"No More White Lies, My President is Black". Has American Political Rap Changed with Obama?

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Hip Hop and Rap: Children of the 1970s
  • Media Background of Rap
  • New York in the 1970s
  • Hip Hop as a Counter Reaction to the Conditions in the Ghetto
• Rebellion in Rap: The 1980s
  • Radical Political Ideas Before Rap
  • Radical Political Ideas in Rap
• Guns, Violence, Drugs and Jewelry: The 1990s
  • Gangsta Rap and Black Nationalist Ideas
  • Conscious Rap
• Political Rap Equals Popular Rap: The Bush Administration
  • 9/11 - The War on Terrorism
  • Elections 2004: Vote or Die
  • Katrina Klap 2005
• People Who Love Hip Hop Love Obama
  • Obama and Race
  • Obama and Rap

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper examines the impact of Barack Obama's presidency on American political rap music. It aims to show how the emergence of the first African-American president has shifted the focus and content of hip hop, a predominantly African-American subculture, and how it has influenced the relationship between the genre and politics.

• The historical development of African-American music in the United States leading to Hip Hop
• The socio-political context of Hip Hop's origins and its relationship with African-American culture
• The evolution of political rap music from its early rebellious roots in the 1980s through the 1990s and into the Bush administration era
• The impact of Obama's presidency on Hip Hop's political discourse and its relationship with power structures
• The influence of African-American cultural and political movements on Hip Hop and its artists

Chapter Summaries

The first chapter discusses the historical development of African-American music in the United States, tracing the evolution of the genre from its roots in traditional African music to the emergence of Hip Hop. The second chapter focuses on the early years of Hip Hop in the 1970s, exploring its roots in New York City's social and economic conditions and its development as a counter-cultural movement. The third chapter analyzes the political and radical nature of rap music in the 1980s, focusing on the influence of figures like Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam on groups like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions. The fourth chapter explores the 1990s, a period marked by the rise of Gangsta rap and its often perceived nihilism. This chapter will demonstrate that even this subgenre of rap reflected the political and social circumstances of the era, continuing the tradition of critical engagement. Finally, the fifth chapter examines the impact of the Bush administration on political rap, specifically analyzing the influence of 9/11, the 2004 elections, and Hurricane Katrina on the genre's content and messaging.

Keywords

This paper explores the intersection of African-American culture, politics, and music. Key themes include the historical development of African-American music, the social and political context of Hip Hop, political rap, Black Nationalism, Gangsta rap, conscious rap, the influence of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, and the impact of Barack Obama's presidency on hip hop culture.