Rap Culture Analysis

This article examines the adoption and adaptation of rap by white listeners, whose only experience with African American culture is through their music. Hayes draws upon evidence from his interviews of white people in a rural town in Ontario to ascertain whether or not this trend of fascination with rap music can help to promote racial relations through informing audiences on rap culture. Hayes notes that those who aligned themselves with rap music tended to see themselves as more experienced than their peers in regards to race. These fans of rap music emulated what they saw and heard from popular media, such as television and music. However, their fascination with rap culture had limitations, as evidenced by their lack of first-hand experience. They were enamored by rap artists and black people as a race, but this interest was a result of racial differences. These fans viewed the artists who rap about the toughness needed on the streets as more authentic and generally more enjoyable than others. As a result of this view, they look at rap culture through the lenses of rap music rather than their own experience or knowledge of what “thug life”
is actually about.
Hayes’ interviews with both rap fans and others in the community show that there are two levels of exclusion resulting from participation in rap culture: exclusion from their subculture as a result of racial boundaries and exclusion from their community for aligning themselves with the subculture.
The first exclusion involves the apprehension of white rap culture participants, who were cautious to stay within their racial boundaries as outsiders who were not as authentic fans as black people. The second exclusion can be seen in the stereotyped views of others in their local community, who regarded rap music as uncivilized and scornful. Hayes’ interviews of both rap fans and others in the community shows a general underlying systematic racism that lays the foundation on which their opinions of rap music and culture are
built. This article is highly relevant to the discussion of white appropriation of hip hop culture, as Hayes explains the aspects, limitations, and results of the adoption of rap music by white people. Through his analysis and interviews, Hayes argues that white participation in rap culture in this rural town is cultural theft that is looked down upon by the wider community. This can be seen in the anxiety of the rap fans from the town when encountering black people in concerts, as there would not be any apprehension if they did not believe they were doing something wrong. Their own understanding of racial boundaries also shows an acknowledgement of their cultural theft, as they purposely overstep these borders without being openly assertive about their appropriation of rap culture. Furthermore, their exclusion from both community groups is a result of their attempts to force their own inclusion into rap culture even while dealing with the guilt and confusion of their changing racial identities. Lastly, the members of this community use the subculture to distinguish themselves in their community, rather than promote racial equality. As a result, their involvement in rap culture does not help to advance cultural progress in their community, but forces the community to view rap culture as different from their own.