Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance on Feb. 9 broke the record for most viewed Super Bowl halftime performance at 133.5 million viewers. Despite the performance’s high viewership, it was met with relentless criticism from right-wing media personnel who seemed to disparage the performance strictly because of the rap genre and culture Lamar operates in.
The prevailing narrative pushed by conservatives following Lamar’s performance is that rap music isn’t valid artistry. An account named “End Wokeness” on X, which has amassed more than 3 million followers, published a post disavowing the genre entirely. Additionally, Fox News anchors went on air calling Lamar’s performance incoherent and incapable of appealing to multiple generations in the audience.
The conservative reaction to Lamar’s halftime performance is reminiscent of the racist perception of the rap genre that has been prominent since the genre’s inception. The genre serves as a form of artistic expression to write about and critique oppressive societal systems and creates a community around adversity. Hip-hop established a unique culture that involved distinctive elements of rap, breaking and most importantly, authenticity.
Students and fans of rap music in general must identify these problematic ideologies. As the media continues to attack Black artists and historically Black genres, students must understand the importance of rap and hip-hop culture and its impact on modern music and aesthetics.
The criticisms touted by the conservative media ignore the origins of rap music and the cogent political commentary that characterizes the genre. Hip-hop’s pioneers, like Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. and Public Enemy, famously used the freedom of rap music to explore their inner turmoils and call attention to oppressive systems. The spirit of dissent and protest through music still remains today in both the underground and mainstream hip-hop scene.
Aaron Smith, an Africology professor, went viral in 2015 for using raps to deliver his lectures, a practice he still uses in his teaching today. Rap music’s storytelling and relatability for Black listeners is what makes the genre so important, Smith said.
“For me, [rap] was at some points the only voice of truth or reality,” Smith said. “I think Chuck D famously said that rap is the CNN of the hood, like we’re not getting the stories from anywhere else. Especially before the internet, [rappers] were the only people capturing the spirit of how it felt to watch Rodney King.”
Lamar’s performance is yet another manifestation of the social commentary innate to rap music. The performance was framed as “The Great American Game” with actor Samuel L. Jackson calling the music “too ghetto.” It was a denouncement of the treatment of Black Americans on the biggest stage in American media.
With his mainstream rap success, Los Angeles rapper Tyler, the Creator writes and produces introspective and critical hip-hop records, his most recent being 2024’s “Chromakopia.” Underground artist Billy Woods’ parents were Jamaican scholars and Marxist revolutionaries, so he turned to rap music to follow in their footsteps of protest.
With the backlash toward Lamar and the genre as a whole, rap music must stay steadfast in its dedication to self-expression. Now more than ever in the conservative political climate, hip-hop needs to be supported for its power of social critique and students should engage with the music’s revolutionary spirit.
Scarlet McGrath turned to rap music as a form of escape during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. She started making beats but quickly found solace in different rap groups before becoming the president of her own rap collective, WAVGANG.
“My love for the music was certainly a part of [why I started in hip-hop],” said McGrath, a senior audio and live entertainment major. “I also consider myself very associated with progressive politics, and I found that hip-hop and rap in general was a great avenue for expressing discontent with the current state of affairs.”
Ignorance of the political impact of hip-hop culture is not a new phenomenon. When rappers like Tupac released their music to the public, it was quickly disavowed as too violent or glamorizing sensitive subjects, like sexual assault, gun violence or police brutality.
In a 1993 television interview, Tupac was forced to defend his lyricism and artistic vision to a group of white television hosts. He came under public scrutiny after the lyrics to his song “Soulja’s Story” were found in the car of an assailant who murdered a police officer. The hosts claimed the song’s violent lyricism was the reason for the murder and that rap music was suppressing the next generation of Black youth.
It’s crucial to understand the political implications and roots of hip-hop because it keeps the spirit of the genre thriving. Lamar’s political commentary on the Super Bowl stage was met with volatile disagreements, but students can’t allow those disagreements to skew their perception of the genre.
Lian Long Xuan is originally from Singapore, where he participated in local break-dancing groups and hip-hop circles. Once at Temple, he joined the Temple Breakers, a community that allowed him to express himself through hip-hop, he said.
“This is something I’ve learned from Americans,” said Xuan, a sophomore dance major, “Just be authentically yourself. Be close to yourself and don’t be afraid of what people think about you.”
As the conservative voices of our nation beg for the genre’s suppression and publish defamatory statements, hip-hop fans must continue to support and learn about the genre and its unparalleled impact.
Students should engage with local collectives that celebrate the importance of hip-hop and its cultural history, like WAVGANG and Temple Breakers. Streaming numbers can also send the message that rap is still an important part of the musical landscape.
Hip-hop and rap culture is about far more than music. It is a culture that has historically given voice to disadvantaged communities and continues to provide a creative outlet for so many artists. From dancing to music, all the way to its philosophy of individuality and authenticity it is a crucial aspect of culture that should be protected and fought for.
Be the first to comment