Tricia Rose; A Style No One Can Deal With

Some Things I Understand:

Rose's thesis statement is that "hip-hop is an Afro-diasporic cultural form which attempts to negotiate the experiences of marginalization, brutally truncated opportunity and oppression within the cultural imperatives of African-American and Carri bean history, identity and community" (Rose, 1). Although this is a mouthful, I think that she is saying that hip-hop is an African-American art form that expresses the experiences of racism, degradation and frustration over lack of opportunities. She explains that hip-hop is an black urban renewal that came from the destruction of low-income homes in New York City that caused extreme inequalities between the wealthy and the poor.
South Bronx, the dubbed 'home of hip-hop culture' bore the brunt of the destruction of low-income homes during the 1970s, the start of hip-hop culture. Because of city planner Robert Moses, over 60,000 Bronx homes were destroyed. This caused landlords to sell to slumlords, or torch their buildings for insurance money, shopkeepers selling their shops and intensified economic, political and social inequalities. During the black-out riot 0f 1977, South Bronx became a symbol for America's problems, giving youth the over-pervasive message that "to be stuck here was to be lost." According to Rose, hip-hop emerged as a new identity and status for a youth that no longer had traditional support systems.

Some Things I don't Understand:
1. Rose did not discuss why so many rap lyrics are so negative. She briefly discusses that hip-hop culture is a confrontational culture, but this does not explain the extreme misogyny in many lyrics. This could be because it was written in 1994, so perhaps lyrics were not as offensive.
2. What does she mean "post-industrial?" I take this to mean that many companies ship overseas and many have moved to the suburbs, but I am not sure
3. I did not know about the relocation process. I want to know how this can possibly be legal to take away people's homes. I will bring this point in class.

Connections to Other Course Themes:
1. Although Prensky does not discuss social class in "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" we discussed this topic in great detail in class. In discussing technology, the ability to afford a computer is important in who is a "digital native" or "digital immigrant." According to Prensky, students now "think and process information fundamentally differently..." with the experiences that technology provides. This relates to Rose because it shows how social class can create a culture. The culture of hip-hop rose out of a tradition of "brutally truncated opportunity." Likewise, the digital culture rose out of a prosperity that allowed many young people to afford computers, games and cell phones.