Gansta Rap Music

“Clearly, offensive racial name-calling has been generally (but not entirely) stigmatized in dominant American culture. But, by this measure, we can then disown our national culture of racial hierarchy and power and point at the only racists who seem to remain: those who believe in and openly admit to holding and supporting racist ideas and behaviors.” Tricia Rose

After reading the source list from the reading “The Rebirth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Hip Hop: A Cultural Sociology of Gangsta Rap Music” I decided to choose the book “Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America” written by Tricia Rose. Ms. Rose has a PhD in American Civilization from Brown University. She lectures to audiences about topics such as music, gender, and black culture. Ms. Rose has been on television, in newspapers and magazines such as Essence. I believe the book Ms. Rose wrote was a good source to use for this reading because she discusses what hip hop is viewed as through the media and different critics. She also looks at the deeper meaning of the lyrics in certain rap songs and not what the videos are being viewed as. Rose starts of the book with, “Rap Music and Contemporary Black Cultural Production Public Enemy's "Can't Truss It" opens with rapper Flavor Flav shouting "Confusion!" over a heavy and energetic bass line. He could just as easily be describing the history of rap.” She is basically trying to show that lyrics can be interpreted differently to people.