Rap's critique of police brutality in the 1980s. The Hip Hop
Political Convention. The rise (and fall) of Kwame Kilpatrick, the
"hip-hop mayor" of Detroit. Barack Obama echoing the body
language of Jay-Z on the campaign trail.
A
growing number of black activists and artists claim that rap and
hip-hop are the basis of an influential new urban social movement.
Simultaneously, black citizens evince concern with the effect that
rap and hip-hop culture exerts on African American communities.
According to a recent Pew survey conducted on the opinions of Black
Americans, 71 percent of blacks think that rap is a bad influence. To
what extent are African American hopes and fears about hip-hop's
potential political power justified? In Stare in the Darkness,
Lester K. Spence answers this question using a blend of neoliberal
analysis, survey data, experiments, and case studies.
Spence
finds that rap does in fact influence black political attitudes.
However, rap also reproduces rather than critiques neoliberal
ideology. Furthermore, black activists seeking to create an
innovative model of hip-hop politics are hamstrung by their reliance
on outmoded forms of organizing. By considering the possibilities
inherent in the most prolific and prominent activities of hip-hop
politics, Stare in the Darkness reveals, in a clear and
practical manner, the political consequences of rap culture for black
publics.