My love of hip-hop stems from the theory of (to poach
the words of Rage Against The Machine) giving a voice to the
voiceless. Hip-hop is an avenue for particular individuals and communities to
be heard and, on some level, interject the brains of consumers with the
"truth" behind our current political state, particularly within the
United States. Lyrics of hip-hop artists are not edited by the Murdoch's and
the Fox's of the world, but are on some level by the Interscopes, BMIs
and other record labels (but that is a whole different argument).
The whole purpose of hip-hop is synthesis, to
synthesise material that, in its current form, is not consumable to the average
ear. And yet (as previously highlighted by comedian Dave Chappelle) it is
surprising what you can "say" when you rhyme, add a beat, and make
people move their body in tune. Such artists as Dead Prez, Talib
Kwali, Pharoahe Monch and Lupe Fiasco (pre Lasers) are
amongst my favourites. These artists spread the word as to the hypocrisy of
race relations within the U.S, the ongoing disparity between conditions
administered to the black versus white, low and high socio economic groups, and
how this translates to your average hip-hop consumer.
If we analysed the lyrics of such artists, what would
become of these individuals should they decide to remove the beat, the rhyme
and simply lead with the text and subtext? When ignoring the colour of their
skin, would these individuals be considered terrorists of capitalism and white
society within the U.S? Or would they be considered freedom fighters?
Advocates? Poets?
Such artists spark questioning as to the disparity
between black and white communities, in a language that is both accessible and
appealing to those often denied a contribution. With the abolition of slavery
so came new laws and legislation to further penalise and enslave vis-à-vis
incarceration. American activist Angela Davis suggests the history of slavery
in the U.S has a strong correlation between punishment and labour, and
therefore subsequently labour and race. Davis states punishment was designed to
maximise labour, thereby inadvertently connecting labour and race. Taking this
concept and applying it to the Australian context, it appears as not much
different from us ‘whities’, and our indigenous Australian counterparts. This
idea of punishment by race has been systemically applied within the Australian
criminal justice system towards those of Aboriginal race. During colonisation,
Aboriginal people were viewed as a threat to the use of land by colonisers, and
therefore capitalist economy and labour productivity, and were thus removed.
This dispossession has continued throughout particular areas of the Australian
criminal justice system, resulting in regular contact between Aboriginal
communities and behaviour deemed “criminal”, and therefore punishable.
Particular sentencing strategies (such as mandatory
sentencing in the Northern Territory), lead to incarceration and cycles of
poverty, as those who are incarcerated are further dispossessed and extradited
from society. Many families reproduce the cycle of wealth through gifts and
inheritance, meaning those who are incarcerated are not given this opportunity.
Initially incarceration depletes monetary funds. When incarcerated, individuals
face trauma, despair and potential death. Deaths in custody occur through
available hanging points, miscommunication or lack of response in regards to
medical assessments and related data, lack of education (and therefore
preparation) of how to deal with those at risk, such as the mentally ill, and
also failures in following instructions or procedures. If you survive all of
this, then during post release, employment is difficult to find, let alone
well-paying employment. This then further inhibits the ability to build up
finances to pass on to family members, creating an ongoing cycle of depravity,
and therefore poverty and struggle. As a result of financial stress, post
incarceration creates even further exclusion from “normal” mainstream society.
On the whole, incarceration is a destroyer. From
colonisation through to today, indigenous communities have been targeted for
incarceration, echoing the African American situation in the U.S.
According to Alice Green’s report, from the Center for Law & Justice
(February 16, 2012) in New York, black individuals made up 16% of the
population, yet 64% have been convicted (and thereby aren’t allowed to vote
under U.S legislation). A Prison Policy Initiative statistics as
of June 30, 2004, derived from a U.S Census, highlight this disparity. Per
100,000 of the prison population, “Whites” made up 393, whilst “Blacks” were
2,531. Yet according to the 2010 Census, white Americans comprised 66.2% and
Black Americans comprised 8.1% of the population.
These numbers do not add up, and are a testament to
what dire circumstances we are living in.
In 1979, with the implementation of the Prison
Industries Enhancement Certification Program in the U.S, a loophole made
prison slave labour possible. Such companies currently utilise this to maximise
profit at the expense of others misfortunes. Companies include The Gap
clothing, K-Mart, Target and Victoria’s Secret lingerie.
One can only presume this inevitable profit making corporate relationship
between exploitation and incarceration, is not far from Australia’s shores (if
not quietly here already!).
As Dead Prez say,
“Why is it that Black people and
everybody like us live in the kind of poverty and misery that we live in?
Everywhere I look around me are nothing but poverty and misery, on the one
hand. And yet, what I'm seeing is that everywhere there's wealth and riches in
the world it's in the white community somewhere, whether it's in Europe or
whether it's right cross the street from where I was born”. (Dead Prez-
Police State)
How can these levels of exploitation occur in today’s
society? Why is this so… I ask myself so frequently. And it seems as simple as
the fact that those who have power refuse to relinquish it, gripping so tightly
by all means necessary, disabling those without power to ever attain, as a
block, such freedoms. Another example of this is evident currently within the
demise of the U.S fiscal system. The 1% is in control and creating legislation
to continue and uphold their power. And yet, so here has the implosion began…
The main attitude here is
such that (as stated by a friend of mine), upon mentioning my distaste for
Sydney, as there is too obviously a disparity between the rich and the poor, my
lovely friend replied, 'But I’m in the rich, so, who cares'. And isn't this how
we got into this mess? When you are born into less opportunity, this
perpetuates less opportunity, and if you are born into opportunity, it is
certainly much easier to stay afloat or succeed further than it is to fall from
grace.
