed-gun-police-say, ‘Police Shot at Chief Keef After Rapper Pointed Gun at Them, Cops Say’, January 2013
[12] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/lcs9603.html
[15] http://scottdeblois.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/the-real-facts-of-the-chicago-murder-rates/
[17] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLWDM2uZr60&list=RDABw_Phi-kPU