Law prof seeks meaning of rap

Law prof seeks meaning of rap
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[Amar Bains/The Daily Pennsylvanian]
Rutgers law professor Imani Perry speaks about the artistic merit of hip hop and how it relates to modern racism.
By alex ullman
March 1, 2006

Underneath its often vulgar exterior, hip hop examines relevant topics in an intellectual light, according to one law professor.

Almost 50 people gathered at the Penn Bookstore last night to hear Rutgers University law professor Imani Perry discuss hip hop. Perry is the author of the book Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop.

Taking an intellectual look at popular culture, Perry challenged society to look beyond the "fluttery fashion of hip hop times" and to engage the music as an art form.

She said that beyond the ostensible "immorality, vulgarity and conspicuous consumption" of the stereotypical rapper there exists an image of an independent and outspoken modern person that has the "potential to humanize."

When she first heard rap group the Sugarhill Gang in 1979, Perry said she knew that there was something special about hip-hop music. She combined this inspiration with her Harvard training as a historian of American civilization to dissect rap lyrics and hip hop and reveal the music as a valid art form within the context of modern society.

Just as jazz and blues evolved from the black American experience in the 19th century, hip hop is the voice for the "post-civil rights era," Perry said. Today, she said, we live in a society where racism is socially rejected but still exists in practice.

According to Perry, hip hop can provide modern listeners with a means to face issues of racial inequality.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she said, hip hop as an art form and a means of communication can help overcome the problems of rebuilding Louisiana communities.

"Sometimes you've got to knock down to get up," Perry said, quoting rap artist and New Orleans native Mystikal.

Second-year biomedical doctoral student Christa Heyward that Perry's speech helped her engage with hip hop in ways that she had not previously considered.

"I didn't have a lot of exposure to hip hop growing up, but [Perry] allowed me to pick up on many elements of the artistry of hip hop and its culture," Heyward said.