[lbo-talk] Black music makes history

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Oct 10 06:33:50 PDT 2003



> We know you hate popular music, Woj (esp hip hop), but "worst racist
crap"
> (as opposed to "best racist crap"?) in what sense?
>
> DP

Worst in the sense of most blatant and obnoxious, not as the opposite of best.

In my view, (c)rap is to music what Schwarzenegger and Stallone are to film - both are cases of an art form in the service of machismo. And if I am to do some racial stereotyping of my own, both express the quintessential characteristic of white machismo and black machismo.

While most (in not all) forms of machismo are nothing more than in-your-face arrogance, that arrogance is manifested differently in the white macho and the black macho.

The white macho is mostly pumped up visual image - the square jaw, the steroid pumped muscles, the big chest. Those white machos without proper musculature and access to steroids use substitute images, such as big, imposing trucks or cars (the confederate flag sticker being an additional in-your-face arrogant accent), or do it vicariously by identifying with big muscular and conspicuously macho characters, such as Schwartz, Stallone, or John Wayne.

The black macho, otoh, is mostly loud and obnoxious noise - the ghetto blaster emitting the decibels of low frequency thumping, shouting obscenities at each other. Black machismo is a more of an equal opportunity machismo than its white counterpart because it does not require any particular physical predisposition - anyone can buy a noise blasting equipment and install it in his car.

With that in mind, its is clear that the only raison d'etre of certain genres of pop-culture, such as (c)rap music, flicks like Terminator or Rocky, or SUV is to cater to and serve as props for displaying machismo. Particularly disturbing about this trend is that it is the only aspect of the US life that shows remarkable racial integration. Most aspects of our daily lives remain hopelessly segregated: virtually no interracial dating, separate neighborhoods, separate schools, separate employment opportunities. However, white and black machos increasingly ape each other and cross-borrow their macho props. Many suburban white machos are increasingly aping black machismo by installing macho blasters in their cars and blasting (c)rap music. Black machos are increasingly aping white machos in their increasing reliance on images, especially big and imposing trucks. Very sad and pathetic, indeed.

Wojtek



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