Jay Z and 50 face off after the Kanye fall out continues. Jay Z makes the comment that if 50 was stage when Kanye came up he still would’ve did the same thing because “Ain’t no one scared of 50.” This of course started a whole “battle of words” between the two artists. 50 couldn’t just sit and let Jay Z talk about him, right? 50 had to get back and protect his name, right? Or was it deeper than that? Is a man’s name all he really has? You can read that article here.

What is even more an issue here is the hyper male posturing that continues to dominate Hip Hop, but even more, give young males the idea that to “be a man” you need to call someone out. Manhood representations in Hip Hop are looked at in one of several ways:

• Representing
• Maintaining your own
• Power
• “Providing” for your woman
• Being tough
• Avoiding face loss

These main taxonomies of manhood are boiled down to showing out and proving your manhood in an environment where many males are trying to find their selves and their manhood. The 50 and Jay Z thing is just one example of this ongoing hyper male posturing.

But, as usual, let’s go a little deeper. Did Hip Hop start this? Did Hip Hop begin this “gender war?” I would say unequivocally no. This is something that goes deep into the social DNA and fabric of the U.S. Michael Eric Dyson states, “When you think about American society, the notion of violent masculinity is at the heart of American identity.” Hyper male posturing is seen in:

 

 

• John Wayne Westerns where he kills the bad guy and “wins”
• Any Rambo film
• The cultural significance and connection of cars to manhood (e.g. the cool guy always has the cool car)
• Dirty Harry and the Clint Eastwood construct of manhood
•  Any Arnold Schwarzenegger film from the 80’s that deal with war
• Chuck Norris…need I say more?
• The ongoing film saga that illustrates men losing their entire family, then carving a path of death to “get even”
• Old Testament renditions of God as an O.G. who kicks ass

Hip Hop does nothing but mirror an even larger problem of gender role problems that this country had long before rap music showed up!
Hyper male posturing is as American as hamburgers and French fries. These male posturing frameworks get broken down into several simple masculine traits:

• Being tough
• Protecting women
• Power
• Being the “provider”
• Controlling you environment

Once again, it stands to reason why a cat like 50 wants to get back and let Jay Z know he ain’t no punk. Therefore, our young see this and begin to construct, from a very young age, that being a man is about being tough, getting respect at all costs, and being “real.” In HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, author Kevin Powell says, “We live in a society where manhood is all about conquering and violence…. And what we don’t realize is that ultimately that kind of manhood ultimately kills you.” Add in the element of race, class, and the displacement of young urban males of color and we have a matrix of masculinity that is very complex and almost disturbing. We have some work before us, this new generation of urban males are struggling to fit in, in a world that says yo have to be one way to be a man.

My hope is that we can begin to educate a few to break away from this narrow scope of what a man “should be.”


Catch up, read Pt 1 & Pt 2 of this series...