Critical Review: "Digging the Music: Proud Pariahs"

Weinstein’s article describes Metal and its audience in detail, characterizing its various aspects as she witnessed through her research. First, she defines the core audience of Metal, a genre that seems to be somewhere in between a “commercial” (or “mass”) genre and a “folk” genre. Metal is an example of both a “Taste Public” and a Subculture, as its audience shares aesthetic values, but also shares a way of life consistent with the musical form. Metal’s audiences, though they have similarities, are distinct and change according to geography, time, and which subgenre they are a part of. According to Weinstein, the stereotypical Metal fan is “male, white, and in his midteens.” She explains the roots of each of these characteristics and also discusses the roots of Metal itself.

The Heavy Metal subculture is a direct outgrowth from the youth culture of the 1960s, which was dominated by white, male, blue collar workers. When the 60s subculture collapsed, the bikers and hippies it once supported found each other and created Metal. Although not all white, male, blue collar youth are members of the Metal subculture, they constitute Metal’s core audience because Metal seemed to express their discontents and life style. Weinstein provides a hierarchical order for the characteristics of the core Metal scene: maleness, youthfullness, whiteness, and finally, blue collar sentiments. The heavy Metal audience is, at its most basic, masculinist. They strongly value masculine identity and what that represents, and strongly oppose homosexuality. Although females may be accepted into the Metal scene, it is only those who dress in the typical male fashion. Females who dress in a provocative manner are either shunned as sluts or oggled in an objectifying fashion. Metal became a youth scene in response to the antiyouth crusade of the 1970s. Like the Punk subculture, Metal borrowed heavily from prior youth cultures with their mottos of teenage rebellion. Even today, the Metal subculture does not fully include Metal fans once they pass adolescence. The “whiteness” associated with Metal gets its roots around the time of the civil rights movement, when marginal whites began to strongly resent blacks pushing for more rights. Metal is more so a “cultural grouping” than a racially based scene, however, as it tends to tolerate those outside its core demographic who follow its strict codes of dress, appearance, devotion to music and behavior. Many Metal fans come from working class and blue collar homes. In the 1970s, economic crisis and the growth of the middle class life style in the mass media caused blue collar workers to turn to Metal. Although not all Metal fans today are blue collar, it is blue collar ideals (ethos) such as masculinity, sexism, and antibourgeois sentiment that permeate the Metal scene.

Although the core fanbase of Metal is a demographically similar group, the 1980s brought a shift. More nonwhites and females entered the Metal scene, and more subgenres emerged. While the audience of classic Metal remained the same, lite Metal audiences became composed of teenage females, and thus the audience for thrash Metal became exclusively male. Although Metal emerged in Britain, the United States and other European countries soon had fully formed Metal scenes. Weinstein tried to find a pattern in the countries with Metal scenes: they are countries without a strong dominant religion, no severe political struggle that absorbs the commitment of adolescents, and iconography of European Pagan cultures.

Weinstein also discussed Metal music itself, and how it relates to the subculture. Music is “the master emblem of the heavy Metal subculture.” Loudness, bottom sounding pitch, a strong lead vocalist, and virtuosic lead guitarists are all important components of Metal music. Standards for lyrics are less precise, but it seems as though knowing the lyrics to Metal songs is a form of subcultural capital. The fashion of the Metal scene is very specific. The general uniform of the Metal fan is as follows: blue jeans, black T-shirts with band logos (those from tours and concerts are considered the most legitimate), black leather or jean jackets, leather boots, patches, tattoos, pins and rings, and most importantly, long hair. Dancing is practically forbidden to the Metal fan because of Metal’s masculine and youth ideals. Beer and drugs are also an important part of Metal, though drugs are not as important to Metal as they were to the youth counterculture. The blank slack-jawed stare is also representative of a long exhausting night at a Metal concert.

One final aspect of Metal is that it “mythologizes itself.” Metal artists boast about themselves, and fans boast about them too. Bands that romanticize a life of sex, drugs, and “raising hell” thus legitimize it. Members of the Metal scene are convinced that their music is great, and they are thus drawn to it. It is the reciprocity between Metal music and the Metal fanbase that has kept its fans enthralled.

Discussion Question: Females in the Metal scene are either masculinized or objectified. How does this relate to the view of women in Hip Hop culture? Are women as thoroughly accepted into Hip Hop culture if they stick to the male prototype as Weinstein claims “masculinized” women are in the metal scene?

Interview With Dominic Wu of the Higher Keys

Dominic Wu is a Freshman in the Higher Keys.

[Notes: “...” represents a pause in speech, my questions are in bold and Dom's answers are in unbolded text]

How often do you interact with other groups? In what contexts?
Okay interacting? Im going to start with singing with them I guess?

Sure
We....I think we sang with the Bears for our Christmas concert, and we just had an arch sing with them. I guess whenever we have a major thing we would do it with another group. We did something with the Derbies but that was during winter tour, and it just happened to be that they were there.

And is it just about singing with them? Or do you guys ever have parties together, stuff like that.
Uhhh...Well not as whole groups, but off the group contexts. It’s just that the Bears and Keys live together in the suite in Wayland, so we sometimes just hang out there.

Why is Brown a cappella special? Do you feel like it is?
The a cappella community at Brown is definitely a different community. I mean, we have the whole intergalactic a cappella thing going on. A lot of other schools don’t have that. I believe that per capita, we also have the highest concentration of a cappella people. So that would definitely put a cappella as more important for Brown than other schools.

Is there competition between groups?
Oooo Yes. The good thing with the Keys is that we’re coed so we don’t have a lot of competition. But with the guy groups and the girl groups, which one’s...better.

How do you think that manifests itself? Have you seen it? Heard talk about it?
You see it. You hear that the Jabberwocks are like, “The Best,” but then you go “noo, they’re just the oldest.” Um, but then they have their own things. The Bears are like, the fun group, the entertainment. The Derbies are...Gay. (laughs). Great performers, though.

How does the Tzar system work? What does the Tzar do?
Ok, I know the tzar is Alex Bachorick. So I think she’s in charge of coordinating all the arch sings during the big events such as ADOCH , all the callback schedules. I guess getting groups into the group. Like we had to vote the High Jinks in recently. I think A.Bach talked about this: she wants to get Brown to fund the a cappella groups more. Because in Stanford they get 1,000 dollars per semester per a cappella group, which is crazy. And she said that Brown might have a fun like that that we can tap into. Speculative.

Do you feel as though a cappella groups should be more integrated? More separate from each other?
I say definitely more integrated. Its just so much more fun. And it would relax the competition. What we did with the Bears, the flip flop arch sing, we should do that more often.

Is dating between members of the a cappella community a common occurrence?
Totally. And I feel like our concerts totally reflect that. So when certain members date other members, I feel like we sing with that group more. And then when there’s a bad breakup, every time you talk about that group it’s like (makes a face). Yeah, it’s not ok.

Do certain groups hang out more with certain other groups than others?
I think, yes definitely. I only see it in the Bears and Keys, because I’m just there. But I think that relates to your previous question about dating.

What groups go with what styles? How do you perceive the styles of other groups?
I see Bears as anything fun. Anything that they can just belt the shit out of because they’re amazing that way. The Derbies do a lot more pop. Old 90s pop like Backstreet boys and Nsync. I feel like their styles also differ. Bears have really complicated arrangements where everyone sings really loud, its always about volume. The Derbies background vocals are all about chords, so they have the chords going on, not very complex..I don’t think. Jabberwocks they sing basically anything, which is fun. Girl groups also have a huge variety. Keys, they stick on Jazzy, classy, rock. We have our different styles and we all know it.

What about Harmo? I feel like they get thrown to the wayside a little bit because they’re Brown/RISD
Harmo....yeah, I don’t know why that is. It’s really depressing. The only song I remember them singing is MmmBop. They’re also a lot of fun. I don’t know what their style is.

Can group styles be the same and still retain individuality?
Whenever you have two groups that are so similar in style, that’s when there's a lot more competition. You just don’t know who to listen to. The girl groups, I haven’t really noticed that, because I just know about their repertoire. I don’t see very much competition there. But I worry that like, Jabberwocks and High Jinks, like, what are they going to be like? I’m very interested to find out about that.

How do you choose soloists?
We have auditions. First we get a new arrangement and then we all learn the song. And then on Audition Night, the ones who don’t want to audition for the solo will go to one side of the room and do the background for one section of the song, and the soloists will practice once or twice, and then we keep looping the background track and keep going from one to one. Afterwards, we have all the soloists just leave and then they make a decision there. And how they make a decision is usually by voting. There’s like high preference, low preference type. Voting.

How do you choose which songs to arrange and go about arranging them?
We never take arrangements from other people. I think that’s a Keys thing, like, you have to do your own arrangements. How do we choose them? People bring up songs that we want to do, and the rest of the group has to agree with it...or at least most of the group. And then they go and arrange them. Um, but they have to fit in within the Keys repertoire or Keys style. So we don’t go for...you know....It’s democratic.

Are there any gender limitations that affect which songs you can arrange? Well, for you guys it’s coed, so I guess not really, right?
No, not really. I mean, the only thing is that sometimes there’s too many tenor solos so they want a base solo. Or alto and soprano.

How would you view your own group’s musical style?
Jazz, Pop, Rock. But because we’re a coed group it’s so hard to blend. Our arrangements can’t be so overtly “WAAAH.” Like the Bears are like “Ber Ner Ner” but we have to go “Dooo Baaa.” So that definitely affects the songs that we sing.

Did you choose the group you wanted to be in based on music or something else?
When I was choosing, at first when I came to Brown, I really wanted to be in an all guys group. Because I just thought that it was a lot of fun. But then when you hang out with them after your callbacks, and you realize that the people are actually really important, because you’re going to be spending so much time with them...I just fell in love with the Keys. Like, they’re just so nice. So I guess people are number one for me. And I guess music, how good the group is. Definitely affects it.

Vocal percussion. Who does it? How does it work? When is it necessary?
For perc-ing, we usually have one or two people who perc in the groups. For us, I think right now it’s mainly Kurt and Nick. But for the Keys, what we do is, for some rehearsals, like 30 minutes before a rehearsal we would have a perc session, where anyone who wants to perc or learn perc or just share sounds will come over and we all practice perc-ing. Like, I’m trying to learn perc. It’s a lot of fun.

So like, if you got good enough, would you do it in a song? Or would you do it in a song even if you weren’t that good at it yet?
If you weren’t that good in it, they probably wouldn't put you on there.

Who decides who does perc?
Oh, we just try it. We try out for the song. You don’t try out for the perc. We have Nick and Kurt. So if Nick gets too tired in a set, then Kurt would go for it. Then they have “their” song.

Why an arch?
Why do they sing in an arch? We can hear each other better. Any performance-wise you focus more on the soloist, I think.

When/Where do you perform?
We do a lot of things off campus. House parties, hospitals, stuff like that. I mean, when we toured California, we sang on the pier just for fun, got some money there. Wherever people hire us really. We sang at....what is that thing?....Salvation army once, yeah.

How much preparation is involved with performance?
If we don’t have a performance, its a lot more lax. But like two rehearsals before hand its like (hand clap) ‘Guys we have a rehearsal, I mean performance soon so let’s like step up our game, like ball.’ Um, and then like right before a performance we would meet up too.

So what are the biggest gigs for you guys? On campus stuff so you can show off? Or off campus stuff you’re getting paid for? What’s the highest intensity?
The highest intensity would probably be off campus. Because its like number of gigs outside of Brown that we do is just a lot more. I wish we could do more arch sings honestly. I’m going to bring that up in the group. I don’t see why we don’t do more.

Whats the most important part of performing? Putting on a show? The quality of the music? Connecting with fans?
The Keys really focus on quality and blending and sounding good. Because we have our “bops.” I mean, of course we try to entertain like, the audience, because we want them to want to be there. So it’s like “smile more, get energy and all hyped up.” Connecting with the fans, definitely, we try that a lot. Like sometimes it goes with the music style as well. When you’re doing jazz you obviously can’t go like, all over. Yeah.

Drunken arch sings? Is this ok?
I mean, we haven’t had an official drunk arch sing. But a lot of us get drunk before an arch sing. Like last night we had a bottle around where everyone was just, like...partaking from. We haven’t had like a full-out drunk one. Like I think the Bears had one for Halloween or something.

How does the group dynamic change during performance?
We definitely connect more. There’s so much more energy when you’re performing with an audience. I mean, everyone wants to entertain people. Everyone gets all hyped up, energy, and we look at each other in a funny way. We all have fun. It’s good.

Do you attend other groups’ performances? How do you judge them? Do you use their performances as a way of modifying and improving your own?
I do go to a lot of groups performances. Judge? I think we definitely judge them more because we’re in an a cappella group so we know what goes into each performance. So we would probably analyze a performance more than other audiences. And from that we would like, learn things from them. We try to learn from each other.

What are your favorite venues to perform in? On campus or off? Arch sings or big concerts?
I love arch sings. Like, last night was my first arch sing. It was so much fun. Like, I really wish I could do more of those. That would be my favorite.

How do you get paying gigs?
We have a business manager. I’m going to be the business manager next year actually. So anyways, um, I think we have a loyal customer base that asks us every year. Like Salvation Army, stuff like that. And they pay us for their parties.

Who would you say your main fanbase is?
I don’t know. People. A cappella people and theatre people. Because we have a lot of people in theatre in the Keys. And they’re just friends. Like, friends. It’s friends from everywhere.

Is it true that girls are better fans of a cappella? Does this make male a cappella groups more popular on campus?
I think it totally does. Which....I feel like...I think....A lot of girls just go crazy when they see an all-male a cappella group because they’re just having fun.

So do you normally have more girls at your arch sings than guys?
Well....Coed a cappella group...Yeah, I guess we do have more girls. Um...I don’t see a lot of guys interested in a cappella if they’re not in theatre.

How does the age of your group affect your fanbase (for example, with alumni relations and overall recognition in the collegiate a cappella scene)
I’m going to say yes, it totally does. The older your group...but then there are also exceptions. Like, the Bears are pretty new...they’re from 1990 something. We have a very tight alumni network, but I think it goes around every four years. Like after four years after graduation, you probably just like, get away.

How do you get people to come to shows? What’s the best way to get in touch with your fans?
Facebook. Posters. Telling your friends. That’s pretty much it.

A ca-stalking. Does it exist? Are these people equivalent to rock band groupies?
Yes. Josh Chu fans. And like, yeah.

What are common stereotypes of each type of group? How are these manifested or broken in your own experience?
A male group is like probably like pretty bro-ish. Like “oh what's up.” “How was.....” “Oh look, hat girl is pretty cute, you could totally go for her.” That’s like what I see in the Jabberwocks honestly. Bears are like that too, just having a lot of fun. Girl groups, I don’t really know about that, so I can’t talk about that. Coed groups, there’s more love. Or at least they show the love. Like “Hug!”

There is a rumor that all male groups get the most attention. Do you feel this? Is there any animosity towards a particularly gendered group
Yeah, I think it’s true. Not animosity, but like, I’m sure, sometimes we wish...I don’t know. They don’t have to work as hard as the rest of us do. I mean, female groups, coed groups, we really have to work really hard on blending, whereas guys...it comes easy.

How do gender relations affect group dynamics?
I think within the group? Girls and guys...definitely less competition. But also the chemistry just works for us. It’s sort of like a family. Whereas if you were just like with guys, it’s just like “bros.” I....I don’t know how to put it in words.

Is there animosity between the all female groups? All male groups? Do you feel any competition with Harmo because you’re the two coed groups on campus?
Well there are other ones like With One Voice, and um...Brown....not Brownstones, sorry. Shades of Brown. There are like 4 coed groups. But we don’t really feel competition. We should feel a lot of competition with Harmo but...I don’t think we do. I don’t know why. Though I feel like amongst the other groups, we don’t really compete with them. I feel like you [Chattertocks] don’t really compete with the guys groups either, you’re really amongst the girl groups who compete.

Do you feel any competition between other members of your group?
I mean definitely. There are the tenors who can always sing the songs. And then sometimes an arrangement comes and it’s like Oh My Gosh, it’s actually in my range! So I’m going to try out for it. But sometimes a tenor’s going to get it because they just feel more comfortable.

So what do you sing? What part?
I sing...I auditioned as a base. But now I’m a Tenor II.

How does recording work? How is recording different from other processes within the group?
Well, I haven’t been in the recording studio yet, so I don’t really know about it.
We all go to the studio together, but each person is recorded separately, so you get to hear what everyone really sounds like. I heard about this: someone gets dropped from like, a recording just because they’re not like, working well. Those things you don’t really notice during an all group performance.

Do you go on tour? How does tour affect the group dynamic? Did you get really close?
Yeah. I think it’s absolutely imperative that all groups like, go on tour. Do you guys go on tour?

Yeah we do. Major bonding.
Major bonding. Like, I think before going on tour, I felt like “Hmmm, am I really part of this group? Do people really like me?” But afterwards, it’s just like...everyone loves each other. Yeah.

How do the ages of the members affect how they interact towards each other?
I mean we have....we’re called “Baby Keys.” So we have that going on. But it’s really a family thing. I don’t think there’s competition as in like, what is it....seniority wise. As in, everyone has equal standing when it comes to the group. So like, during auditions for like, the Spring, if a Baby were to totally not like one person, that would be the same thing as a senior not liking that person.

Does Intra-group dating happen?
Keycest? I’ve heard it happens. Right now there’s a Key relationship. I’d like to see how that goes.

I know on your preference cards you rate the groups you audition for. Has it ever happened that someone’s choices have been revealed, and does that affect the group dynamic?
I don’t know if animosity happens or anything. I know that they will find out about your rankings if you don’t get into the group, because when you call them back, like if you don’t get any a cappella, they basically hand you their preference card because it has their number on it. So you can totally see the ranking. I don’t know what happens with that honestly.

Smoldering Soldering: A True "Fusion"

I bound up the steps of Brown University’s Pembroke campus, clinging to my coat to shield myself from the cold. I walk up to Alumni Hall and immediately hear strains of hip hop music blasting from a closeby speaker. I survey the crowd. They don’t look particularly “hip hop” in any way that I think of it. They are laughing and chattering students, shifting around in their plastic chairs, waiting patiently for the show to start. The lights are bright in Alumni hall, and the plush red curtains, chandeliers, and gold pipe organs seem to be incongruous with the rap music flowing through the air. I take a seat, wondering if anyone is curious why I am sitting alone and furiously scribbling at my notebook. At two minutes of eight, I see bare feet scampering under the stage curtain. The lights flicker clumsily on and off and then go completely black. The Fusion dance concert is about to begin.

When I planned to attend the Fusion Dance Company’s 26th annual show, I was expecting an evening of hip hop style music and dance. What I found, however, was a true fusion of different dance styles, genres of music, and performers. I knew two of the dancers in the show. Though these associations made it harder for me to be a completely objective observer, I tried to put my connections with the group aside to look at the show from a broader angle. The Fusion dance show was able to portray the “socially mediated patterns of kinetic energy” McClary described in her article, and I became convinced that dance is a physical expression of “the music itself.”

My friend from Brown theatre convinced me to buy a ticket to the Fusion show. At every rehearsal for Cabaret, she would announce that she was selling Fusion tickets, and that we should buy them soon before they sold out. I was confused why tickets to a show solely promoted by the performers themselves would sell out so quickly. Then I saw the table slips. For the week leading up to the show, Fusion put out slips on every table at every dining hall. Like a cross between a Pokemon Card and an Ipod commercial, each slip depicted a different dancer completely colored in black in the midst of a complex move and included a fun fact about the performer it displayed. These eye catching table slips combined multiple forms of mass media that are easily relatable. Fusion went one step further by making their own online commercial to promote the show. The commercial, available on Youtube, shows Fusion members dancing in different locations on Brown’s campus, attractive to the Brown Student because it depicts recognizable locations, and accessible to people outside of the Brown community because of Youtube’s popularity. The banner hanging above Faunce arch was yet another promotional device.





Based on the extensive promotion that Fusion did, I expected a diverse crowd at the show. Perhaps it was because it was a Thursday, but the crowd seemed to be composed of mostly students. There was a relatively even mix of boys and girls. What struck me most was that the crowd displayed the type of diversity I see walking from one side of campus to another. Many came with backpacks, wore clothing that would be seen daily on a Brown student, and spoke about schoolwork and campus life. They seemed to have no particular group affiliation: they did not all dress like stereotypical fans of Hip Hop music, they did not all seem to be dancers (though I heard one girl mention her Mande Dance class, an emic dance term), and I only recognized a few from the Brown theatre and a cappella scenes. They were probably the friends of the dancers from various walks of life. The crowd was also multicultural. Fusion prides itself on being a multiethnic group, so it makes sense that its audience would be of mixed race. The crowd was subdued before the show began but came to life when a Fusion member walked on the stage asking for “interactive audience” who would “let [her] hear it” if they liked something they saw. The crowd eagerly followed her instructions. Whenever someone in the audience saw a dancer (presumably their friend) enter, calls of “YEAH (name)!” pervaded the space. The audience cheered when the dancers did a difficult move. They laughed when a joke was made, such as when a male danced to the lyrics “a diva is a female version of a hustler.” Long, dark pauses between pieces were cut by whistles and exclamations like “GET IT FUSION!” Soon, the audience started to mock their own behavior by screaming “Yeah dancing!,” “Yeah audience!,” and then “Yeah (random noun)!” At intermission, I was able to gage audience reaction to the concert. “I got chills in two of [the pieces],” said one girl to another. Many of the people in the audience seemed to know each other, as they got out of their seats to greet friends. There were a few older people present, probably family members or teachers. When the Student Director of the company came out to give thank yous, she extended her gratitude to family members who had traveled long distances to see the show. I can ascertain that this concert was perhaps the biggest event of the year for Fusion. Though I sat scribbling in a notebook for the majority of the show, no one seemed to notice my presence as an observer, aside from when I shone my cellphone light on my notebook during blackouts. I seemed to fit into the scene just fine, though I was one of the only people sitting alone. I even found myself screaming “YEAH LIZ!” when my friend walked onto the stage.

One of the most miraculous things about the Fusion dance concert was its ability to bring “the music itself” to life. There were three ways in which it was manifested: lights, costumes, and dance. Lighting shifted as the song did. In a medley of songs with driving hip hop beats, the lights flashed from red to yellow quickly on the drum. Often, blue lighting was used for slower and smoother songs while red lighting was used for more beat driven tunes. These contrasting colors highlighted the mood that each piece of music emitted. Costume was also used for this purpose. In hip hop pieces, the dancers wore street clothes, attire common to hip hop performers. For slower pieces with a more alternative sound, dancers wore dresses that flowed with the lyrical music. Most importantly, of course, was the dance. From the pieces presented, I got a sense that Fusion is truly a fusion of every dance style. The more mellifluous pieces with lighter instrumentals and smoother melody lines leant themselves to a balletic dance style with gentler movements and rounded body shapes. Music with heavier beats had sharper, more robotic movements that changed with the beat of the drum. Some pieces had choreography based on the lyrics. One piece entitled “Vegetable Car” felt more like a piece of theatre than a piece of dance, as both the words and the choreography told the story of a boy and girl falling in love. The choreography, no matter what it was based on, brought the music to life such that its audience awarded the concert a standing ovation.

I went to the Fusion Dance Company’s 26th annual show expecting a hip hop dance concert. What I discovered was a survey of different genres of music as expressed through different styles of dance. The group’s clever promotional devices brought a wide range of people to the show. The audience was willing to respond to what they saw and paid particular interest to their friends on stage. Finally, the performative elements of the show made tangible the emotion and beats of the music, bringing it to life in a way that only a dance concert could. I believe that through attending dance concerts, we as musical consumers and scholars will get closer to finding the music itself.

1358 words

Critical Review: “Fear of (and Fascination with) a Black Planet” by David Hayes

In his article Haye’s discusses the complex relationship between rap music, black identity, and white culture. Although rap music began as, and continues to be, an African-American style of music, white interest in rap and the lifestyle associated with it have propelled rap into the mainstream such that it is now consumed by suburban white youth as well as blacks in the inner city.

In order to do research on white fans of rap in suburban communities, Hayes studied a rural Ontario town called Scottsville in 2003. Scottsville is a town with no real visible racial diversity and the majority of its inhabitants display “small town values” and reject urbanity. Scottsville inhabitants also tend to display a fear of outsiders, though they perceive themselves as a site of diversity.

Within Scottsville is a group of youths who break from the typical white culture by listening to rap music and adopting a “rap” lifestyle. They mimic the attitudes of blacks as portrayed to them by the mass media and think of themselves as more worldly than their peers, though they had seldom traveled beyond Scottsville.

There are inherent problems with these teens’ fascination with rap culture. Firstly, they are enthralled by the auras of defiance displayed by rappers meant to communicate resilience in the face of a systematic racism. Next, their interest stems from a fascination with people who are different and “exotic.” These youths also tend to use stereotyping in their interpretations, as many view all black people as embodiments of rap culture. As Hayes states, “through their rearticulations of black urban culture, these adolescents effectively disrupt locally constructed notions of white, rural youth identity but, in the process, reaffirm popular imaginations of black, urban youth as homogeneous subjects: street-smart, self-serving, and willing to resort to violence whenever necessary” (Hayes 68). Finally, in their quest to emulate rap icons, the Scottsville rap fans attempt to recreate black neighborhoods in Scottsville by “acting street” and fighting against members of authority. Still, there is an element of hypocrisy in this, as they are happy they don’t live in a community that is actually dangerous.

While Tupac is considered to be “authentic” because he raps about true stories from the streets, Snoop Dogg is criticized as a sellout because his new music focuses on his new lavish lifestyle as opposed to his old life of hardship. From this, Hayes could divulge that a rapper is considered “authentic” if he is able “to transport [people] to a landscape marked by misogyny, violence, crime, racism and other societal ills perceived to be endemic to (black) inner city life” (Hayes 71). Though white rap fans in Scottsville think of themselves as experts, they lack the resources to keep up with raps evolving nature. This was displayed by their sole mention of East and West coast rap, not any of the other centers that have recently emerged. Upon further research, however, Hayes realized that the Scottsville fans liked Coastal rap more because it was associated with the hardship of life in the inner city. In other words, they are attracted to rap because it portrays a world that seems more exciting than their own. Without a deeper understanding of the issues that significantly impact the residents of rap’s central locations, however, Scottsville youths reduce complex issues to a series of clichéd interpretations. One teen, for example, stated that racism no longer existed. He therefore believed blacks chose a violent lifestyle as opposed to being pushed into it (and thus did the same in his own life).

Still, when confronted with black rap fans in person, these white youths seem uneasy. Blacks in person are seen by these youths as dangerous. They also feel uncomfortable because they feel as if they’re stepping on a piece of black culture. When actually faced with black culture, one of the interviewees felt the need to retract back into white culture.

These teens are not only unable to successfully integrate into the black community, but they are marginalized by members of their own communities because they don’t act according to white codes. Non-rap fans also base ideas about rap off of mainstream media. They find rap to be a bad influence on their society. Blacks are viewed as violent, overly materialistic, and live in ghettos. Although their rap-positive peers also unintentionally expressed these same racist notions, they seemed to support these characteristics as opposed to condone them. They also think of rap as a form of music heavily promoted by the music industry. Most disturbing of all, white rural rap fans are labeled by non-fans as “whiggers” (white niggers). This term shows us the deeply entrenched racist roots of Canadian society. Non-fans think of the fans as embodiments of racist imagery, and therefore they are uncomfortable that the “inner city” has moved to their hometown. This opposition only gives white rap fans in Scottsville a sense of social identity and provides them a source of conflict for which rap’s themes of resistance can be applied.

Although white suburban interest in rap has the potential to lessen racism, the Scottsville rap fans must first overcome local perceptions of race that permeate Scottsville and inform themselves of rap’s social contexts.

Discussion Question: How would Scottsville residents feel about white rappers such as Eminem? Is Eminem viewed as legitimate within the black community?