the-michelle-lu-blog
Journal Entries
An exploration of hip hop, design, and convergence culture by Michelle Lu.
11 posts
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#1 HIP HOP TO ME & THE FUTURE
Hip hop to me embodies freedom, truth, and disruption. It is a form of expression that has always been focused on authenticity and artists telling their truths regardless of the barriers and standards placed on them. Artists in all mediums of hip hop have had to fight to continue practicing and gain respect for their craft. This kind of perseverance embodies the belief they hold that their work represents ideals that are much larger and important than themselves as individuals.
In the future, I see hip hop and design integrating even more than it has right now. Hip hop and design have always been interconnected because they are both forms that prioritize communication. It focuses on reaching the public and spreading a message that can be understood by everyone. Even currently, more artists are focusing on the overall imagery of their craft. It is no longer just about one aspect being good, you must now encompass all the senses and present a complete narrative to your audience. This is where design comes in and it will just continue to be tied in more as art forms evolve and progress. For artists and designers will always be pushing the boundaries, never satisfied with the status quo. Ultimately, I don’t think you can truly have one exist without the other. Design and hip hop inspire and lend themselves to one another wholly and constantly, they always have and they always will.
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#2 COOKIN’ IT UP
Food has been a staple inspiration for many artists in their music for a long time. Food references are constantly dropped in lines and specific foods have even become trademarks of many artists. Today, cooking shows have become a new avenue for musicians to pursue, marrying their passion for music and food in a brand new way. Rappers started with cookbooks initially. In the early 2000s, Coolio released Cookin’ With Coolio: Five Star Meals at a One Star Price which had recipes for “ghetto gourmet” meals. Another notable cookbook was the digital cookbook #MEALTIME, which 2 Chainz released with his album B.O.A.T.S II in 2013. From there, as the Cooking Channel grew in popularity we began to see cooking shows by hip hop artists on that channel and many other networks. Rev Run started Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers, singer Kelis has her show Saucy and Sweet, Action Bronson has two food shows on Viceland, and the iconic Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg have Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party. More and more hip hop artists are continuing the trend and taking to not only network tv but also online platforms to start their own food shows. Musicians are expanding their empires and utilizing these opportunities to showcase new facets of their talents and personalities. Hip hop music and food have always separately had the power to connect people from all walks of life. Why not combine the magnetism of the two and center it on the larger than life personalities hip hop musicians have? With that 3 punch combo, it is a difficult formula to resist.
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#3 VIDEO MESSAGING
Micro-aggressions / Black Identity and Empowerment
Knowles, Solange. “Don't Touch My Hair.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU.
Solange’s song Don’t Touch My Hair from her most recent project A Seat at the Table celebrates black women and is titled after a common micro-aggression that both women and men of colour face on a daily basis. This video promotes an unapologetic mentality and disinterest in remaining silent at a time where people of colour are still being discriminated against and small acts such as asking to touch a black woman’s hair reminds individuals daily about how they are still denied respect, consent and agency over their own bodies. The song and video celebrates natural hair and an unwillingness to compromise one’s beliefs to satisfy society.
Giving Back in Hip Hop
Drake. “God's Plan.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpVfcZ0ZcFM.
God’s Plan is a music video recently released by Canadian musician Drake in which he gives away the entire budget for the video, $996,631.90, to various families, charities, and schools in Miami, FL. Although the song lyrics do not tell the same narrative as the video, the video aims to promote giving back when one has reached a place of privilege and wealth. This video brings up questions of authenticity in regards to Drake’s actions and if his documented charitable acts were a stunt to gain publicity and create viral content. Charity by celebrities and individuals of wealth have always been under scrutiny. Videos such as God’s Plan bring into question the importance of intention behind these sorts of actions and how it affects our perceptions of individuals.
Female Empowerment in the 90’s
Salt-N-Pepa. “None of Your Business.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 June 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=_Q96-e042bk.
Often proclaimed the “first ladies of hip hop”, this iconic rap group were some of the first female emcees on the scene at a time when the industry was dominated by males. Through their songs, they spoke about misogyny, sexual liberation, and control of the female body. The song None of Your Business, released in 1993 speaks about empowering individuals, particularly women, to do as they please both sexually and within their life choices without judgment from outsiders. The video features individuals from diverse racial backgrounds, age ranges, and sexual orientations feeling liberated and confident in their bodies. It also highlights Salt-N-Pepa unashamed in their skin and owning their sexuality in a powerful manner.
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#4 RATCHET
A Ratchet Lens: Black Queer Youth, Agency, Hip Hop, and the Black Ratchet Imagination – Bettina L. Love
After reading Bettina Love’s article I took away the importance of intersectionality and allowing marginalized groups the space to break the stereotypes and assumptions they are placed under. Minorities are often lumped together and seen as a singular character, but we need to allow them the same depth of expression as we allow individuals in the majority. Love speaks about humanizing research and challenging the norms placed by institutions, settlers, and colonizers.
The Black Ratchet Imagination Lens to queer hip hop is a way of redefining and reclaiming terms that were once used as derogatory descriptors of coloured individuals, analyzing the origins which these terms came from, and blurring the lines they currently exist within. By placing this fluid methodological perspective on those who are diminished, it recognizes individuals such as Black queer youth who are utilizing hip hop to change the conservative space hip hop existed in. They disrupt boundaries of respectability and challenge the heteropatriarchal, homophobic, and sexist space.
I believe hip hop can play a large influential role in education. It is a relatable method of communication that connects with youth in a manner no other genre of music seems to be able to. It is a form where truths are told which resonates with youth on a deeper level. If education can harness the honesty and relatability found within hip hop, it will be able to influence the young lives it is trying to reach more effectively.
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#5 BREAKING IT DOWN IN SOUTH KOREA
Breakdancing may have originated from the Bronx in the 70’s, but in the last 15 years South Korea has dominated the international breakdancing scene and progressed the art form tremendously. It was initially introduced to Korea by American soldiers in the 1980’s but it is Korean-American hip hop promoter John Jay Chon that is credited with truly inciting the explosion of b-boying in Seoul after he brought a VHS tape of a Los Angeles break-dancing competition which was duplicated hundreds of times and distributed. For many Koreans, breakdancing is an escape from the country’s conservative culture and intense educational system. It allows for a type of individual expression that is not typically allowed in many other facets of society.
In 2002, South Korea’s Expression Crew won Battle of the Year, one of the largest annual international B-boy competitions. This cemented South Korea as one of the top countries for b-boying. For the next decade, Korean crews such as Gamblerz, Last for One, Extreme Crew, Jinjo Crew and Fusion MC continued to win some of the highest international titles. In 2007, the South Korean government sponsored R16, an annual b-boy tournament and urban arts cultural festival, which ran for almost a decade. Breakdancing may have originated in the USA but it has truly become a worldwide phenomenon. The art form and sport is flourishing in South Korea and without the dedication of Korean crews and individuals who are challenging the standards of breakdancing, it would not be where it is today. These crews and individuals do not receive a lot of recognition in mainstream American culture but it is about time we recognize the new generation who are carrying the torch.
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Video
youtube
Jinjo Crew performing at BBIC 2017 (Bucheon B-boy International Championship)
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