The minstrelising discourse of 21st century rap music
In recent years a discourse has developed among some critics of 21st century rap andhip hop music. This discourse evokes the imagery and terminology of the 19th centuryentertainment form of blackface minstrelsy with varying motives and effects. Moreover,it is communicated via various media; from music videos to films, from literature toverbal discourse. This modern phenomenon requires analysis that considers thehistorical context of blackface minstrelsy in the 19th century and its meanings for a 21stcentury audience far removed from the context that nurtured the stage form.Minstrelsy's relationship with slavery and the subsequent racial inequalities inAmerican society make the imagery and terminology of blackface a complex conceptprovoking ideas of guilt, shame, and embarrassment. Moreover, these ideological andemotive ideas are mobilised readily through the use of blackface imagery in a'minstrelising discourse' of 21st century rap and hip hop music. Through aninvestigation and analysis of rap's 'minstrelising discourse' it is possible to map its form,content, and, through an application of figurational social theory, the potential reasonsfor its existence. Furthermore, the 'minstrelising discourse' of rap may show an effort todetermine cultural form through a process of 'blame gossip,' a term provided byNorbert Elias from his studies of figurational social relationships. And finally, there maybe some similarities between blackface minstrelsy and rap music, however, they maynot only be the relatively simple associations of 21st century rap's critics.
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