NishantMysore

C09

5/2/16

Strom

TheEffectsofMusiconCulture
Music,art,literature,andothercreativeexpressionsaremanifestationsofculture.They

giveinsightintothetensionsthatsocietyexperiencedatagivenpointintime.Byanalyzingthese
pieceswecanseetheirimportanceastoolstospreadinfluence,raiseawareness,orsupportor
overthrowideologies.ThesongsLandlord,byJoshuaWhite,andTheMessageby
GrandmasterFlash,aretwopiecesofmusicthatcommentonthetensionsintheirrespectivetime
periods,the1930sandthe1980s.Throughtheirhistorical,social,andideologicalcontextsand
formalelements,bothsongsplayauniqueroleindefiningthecultureoftheireras.
ThewriterandlyricsofthesongLandlordplayakeyroleinconnectingthesongtoits
contextandcontributetothecultureofthetime.ThesongLandlordwaswritteninthecruxof
thegreatdepression.Itprimarilycommentsontheeconomichardshipthatlandlordstake
advantageofduetotheiraccesstopropertyandgreedformoney.Additionally,racialsegregation,
alsoknownasJimCrowwasespeciallyprevalentduringthistimeperiod.Thewriter,Joshua
White,isAfricanAmerican.Thisshowsthatheisatadisadvantageraciallyduetodominant
ideologiessuchasJimCrowandwhitesupremacy,whichwereinherentlyunequalandracist.
Coupledwiththegreatdepression,thesedominantideologiesfurtherrestrictedpeopleofcolor
andputtheminanalmostinescapablesituation.Forexample,livingconditionsarefarbelow
standard,whichcanbeseenfromthefirstlines,Paintpeelin'offmywalls/Dirtpilin'inthe
hall/Iceonthepipes,butnosteamatall(JoshuaWhite).Usingthepreviousquoteaboutthe

terriblelivingconditionsofhousing,wecanunderstandthatthehousingthatWhiteisarguing
againstisspecifictopeopleofcolorduetothesegregationlaws.Thisstructuralinequalityin
housingwasamajorcontradictionofJimCrow,asfacilitiesforpeopleofcolorwereofmuch
poorerqualitythanfacilitiesforwhitepeople,thoughsupposedtobeequalbyconstitutionallaw.
Inaddition,Whitesings,Hesays,"I'mgonnaraiseyourrentoneday/Kickyououtifyoucan't
pay(White).Whitesuggeststhatthelandlordschargedextremelyhighratesduetothegreed
andpowerthattheirlandgivesthem,whichbecameunaffordable.Thegreatdepressionhad
alreadylaidoffmillionsofpeopleandfounditverydifficulttomakemoneyinordertopayfor
basicnecessities.Theindividualswhoareforcedtoliveintheslumsthatthelandlordscontrolled
werealreadyatthebottomoftheclasshierarchy,soitcanbeseenthatthelandlordwastaking
advantageofthesepeople(specificallycoloredpeople)forhisownprofit.Thisisintersectionality
becausethepeoplewhowerecompletelybeingtakenadvantageofwereatthebottomofboththe
racialhierarchyandtheclasshierarchy,andthereforehadalmostnowaytoescape.Theywere
beingkeptinunjustsituationsandusedforprofit.JoshuaWhiteusesthissongtospreadthe
messageabouttheintersectionalstrugglesthatcertainindividualsmustface,andasacallto
actionforallaffectedbythisinjustice.WhitesaysC'monneighborslet'sgetwise/Wecanlick
thesegreedyguys/Allyagottadoisorganize/(White).Thisisimportantbecauseheuseshis
musicasawaytorallyagainsttheunfairpowerthatthelandlordsholdoverhisfellowcolored
people.Additionally,Whiteoffersahighlyeffectivesolution,asithassucceededbeforein
situationssuchastheBreadandRosesstrikeof1912.Thesongcontributestothecultureofthe
timeperiodbecauseitcontainsanaccuraterepresentationofthestrugglesacertaingroupofthe

populationisforcedtoface,andbyofferingapotentialfixtotheirproblems.Byincorporating
thestrugglesofthesepeopleintohismusic,Whitehascapturedtheirthoughts
andemotions,usedhispowerofmusictospreadinfluenceandawareness,andhasensuredthat
theirdifficultieswillnotbeforgotten.
Furthermore,thelyricsandtitleofthehiphopsongTheMessageareimportantin
helpingtodefinethehistoricalperiodandcultureoftheera.GrandmasterFlashandtheFurious
FiveproducedTheMessageduringRonaldReagan'spresidency.Reaganfurtheredthewaron
drugs,targetingpeopleofcolorwithmassincarcerationthroughmandatoryminimums.Dueto
theendofthecoldwar,capitalismreturnedthroughReaganintheformofneoliberalismasa
dominantideology.Thisideologyloweredtaxesontherichandofferedalmostnosupporttothe
poor,whichcausedthelowerclasstogetpoorerandtheupperclasstogetricher.Inthe
environmentthepoorwerein,theonlywaytomakeasustainablemoneywithoutaneducation
wastoresorttotheillegalactivitywhichcreatedaneverendingcycle.Thisismentionedinthe
lyricsasAndyou'llwannagrowuptobejustlikethem/Huh,smugglers,scramblers,burglars,
gamblers/Pickpocketpeddlers,evenpanhandlers(Flash).Flash,ablackman,isexplaininghow
manycoloredneighborhoodswereforcedtoresorttoillegalactivityduetotheeconomicwealth
gap.Theironlywaysofmakingmoneywereallmorethanlikelyputtheminprison,andthe
structuralinequalitiesinschoolspreventedthemfromachievingahighschooldegree,and
consequentlyalegaljob.Thoughslaveryisoutlawed,peopleofcolorweretargetedandherded
intoprisons,forcedtoworkunconditionallyandparticipateinmassincarcerationinordertokeep
theprofitseekingprisonsystemalive.Thiscontradictoryactionisslaveryinallbutname.Itcan
beseenthatjustlikeinLandlord,thereisanintersectionalitybetweenclassandrace.Flash

bringsattentiontothefactthatpeopleatthebottomoftheclasshierarchyandracialhierarchyare
extremelydisadvantaged,andthatthesysteminplacetakesadvantageofthisintersectionalityfor
profit.Flashadditionallyshowsthedifficultyofthisintersectionalitythroughhischorusas,
Don'tpushme'causeI'mclosetotheedge/I'mtryingnottolosemyhead,haha/It'slikeajungle
sometimes,itmakesmewonderhowIkeepfromgoin'under(Flash).Thefirstandsecondlines
indicatehowtheintersectionalityputsindividualsaffectedbyitatthebottomlevelofsociety.
Theyarebarelyabletosurviveandmakeendsmeet,letalonehaveanyformofeconomic
security.Additionally,thejungleinthethirdlineistheintersectionaloppressionthataffects
coloredneighborhoods.Flashisusingthewordjungleinordertoimplythatonemustfightto
survive,andbringtheimageofnaturalselectionintoplay.Theoneswhoaretheweakestarenot
abletosurvive.Finally,thetitleofthesongisimportantbecauseFlashusesthesongtosenda
messagetotheworldaboutthehopelesssituationmanypeoplearein.Throughhishiphop
music,Flashisarepresentativeofthepeopleaffectedbythesecircumstancesanduseshismusic
inordertoexplaintheirplightandcreateakeycomponentofthe1980sculturethatwillnotbe
forgotten.
Theformalelementsofbothpiecesofmusiccanbeseentohavesimilarlyinfluencedthe
cultureoftheirrespectiveeras.Throughjuxtaposition,itcanbeseenthatbothsongsareusedto
fightagainstthecontradictionsformedbytheintersectionalitiesofclassandrace.Bothwriters
arecoloredandusetheirmusicinordertotalkaboutthesystematicoppressionthatthepeopleof
theirraceface.ItisinterestingtonotethattheJimcrowsegregationoppressionofthe30s,
thoughabolishedbythecivilrightsactof1964,returninthe1980sthroughmassincarceration.
Theresidualideologiesofwhitesupremacyareshowntostillhaveaneffectalmostfiftyyears

later.RayWilliams,authorofMarxismandLiterature,saysAresidualculturalelementis
usuallyatsomedistancefromtheeffectivedominantculture,butsomepartofit,someversionof
itandespeciallyiftheresidueisfromsomemajorareaofthepastwillinmostcaseshavehadto
beincorporatediftheeffectivedominantcultureistomakesenseintheseareas(Williams123).
ItcanbeexplainedthatthesamedominantideologiesthatWhitefoughtagainstinthe30swere
incorporatedintohegemonicinstitutionsasresidualideologies.Duetotheculturalrepresentation
thatthesongspresent,wecanseetheplightofpeopleofcolorassimilarbothbeforeandafterthe
civilrightsact.Moreover,itcanbeseenthattheeconomicstateinbothtimeperiodsissimilar.
Manypeoplewerepoorbecauseofthegreatdepressionofthe30s,andmanypeoplewerepoor
becauseoftheenlargingwealthgapunderReaganinthe80s.Bothwritersareabletousethe
formalelementsoftheirmusicinordertobringattentiontotheeconomicandracialproblemsof
therepressed.Byanalyzingeachsongscontributiontothecultureoftheera,wecanseethat
muchofthesocialreformthathasbeendoneinthetimegaphasbeenineffective,andhasleft
peopleofcolorstillfightingforthesamethings.Bothsong'scontributiontocultureshowthat
moremustbedoneinordertoprovideracialandeconomicequality.
Lastly,theformalelementsinthemusicshowacontrastbetweentheculturesofbothtime
periods.ThesongLandlord,withonlyguitarandvoice,canbeclassifiedasfolkmusic.The
Message,however,containsfunkytechnobeatsthatareincorporatedthroughoutthesong,andis
arepresentationofthehiphopcultureofthe80s.Thus,thedifferencesininstrumentsandstyle
ofmusichelptodefinethedifferentcultureseachsongrepresent.Moreover,bothpiecesofmusic
havedifferentwaysofspreadingtheirmessage.ThefolkstylebyJoshuaWhitecanbeviewedas
oralstorytelling,andtheideawasthatthesongwouldspreadthroughliveperformancesfor

friendsandfamily,creatingadeepmeaningforthesong.Alternatively,TheMessagewouldbe
spreadthroughradioandtelevision,allowingformorewidespreadexposure,buthavealess
powerfulmeaning.Itcanbeseenthatthedifferenceintechnologyusedtospreadthemusic
wouldhavesignificantlydifferenteffectsinthemeaningofthepiecesofmusic.Thedifferences
intheformalelementsareimportantbecausetheyshowthechangeinculturethatoccurredas
new,emergentideologiesoverthrewthedominantones.Byanalyzingthetwosongssidebyside,
itisveryapparentthatthereisaculturalshiftoverthetimeperiodthatelapsed.Theunique
culturalrepresentationthatmusicprovidescanshowtheprogressandtensionsofhumanity,and
isaresourcewecanlookbacktoaswefurtherourrace.
Inconclusion,thesongsLandlordandTheMessagecanbeviewedasaccurate
representationsofthecultureattheirrespectivetimeperiods.Thehistoricalcontextand
ideologiesbehindthemusicinfluencethestyle,formalelements,andthemesofthemusic,which
inturninfluencetheculture.Onecanseethatthesecomponentsindirectlyformthecontextfor
thecultureofsociety.Thecultureinthetwotimeperiodsisverydifferent,andyetbyanalyzing
themusicsidebyside,itcanbeseenthatmanyofthesameproblemsstillexistyetindifferent
forms.Creativeexpressionscangiveinsightintoourculturalpast,andbydoingso,allowusto
createabetterfuture.

WorksCited:
Williams,Raymond.MarxismandLiterature.Oxford:OxfordUP,1977.Print.
White,Joshua.Landlord.N.d.MP3.
Flash,Grandmaster.TheMessage.N.d.MP3.