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Abstract: Hip hop provides an arena in which Blacks and Chicanos exchange culture, ideas, and intimacies and create new identities and cultural practices. An examination of rap lyrics can give us a measure of how these groups of workingclass men understand masculinity and how similar their conceptions of ideal manhood are with each other as well as with the U.S. hegemonic masculine ideal. An analysis of lyrics to popular rap music from 1990 to 2002 shows that these rap artists both challenge and affirm the dominant constructs of male power and privilege. Through historical analysis we develop a framework for understanding why they often affirm hegemonic masculinity and argue for the need to develop an "alternative" masculinity.
Keywords: Black; Chicano; rap; masculinity; gender; race; class; intercultural exchange
T his study examines how Black and Chicano rap artists aid in the reinforcement of Black and Brown masculinity through rap lyrics. In order to contribute to the understanding of Black and Chicano definitions of masculinity, we examine the lyrics to two hundred popular rap songs. The analysis of lyrics to popular rap music from 1990 to 2002 shows how Black and Chicano rap artists both challenge and affirm the dominant construct of male power and privilege. We argue that an alternative construct of masculinity is needed to dismantle hegemonic masculinity and be more inclusive of a complex construction of masculine identity inclusive of race, class, and gender.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The manner in which these rap artists perform masculinity is reflective of gender socialization in low-income Black and Brown communities. Given their racialized and marginalized status in U.S. society, their common class experience and their growing proximity to and familiarity with each other, we examine how rap lyrics: demonstrate a common understanding of the ideal man, demonstrate how these two groups of men differ in their cultural capital thus definitions of their gendered self, and ultimately how these definitions approximate the hegemonic model of manhood.
In an increasingly multiethnic and multiracial world cultural sites such as hip hop provide an arena in which Blacks and Chicanos exchange culture, ideas, and intimacies and create new identities and cultural practices. The examination of Chicano and Black rap lyrics can give us a measure of how these groups of lowincome...