Who's to blame?

Thoughts on Imus & Hip Hop

By Imani Perry
Contributor
Afro-Netizen

In the waning days of the Imus controversy a backlash has appeared. Pundits comment “Imus was fired for the kind of language black rappers use every day” and “the black community should look inside itself before pointing the finger at someone like Imus.” The critique at first blush may seem reasonable but it masks some insidious truths.

We have to reveal a deep fallacy in the assumptions behind such statements. First, whatever your thoughts are about the appropriateness of Imus’s firing, one cannot in good faith consider him innocent in this matter. He was being intentionally provocative and insulting. 

Second, many, and I dare say most, members of the African American community are troubled by images in popular music and news media, images which degrade women, which trivialize violence, and which celebrate conspicuous consumption; images which stereotype black people in ways that are neither new nor novel.

Whoever believes that there is no hand-wringing over this within the black community has not spent much time around black people. It is talked about constantly. The reality is, however, that the “black community” does not control the media industry, even those branches that have a black public face. Record companies, business enterprises which effectively have no color in their pursuit of revenue, control the recording industry.

Third, the numbers of people in the recording industry who are implicated in this problem in popular music are far greater than the handful of rappers. They are producers, video directors, and most importantly record company executives, who are economically exploiting the (largely non-black) market for this kind of entertainment. It is absolutely the case that each individual from rapper to stylist to A&R person bears responsibility for his or her role in the music on a moral level, but we should ask, who are the decision makers in this industry and why aren’t they held accountable too? The decision-makers at CNBC said they didn’t want to be associated with the kind of language Imus spewed. We as consumers should challenge record companies and video channels to take similar stands.

The dramatic drop in sales for hip hop over the past two years, indicates that the music will be forced by market pressures to change. Hopefully, this will provide an opportunity for the wonderfully creative and innovative voices in hip hop that can be found on myspace and in local communities, to come to the fore. This means that all of those who are so busy complaining about negative images in the music they listen to, should expand beyond corporate-owned radio, music channels, and record companies to look for entertainment.

But back to Imus. The rush to detract attention away from Imus, and point the finger at rappers reveals another problematic truth. American culture is currently obsessed with blaming black people for all the social challenges we face, even our experiences with blatant racial discrimination like that exhibited by Imus. The common narrative now is: the disparities that exist between blacks and whites are overwhelmingly the result of the failures of blacks, not racial discrimination, current or past, or other forms of social inequality. Out of wedlock births, high rates of crime in black communities, and relatively high rates of use of the welfare state, are described as the root of all problems for African Americans.

This continues to be the argument made despite well-documented patterns of discrimination in hiring, salary, access to housing, urban renewal, financial institution lending, quality of health care, and quality of education, that have nothing to do with individual behavior but everything to do with inequality and racial bias. With the growing evidence of pervasive unconscious and implicit bigotry on the part of all Americans, it is clear that black people continue to suffer from the weight of racism, even though a substantial group of us have achieved educationally and economically despite those obstacles.

The long standing “self-help” tradition in the black community has not been enough to tackle the impact of sustained inequality faced by African Americans in particular, and the impact of ongoing racism, the growing gap between the haves and the have nots, and the backlash against civil rights have weakened many of our strongest institutions.

The fact that Imus and many of his listeners appear to hold deep animosity towards black people is interesting but mostly beside the point. The point is, rather than suggesting Imus is a victim, or blaming black people for being subjected to and victimized by stereotypic images that come from white or black voices, we must focus our attention on how so much wealth production in our society comes at the cost of dehumanizing so many of our citizens. It was the withdrawal of sponsors that led to Imus’ firing. But it was his inflammatory and bigoted behavior in the past that made his show lucrative.

As long as Fox News generates enormous revenues by depicting black people as leeches on society, then it will continue to do so, and as long as mainstream hip hop generates lots of revenue by depicting black women as promiscuous gold diggers, it will continue to do so. It will not be the individual rapper saying “I won’t use this word” that turns the tide, and it won’t be Imus making an apology that does it either,  it will be the collective activism of consumers, the kind who angrily posted Imus’s comments on Facebook and YouTube, the kind who write letters to the FCC, that will turn the tide.

In the words of "Boots" Riley (a politically progressive hip hop MC) “Choose your side, get up and let’s ride.”

Comments

[asdada]

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[primaldata]

Where she lives doesn't matter, it's irrelevant. Why let hip hop get scapegoated for things that have been around for hundreds of years. WHat you think all those ladies at the inns in the wild west were waitresses. Those girls scantily clad in rock videos are good little girls.

Imus knew he was saying an insult, period people act like he should not have been punished it was an insult he should be punished period. As for hip hops part in this does Imus even listen to hip hop, I love the fact that he wanted to point to a black face but um does he listen to it?

Mysogyny ain black if it was women would not have had to fight for the right to vote, get fair wages, equal promotions, rape would have always been a crime, so would spousal abuse. They blame hip hop and anything black because the media has been blaming black for everything from crime to the failures of the economy.

No it isn't the fact that we sent jobs overseas so we only have to pay people 1 dollar a day. No it's not the fact that while the statistic sounds nice there are more white people who commit crimes then black, and are poor, and on welfare. I said commit crimes not in jail they made sure it was more black faces in jail.

And as for the other hate mongers look that is their bread and butter the 28% who still support bush support guys like limbaugh because of his hate speech. These are the crying weak white men who are mad because they don't have the lives their great grandaddy's bragged about. These are the men telling everyone else to pull themselves up by their boot straps but want all kinds of hand outs and corporate welfare because their white men. And what they especially want is everybody to stop looking at them while they rob the country blind.

[big bill]

You say: "we must focus our attention on how so much wealth production in our society comes at the cost of dehumanizing so many of our citizens."

OK. I've focused on it. Now what? Boycott rap music venues like the Grammies? Set up picket lines? March around record stores 'til they get rid of bling-n-ho music?

Or just write more hand-wringing editorials about how white folks control the music industry.

Sugar, it isn't destroying your neighborhood. Jack and Jill, AKA, the Links and Boule aren't suffering.

You make us feel all good and righteous. You point us to "society" as the bad guy. You dissipate our energies.

Honey, what you do is clear your own guilty conscience and make it easier on yourself to go live your nice safe bourgie life among white folks.

[Terrence]

Awesome, awesome piece Ms. Perry. Thank you for being another voice of reason on this issue. I wrote a similiar piece.

Imus & The Rapper Defense

[Fredric]

i'm glad we're talking about this. the conversation will continue.

i propose a little action.

http://ybpguide.com/2007/04/20/minus-one-plus-one/.

[medmod]

Unfortunately, the ways of the world and the thoughts of people in the world or sick. We can all try to pyscho anaylsis right from wrong. However, the only book that can give real answers is the Bible.

Whatever, a man sows he will reap.. Vengences and judgement do not belong to us..

His judgement and all other socially irresponsible human in society will continue to spread hate and jealosy until the end of this system of things.
Therefore, he used a effective tool to spread his idealism... and many will continue to use it...

We have more tragedies to face everyday.. VA Tech, global warming, etc.... At this point we all need pray.... the one without sin cas the first stone

[Miss Martin]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, MISS PERRY! Since the Don Imus debacle, I felt like Hip-Hop was wrongly implicated as the foundation for the institutional racisms that are only highlighted in rap lyrics. Once again, thank you for eloquently explicating my point of view because I could not have said it better.

MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU MY SISTER!

[Michael Fisher]

Well, I'm glad you've come around to seeing what the "Prophets of the Hood" really are about. Good.

There still are, however, some problems here. First this statement:

"Record companies, business enterprises which effectively have NO COLOR in their pursuit of revenue, control the recording industry"

That's just not true. There are plenty of color considerations made by the white folks who run the record companies. That's why there's such a thing as a "pop department" and an "urban department" in the first place.

Moreover, as I've said before, and that's not theory, but very real: these "no color" white record executives made a conscious decision to peddle Gangsta and block, and thereby forego the revenue generated by, the phenomenally selling conscious and nationalist Hip Hop a la PE and PRT etc.

Now racism in the entertainment industry is nothing new, it is, in fact, tradition. It isn't enough to focus in on these white executives - they'll always do what they do. The ones who've got to be taken to task are their black enablers. 'Cause without them this whole thing can't work. And those are not the make-up artists. Those are the Puffys, Russells, Sean Carters, etc. of the world.

Next come all those academics who provided a "progressive" ideological cover for these folks. And you know who I argue these indivduals are.

Lastly:

"The reality is, however, that the “black community” does not control the media industry, even those branches that have a black public face."

Question: And why is that? Especially the black face branches?

[Deocliciano Okssipin Vieira]

One think I learned very early.
Spend your energy with those who worth it.

Gosh!

I see no gain beside vengeance in going for that guy.

So what!

So much time complaining.
No time for fighting the proper fight.