This is a story you might have somewhere else, but I still think it's pretty relevant to this course. Do you think this is a new trend in our society, or just part of the ever-shifting perspective of what's attractive and what's not?
From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucas/20080503/cm_ucas/thugculturecelebratestheworstpossibleexamples
THUG CULTURE CELEBRATES THE WORST POSSIBLE EXAMPLES
Sat May 3, 7:57 PM ET
You've heard of resume inflation? You've heard of people who lie about having Ph.D.s or Ivy League pedigrees in order to get ahead?
The world of thug culture has its own perverse equivalent, in which middle-class men with minor legal transgressions exaggerate their bad behavior, claiming to be hard-core degenerates in order to impress youngsters looking for outlaw role models. In this destructive environment, the more violent and predatory you are, the more heroic you seem.
That helps to explain why a metro Atlanta hip-hop star known as Akon wove a tall tale of malevolence and criminal activity, claiming to have spent three years in prison for running a "notorious car theft operation," a story he's been telling for years. In fact, he has apparently never served hard prison time. A Web site called The Smoking Gun recently exposed Akon as a thug wannabe, a "James Frey with ... an American Music Award."
American popular culture has always had a tendency to romanticize hoodlums, whether Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde or Tony Soprano. But the hip-hop world's celebration of savage violence, educational failure and misogyny by gangsta rap has been one of the worst influences on American youth, especially black youth, in decades. If you want to ruin a nation, a society or an ethnic group, persuade its members that the highest form of achievement lies in criminality.
Even before the 1980s, when gangsta rap oozed out of downtrodden black neighborhoods, too many black men were marginalized -- unlettered, unemployed, imprisoned. They were already the victims of a fratricidal cycle of violence, predator and prey. They were already disproportionately fathers in absentia, completely divorced from the lives of their children, providing neither material support nor moral guidance.
Indeed, the baggy britches that are now de rigueur in hip-hop circles grew out of jail rituals. When men are arrested, their belts are confiscated, so their trousers tend to droop. It's from that unfortunate facet of ghetto life that the ubiquitous sagging pants were launched.
Proponents of hard-core hip-hop claim that it is an artistic genre that merely reflects those unfortunate realities of underclass black life; they tout it as a pure form of folk art (in its original meaning, arising from the folk, or common people). Countless books and dissertations have disseminated that view.
But folk art has never been so popular -- or lucrative. The worst of gangsta rap has not merely reflected behavior but has also inspired it, much of it lawless and destructive. Its lyrics are paeans to murder and mayhem. It celebrates an outlaw culture that disrespects women, mocks middle-class values and preaches against any cooperation with police in catching criminals.
That's why Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, made up a criminal history, claiming that he was a carjacker who owned chop shops but was finally brought down because he was ratted out by jealous underlings. You gain respect in thug culture -- and millions of dollars in record and ring-tone sales -- only if you're a bona fide thug.
In fact, Akon's longest stint behind bars seems to have been five months in the DeKalb County jail on a stolen car charge that was later dropped, according to The Smoking Gun. The son of Senegalese jazz percussionist Mor Thiam, he grew up in a middle-class home, spending time in Senegal and New Jersey before moving to an Atlanta suburb.
If black men like Thiam enthusiastically abandon a passable reputation for the notoriety of a prison record, then black America is in serious trouble. If it is better to be an outlaw than to be a teacher or a chemist or accountant, then young black men will continue to go to prison in record numbers. If it is more acceptable to be violent and reckless than to be a responsible father and husband, then marriage will continue to decline in black communities.
While racism remains a potent force in American life, it doesn't hold the malignant power of gangsta culture. The upside-down value system represented by Akon's fabrications is helping to destroy a generation.
13 comments:
I don't think this a particularly new trend, it seems this thug life image was created in the 1980's and became especially popular in the time of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac. Unfortunately, rappers like Akon only make the thug life more popular in poor urban areas where there are enough problems. A major example is the "No-Snitch" attitude praised in these rap songs, an attitude that allows criminals to stay on the streets and murders to go unsolved. Rappers should look to positively give back to the blighted urban areas, not create more problems.
I think this is part of the ever-shifting perspective of what's attractive and what's not. In this period in time it is seem as a cool thing to be "bad ass." It's also like doing what goes against societial norms. It's more appealing to people or it gives them a thrill to do what goes against the common belief.
For people who grow up in unfortunate circumstances it is difficult to trust people that are viewed as agents of the system. The system is considered to be at fault for their situation so anyone associated with it is frowned upon. Rap music is sometimes the expression of an artist's situation and how they believe that the system is holding them down and others in similar circumstances. It is merely speculation of their experiences not condonation. It is unfortunate that some people view it as a modeling tool to act thuggish. If one actually took the time to listen to good artists' lyrics, not Akon, they would know that most of them do not want people to have to do what they have done in the past. But they are teaching others that they don't have to do what they did. This isn't the case for every rap artist. The rappers that this article is speaking of, are like Akon, and only want to sell "kindergarden rap" that will increase their sales. This is the case today that many people think it is cool to act like thugs even though most of them are no where near it. Rappers are portrayed to have lots of money, bling, and cool toys. There means of success are linked to crime and this makes crime look very lucrative. We all know that is not the case. The fact is that some people in certain areas, times and of certain circumstances have little means to survive other than by criminality. I feel that people wanting to portray themselves as a thug are ignorant to the fact that they were not brought up in that type of environment and really are not the thug-type. People should quit trying to be cool, be themselves expressively, and rappers should give back to people being brought up in unfortunate circumstances as themselves, or so most claim.
-Eric Spaulding
This is a phenomena that has been going on for a while. The tougher one is the cooler they are. Although this is mainly seen in urban areas celebrities like Akon have been spreading this idea everywhere else. The rap community has made the tough guy act seem like thats how things are supposed to be. They emphasize all criminal acts in their music (getting shot, killing competition, gettinh high, etc.)
If these trends continue to spread the future generations will be more troubled than what urban areas already are. It is especially in their main interest to stop this phenomena and teach these young people that being a good person, smart, or simply obey the laws is the right thing to do; it is the "cool" thing to do.
This is a trend that has been going on for a long long time. The glorification of being a tough guy or breaking the rules is one a lot of kids nowadays look up to. Rappers present this life in their lyrics and lifestyle, and put the idea in kids heads that that is the cool thing to do, and being as tough as can be is the best thing. Plenty of other mediums do this too however, such as movies and television shows. This trend will keep continuing I think, for the phenomena doesn't seem like it will slow anytime soon by anyone or anything.
I think this will continue as the dumbing down of America continues to escalate. You don't need finical aid or good grades to become a thug or portray yourself as one, and this thug way of life seems to be an easy way out of responsibility for these younger folks. If they think they are so tough then join the armed forces and put yourself on the line. I find it disguisting that we have men and women fighting abroad to protect a thugs way of life. Who in their right mind would want to serve time in prision and then to freely admit to it. Yeah, it seems as if this trend will continue, especially considering that being a loley thug is more impressive than earning a living with hard work and a sense of accomplishment.
Veronica V
It is not so much that rap artists like Akon are doing this, it is that there are few positive role models to look up to in popular black culture. It is not surprising that if the images on TV are of rap stars acting like common thugs then the people watching will emulate them because those rappers are superstars. The images they see are ones of hope, the down and out poor inner city youth is now capable of doing whatever he wants and the “white man” can no longer hold him down. What needs to happen is that a prominent black figure needs to evolve into a powerful figure and not have done it through illegitimate deeds. Now the fact many of these deeds did not occur in Aliaune Thiam’s life does not change the fact people will look up to him, in fact exaggerating life stories make his story all the better in the eyes of a lot of young people.
-Robert S.
I defintely think that this is just part of our ever-shifting culture. To be honest whenever I see people dressed like "thugs", I don't even really pay attention to it anymore. Social research has always said that people will go through great lengths to feel like part of a group and to feel a sense of belonging. I believe that it's quite sad that Akon had to resort to just making up a tragic past for himself in order to gain more popularity and fame, but at the same time I'm not surprised at his behavior either. The fact of the matter is that today's society values those who go against the law, rather than those who obey it. All that considered, I doubt we as a society will be seeing any law abiding rappers any time soon.
So i guess idolizing and taking after your favorite gangster/badass idol would make this the norm in our society now.. or at least in some social circles. Its not acceptable to make yourself look like a criminal, or in this case lie about it. It's a shame because these people really do have a lot of influence on the youth, especially those mid-guided teenagers who are looking to fit in somewhere. They don't realize that they are sending out the wrong message? Or are they just that desperate for followers and fans? Well... I guess Akon needs all the help he can get..
Christina D.
Akon embellished his stories of serving time and being a bad-ass for the simple reason of making more money, which he achieved. You might as well try and present the image that you preach about through rap. The use of tough guys has been cashed in on throughout most of human existence. The most known literary works that survive from the ancient times are mostly about vicious warriors and culture dominated by war and violence. The article rehashed the age old fear that the media directly influences choices made in teenage culture. Whether true or not, violence and images will continue to be a trend of society.
This story is not a surprise... part of rap culture has taken a major role in glorifying being pimps, hoes, and drug dealers, so it is not astonishing to find that rappers like Akon want to play into the fantasy of being a criminal. Urban culture has continuously promoted the mentality of being "hard-core" and this idea can be paralleled to the notion of maintaining one's masculinity (if you're male). Maybe Akon telling stories about a made up criminal history is a way for him to prove his muchismo... well if being on death role is macho, then I rather have a bunch of "sissy" men running around promoting positive ideals.
It doesn't come as a surprise that Akon made stuff up to give himself an image of being a "tough guy." A lot of rappers pride themselves on leading lives of crime, such as Tupac who had "Thug Life" tatooed on his chest and 50cent bragging about how many times he's been shot. As another post mentioned, it is unfortunate that these people, who are glorifying crime, are looked up to by many kids
I dont think this is going to be the new trend in American society. I think it is the ever shifting persepective of whats attractive and whats hot. You dont see everyone in American society wearing 80's close or 70's close today. Its just the trend that is happening now and in a couple of years it will shift to something else.
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