All rapped up

US MC, Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson forces the viewer to stare down the barrel of his handgun. The rapper's music is heavily populated with tales of gun crime.

“I catch you slipping, I’ma kill you. I ain’t playing, here what I’m saying. Homie I ain’t playing. I catch you slipping I’ma kill you.”
This sinister threat is not the hard-hitting poetry of a modern day Wilfred Owen - soldier/poet - describing the daily grind in Iraq. Neither is it Donald Rumsfeld’s previously undisclosed warning to Saddam Hussein prior to Gulf War II. It is not even Ken Livingstone’s latest attempt to fit his entire foot in his mouth whilst speaking to a journalist. This is a lyrical bullet from the infamous New York native, 50 “I’ve been shot nine times” Cent. Not that it is a particularly violent lyric in comparison to some of the swollen-chested emcee’s arsenal of libretto. On a scale of 1 - 10 of brutish prose, 10 being the most violent, this would probably rank a five.

50 Cent is just one of the regiment of hip hop artists spearheading the invasion upon the UK charts. The Queens native has sold over 10 million copies of his debut album, ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, and his second album, ‘The Massacre’ has already passed the platinum mark. Rap music is going global at a remorseless rate.

Hip hop has always flourished in the midst of the controversy it causes. Sexist and homophobic lyrics have long been a part of hip hop wordplay (bitches and batty boys anyone?), and have caused outcry from women’s and gay rights groups. These themes are also present in hip hop’s English cousin, ‘grime’; a mesh of hip hop and England’s own garage sound that is present on countless pirate radio stations across the capital. The one fundamental theme covered in both hip hop and grime music however, that now appears to partially accepted, and wholly expected, is violence. Ranging from discussing the occasional fisticuffs, to planning the annihilation of whole crews with AK-47 assault rifles, these are two genres of music that are rife with violence.

There have long been available audio tapes and CDs that promise to help users quit smoking or learn Swahili if listened to in their slumber. Whether or not this technique works is a matter for trading standards. Moving on the assumption that it does, it would seem fair to make the connection that listening to something in a conscious condition could have an even more influential impact then listening to it in a state of R.E.M. Is it fair to say that musical content can actu-ally have a bearing on how listeners think and act; do violent hip hop lyrics make violent hip hop fans?

The origins of many rap lyrics are grounded in reality. Artists paint pictures of what happens in their ‘hoods from selling drugs to letting off guns. According to BBC Radio 1xtra DJ, Ronnie Herel, “When gangster rap first came out with artists like NWA, and Ice-T, it was guys talking about where they were brought up. They were talking about their own life. It was real talk. It was stuff that reflected directly to what they were aware of. I think it sold so well because not only was it controversial, but a lot of street kids could relate to it because they were growing up in that same environment.” The multi-million selling albums of many hip hop artists such as Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z, however suggest that it is not just street kids who relate to this way of life that are purchasing records. There must be other factors, other than relating to the music that causes people to follow hip hop. Ronnie Herel says, “When hip hop first came out, there was nothing like it at all. It was very controversial, and anti-establishment. I’ve always said it’s down to the individual who is into it, whether they want to take it a step further and want to use the lyrical content of any records that they hear to then go and emulate that or simulate that on the street. It doesn’t really happen that often any more. I don’t often hear of ‘this guy shot that person, because of a record’”.

It does not look like hip hop fans often go out and shoot people after being influenced by a record, but are there any other noticeable by-products? Herel says, “In clubs, things don’t often kick off because of a hip hop record. I think you get that more so on the grime scene. I did a gig in Leeds once, and I played a song called ‘Oi’, by the More Fire Crew, a group from London. I played it and the reaction was so aggressive, with people shooting up their hands as gun signals. I just thought that’s wrong - it’s the wrong message to be portraying in a club. It’s a pity because records like that are great, but it saddens me that they are taken so seriously, and can’t get played because people can’t behave themselves. It does instigate a lot of trouble”.

“Wild on the dance floor/ When their song come on./ Swinging their fists/ Ready for war/ But it’s a different type of effect./ Its not violence./ They just tranced by the events.” Prodigy of rap group Mobb Deep, taken from ‘Thunn and Kicko’

This has not been a positive advert for hip hop and grime so far. Although the music does not cause people to go and shoot people, apparently it can cause an aggressive and violent atmosphere. Tim Westwood, the Godfather of hip hop in the UK, is one person who has felt the brunt of the type of violence typified in rap music. In July 1999, the Radio 1 Rap Show host was the victim of a drive-by shooting in south London. Even if this incident was not influenced by hip hop, the fact that Westwood was the victim immediately brings rap music into the fray. Has Westwood allowed violence to creep into his persona? “No. I’m a DJ, man. I do parties. Radio 1 wouldn’t be keen if I got stopped in a car with people carrying guns. Before the shooting, the only people who knew me were the hip hop crowd. It made me big! I wish I had an album out at that time!” says the radio patron.

Westwood brings a new dimension to the idea of hip hop violence. On the one hand he says that getting caught with guns is not a good career move, whoever you are; the pro hip hop stance strikes a blow in the direction of the anti hip hop viewpoint. On the other hand, he speculates that getting shot is good for your status and reputation; touché.

The reality of being a victim of a shooting attack raises the issue of the law. What does the thin blue line think about the idea of kids singing along to chart songs that relay violent deeds? When asked about the impact that aggressive lyrics can have on those that listen to them, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said, “It’s not really something that we can speculate on. It’s not research that we’d conduct. It might be something that an independent body might have done.” Operation Trident is a taskforce in the Metropolitan Police that has been set up to investigate black on black crime in the capital, so it seemed logical to think that if there is a connection between violent behaviour and hip hop fans, they may be on the case. An Operation Trident spokesperson said, “It’s not really something that we would comment on. We haven’t looked for any connection. That would be something for a criminologist or behavioural studies expert”.

This is a puzzling response from the authorities. Hip hop music is by definition anti-establishment. If one was to make an anonymous phone call to a random victim and spout some violent wordplay, such as the aforementioned 50 Cent lyric, it would be construed as threatening behaviour: a chargeable offence. To go and record these threats on an album however, and unleash them on the world can bring critical acclaim, worldwide appreciation and untold riches. Surely this journalist cannot be the only person who has considered that hip hop music may alter its fans manner and opinions?

Britain has never been a stranger to violent crime, but one fragment of this demon that is on the increase is gun crime. ‘Mothers against guns’ is a support group that was set up by the mother of 22 year old Damian Cope, who was murdered in 2002. The group works as an alliance in an effort to rid Britain’s streets of guns. Hazel Steele, a spokesperson for the organisation, has considered the influence the lyrics of hip hop can have. Steele says, “A lot of rap songs do have lyrics that can be considered violent, which I think is why it is quite a controversial type of music. I don’t think that everyone that listens to it will be influenced by it, but there are a lot of young and impressionable kids that listen to it. If their favourite rappers are telling them that they carry guns, then is going to look cool to carry a gun.” So is Steele anti-hip hop? “A lot of the mothers in our organisation have lost children to gun crime. I don’t know if any of them would consider that rap music could have played a part in the situation, but I do know that some of the victims have been fans of the genre. I’m not against rap, but I think that whatever music people listen to will influence them, and if their preference is rap, then they should be responsible enough to see it as just music”.

Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood: Did a shootout increase his popularity?

Hip hop is music that is targeted at adults. There are parental advisory labels on singles and albums to stop those who are not old enough from purchasing the music. The general consensus appears to be that the music is not inherently bad, but that it is up to the individual to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Whether the majority of hip hop fans can do this is a different question. Peter Low of Britishhiphop.co.uk – a definitive website on hip hop history – says, “There is no such thing as a typical hip hop fan anymore. Maybe a few years ago there would have been, but now the music has become too big for that. They would probably be young and male. I don’t think the music makes listeners act aggressively, although that may be true with the grime scene. It is all down to the individual being able to realise that it is just music. I’ve heard this argument, about hip hop spreading violence before. People go and watch films and don’t get influenced. Why should it be the same for music? The stereotype of hip hop fans right now would be someone really into ‘bling-bling’. There is definitely an uplifting vibe in the UK hip hop scene. A lot of the people who are involved in the industry or trying to break into the industry just do it for the love of hip hop. Most people, like rappers and producers, do it for no money. A lot of the lyrics in the UK scene are uplifting, telling people about education and avoiding crime”.

Hip hop fans obviously find something in the genre that appeals to them. Whether it is the controversy and anti-establishment focus or simply a catchy chorus that appeals is down to each individual fan. Individual is the key word in this sentence. As hip hop has grown into a global phenomenon, its diversity is reflected in its fans. Does hip hop make people act violently? That depends on the individual fan, and judging by the performance of 50 Cent’s first album, there are a millions of them. If they were all fire-arm toting, gun-nuts, the music would probably have been banned a long time ago. A fan is an admirer and a supporter, but not a mimic. After all, if they went out fighting and carrying guns, they could probably make hip hop of their own.

Hip hop and grime fans are hard to stereotype because of the diversity of the scene. Over the next few paragraphs are fans of the genre connected only by their love for the music:

• Jonathan Jacobs, 21, from Loughton, Essex, is a student reading English and History at Nottingham Trent University.

NEED TO KNOW Street name Jay-J Top 3 albums: Notorious B.I.G. - Life after death DMX - Then there was X Jay-Z - Volume 3: The life and times of Shawn Carter

• Talvinder Bhogal, 21, from Ilford, Essex, is a student reading Banking and International Finance at City University.
  
  

NEED TO KNOW Street name Vinder Top 3 albums:  Mobb Deep - The Infamous Nas - StillMatic Capone-N-Noreaga - The Reunion

• Chinello Fontaine, 21, from Enfield, north London, is a student reading media technology at Kingston University.

NEED TO KNOW Street name Juicy Top 3 albums: Ludacris- Chicken and Beer Missy Elliot - Miss E. So Addictive Jay-Z - The Blueprint

“I’ve been listening to hip hop from the age of 10. Back then, I was influenced by my brothers. I’ve grown up with two brothers, and they were heavily into hip hop, so that’s all I was surrounded by. Back then I don’t really think I listened to the lyrical content. It was more the image, the beat and the catchiness of it all. Growing up with Hip Hop, I’ve started taking it a bit more seriously. I think it’s more the lyrical content that I’m into now.

“I wouldn’t say hip hop affects my mentality, because I think I take it for what it is: music and someone else’s expression of music. I don’t think it deeply affects me because I’m my own person. I just see how other artists use words and wordplay, and appreciate it for what it is. When I’m creating my own music, I just reflect my own life through the music. “I’ve been rapping seriously for about a year and a half. I’ve been trying to get into the rap scene since I was 15, but I wasn’t as serious then. I rap under the name ‘Juicy’. Before it was just a dream, thinking maybe I could do it, and it would be cool if I could make it. All my brothers were rapping, and I used to look at them and think “They’re really good. How can I do that?” I never really knew how to put my words together, until I wrote one track and someone was like, “That’s actually good!” Since then, for about the last year and a half, I’ve been taking it seriously. I’ve done performances, but I’m still trying to work on my confidence. I did a performance in Wood Green, north London, when I was about 16. I’ve performed at my university, and I performed at an event at Alexandra Palace. That was for Children in Need - it was for a youth day.

“The only tracks that I’ve recorded are features on other people’s tracks, but nothing of my own. I’m still working on my demo. It’s really hard with university work, so I’m just trying to get it together. I’m quite lucky because I’ve got friends with studios, and they let me use them.

“When I tell people that I rap they seem shocked because of the way that I look. I don’t look like a typical rapper, because for one thing, I’m female. Guys especially don’t tend to take me seriously. Some guys are like “Is it?”, but they brush it off like its nothing. Some guys are like “Seriously?” They don’t expect it because of the way that I look. I don’t dress like a tom boy, or a gangster or how they assume a female hip hop artist should look. Even though I’m a rapper, I don’t try to put on any persona, of a typical girl who is trying to be a little female thug. I’m just myself.

"...I DON’T LOOK LIKE A TYPICAL RAPPER, BECAUSE FOR ONE THING, I’M FEMALE. GUYS ESPECIALLY DON’T TEND TO TAKE ME SERIOUSLY.."

“Of course there are stereotypes of hip hop fans. You look at any hip hop artist, and there is the whole stereotype of a gangster. The ‘Don’t mess with me kind of look’. It’s quite aggressive, but not necessarily unapproachable. I’ve don’t often see real fights, because of hip hop songs when I’m in clubs, but guys get aggressive with each other and want to push each other. Sometimes when people feel the music, it does something to them and they just can’t help it.

“I don’t really have any favourite artists. I just like people for their lyrical content. I like Nas and Jay-Z because they’re good with their wordplay, but I like people like Ludacris, because he knows how to make a good party track. I like feel-good music. In the British scene, I like Klashnekoff, and I respect Estelle because I like the sound of her voice, and the way she raps. I like her whole attitude. I don’t really like The Streets. I think they’re fake. They just put on the act, because that’s what sells. Hip hop is all about being real. I try to stay real to myself in my music, so when people hear it, they know that it’s Juicy and not someone trying to be something that they’re not.

• Aaron Brooks, 23, from London, currently works in a members club.

NEED TO KNOW Street name Sniper Top 3 albums: Mase - Harlem World Puff Daddy - Puff Daddy and The Family Dr Dre - The Chronic 2001

“I’ve always been into music, but I started DJing around 1998. I first started playing just R&B tunes, because someone gave me some records for free. I started getting into hip hop tunes about the same sort of time, maybe a bit earlier. I started getting into a bit of Puff Daddy, a bit of Mase. It was around the time when Notorious B.I.G. was getting big.

“The first real music performance I did was at school. It was in 1999 I think, the last year of school. It was a performance of the Notorious B.I.G. song, “Mo’Money, Mo’ Problems”. I was the rapper Mase, and I had the first verse. The reaction was really big. I’ve still got it on video somewhere! I started playing garage a few months later, when I had the money to start buying the tunes. I started emceeing in about 1998 as well. I’ve been writing lyrics ever since, but just as a hobby really.

“Grime mentality is more or less the same as garage mentality. The music has evolved, but some people take it the wrong way now. It’s just youths being more expressive. Before, being an emcee was more of a master of ceremony thing presenting the music, but now emcees have got their own stories to tell. Its more of an expressive thing. People writing about real stuff that’s true to them.

“Grime has got more of an aggressive nature to it, but that is both good and bad. A lot of people just copy-cat other peoples’ styles. Some people are doing it from the heart and talking about real life experience. Some people are chatting total rubbish in their music, and taking it too far. This makes people look at it in a bad way. If you were to put an overall mark on it, you could say that as a music, it is negative for a lot of the youth. It does affect them negatively. A lot of the youth of today, they feel they have to be a certain way, and look a certain way and act a certain way. It shouldn’t really be like that.

“My lyrics are mostly entertaining; a lot of things about girls. If I do chat about beef it’s just in a joke way. I don’t really chat about killing anyone, or stabbing or shooting. I do enjoy some of the more aggressive stuff and I laugh, because I take it as a joke. I don’t take it seriously. I don’t speak about any of that nonsense, because there is no need. I’ve experienced beef, but I don’t need to go into depth about that in my lyrics because people don’t need to hear about that. They need to hear a good message - about girls, and good things like this. The bad things that I’ve come across in my life and the evil that’s presented to me is just temptation from the devil.

"...THE BAD THINGS THAT I’VE COME ACROSS IN MY LIFE AND THE EVIL THAT’S PRESENTED TO ME IS JUST TEMPTATION FROM THE DEVIL..."

“I’ve been involved in a few things that I shouldn’t have done. I’ve had run-ins with the law before, and I’ve been arrested, but just for stupid things that I probably shouldn‘t have been doing. I know dudes that carry guns or knives, but I’ve always tried to avoid all of that stuff.

“Most of the people I know listen to either hip hop or grime, and some listen to both. It’s funny, but a lot of dudes I know are either currently emcees and DJs, or used to be emcees and DJs. I think it’s just one of those things that a lot of people were into when we were young. It was good in a way, because it meant we were in the house recording tapes, rather then on the streets getting into trouble. My lyrics have never really been that violent. There might be the odd line, but mostly I talk about girls. A lot of people talk about violence, and use more aggressive lyrics. I don’t think the lyrics make people aggressive though. I think it’s more like people rap about the things they do and the things they see. It gets exaggerated, but that’s because everyone wants to have a story to tell, and the grimier it is the better.

Words by Matt Herel