MC's in Hip-hop music are storytellers. Whether MCs write their rhymes or improvise them on the spot, they become living archives of history that connect the past to the present. As you blog on the key words GRIOT and BATTLE, think about the ways that Hip-hop MCs use their storytelling to describe lived and imagined experiences. Soem prompts that may help you in developing blog entry may include but are not limited to the following questions: How can you link the MC process of story telling in the Battle to stylistic elements such as braggadocio (today called 'swagger'),'call and response,' and sampling? What historical connections do you see between the Griot and the MC? How does the battle in MCing relate to artistic expression in the other elements of Hip-hop?
As discussed in class on Monday, griots are African American male storytellers. Robin Kelley discusses the idea of folklore and the spoken word in “Looking for the ‘Real’ Nigga: Social Scientists Construct the Ghetto.” While describing “playing the dozens,” Roger Abrahams hints toward the idea of griots in MCing, while also discussing the “battle” aspect of MCing: “One of the primary functions of the dozens is to compensate for a lack of masculinity cause by too many absent fathers and domineering mothers, which is why the main target of insults is an opponent’s mother” (128).
ReplyDeleteOral tradition is the main idea behind being a griot, and Carl Nightingale suggests that a loss of oral tradition in poor African American communities is partly to blame for the increase in violence in young African American males (129).
The idea of battling can be seen in 8 Mile. The main character deals with his struggles and eventually enters in to a tournament to show off his freestyle skills. Rabbit, the main character, is aware that his opponent knows his weak points, so Rabbit chooses to preempt Doc by stripping him of his ammunition, an important part of the battle. The idea of the battle can be seen in the other elements of hip hop, such as when dance crews compete in battles, when graffiti crews compete to throw up their work before another crew does, and when DJs compete against other DJs to show off their spinning and mixing “moves.”
MCing, as we know it today, is influenced profoundly by the tradition of African griots. A griot is a storyteller from African culture who comments on history in the form of memorized song or story. The griot’s stories are passed down orally from generation to generation and are changed to incorporate modern ideas and events (Lecture 10/5/2009). MCs, or rappers, follow the tradition of African griots. First, MCs tell stories from their lives, or imaginary stories with non-fictional influences. Many of the same stories and themes have been used by MCs over the last 30 years, but every rapper connects their stories to current times. For example, rappers in the early 1970s frequently talked about “ghetto life” in their songs, as do rappers today. Although they incorporate the same broad topic, rappers today might put a modern spin on their lyrics by referencing to a particular area that is known to be underprivileged in today’s society. Second, rappers can either write their lyrics in advance or freestyle. Free styling is when MCs improvise their lyrics on the spot, often in a battle, and do not prepare them ahead of time. Rappers must memorize their lyrics in order to perform live shows and produce records, much like griots memorized their stories or songs. We see this occur in the movie “8 Mile”. Eminem, known as B-Rabbit in the movie, is known for his ability to produce witty rhymes on the spot when battling. Although many of his lyrics are improvised, there are parts in the movie that show him brainstorming possible ideas that he could use when battling. Much like the African griot tradition, Eminem uses many examples from his own life to inspire his lyrics and writing style.
ReplyDeleteGriots in hip-hop are the storytellers involved in describing life experiences associated with blackness and “ghetto” life. Socially conscious rap is a genre of rap that focuses on social issues that blacks face. Socially conscious rap is where griots show off their skills in reenacting the hardships they faced with drugs, gangs and poverty. The book mentions how rappers sometimes tell stories that may or may not be true to their lives. The book also mentions how some academics fall into the trap of believing these stories to be true of the rappers life, but it may just be the rapper telling this story simply to address the issues involved with this hard life.
ReplyDeleteNow battling is an art form in which rappers test their skills against each other. Battling gets so much praise because the rappers are forced to improvise the lyrics. The “call and response” effect mentioned in the book is seen when rappers use creative lyrics that appeal to the audience. Battlers must be innovative and quick when “spitting” their rhymes, so they look new and edgy and are able to battle at a more competitive level. Griots and battling are both essential parts of being a witty and respected hip-hop artist.
Battles are an intrical part of the Hip-Hop scene and culture. All four of the key element (DJing, MCing, Breaking, and Graffiti) have some sort of correlation with the process of battling. The main point of battling is to try and one up the other person or group that you are competing against or rivals with. In DJing and MCing, it is done with the mike, normally between just two individuals (normally male) and they have an allotted time to spit or scratch something that they think will win the crowd over. During an MC battle there is a “community” DJ that takes a beat and gives it to each of the competitors. This is something that started out just as a pride thing between the Black and Latino youth in New York, but it quickly spread through-out the country and is now being shown on TV and in movies.
ReplyDeleteA griot is a storyteller. In Africa a griot is someone who stories are passed down through, because of the high illiteracy rate. Many rappers have now picked up this storytelling attribute and have used it in the songs. Artist like Eminem, Akon, and Jay-Z are all very famous for being able to tell such in-depth detail in something that flows like their music does.
As we learned in lecture on Monday, a Griot is an African American or an individual from the African diaspora (Mostly West Africa) who is talented in the art of storytelling and commenting about the issues that are important in a particular community. MCing is a direct manipulation of this type of storytelling. Just as it was done sometimes in West Africa we usually see MC's presenting their lyrics over a beat that is generally produced by a DJ. Just like with any skill or talent, some MC will try to compete try to compete with each other to see who is the better MC. Many of the "greats" like to freestyle and some of them are really good at coming up with rhymes on the spot like Jay-Z who we saw in lecture when he tried to show Oprah how to rap. Another great freestyler that we were introduced to in the lecture was Jin. He is an Asian rapper and he appeared on MTV battling, oh what's his name? No one ever remembers the losers. He handled his opponent by rapping about things that he knew that the other rapper was going to try to use against him in the "battle". I would say that Jin pretty much left him speechless because he ran out of rhymes before he ran out of time. "Playing the Dozens is also a form of battling that was talked about in the reading (Foreman and Neal). "Playing the dozens" is where individuals "Jock" on each other (as Soulja Boy would say". By this I mean that they tell jokes that they most often make up on the spot in order to make fun of their opponent and to get a rise out of the crowd. I think that free styling is a mastery of skill for a Griot. It is great to be able to put story into rhyme, but to do it on the spot and do it well is excellent.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Robin D.G. Kelley article and watching 8 Mile, I have come to understand that battling is huge in hip hop. In 8 Mile, we see that ‘B-Rabbit’ gains respect and admiration from his friends by battling and by winning battles. MC’s use battling as a “ “ritual insult,” a verbal contest involving any number of young black men who compete by talking about each other’s mama” (Kelley 127). Men and women compete to see who can come up with the bigger “dis” on each other. Kelley says this so-called ritual insults among urban black youth were either another adaptive strategy or an example of social pathology (127). Kelley is suggesting that rappers use battling as a way to show audiences that they are the better rapper.
ReplyDeleteThese battlers and MC-ers are griots in a way because they are storytellers and they use their opponent’s history and past to “dis” them. They use historic moments to talk about what is going on now, an example of this would be the video of Saul Williams we watched during lecture. Rappers also rely on improvisation in the form of “free styling” to comment on events in current moments.
Griot is defined as a member of a hereditary caste among the peoples of western Africa whose function is to keep an oral history of the tribe or village and to entertain with stories, poems, songs, dances, etc. Griot is comparable to hip hop’s rappers, because rappers are defined as storytellers who rely on improvisation in the form of free styling to comment on events in the current moment. Instead of passing stories from person to person, hip hop MC’s seem to pass their story in a recording studio. Eight Mile is a perfect example of how stories can be recorded and still be authentic. Eminem made a movie about his struggle and rise to being one the best MC’s in hip hop today. Some reoccurring themes in the Eight Mile that relates to the stereotypical themes of “ghetto” include violence, poverty, quest for money and fame, masculinity, and drug culture. What made the movie even more interesting is that it exposed the racial tension of how white rappers don’t get the same respect as black rappers. Through battling, people show their skills and talents in a nonviolent way, which is how Eminem proved to not only himself (show self determination and motivation), but to everyone who doubted him because of his race. Everyone has a story to tell from personal, cultural experiences, and MC’ing and battling in hip hop is the way to express it.
ReplyDeleteTosin Morohunfola: In defining “battling” the greatest realization one can come to is that “the dozens” is the perfect metaphor. “Allow me to propose an alternative reading of the dozens. The goal of the dozens and related verbal games is deceptively simple: to get a laugh. The pleasure of the dozens is not the viciousness of the insult but the humor, the creative pun, the outrageous metaphor.” (Forman & Neal, 128) It is exactly the same idea with battling. Even in other areas of hip-hop, there is battling. But we find, particularly in Rap battles, these specific verbal qualities upheld. Battling is the sung, performance-version of the dozens.
ReplyDelete“Nightingale advocates resurrecting the ring shout, drumming, singing the blues, even toasting, to express black male pain and vulnerability.” (Forman & Neal, 129) Essentially, Carl Nightingale is sending a conservative call to return to our Black Griot origins. But what Nightingale fails to realize is that what he asks for is already a part of rapping and hip-hop. Ring shouting and drumming sound a lot like call-and-response and hip-hop dancing. Rappers are modern Griots. To further evidence this connection, remember that the chief job of a Griot is to tell stories in a memorable way. “What counts more than the story is the ‘storytelling’—an emcee’s verbal facility on the mic, the creative and often hilarious use of puns, metaphors, similes, not to mention the ability to kick some serious slang.” “Thus, it is not always what is sung, but the way it is sung.” (Forman & Neal, 132) The core purpose of both rappers and griots is to please us aesthetically. They share this goal.
MCs are essentially storytellers. Thus, they can be related to the traditional griot. A griot is an African story teller. MCs use different forms of freestyle and improvisation to rap lyrics over beats to create narratives about their own experiences (lecture). These experiences turn into stories that can be either real or imagined. MCs portray certain identities to create characters, much like griots would do. The movie 8-Mile shows this because Jimmy Smith (aka B-Rabbit) is torn between where he is and where and who he would like to become.
ReplyDeleteMCs tell stories typically for an audience. Battles often occur between MCs. This is a competition where one rapper tries to out-do another. They are especially amazing because typically there are two MCs and they will size up one another, and then begin to break down their style. Kelley describes in his article that there is a “goal of the dozens”; and that goal is to get a laugh. Oftentimes MCs poke fun at one another’s family, style, or personality (128). MCs can be related to griots and often these MCs battle one another for bragging/boasting rights to further their careers. Just like in other elements of hip-hop battling is one way for competition and to earn self-respect.
In class, Griot is defined as "a storyteller who has the ability to comment on the history of a
ReplyDeletecommunity." The definition of a Griot can be tied in with an MC because MCs can also tell a story about what is currently going on in their community or about what has happened to make the community the way it is. Both the Griot and the MC are linked in "battling" because it consists of two different people telling "their story" whether it be about political issues, social issues, or simple insults against the other person. "The dozens" can be viewed as another way of "battling". Some think that this way of "battling" has the intention of being serious and may even result in violence, while others think that it is merely a way "to get a laugh" (Kelley 128). It is interesting to see the different ways people can analyze battling or how an MC performs, but it is also important to remember that people analyze these things differently to due their own views and the context/situation that they are analyzing with.
When MCing comes to mind, we rarely think of the traditions that go into the work behind it. However, when we dig deeper we’re influenced by the storytelling of the African Griots. To put it simply, a Griot is a person who consumes storytelling as their way of singing a song by telling an ancient story. As we learned in our previous lecture, Griots are mostly men, but can indeed be told by women. Their stories are repeated throughout generations and as time goes on, the stories are interchanged by the upcoming events in time. Hip-Hop is looked at as a very vulgar sense of music/art, however, many rappers indeed do use story telling as a form of expressing themselves. As we see, a lot of rappers often use vulgar words, and can seem very violent in their rap battles. If we pay close attention to those rappers we will see that they are expressing themselves by telling their own story, except they just do it in a different way than most would. I believe this to be a very interesting phenomenon, because it is such a unique way of expressing yourself. With that said, as we see from Griot’s and battling we become aware of the different ways in which we can express ourselves through our differences.
ReplyDeleteIn Africa a griot is someone who stories are passed down from generation to generation. A griot is a storyteller. Many rappers such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem have now picked up this storytelling attribute and have used it in their songs. These artists that use griot are all very popular because they have the ability to tell a story while at the same time sticking to a steady fast pace beat. It is a real talent. The popularity for these rappers continues to grow mainly because people who are listening to these stories in these songs can relate to them and can sing a long to them and it allows them to connect with the rapper socially. Jay-Z is not only talented at griot he is talented at coming up with something on the spot like we saw when he rapped for Oprah. His talent is amazing he can create a story and tell it while he flows to a beat or not even a beat.
ReplyDeleteThe MC, as discussed in class, has taken a more prominent role in hip-hop almost over shadowing the other three elements. As seen in 8 mile and also in the you tube video in class battling is an integral part of hip-hop. In 8 mile that’s how eminem's character gains recognition, respect and ultimately his ascent into stardom. Battling has been a big part of hip hop for quite some time and isn’t always done face to face as seen in class but has also has been done on albums. The rivalry between Biggie and Tupac and also the rivalry of Nas and Jay-Z has been taken to these artists album. This to me is seen most evidently in Tupac's song "hit em up" which is a song that calls out former brined Notorious B.I.G. Another element of MC-ing comes from the tradition of African griots. These griots are extremely talented storytellers that touch on subjects that are prominent in the community. To me these qualities of story telling and relevance to the community is reflected in the conscious type MC's
ReplyDeleteThe Griot is a storyteller. The Griot has been a voice of the people; commenting on society for ages. The MC is another incarantion of the traditional Griot. The modern MC tells stories with painstaking detail which entices the audience to understand and explore a world that they would not have otherwise known. In many ways, the modern urban storyteller is a backlash against the pseudo-scientific academic world that imposes perceptions on the lower class. It is a way for the people to express their ideas about what is really going on. Robin Kelley describes this relationship when he writes, "Many social scientists are not only quick to generalize about the black urban poor on the basis of a few 'representative' examples, but more often than not, they do not let the natives speak" (Forman 120). The Griot is a way to let these 'natives' speak.
ReplyDeleteA vivid aspect of the MC is the braggadocio that is inherent in all aspects of hip-hop. Through battling an MC is able to test his wits and abilities against another MC from a different neighborhood or way of life. The MC represents more than himself. He represents his block, his school, or his region. The MC battles for respect. Using elements of boasting and call and response he tries to win over the audience so he can be proclaimed as the winner. The MC battle is explicitly related to pride which has been a recurring theme within all elements of hip-hop.
Being a Griot or a Griottes is an extremely vital part in being an MC. The term Griot means to be a story teller, but there is another part to it. A Griot also has the ability to comment on the past history of a community, as stated in class on Monday. This ability is important to MC’s everywhere because the community is where many artists get there inspiration. With protest and shout-outs being a major portion in MCing the artist would have to know what’s going on around them.
ReplyDeleteBattling started during the rise of hip-hop as some people like DJ Kool Herc tried to replace physical violence with music and rap battling. Battling is the art of either using freestyle or previously made lyrics to embarrass an opponent. MC’s use battling is also another way to gain fame in their communities and in bigger regions around them. The movie “8-Mile” is a great example of how battles are run and how they can be used to gain respect. Eminem keeps a lot of the “battle feel” in many of his songs now as he attacks other artists and popular figures.
In Robin Kelley’s reading, “ Looking for the ‘Real Nigga” Rakim states, “ the function of Hip Hop is to ‘move the crowd’ (Forman 130). Similar to the definition of griot, which is known as storytelling, but is also much more than it sounds. This is not someone who just tells a story, but how a person tells a story. Storytelling is “an emcee’s verbal facility on the mic, the creative and often hilarious use of puns, metaphors, similes, [and inventiveness] slang” (Forman 130). The emcee may often tell a narrative about everyday life, or also use metaphors, which are not to be taken literally. The term Griot also corresponds with Battle. Battling is the ability to one up the other emcee, whether it may be in freestyling or even breaking. There is a call and response amongst the emcee and the crowd when battling. Often the emcee will say a diss in his/her freestyle toward there opponent, and the crowd will respond by laughter or often saying, “oh shit” for example. The battle is used to “challenge competitors on the microphone” (Forman 130). Battle relates with Griot in the form of how you are saying certain words, rather than just being plain and dull. Therefore the artist is able to put on a character and entertain the crowd by his/her own style and flow.
ReplyDeleteMany rappers songs today are based off of the term Griot that was brought forth by African Americans. The term griot is someone who is a storyteller and speaking about the troubles taking place in their community. This has influenced all rappers to put this attribute into their songs and has made many rappers famous because of it. It is their way to share their life with their fans. The term battle is described as a person trying to one up another person who they are competing against as explained in class. Battling takes place in all four elements of hip hop. DJing and MCing take place in the movie “8 Mile” where two people have a rap off, in order to come up with rhymes that will one up their competitor so that they can win the battle. MCing expressed in West Africa and some American communities is where a rapper has a DJ that brings forth a certain beat to each rapper. Many artists strictly freestyle and come up with great rhymes right on the spot like many of the famous artists do. It is these artists way of earning respect .
ReplyDeleteThe Griot tradition has always been readily visible in Hip-hop culture. A Griot was an African storyteller who would spread tales who would spread oral histories of the tribe through performances. This almost defines a hip-hop artist as we discussed in class the countless examples of people rapping about their surroundings, and tales of hardships by people in a particular class that they may represent, just has Griots would spread the stories of their particular tribe or area. The battle, one of the first elements of the culture I was exposed to, also greatly reflects much of the Hip-hop culture. The whole idea of the “battle” comes from people early on such as Afrika Bambaataa, who organized such things as a way to deter actual physical battles. In a battle, as we discussed, in lecture, sampling from the material of an opponent, as is often done by Eminem, allows him to disarm the rival before a response is even possible. Sampling is further show as the battles take place on top of a random beat, not chosen by the battler, but often previously popularized by the track of another artist. Braggadocio is greatly incorporated into this form of storytelling, as material goods have become an explicit sign of success, as well as being readily available to demonstrate to a live crowd during a rap battle. The ‘swagger’ has become all important to the artist in a battle, as being just a cooler dude than your opponent has always been key component in hip-hop.
ReplyDeleteHip-Hop as a whole can be seen as one long story being told through the multiple griots and battles that the culture has spawned. A griot, as described in class, is a storyteller; the MCs, DJs and countless others throughout the history of hip-hop have not only told the stories of their personal histories, but the history of hip-hops ancestors. However, the question arises if the stories being told to maintain the essence of where hip-hop came from are stereotyping the hip-hop community too much that they are portraying it as isolated and primitive. Kelley states in his article that, “the notion that there is one discrete, identifiable black urban culture carries a great deal of weight” (120); the pressure put on MCs, or griots, to maintain a stereotype of the urban community within their stories and battles. Additionally, as portrayed in Jin’s rap battles as well as Eminem’s performance in the movie 8 Mile, the pressure to exploit their own stereotypes in order to disarm their opponents in battles continually displays the difficulty of escaping the stereotypes in hip-hop. Therefore, my question is, while griots and battles are important aspects to maintaining the past culture of hip-hop, do they also impede the growth of the communities they represent?
ReplyDeleteThe MC and the Griot tell a similar story of their experiences in life. Griots pass on stories from previous generations so that it won’t be forgotten. MCs rap about their struggles and triumphs. Both paint a picture that is vocally expressed through song or poems. However, MCs these days have progressed into even using vocal battles to express themselves, something Griots never really did. Through battling a MC freestyles to a beat for a certain amount of time and then their opponent is given an opportunity to rebuttal. Battling give MCs a chance to establish themselves and earn respect if they perform well, such as Eminem in the movie 8 Mile. While these MCs use rapping and free styling as an outlet, some critics say they take their lyrics too far and forget the history of African American musical history. In Kelley’s article she says that “the suggestion that rap music had undermined black cultural integrity is made even more forcefully in a recent article by Andre Craddock-Willis. He criticizes nearly all rap artists—especially hard-core gangsta rappers—for not knowing the “majesty” of the blues. The Left, he insists, “must work to gently push these artists to understand the tradition whose shoulders they stand on, and encourage them to comprehend struggle, sacrifice, vision and dedication—the cornerstones for the Black musical tradition”” (129). While I somewhat agree with Willis, I believe that some MCs do respect and understand the black music history; for if there were no blues, there would be no funk. No funk would mean no hip-hop. Hip hop is a huge part of black music and MCs respect that by sampling from previous generations of African American music.
ReplyDeleteRe-telling a story to an audience has been a substantial influence in the mass of Hip-hop. MCs put lyrics to the music, or no music, that exhibit representations of things that have happened to them. These real-life experiences are shared with many people in a way that others find relatable. Like a griot, an MC is a modern day storyteller, and may even be seen as a way of performing prose/poetry to an audience. The audience over time, through call and response, has altered the interaction with an MC. Today there are battles between one MC and another that are often seen as a comic way of interpreting or making fun of another’s life. This is an entertaining way to create an image of the other MC in the battle. Jokes and calling them out on things that have happened are often at the forefront of MC battles, as Kelley points out. Like telling a small story about something, maybe embarrassing, that has happened to them and sharing it with the audience. Over time, the image of the griot has been under appreciated, however, redesigned in a musical aspect that the Hip-hop culture finds more entertaining and better suited for understanding.
ReplyDeleteIn class, we defined an African griot/griotte is a storyteller. They are often male and have the ability to comment on the history of a community. Many griots have memorized songs that have been passed through generations. In addition, they will also edit the songs by making links to the current movement. In Robin D.G. Kelley's "Looking for the 'Real' Nigga" storytelling is an emcee's verbal facility on the mic, the creative often hilarious use of puns, metaphors, similes, not to mention the ability to kick some serious slang (130). Rappers/MCs have been able to become successful because they are able to tell the stories in effective ways. Battling is a competition between rappers to see who is the best. The rappers are forced to rap over a beat that is created by the DJ. Battles use a call-and-response with the crowd because the crowd usually decides who is the winner. The movie, 8 Mile, portrays the aspects of battling. In 8 Mile, Eminem's character, B-Rabbit, ends up gaining respect in the rap community by winning a battle at the end of the movie. As a result, battles can lead to a social status in certain community if you are successful and popular.
ReplyDeleteIn African history, a griot or griotte is a storyteller. Today, a popular way of African storytelling is through MCing, where the MC- a modern griot(te) tells a story of his or her life or the conditions in which he or she lives in, among other themes. With the continuing popularization of MCing beginning in the 80’s, many of these stories have become commercialized. The more commercialized stories are focused on “inner-city” stereotypes where African-American males are interested in drugs, fame, violence, or women; the women are objectified and only a means of sexual satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the battle between MCs is “truer” and more sociologically interesting to social scientists because the battle allows the MCs to say things on multiple levels without explicitly stating so. For example, Robin Kelley notes in “Looking for the ‘Real’ Nigga” that some social scientists describe “playing the dozens” as a defense mechanism and allows the individual a mechanism by which he is able to assert his masculinity in the streets (p. 128). As opposed to only being for laughs, some sociologists explain battles like playing the dozens as this way to ensure male dominancy. Instead, others feel that the battle and the MC should only be seen as a modern griot.
The origin of the Griot in West Africa’s culture is a direct parallel to the genesis of the urban Griot in today’s modern hip-hop world. As each generation of MCs adapts to the ever-changing game with new styles, slang and rhyme schemes, they stay true to their storytelling roots and carry on the tradition of the Griot way of life. Much like the tradition of West African storytellers to keep a living history of a tribe’s cultural identity, today’s urban Griots are products of their respective environments thanks to their unique ability to become “living archives” of their personal and collective histories.
ReplyDeleteRoger Abrahams’ concept of “playing the dozens” and employing a high level of braggadocio in a male-dominated art-form is key for battling MC’s (Foreman and Neal 128). In an MC battle, elements such as “swagger” and “call and response” come into play to differentiate the style or “flow” of each MC and provides for an interesting exchange regardless of whether the lyrics are ad-libbed or planned. The expressive nature of the battle dictates that no rapper is exactly the same (I.E. Jin’s preemptive attack and defense style and vocabulary are vastly different than Immortal Technique’s aggressive lyrics and extended metaphors). Other subtle parts in a battle are very similar to other elements of hip-hop. For example, an emcee’s “yo yo yo” prefix to a verse is very much like a breakdancer stepping into a cipher to begin his or her routine. Also the territorial nature of graffiti is seen in the MCing element of hip-hop as “repping for your city” or “putting on” for your crew or gang by shouting the name of a rapper’s group in call-and-response fashion.
In my opinion, an MC is “new school” and a griot is “old school”. The MC is more of a contemporary version of griot. They both are story tellers but the griot usually tells stories to keep the history of a community going throughout generations. The MC is also a story teller but their stories are more about their events that happen in their lives..
ReplyDeleteAs we go on to new topics each week, I think it’s really interesting how different aspects of hip hop all link together. For instance, the art of the MC links to the art of break dancing. The beginning of improvised rap is often started by saying “yo, yo” which is like the break dancer being initiated into the circle or cipher.
Improvised rap is also linked to graffiti. Rappers who are in a battle only have a certain amount of time to show what they can do. There work can also be somewhat improvised just like a graffiti artists designs. The rapper may even have a book or record of previous “rhymes” they have done before or that they plan on using, which is similar to the graf artists outline book.
At this point we have looked at the artistic movement (breaking) in Hip-hop, the visual (Graphitti), and the percussion/beat (DJing). Now Hip-hop needs a voice and that voice is MCing. MCs are very similar to Griot, they both tell stories and as times moves on those stories are altered into new versions. Graffiti, breaking, scratching/Djing/ and MCing all have something in common. They all are very competitive which produces the Battle. The Battle of MCing is trying to one up each other just like Breaking, same with graffiti claiming space and so on. I feel like the Battles let the most creativity flow (during improvising). The Battle lets MCs use their stories against each other, for example in 8 Mile when Eminem disarms the other rapper by sharing all the negatives about his life so he could not use it against him. Also sharing stories of their neighborhood/life creates a call and response from the crowd, people that can relate too (Their life, “I feel you”). But overall MCing is another way of entertainment; they keep the crowd engaged with using a positive call and response (“Put your hands in the air”). They entertain by keeping the expense of what’s next just like all the elements of Hip-hop. Overall MCing is another way of expressing their emotions some is positive some is negative. It is just easier to stereotype by the negative rappers rather than the positive.
ReplyDeleteAs in any anthropological discipline, studying the culture and people associated with ‘blackness’ and urban environments is problematic. Kelley argues that through anthropological intervention in understanding of urban and black cultures, the image of black people has been homogenized into the sort of ghetto culture that is frequently exemplified in rap music. Baldwin makes a related point in discussing how rap music can be examined as a backlash first to the ‘ghetto-ization’ of black culture in Afrocentric, black nationalistic rap, then as a backlash to that rap movement in the more recent works of hip-hop like NWA, Ice Cube, and other rappers that draw on stereotypical images of the ghetto in their art. Even these divisions, though, are too simplistic, since black culture is vibrant, dynamic, and defies rigid definition. Both authors recognize this.
ReplyDeleteThe roles of the rappers discussed in these articles as griots, or storytellers responsible for the propagation of black culture (inasmuch as it exists), is examined as evidence for both the theories discussed above and the erroneous anthropological ‘findings’ that spawned such a backlash. Battles are also discussed in the articles. Battles are witty verbal altercations between two (usually, but not always) men who use extemporaneous composition to mock their opponent. Although various sociologists and anthropologists have read these ‘battles’ as expressions of masculinity, reactions to patriarchal ghetto culture, ritualistic storytelling, and more elaborate traditional forms, Kelley claims that they are enjoyable largely because they are simply fun.
Masculinity and Hip-Hop appear to be synonymous in the music industry. There are a myriad of male rappers trying to asses theri "maleness" by writing about their material possessions, how many women or weapons they have as a means to display self worth. No one wants to be labeled as 'soft'. There battle is another avenue for the male storytelling (or groit) to adress their masculinity in front of a live audience. In the movie "8 Mile", the character played by marshal mathers is able to gain social mobility and respect through battlling other MC's in an attempt to one-up the other. There is a constant demonstration of playing the "dozens" (stating derogatory comments about one's mother). This is due, ironically, to compensate for the lack of masculinity from the absence of a father (Kelley 128). The idea that the primal roots of mcing and Hip-hop stem from the African continuum of storyingtelling allows us to understand the parallel made between the "rapper" and the "groit"
ReplyDeleteWe learned in lecture Monday about African American griots, traditionally male storytellers who told the history of the tribe and entertained through their stories. Often times their stories took the form of memorized songs. This storytelling definition points out many similarities between the traditional African griot and out current hip-hop MCs. MCs use their lyrics to tell stories, often about their history: where they came from and their “hood,” the conditions and family in which they grew up, and sometimes about the MCs that came before them that influenced them & that they respect. This is very much a history of their lives, of their neighborhood, and of hip-hop itself. The movie 8 Mile does a good job of illustrating this, with B-Rabbit and many other characters telling their stories in their raps. Battling is also depicted in the movie 8 Mile. Battling can be seen through all elements and facets of hip-hop, from DJing to attire to graffiti and dance. Battling as it relates to MCing is described by Robin D.G. Kelley in his article “Looking for the ‘Real’ Nigga: Social Scientists Construct the Ghetto” when he says that often MCs make fun of another’s appearance, family, or personality. While the ideas of a griot and the battle may not seem related at first, when looking a bit deeper it is apparent that (like most elements of hip-hop) they are very connected.
ReplyDeleteMonday I was introduced to the term griot which basically describes a black poet. Black poets are nothing that I am unfamiliar with since there are many hip-hop artists that can be considered griots with a musical backdrop. I believe the term is a “conscious rapper” and describes a rapper who raps with substance and speaks on issues. Many of these rappers participate or have at one point participated in Def Poetry Slams. An example of some of these conscious artists includes Erykah Badu, Dead Prez, Common, Mos Def, Last Poets and many others.
ReplyDeleteBattling in rap is very prevalent and for some rappers it was their claim to fame. Rap battles help up and coming rappers and even established rappers assert their position and dominance. There are many rap battles that have shaped hip-hop including the East-Coast – West-Coast Rap beefs, The Jay-Z and Nas beef, and I may be impartial here because I also include the 50 Cent and The Game beef. In order to be a successful beef artist is to be able to freestyle. One rapper that credits a lot of his success to his ability to freestyle is Eminem. On one of his albums he says that the freestyle he performed for Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records is what got him his record deal.
To call an MC a “griot” is not just to label him/her a “storyteller.” In keeping with the word’s connotations in traditional African cultures, a griot must possess and actively reference a broad knowledge of their community, and furthermore, they must present their work in an atmosphere of coded theatricality. The legitimacy of these modern griots hinges on this perceptive awareness of their surroundings; their agency allows hip-hop to evolve in a deliberately self-aware context. Robin Kelley laments the common anthropological mistake of regarding this “constructed ghetto” in terms of otherness, “[assuming] that there is one identifiable ghetto culture, and what they observed was it” (122). A true MC/griot, in actuality, addresses stereotypes in ghetto culture, reclaims negative terms, and emphasizes the adaptability of their genre. Indeed, the extent to which MCs use their education and/or access to community knowledge is often the defining element of their victories in battles. Battling sets one urban griot against another in a face-off which is judged, importantly, by the community itself. Their work is never very distant from the community which fostered it, and their lyrical prowess is adopted, in turn, to further the form’s creative range.
ReplyDeleteA griot is an African male poet who orally recites stories dealing with traditions that have been passed down from previous generations. However, griots must also have the ability to narrate on current issues which are performed in an artistic fashion. With the arrival of Hip-hop, MC’s had to have the same storytelling ability as griots did in order to produce words that represent a message. As in the movie 8 Mile, Eminem displayed a ‘griot-like’ mentality when rapping about his economic status and hardships he’s faced living in Detroit. The act of battling is when rappers such as Eminem duel with another MC for a period of time to see who can stump the other person. The art of MCing truly signifies what Hip-hop represents because it allows the artist to verbally express a direct message to the audience. MCs have become very popular with ‘call and response’ technique because it lets the audience engage in the music which creates a very high-energy environment.
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