History of Hip-Hop in America and Punk-Rock in Britain

Neo-conservatism came about in the 1970's due to a defiance of the Liberalised American and British societies of the 1960's. Some of the policies of neo-conservatism in America such as cutting social services and anti-affirmative action were seen as racist and they also created a resurgence of racism in the country. There were increases in police brutality on black people and Ku Klux Klan activity. In Britain around this time, there was a high poverty rate and a destroyed economy that produced feelings of hopelessness in youth. Due to this, younger people in Britain started up a counterculture with the Punk rock movement. This style of music really went along with the working class roots that the young people embodied and went away from conventional rock music of that time[1]. In both America and Britain, neo-conservatism produced counter-cultures by people who felt alienated and that they deserved a voice in a country that did not care about them.

As more and more blacks moved to the northern cities in the 70's to look for job opportunities, white people started moving out of the cities. In 1950, 60% of Americans living in metropolitan areas still lived in the central cities. The city was still the regional hub for jobs, a strong tax base, decent housing, good schools, retail and other opportunities. In 1990, two-thirds of the metropolitan population lived in the suburbs[2]. Jobs as well as the economic base followed the whites into the suburbs while the black people were left in the cities. Black people who wanted to move in the suburbs from the cities found it almost impossible to do so due to redlining, a technique used to steer out blacks from certain living zones that were populated my mostly white people. This left black people with non-skilled low-paying jobs in the city and they did not have enough money to own homes and therefore could not build up equity and would never have a chance to save enough money to eventually make a move to the suburbs. Due to this racial injustice, some blacks created a style of culture and music known as Hip-Hop. They wanted to let black people know that it's time to wake up and to not allow this racial oppression to happen and to refuse to submit to domination[3]. Neo-conservative politics led to blacks creating Hip-Hop as a form of refusal of submission and a way to create their own identity in a culture that looked down upon them.

Hip-Hop was not just a music, it was a culture. This culture included graffiti, break dancing, block parties in the poor black neighborhoods, and a separate language of that of the white people. Rap was the music of the Hip-Hop culture. It was the voice of the ghetto in America. Some of the earliest rap songs such as, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang and "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash were revolutionary in this style of music. They led to an explosion of rap music throughout the country[4]. This music was prevalent in the New York city neighborhoods that were mainly black. Artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and Public Enemy demonstrated Black Nationalist ideals. Public Enemy would be seen wearing Black Nationalist attire and Nation of Islam symbols. One of Public Enemy's most famous songs was "Fight the Power". This song is a response to the oppression of blacks in America and is telling black people to fight against it. The song features the lyrics, "Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me you see, Straight up racist that sucker was, Simple and plain". This is talking about how Elvis would cover songs that were originally sung by black people and he would make more money then them and would rarely give credit where credit was due. Another form of rap that developed was West Coast gangster rap. This rap was more controversial and was more hardcore than any type of rap heard before. It talked about how rough black people's living conditions were and the thug life mentality. Some famous west coast rappers were N.W.A., Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Tupac Shakur. N.W.A.'s song, "Straight Outta Compton", showed what it was like living the gangster life in the ghetto of Compton, California. The beginning of the song features the lyrics, "When I'm called off, I got a sawed off
Squeeze the trigger, and bodies are hauled off, you too, boy, if ya fuck with me, the police are gonna have to come and get me". These lyrics really display the mentality that gangster rap provided. Ice-T, who is also a very well known Gangster rap artist, collaborated with metal rock band, Body Count, to create a song called, "Cop Killer". This song talked about being fed up with police brutality and seeking revenge on the cops. It was a result of the Rodney King incident where King, a black man, was brutally beaten by police for seemingly no reason at all. Ice-T wanted to get his message out to more white audience so they can see what it was like for black people trying to live in America. This song was incredibly controversial because it did reach a white audience and was censored heavily criticized by government officials. N.W.A.'s song, "Fuck the Police", was not censored though even though it talked about the same sort of things and aggression against police. This was because N.W.A's music did not reach a white audience and the government was just worrying about disrupting white youth. Also, if they were going to censor this music because it speaks about murdering cops, wouldn't they have to censor other forms of media that produce the same kind of message? Terminator 2 was released around the same time as "Cop Killer" and it did not get any bad press about killing police officers[5].This really showed how the government favored white people over blacks.

Britain in the 1970's suffered from high youth unemployment rates and many if these youth felt hopeless about their futures. Punk music was a way for all of them to express their anger and frustration about the current economic state of their country. It was a music that mocked the bourgeois values of society[6]. Punk rockers dressed very raggedy, they were loud, aggressive and basically the complete opposite of conventional rock n' rollers at the time. Their music was a protest against this conventional rock style that had become so popular. Songs such as the Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the U.K." and The Clash's "White Riot" showed how these youth wanted to have a change or an overthrow of the current political situations that they were dealing with. The Sex Pistols also produced a song called "God Save the Queen". This song mocked the Queen of England and referred to England as a "fascist regime". It also includes the lyrics, "Don't be told what you want, don't be told what you need, There's no future no future, No future for you". It is saying to not let society choose your lifestyle for you, you should be able to make your own decisions in life and if you don't, you really do not have a bright future. Songs like this and many others were exactly what punk rock in Britain was all about. Telling youth to stand up against these neo-conservative values that have put them into horrible economic conditions and gave them such poor lifestyles. It also made a mockery of these values and spoke of a revolution that needed to happen to bring social justice about. Former member of punk rock group The Clash, Joe Strummer, was noted as saying, "Punk rock for me is a social movement. We tried to do the things politically we thought were important to our generation and hopefully would inspire another generation to go even further."[7] This really goes to show how important punk music was for these rockers to get their message out and use their music as a form of getting back at the people who have oppressed them and who thought they were better than them in their society. This wasn't just something they did for fun, they made this music for their own good.

Neo-conservatism produced a sense of isolationism for certain groups in both America and Britain in the 1970's and 1980's. In America, it was the black people who faced racial discrimination and were looked down upon in society. It was mostly the youth in Britain who faced very tough economic challenges and felt like they had no hope of ever getting jobs and making something out of themselves. Both of these groups though were able to express their feelings and attitudes about their situations through music. Black people in America started a hip-hop movement that created a sense of identity for them and allowed to show was it was truly like to be living the "ghetto" life out on the streets. The youth in Britain started a Punk-Rock movement that was a way to stand up to the rich powerful people that had been telling them how to live and making it almost impossible for them to climb up the social ladder. Both types of music protested the ways they were treated and wanted to share the same economic and political advantages of the rich white man.

[1] D'Ambrosio, Antonio. Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joel Strummer.

New York: Nation Books, 2004, 1.

[2] Powell, John A. Achieving Racial Justice: What's Sprawl Got to Do With It?

Poverty & Race. September/October 1999.

[3] Best, Steven and Douglas Kellner, "Rap, Black Rage, and Racial Difference."

Enculturation, Vol. 2, No. 2, Spring 1999.

http://enculturation.gmu.edu/2_2/best-kellner.html, 1.

[4] Best, Steven and Douglas Kellner, "Rap, Black Rage, and Racial Difference.",3.

[5] Shank, Barry. "Fears of the White Unconscious: Music, Race, and Identification in the

Censorship of 'Cop Killer.'" Radical History Review, Vol. 66, Fall 1996.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/rhr/sample%20article.htm, 9.

[6] Shank, Barry. "Fears of the White Unconscious: Music, Race, and Identification in the

Censorship of 'Cop Killer.', 26.

[7] D'Ambrosio, Antonio. Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joel Strummer.

New York: Nation Books, 2004, 2.