Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Rap Music: "The Peculiar Institution"

Frederick Douglass in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, skillfully illustrates the exploitation and cruelty of the institution of slavery. The degradation and mistreatment visited upon African-Americans continues to this day. The most shocking detail of the ongoing humiliation facing African- Americans is who the facilitators are. The insurgence of the "ghetto" rap music industry continues to uphold the values of the slaveowners to the tune of a billion-dollars a year.

The history of music in African culture is not new. Douglass describes the slaves in the field singing as, " A chorus, to words which to many would seem unmeaning jargon, but were full of meaning to themselves. The songs represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them." (Douglass, Chpt 2) The similarities to today are striking. Many rap artists state that their songs are an outlet to let the world at large know about the pain experienced by African -- Americans. The concept is noble, so what went wrong?

In the beginning, rap music was associated with the characteristics mentioned above. It was not widely accepted by mainstream culture. Then came a change in rap jargon and genre. "Gangsta Rap" burst upon the scene. The artists of this type of rap were no longer satisfied with rapping about positive life in the inner city, and cultural education, they began to rap about, drugs, cash, violence, and portray women as prostitutes. Inexplicably once the African-American artists began to degrade themselves and exploit their women the rap genre became more widely accepted. Frederick Douglass offers insight into this phenomenon.

During the Christmas season the slaves were given a week off. Wherein "The staid, sober, thinking and industrious ones of our number would employ themselves in making corn-brooms, but by far the larger part engaged in playing ball, fiddling, dancing, and drinking whisky; and this latter mode of spending the time was by far the most agreeable to the feelings of our masters." (Douglass, Chpt 10)

Obviously, the oppressors did not reward positive action, betterment or forward thinking. The same can be said of the record labels promoting demeaning artists.

Mainstream America (young, white, suburban, male) began to purchase these records. Suddenly rap became a cash cow for the music industry. Most of the major record labels initiated "rap" divisions. The more fierce the self-degradation the more money there was to be made. Songs such as B*** Ain't Sh***

, Nann Ni****

, and Dem Ho's, are prime examples. Women also became a primary target for abuse.