Brothers gonna work it out : sexual politics in the golden age of rap nationalism / / Charise L. Cheney

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910828045703321
• Autore: Cheney Charise L
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York, : New York University Press, c2005
• ISBN: 0-8147-9044-5; 1-4294-1384-0
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (233 p.)
• Disciplina: 306.4/84249/08996073
• Soggetti: Rap (Music) - Political aspects - United States; African American men - Attitudes; Masculinity - United States; Sex role - United States; Black nationalism - United States - History
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-213) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: From the revolutionary war to the "revolutionary generation" : some introductory thoughts on rap music, black nationalism, and the golden age of rap nationalism -- "We men ain't we?" : mas(k)unlinity and the gendered politics of black nationalism -- Brothers gonna work it out : the popular/political culture of rap music -- Ladies first? : defining manhood in the golden age of rap nationalism -- Representin' God : masculinity and the use of the Bible in rap nationalism -- Be true to the game : final reflections on the politics and practices of the hip-hop nation.
• Sommario/riassunto: Brothers Gonna Work It Out considers the political expression of rap artists within the historical tradition of black nationalism. Interweaving songs and personal interviews with hip-hop artists and activists including Chuck D of Public Enemy, KRS-One, Rosa Clemente, manager of dead prez, and Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers, Cheney links late twentieth-century hip-hop nationalists with their nineteenth-century spiritual forebears. Cheney examines Black nationalism as an ideology historically inspired by a crisis of masculinity. Challenging simplistic notions of hip-hop culture as simply sexist or misogynistic, ; she pays particular attention to Black nationalists’ historicizing of slavery and their visualization of male empowerment through violent resistance. She charts the recent rejection of Christianity in the lyrics of rap nationalist music due to the perception that it is too conciliatory, and the increasing popularity of Black Muslim rap artists. Cheney situates rap nationalism in the 1980's and 90's within a long tradition of Black nationalist political thought which extends beyond its more obvious influences in the mid-to-late twentieth century like the Nation of Islam or the Black Power Movement, and demonstrates its power as a voice for disenfranchised and disillusioned youth all over the world.