Hip Hop and critical theory

[david wachtfogel]

McClain Watson writes:
>Finally, I take great issue with your inclusion of "writing articles
>about gangsta rap" in your admittedly limited definition of political
>activism.  Hip-hop (of which gangsta rap is merely a small
>manifestation) is one of the few cultural expresions which, with some
>not insignificant qualifications, actually mirror many of the same
>concerns that occupy those on this list.  Despite some major
>contradictions, which *do* need to be analyzed and brought to bear (in
>order to more dialectically evaluate and therefore appreciate this art
>form), hip-hop is not only, in the words of KRS-ONE "the CNN of Black
>america" but, I would argue, one of the most promising opportunities for
>unification of theory (word) and practice (rap).

Hip-hop is just another pseudo-activity in this pseudo-reality. It's
counter-productive, just like popular sixties culture (excluding the
universities) was. John Lennon could write and sing:
     Keep you doped up with religion and sex and TV
     And you think you're so clever and classless and free
     But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
     A working class hero is something to be
as much as he liked. The pseudo-activity of listening to his and other
"protest music" had a strong narcotizing effect, creating the most
neo-conservitive generation since Hoover.
              Keeping it short,  David Wachtfogel