Olivia Lakes
Professor Santos
EN199-003
27 March 2015
This
week in class we talked more about black women in hip hop, specifically Beyoncé,
and the idea of class in hip hop culture. We explored Beyoncé’s credibility as
a black female in hip hop, telling narratives other than her own, due to the
fact that she comes from a middle class family. The idea that being “hood” is
relatively necessary to be taking serious in hip hop culture is something to
think about.
Before
reading the article and before the group presented their material, I wasn’t all
that familiar with Beyoncé’s socioeconomic background growing up. Therefore, I
never bothered to question her credibility in her lyrics, and the fact that she
needed a “hood boy” seemed normal to me, also due to the nature of the hip hop
genre. However, after learning that she actually came from a pretty well off
family, I began to question, not only whose stories she was telling in her
songs, but also why she was trying to portray herself as a down a** chick from
the block. It occurred to me through the discussion in class, that hip hop with
street cred is taken more seriously than without, hence why she had Bun B and
Slim Thug featured in her song “Check On It,” and probably why she continuously
tries to portray herself as more urban and street than she might actually be.
I think
the reason for her doing this has everything to do with her target audience.
Because hip hop was originally started by lower/working class black and Latino
youth, the messages in the music often speak to or about minorities living in
hard neighborhoods and their experiences. Therefore, in order to sell and to be
understood and relevant to her audience, Beyoncé had to play between class
barriers to create a sound different from what she knows and has experienced
for the most part. The only problem with this is, is it okay for her to be expressing
things she’s not familiar with first hand? Would it be permissible for someone
who came from a lower/working class background to try and relate to
middle/upper class through their music? I’m not sure I have answers to those
questions.
I definitely agree with everything especially about the race. Race issues are always the problem inmost communities. I f you are in the middle clas, you are not taken seriously because they think you have everything that you want. And also you are "mama's girl" because mostly black people thinks that how rich or middle class calls their children. You never get hungry, you get all the things you want.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was very interesting! I wasn't aware of Beyonce's upbringing either, or how it affected her credibility as an artist. I do believe that it is good for her to try and reach out to those of her fans of the lower classes, but as you point out, there are some flaws in doing so.
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