Trevor Blanchard
Professor Armstrong
Rap & Society
April 3 2015
Review of Literature
The references and sources that I have researched provide me with sufficient knowledge and information to analyze the relationships between the musical elements of the song “Mathematics” and it’s socially reflective lyrics. The sources contain useful material relating to the musical sounds of “Mathematics”, the varying ideologies within the rap genre, the relevant background of the rapper Mos Def, the literary elements present in the song, and the various instances of social consciousness that occur throughout the song. “Mathematics” shows little reservation in revealing and discussing the hot button issues that persisted throughout the 1990’s, and consequently my research has been heavily based around the social issues that Mos Def has made his mission to address. These issues primarily include racial inequality, inner city crime, and the ineptitude of government.
It is important to understand the background of Yessin Bey, “Mos Def”, in order to fully comprehend the context of “Mathematics” lyrics, and the qualification of Bey to rap about the social and political issues that he acknowledges throughout the song. One of my most insightful sources regarding this subject is a book written by Karen Duda that contains a collaboration of biographies about various artists, one of which being Mos Def. This biography includes details about Mos Def’s progression as an artist, and the impact that his upbringing has had on his musical style and ideology. For example, the source mentions the impact that his Muslim background has had on his social activism. Mos Def’s social activism is highly relevant to my analysis of “mathematics”, as social progression is one of the goals of the socially consciousness lyrics expressed in the song.
There are two main types of rap that exist within the rap genre. There is the reflective side of rap and gangsta rap. The journal “Social Context And Musical Content of Rap Music” illustrates the parts that composes a rap song and how the composition determines whether or not a song falls into either of these categories. The journal conveys that placement into one of these categories is highly influential to the reinforcement level of black masculinity and negative African American stereotypes in a particular rap song. This information has helped me to determine that the lyrical content of “mathematics” may be reflective and comment on these stereotypes, but that it views these associations as damaging and not as a source of pride or boasting.
The ideology of rap music is the focus of the article “A Beautiful Mind: Black Male Intellectual Identity and Hip-Hop Culture.” The article also defines what distinguishes Mos Def as being socially conscious, or a “knowledge producer”, opposed to being a stereotypical rapper that only appeals to the gangsta illusion. The source also evaluates the merit and adept writing style of Mos Def. Through this evaluation, the meaning and significance of the social commentary in “Mathematics” lyrics are broken down in each individual stanza. The source does a masterful job in not excluding any analysis of the key social issues that Mos Def raps about. Some of the issues that are broken down by the lyrical analysis include inadequate education, increased government tracking, growing incarceration rates, and poverty.
In the book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur, Mos Def responds to the changing rap industry, and his label as a socially conscious rapper. Mos Def surprisingly devalues the label of “socially conscious” and he refutes that there should be a disconnection between him and other rappers that promote different lyrical content. The book conveys that Mos Def desires unity in rap music and that everything should not be limited to black or white. This philosophy is present in Mos Def’s lyrics, as he attempts to unify the listeners against the social injustices that we are all up against together. It is shown that Mos Def does not take up any issue with gangsta rap, he just does not wish for it to be all that is shown in the media.
While the rap industry has shifted to vastly showing gangsta rap over meaningful rap, the article “Hip-Hop Is For Everybody: Examining the Roots and Growth of Hip-Hop” reveals that Hip-Hop is becoming much more inclusive to people of all demographics and races. The article indicates that Mos Def believes that collectively “we are hip-hop” and that the problems within the rap industry do not revolve around the shift away from the reflective voice of oppressed minorities, but rather the problems stem from the pressures that rappers face to present a stereotypical image. Interesting enough, the article also covers the documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, in which the themes of black masculinity in hip-hop are addressed. Once again, “Mathematics” presents these stereotypes as a problem caused by external forces that must be overcome, not celebrated.
The article “Hip-Hop As Disaster Recovery In The Katrina Diaspora” covers the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, the government response, and the subsequent reaction of rappers to the government’s response efforts. Mos Def is one of the rappers listed in the article, and similar to many of the government criticisms prevalent in “Mathematics”, he vocalizes his frustration with government incompetence and discrimination. Furthermore, he states the ramifications that government actions have against minorities and the poor as he pursues the role as a truth-teller of social and political issues that he has maintained throughout his career.
The source “Political Rap: The Music Of Oppositional Resistance” focuses on the analytical themes that dominate rap music. There is a lot of overlap between these themes and the themes present in “Mathematics”. This overlap includes criminal justice discrimination, racial genocide conspiracy, lost economic opportunities, educational bias, and police brutality. The article is also very thorough as it possesses many relevant statistics that support the article’s argument of rap music as a median to fight social issues. This information will be very useful in helping me to explain the resistant messages in “Mathematics”, as I will be able to support their existence with specific data and statistics.
The book 5 Grams: Crack Cocaine, Rap Music, And The War On Drugs, as the title suggests, discusses the connection between criminality, crack, and rap music. The source illustrates the inequality in the justice system as a result of biased drug sentencing based upon race and socioeconomic status. This information is relevant to my analysis of “Mathematics”, as the song emphasizes the necessity that many impoverished persons feel to sell drugs to make a living, and consequently, the harsh and racially biased sentences that the dealers face when arrested.
The diversity of information provided by these sources enables me to give a well-rounded analysis of the sounds featured in “Mathematics” and how they complement and enhance the meanings found throughout the song. I now have a sufficient enough understanding of Mos Def’s background and intentions, the social issues addressed in the lyrics, and Mos Def’s ability to add meaning through literary devices for me to fully understand the necessary context and information required to grasp and discuss the density of the messages present in “Mathematics”.
Works Cited
Duda, Karen E. “Mos Def: Current Biography 66.4 (2005) 38-44. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. Book
Dyson, Michael Eric. Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur. New York: Basic Civitas, 2001. Print.
Flores, Lucien J. “Hip-Hop Is For Everybody: Examining the Roots and Growth of Hip-Hop.” RSS Student Pulse, 2012 Web. 02n Apr. 2015.)
Jeffries, Michael P. “Contemporary Sociology 2 (2013): Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
Jenkins, Toby S. “A Beautiful Mind: Black Male Intellectual Identity and Hip-Hop Culture.” Sage Publications, Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.
Kish Zenia. “My FEMA People”: Hip-Hop AS Disaster Recovery In The Katrina Diaspora.” American Quarterly 61.3 (2009):671.Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 03 Apr.2015
Lena, Jennifer C. “Social Context And Musical Content of Rap Music, 1979-1995” Social Forces 85.1 (2006) 479-495 MLA International Bibliography. Web. 23 Feb. 2015
“Political Rap: The Music Of Oppositional Resistance. “Sociological Focus 39.2(2006): 133-143. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.