The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop Culture and Black Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United States

University of Denver University of Denver

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies

1-1-2011

The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop

Culture and Black Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United Culture and Black Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United

States States

Chris A. Robinson

University of Denver

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Robinson, Chris A., "The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop Culture and Black

Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United States" (2011).

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop Culture and Black The Effects of Commercialization on the Perception of Hip Hop Culture and Black

Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United States Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United States

Abstract Abstract

This thesis is examines how the perception of a sub-culture can be altered by a dominant culture.

Speci=cally this project addresses the effects resulting from the assimilation of Hip Hop Culture by

mainstream culture in the United States, and its subsequent use as a marketing tool. Because Hip Hop

Culture originated in Black Culture, the perception of Black Culture as re>ected by hip hop music is also

discussed. All of these themes are addressed creatively through a narrative script project.

Document Type Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name Degree Name

M.A.

Department Department

Mass Communications

First Advisor First Advisor

Rodney Buxton, Ph.D.

Second Advisor Second Advisor

Kim Axline

Third Advisor Third Advisor

Diane Waldman

Keywords Keywords

Black, Commercialization, Film, Hip hop, Music, Sub-culture

Subject Categories Subject Categories

Communication | Critical and Cultural Studies | Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication

Publication Statement Publication Statement

This thesis is available at Digital Commons @ DU: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/554

The Effects of the Commercialization of Hip Hop Culture on the Perception of Hip Hop

Culture and Black Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United State

__________

A Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of Social Sciences

University of Denver

__________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

__________

Chris A. Robinson

June 2011

Advisor: Rodney Buxton

©Copyright by Chris A. Robinson 2011

Author: Chris A. Robinson

Title: The Effects of the Commercialization of Hip Hop Culture on the Perception

of Hip Hop Culture and Black Culture in Mainstream Culture in the United States

Advisor: Rodney Buxton

Degree Date: June 2011

Abstract

This thesis is examines how the perception of a sub-culture can be altered

by a dominant culture. Specifically this project addresses the effects resulting

from the assimilation of Hip Hop Culture by mainstream culture in the United

States, and its subsequent use as a marketing tool. Because Hip Hop Culture

originated in Black Culture, the perception of Black Culture as reflected by hip

hop music is also discussed. All of these themes are addressed creatively through

a narrative script project.

iii

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the faculty of the Department of Mass

Communication for their support and for their patience.

Table&of & Contents&

Project(Proposal..........................................................................................................1!

The(Roots(of(Hip(Hop(Culture .................................................................................8!

Hip(Hop(Finds(Commercial(Success................................................................... 17!

Hip(Hop(In(the(Mainstream(@(Late(80’s(Early(90’s......................................... 20!

Hip(Hop(In(the(Mainstream(the(Ice(Age(@(Late(90s........................................ 24!

The(Co@optation(of(Countercultures(by(the(Mainstream............................ 26!

Hip(hop(as(a(Marketing(Tool ................................................................................ 34!

Further(Effects(of(Commercialization(on(Hip(Hop(Culture ........................ 39!

Retaining(Sub@Cultural(Authenticity(in(Hip(Hop(Culture ........................... 43!

Film(Review ............................................................................................................... 48!

Thesis(Project:(Screenplay(Synopsis ................................................................. 58!

“A(HIP@HOP(CAROL”................................................................................................. 63!

Thesis(Report ..........................................................................................................108!

Project Proposal

I was first introduced to hip hop music by my older brother. He bought a

copy of of N.W.A.’s(Niggaz with Attitude) Straight Outta Compton, and played it

for me after school one day. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before. The radio

stations I had been exposed to played only heavy metal, oldies, classic rock, jazz

or R&B. The bass and the emcees’ cadence and rhymes drew me in instantly even

though I was too young to fully understand the lyrics. When my mother took the

cassette from my brother citing the use of profanity in the lyrics it was my first

experience with censorship. And so, hip hop music became even more alluring to

me because it was forbidden.

As I entered my teen years Gangsta Rap was at its peak and I listened to a

lot of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and the like. It was what I was

hearing on the radio, hearing about on the news, and seeing on MTV. In 8

grade

I discovered a different kind of hip hop music. A friend introduced me to A Tribe

Called Quest, De La Sol, Pharcyde, Public Enemy, and KRS One. Although these

groups have become iconic, at the time they did not get as much exposure in the

media as Gangsta Rap groups. While I appreciated Gangsta Rap’s intensity and

rugged style, De La Soul’s laid back demeanor and clever lyrics added a new

dimension to hip hop music I had never experienced. As I became more enamored

with the music I discovered that when most people talked about hip hop they were

only talking about Gangsta Rap. De La Soul addressed this disparity and set

themselves apart in their 1996 track The Stakes is High.

I'm sick of bitches shakin' asses

I'm sick of talkin' about blunts,

Sick of Versace glasses,

Sick of slang,

Sick of half-ass awards shows,

Sick of name brand clothes.

Sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks,

Cocaine and crack

Which brings sickness to blacks,

Sick of swoll' head rappers

With their sicker-than raps

Clappers and gats

Makin' the whole sick world collapse

The facts are gettin' sick

Even sicker perhaps

Stickabush to make a bundle to escape this synapse

In just one verse, De La Soul expresses their disgust with the content of popular

hip hop music at the time. The underlying theme of the track is that hip hop music

that has found commercial success in mainstream culture in the U.S. is leading

Hip Hop Culture and Black Culture in the wrong direction, that the core values

that hip hop was founded on have been deranged, and that the culture’s vitality is

in jeopardy. Thus the “stakes are high.”

In this thesis proposal I will discuss the history and evolution of Hip Hop

Culture in the U.S. and examine the influence of commercial success on Hip Hop

Culture. I have chosen to address this topic through a creative project rather than

through a traditional research paper.

My goal is to explore the contention that Hip Hop Culture is dead, based

on the belief that by achieving acceptance in mainstream U.S. culture, Hip Hop

Culture has lost its authenticity. With this in mind I would like to examine the

effects of the commercialization of hip hop on Hip Hop Culture, Black culture,

and mainstream United State’s culture through a narrative film. Among the

questions I would like to address within this film are: What happens to a sub-

culture when it is assimilated into a mainstream culture? Has Hip Hop Culture

been subverted by commercialism? How has the commercialization of Hip Hop

Culture affected the perception of Black Culture and Blacks’ self-perception in

the United States?

Although the film will be a critique of the subversion of Hip Hop Culture

by commercialization it will also be a celebration of the culture’s success and

influence on mainstream culture.

I believe a script is the best vehicle to accomplish this goal and to explore

the aforementioned issues for several reasons. Throughout this essay I will use the

term ‘authenticity’ to describe Hip Hop Culture at different stages of its

development. Although in exploring the application of the term in Hip Hop

Culture I will discuss several different definitions, the nature of the term remains

highly subjective. By using a narrative script I will be able to approach the term

from the perspective of several characters. This way I will be able to give the

competing ideologies that seek to determine authenticity in Hip Hop Culture

actual voices. Using a narrative film will also allow my audience to create their

own definition of authentic Hip Hop Culture. I believe this will generate

multifaceted discussion of the issue more effectively.

My decision to use a narrative film is also based on considerations

surrounding my target audience. Although I am writing this script 90% for my

own personal enjoyment, and 10% for the completion of my thesis requirement, it

has helped me to consider a hypothetical audience when making writing

decisions. I would have no qualms about selling the script if there was an interest

in it, but I do not aspire to make a career out of writing films. The audience I have

in mind for my film would be primarily males between the ages of 18 to 40.

Because the film is focused on Hip Hop Culture, it would presumably attract

young urban Black, Latino, and White moviegoers who have a connection with

the many different aspects of the culture.

At first it may seem that writing a script about the commercialization of

Hip Hop Culture by mainstream culture for a mainstream audience is

contradictory. However, as I will discuss in greater detail later in this proposal, I

believe that commercial success in mainstream U.S. culture can both harm and

benefit sub-cultural movements.

Additionally I would like to use my script to pay homage to the Hip Hop

film genre. I will discuss specific examples of Hip Hop films later in the proposal,

but for the purposes of this introduction I will focus on one of the traits that is

common to films in the genre here. One unique trait found in the Hip Hop film

genre is the blending of history with historical fiction. Often figures in the real

world of Hip Hop portray themselves of likenesses of themselves in film.

Eminem’s portrayal of the character Jimmy ‘B-Rabbit’ Smith in the film 8-Mile is

a poignant example that I will discuss in greater detail later in this essay. Actual

events are also retold through fictional accounts, as was the founding of Def Jam

Records as portrayed in the film Krush Groove.

In my own script several characters are based on real hip hop artists and

some events in the script are fictional accounts of actual events. The main

character of my film was inspired in part by hip hop artist, Kanye West, but is

meant to stand as a metaphor for the evolution of hip hop music. This would not

be the first time an artist has used an extended metaphor to personify hip hop

music. Most notably, Chicago based emcee Common used a woman to represent

hip hop in his song “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” using H.E.R. as an acronym for

Hearing Every Rhyme.

I might’ve failed to mention that the chick was creative

But once the man got to her, he altered the native

Told her if she got an image and a gimmick

That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy

Now I see her in commercials, she’s universal

She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle

Now she be in the burbs lookin’ rock and dressin’ hip

And on some dumb shit, when she comes to the city

Talkin about popin glocks, servin rocks, and hittin’ switches… (1994)

In his lyrics Common used personification to express his opinion that hip hop

music has changed for the worse in order to achieve financial success. Like

Common, I hope to use personification to create a deeper connection with my

audience while examining the effects of commercialization on Hip Hop Culture

Finally I would like to preview my approach to writing my script. I have

chosen to write my script as a remake of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Dickens’ classic tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser who having become

corrupted by greed, is given one last chance at redemption by reflecting on his

past and present, and by through a glimpse at his possible future.

I believe that Dickens’ classic is the perfect vehicle to explore the stages

of hip hop music’s historical development. In my script my main character Emcee

Duck will take on the role of Scrooge. I derived the character’s name from

Disney’s Scrooge McDuck, because I think the ridiculousness of the name is

comical, and because I hope to replicate in my main character some of Scrooge

McDuck’s greed and love of money as portrayed in the Disney cartoon Ducktales.

Emcee Duck will have to take a journey through three stages of hip hop music’s

development in order to finally find his redemption.

Using A Christmas Carol as a format will also serve two additional

purposes. First, because the story is a familiar part of mainstream U.S. culture my

target audience will be able to easily relate to the film. Secondly, the idea of

remaking a classic film synthesizes (replicates?) the creation of Hip Hop Culture.

Because hip hop music developed the practice of sampling (the act of using

previously recorded music as an instrument for making new music) I think it’s

only appropriate to remix a classic script to write a new film about hip hop.

Another issue that I address in exploring the effects of commercialization on Hip

Hop Culture is that the creation of meaning is shared by both the producer and

receiver of a message. I ask the question, who controls meaning in hip hop? More

directly, if mainstream culture directs the meaning of a sub-culture’s product, has

the sub-culture been subverted?

To begin to answer these questions and to continue to examine the

development of my script project it is important to begin by taking a look at the

history of Hip Hop Culture in the United States. Each era in hip hop history will

be represented by a stage in Emcee Duck’s growth as a hip hop artist.

The Roots of Hip Hop Culture

Hip Hop Culture began in the Bronx, New York in the late 1970’s.

(Jenkins, Wilson, 22) The roots of hip hop music reach back into the history of

the blues, jazz, and rock n’ roll. In the beginning hip hop music was the artistic

expression of the young Black and Latino inner city experience. Hip hop music

was created out of the culture’s poverty and hopelessness. Over a short amount of

time the sub-culture that evolved from the music has become an industry, and a

major influence on mainstream culture in the United States.

In my film I will reflect this rapid shift from grass roots movement to

mainstream industry through Emcee Duck’s own journey to fame and fortune.

Because my film takes place primarily in the present I hope to capture the scope

of Hip Hop Culture’s current influence on mainstream culture by setting the film

in L.A., a city that has become a Mecca for the grandeur and decadence that hip

hop music has come to embody.

Before examining Hip Hop Culture in further detail I believe it would be

helpful to reflect on the development and trajectory of another music based sub-

culture, the British Punk Sub-Culture. While I will not address Punk in my thesis

project I think a brief discussion of the Punk sub-culture will provide a valuable

comparison with the course of Hip Hop Culture.

Musically, hip hop and punk have opposite sounds, one relying on rhythm

and base, the other on treble and high energy guitar chords. However the two sub-

cultures share several similarities when comparing the youth movements that

fueled their creation. Like Hip Hop Culture, Punk began as a localized

phenomenon that eventually gained acceptance in the mainstream culture that its

early artists had railed against.

In exploring Punk Sub-Culture Dick Hebdige describes Barthes’ concept

of culture as “an ‘anonymous ideology’ penetrating every level of social life,

inscribed in the most mundane of rituals, framing the most casual social

encounters(Hebdige 11). Barthes’ ‘anonymous ideology’ is ascribed by

mainstream culture and is so pervasive that it is taken for granted as normal. Sub-

cultures arise when individuals living within the mainstream culture express the

contradictions of or revolt against the tenets of the anonymous ideology. The sub-

cultures take shape as they develop their own ideology which stands in opposition

to mainstream values. Members of the sub-culture place value on products that

reflect this opposition and finally, this restructuring results in the development of

style.

Punk and Hip Hop Sub-Culture arose in response or more specifically in

rebellion to their respective country’s dominant ideology at the time. Punks

revolted against Britain’s persistent class system, and frustration with

unemployment in an economic downturn in Britain (Hebdige 25). Hip Hop

Culture grew out of young urban Black’s and Latino’s frustration with poverty,

racial discrimination, and feelings of disenfranchisement in the United States.

Sub-Cultures gain momentum by assigning and reassigning meaning and

value to objects and rituals that stand in contrast with the values of mainstream

culture. Punk’s style reflects a mid-century British working class mentality and

stands in stark opposition to Glam rock, the music that was popular with

intellectuals at the time of Punk’s conception. In Punk, shredded clothes

symbolized the sub-culture’s disdain for the fashionable Glam Rock set that was

popular in the U.K. at the time. In Hip Hop Culture excessive gaudy jewelry has

come to symbolize a revolt against the prudent values associated with mainstream

culture in the U.S. Punk also incorporated aspects of Reggae’s political discourse.

Punk’s appropriation of music with African origins was also a rebellion because

of the negative connotation ascribed to Africans by White British society.

Like Punk, Hip hop music also began as a pastiche of popular musical

genres. Innovative DJs created the music at the center of Hip Hop Culture through

a process called sampling. The DJs sampled, or played only the hooks from

popular disco songs and looped them in order to play them back as a continuous

track. The hook was the part of the song that audiences waited for, so DJs cut out

the rest. The creative act of sampling changed and appropriated the sound of the

popular music of the time thus changing its meaning. Sampling in hip hop music

was more than just the means to create a new sound, it was also the means for

establishing the style that provided the sub-culture’s momentum.

A number of other different cultural elements came to exemplify Hip Hop

Culture. While the focus of my research on the commercialization of Hip Hop

Culture pertains to hip hop music, looking at other parts of the culture is

important to understanding the effects of commercialization on the culture as a

whole.

Breakers, also known as b-boys and b-girls, created a new dance style

based on the music. The first breakers converted street corners into dance studios

with only boomboxes and cardboard laid over concrete. With no money for other

forms of entertainment, breakers created their own dance style. Breakers’

formless style of dance defied classical dance. Like DJs breakers took bits and

pieces of popular dance styles and used them to create a new style all together.

Graffiti artists worked in clear defiance of mainstream culture because they broke

the law with each piece. Their art was also special because it was meant to be

seen by many and understood by few, thus creating a secret language within the

culture. Unlike pieces created on canvas graffiti was an ephemeral phenomenon

because it lasted only as long as it took for someone to remove it from its

unauthorized location. Hip hop DJs, emcees, breakers and graffiti artists existed

literally and figuratively outside the conventions of mainstream art and dance. As

a form of expression Hip Hop Culture was raw, unscripted, and rebellious.

Bombers, also known as taggers and graffiti artists, turned public spaces

like subway trains and empty walls into canvases. Some wanted to become

famous while others used graffiti to express their frustration with their lives. Still

others used graffiti to rebel against society. The act of appropriating a public

space was not only rebellious, but also illegal. The young Blacks and Latinos at

the center of the movement physically laid claim to their environment, taking

ownership of public property. Although this symbolic ownership was only

temporary it allowed them to assert at least some degree of control over their

environment.

As discussed earlier, DJ’s were the originators of hip hop music. Before

emcees became synonymous with rap they were masters of ceremony. Their main

function was to pick up the mic and hype up the crowd while the DJ, the

centerpiece of the show, spun records. Eventually emcees took the spotlight away

from DJs as they began to rap lyrics over the beats the DJs were producing. It is

difficult to pinpoint when this transition occurred, but emcees have become the

face of and the driving force behind mainstream hip hop music.

While all of these elements embody Hip Hop Culture I will only focus on

the role of hip hop music, specifically the role of the emcee in my thesis project.

Although I will attempt to address other elements of Hip Hop Culture through the

setting and style of the film, I think the role of the emcee has become the most

accessible part of the culture for mainstream audiences, and has been the most

criticized aspect of hip hop by the culture’s critics.

I hope to reflect the importance of the emcee in hip hop music through my

main character, Emcee Duck, but I also want to point to the emcee’s relative

insignificance in terms of the lifespan of the artist’s relevance in the mainstream

music industry.

Starting in the late ‘70s, Hip Hop Sub-Culture became a mainstay for

urban Black youth. Emcee’s, rap groups, and breakers performed at parties and on

street corners. DJs like Kool Herc and Afrika Bambata, the legendary “Godfather

of Hip Hop,” and founder of the Zulu Nation, organized block parties and

breaking competitions to provide urban youth with an outlet for expression and an

escape from the poverty and violence in the ghetto(Jenkins, Wilson 23). Up to this

point Hip Hop Sub-Culture was confined to the urban centers of New York City.

In 1979 the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight” became the first rap record to

become a top 40 hit(Jenkins, Wilson 19). The single’s success focused America’s

attention on this new form of music. In an instant, hip hop music and the sub-

culture surrounding it became commercially viable.

Just as with British Punk, when people discovered that they could make

money with hip hop, the quality and success of Hip Hop Culture’s products began

to be measured in terms of profitability. As hip hop music became a commercial

success the sub-culture became open to consumption and interpretation by a wider

audience. Profits increased with the number of people willing to buy hip hop

music, but were the artists generating the consumers or were the consumers

shaping the artists? Did the principles of supply and demand dictate the

development of Hip Hop Culture after the Sugarhill Gang?

In my film project I will use the supporting characters to illustrate this

quandary. Emcee Duck will feel responsibility towards his fans, his manager, his

record label, other artists and his wallet. He will reflect on decisions he made in

the beginning and middle of his career and face the outcomes of those decisions

when he gets a glimpse of his future. Throughout Duck’s journey he will have to

determine whether he’s remained authentic, whether he’s keeping it real.

In order for Emcee Duck to answer this question and in order to

understand how mainstream culture has affected Hip Hop Culture it is important

to understand the role authenticity plays in the commercial viability of hip hop

music. Because authenticity is a subjective term, defining anything, especially a

culture, as authentic or inauthentic presents a problem. In this essay and in my

thesis project the competing definitions of authenticity as applied to Hip Hop

Culture will illustrate how mainstream culture can change the ethos of a sub-

culture

In Hip Hop Culture, authenticity plays a unique role, in that it is in part

related to racial identity. This is a major distinction that separates other music

based sub-cultures like Punk from the Hip Hop Sub-Culture. Although Hip Hop

Culture has racially diverse roots, my analysis will focus on the effects of

commercialization in relation to Black Culture. I do not intend to belittle the role

that other ethnicities have played in Hip Hop Culture, but I believe mainstream

culture in the U.S. has attached Black stereotypes in particular to their definition

of authenticity in hip hop music.

Members of British Punk Sub-Culture identify with class stereotypes, but

because Hip Hop Culture originated in the urban Black community, authenticity

in the culture and its products is linked to race. Hip hop and race will always be

linked and in turn will be subject to mainstream culture’s perception of each as

inseparable. So in Hip Hop Culture authenticity is linked with what the

mainstream perceives as authentically Black and vice versa.

The Sugarhill Gang provides an illustration of this phenomenon.

Interestingly, the Sugarhill Gang never existed prior to the foresight and creativity

of Sylvia Robinson. Robinson was a soul singer in the 50s and later the founder

of the Sugar Hill record label. After hearing hip hop performed at her birthday

party, Robinson was inspired to capture this new sound on wax. A true

entrepreneur, Robinson auditioned performers and assembled a group that she

named after her label. The Sugarhill Gang consisted of the three emcees, Wonder

Mike, Master Gee, and Big Bank Hank, three relatively unknown performers.

Hip hop music’s first most commercially successful group was put together out of

performers relatively unknown within the sub-culture by an entrepreneur

otherwise unassociated with Hip Hop Culture. Within Hip Hop Culture, the

Sugarhill Gang was considered inauthentic (And You Don’t Stop: 30 Years of

Hip-Hop. Dir. Richard Lowe, Dana Perry. Bring the Noise LLP, 2004). They had

not established themselves within the sub-culture. Some of their lyrics were

“borrowed” from other better known performers. Their style of dress was

informed by popular music at the time, not Hip Hop Culture. Although Sylvia

Robinson’s label was independent, her background was in R&B music so the

group she assembled and their style were reminiscent of that genre. However,

since their hip hop music was the first mainstream audiences had ever

experienced those distinctions were irrelevant to their success.

So while the Sugarhill Gang’s commercial success fueled the growth of

Hip Hop Culture I believe that this was an early example of how mainstream

culture can redefine a sub-culture by manipulating its ethos for commercial

consumption. I will reflect on this manipulation in my script by illustrating Emcee

Duck’s transformation from an unknown rapper to a millionaire recording artist.

In doing so I will examine his motivation for changing his style so that he can sell

to a larger audience and the difficulties that he endures in order to stay authentic

in the eyes of a mainstream audience. But what does a mainstream audience

consider to be authentic hip hop?

Hip Hop Finds Commercial Success

The early 1980’s marked another turning point in the history of hip hop

music. Although the Sugarhill Gang produced hip hop music’s first hit song, Run

DMC’s early commercial success solidified hip hop’s foothold as a part of the

mainstream industry (Dimitriadis, 1). Run DMC was the first hip hop group to

have a #1 R&B chart topping album, and they were the first hip hop group to

produce gold, platinum, and multiplatinum albums(Rundmc.com). In 1988 hip

hop sales broke the $100 million mark. By 1993 hip hop was producing $700

million in revenues (McLeod, 136).

In less than a decade hip hop evolved from an outsider sub-culture, to a

highly visible and influential genre within mainstream music. In two decades hip

hop made inroads into fashion, sports, television, and movies. On March 5, 2006

Three 6 Mafia became the first Black music group to win an Academy Award for

Best Original Song with their hit, “It’s Hard to be a Pimp.” Yet in that same year

hip hop music icon Nas, declared “hip hop is dead” with the release of his aptly

titled album, Hip Hop is Dead.

“Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game

Reminiscin' when it wasn't all business…

So we all gather here for the dearly departed

Hip hopper since a toddler

One homeboy became a man then a mobster

If the guys let me get my last swig of Vodka

R.I.P., we'll donate your lungs to a rasta

Went from turntables to mp3s

From "Beat Street" to commercials on Mickey D's

From gold cables to Jacobs

From plain facials to Botox and face lifts” (2006)

Here, Nas’s lyrics lament the “golden era” of Hip Hop Culture before

“Gangsta Rap” and before technological developments like the MP3. He implies

that recent hip hop music is homogenized, for commercial use, and fake.

Nas’s sentiments give insight into the opposing definition of authenticity put forth

by hip hop artists who claim that they have not sold out to be accepted into

mainstream culture. In my film Emcee Duck will be torn between this ideology

and the demands of the commercial market.

While Nas’s sentiments have been echoed by other hip hop artists, the

finality of his statement “Hip Hop is dead,” in the face of hip hop’s continued

commercial success not only in music, including his own, but in film, television,

fashion, sports, and art seems contradictory or at least premature.

How can hip hop music exist simultaneously as an art form accepted by

mainstream culture and on the brink of death as a sub-culture? I would argue that

this duality in Hip Hop Culture has always existed, as illustrated by the success of

the Sugar Hill Gang. Even though the Sugarhill Gang was considered inauthentic

within Hip Hop Sub-Culture, their success had the greater effect of spreading

awareness of hip hop as an art form, and in doing so, opened doors for other hip

hop artists whether they were considered authentic by mainstream culture or not.

Authenticity, although ill-defined by either side still determines the value

of the artists and their work in the U.S. Unfortunately for Hip Hop Culture it

seems as though achieving financial success depends on reaching an audience

outside of the sub-culture. So in order to be financially successful hip hop artists

must present an image to mainstream audiences that conforms to their definition

of authentic. Here, the duality of Hip Hop Culture comes into conflict. Is the

image hip hop artists produce authentic within the Hip Hop Sub-Culture, or do hip

hop artists present an image that mainstream culture identifies as authentic based

on their perceptions of Black Culture?

Emcee Duck will ask himself whether he created his persona or whether

he has become a product, shaped by mainstream culture for commercial

consumption.

It is not my intention to argue whether hip hop music is vulnerable to the affects

of over saturation, homogenization, or radicalization due to the influence of the

United States’ mainstream culture. In fact hip hop music has almost certainly

fallen prey to all of these pitfalls. It is my intention to examine the effects of

commercialization on Hip Hop Culture and the implications that arise when

mainstream culture influences a sub-culture that is linked with racial identity.

As a Black hip hop artist, Duck’s character will reflect the worst of the

effects of commercialization in his public persona, but his journey will reveal his

personal struggles with the maintenance of his image.

Hip Hop In the Mainstream - Late 80’s Early 90’s

When hip hop artists started making money, Hip Hop Culture started to

change. Certain aspects of Hip Hop Culture proved to be more profitable than

others. Graffiti went through a short-lived period when it was recognized by the

mainstream art community, but has yet to be accepted as a true art form. In the

early 80’s Jean-Michele Basquiat, who began his career as graffiti artist, drew the

attention of New York’s modern art scene. Break dancing has also remained

largely an underground culture within a culture although it has recently

experienced resurgence in popularity in part fueled by the success of the MTV

program “America’s Best Dance Crew” and the FOX network’s “So You Think

You Can Dance.” Comparing the slow rate of acceptance of breaking and graffiti

in mainstream U.S. culture and to the rapid acceptance of hip hop music gives

insight to the characteristics of Hip Hop Culture that appeal to mainstream

consumers.

In 1988 Will Smith, formerly the Fresh Prince, and his partner DJ Jazzy

Jeff won the first Grammy awarded to a hip hop group (And You Don’t Stop: 30

Years of Hip-Hop. Dir. Richard Lowe, Dana Perry. Bring the Noise LLP, 2004)

with their album, Parents Just Don’t Understand. Smith’s clean cut image,

lighthearted humor, breezy rhymes, and Jazzy Jeff’s production of party music

created a winning combination with mainstream audiences, but in another

example of Hip Hop Culture’s contentious relationship with acceptance into the

mainstream, many hip hop artists chose to boycott the event because the Grammy

was awarded prior to the televised portion of the show. Instead, several artists

attended their own unassociated awards ceremony (And You Don’t Stop: 30

Years of Hip-Hop. Dir. Richard Lowe, Dana Perry. Bring the Noise LLP, 2004).

I believe awards and more specifically awards shows are one of the best

indicators of acceptance in mainstream U.S. culture. In my script I’ve chosen to

make Emcee Duck’s quest to achieve an achievement award and thus his

acceptance in mainstream culture an indication of the growth of his character.

Here, Kanye West’s notorious reputation for stealing the spotlight at awards

shows will serve as the inspiration for Duck’s quest for recognition. In 2004 West

rushed the stage at MTV’s VMA’s to protest that he should have won the Best

New Artist award. In 2006 he stole the mic at MTV’s Euro Video Music awards

because he thought that he should have won the award for Best Video. Finally, in

2009 West stole the show again at MTV’s VMAs to express his opinion that

Beyonce Knowls should have won Best Female Video. In Hip Hop it would seem

that the quest for recognition is second only to the quest for bling. I will use

Duck’s desire for recognition to question whose recognition is most important and

exactly what qualities award shows seem to value.

In the early ‘90s the rise of Gangsta Rap provides a different illustration of

how the commercial success of hip hop music affected the development of Hip

Hop Culture. The themes of poverty and racial discrimination against Blacks that

were explored in early hip hop music were replaced by gangsta imagery. The

success of groups like N.W.A and Ice – T fueled a backlash against hip hop music

from mainstream culture. Figures like Delores Tucker, a civil rights activist,

denounced rap music as obscenity, and argued that the music inspired misogyny,

teenage sex, drug use, and violence. Her sentiments were echoed by religious

groups, the NAACP, and even Tipper Gore (Deflem, Mathieu 1993).

N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) was also one of the first hip hop groups to

emerge from the West Coast. Prior to the 1990s, hip hop artists from New York

dominated the scene. The group consisted of Easy-E, whose criminal dealings

were rumored to support the group financially, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and

DJ Yella. N.W.A.’s explicit lyrics got them banned from several U.S. radio

stations and their gangsta image as portrayed on MTV through their videos

inspired fear. With their hit “Fuck the Police” and the accompanying video

N.W.A. protested against police brutality and racial profiling.

"Fuck tha police comin straight from the underground

A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown

I'm not the other color so police think

They have the authority to kill a minority” (1988)

N.W.A. explicitly condemned police for racial discrimination and violence

toward minorities. While the message was clear to the Blacks and Latinos living

in urban areas on either coast that identified with Hip Hop Culture, the group’s

use of profanity and displays of aggression inspired harsh criticism and

censorship from the mainstream music industry.

I would argue that the backlash against hip hop music was integral to its

continued commercial success. The mainstream focus on many of the negative

aspects of Hip Hop Culture, which are synonymous with urban Black culture,

altered hip hop music and Hip Hop Culture’s ethos. This reaction resulted in a

mixed blessing. It brought attention to the poverty and turmoil of disenfranchised

Black youth while also making Gangsta Rap more popular and profitable to the

point that other forms of hip hop were deemed inauthentic. As the Gangsta image

proved to be profitable, violent lyrics, misogyny, profanity, and glorification of

drugs became the earmarks of authenticity in hip hop music. Although criticism

lead to Gangsta Rap’s overexposure in the media, I believe Gangsta Rap was

immediately dubbed credible and authentic because its characterization of young

poor Blacks fit with the image already accepted by mainstream White America.

The Gangsta Rap Era will serve as the setting for Emcee Duck’s beginning

as a hip hop artist. I chose this era because it spawned the careers of several of

today’s most well established and successful hip hop artists, such as Ice Cube and

Snoop Dogg. During this era there was also a divergence in hip hop music

between hip hop artists who became Gangsta Rappers and hip hop artist who

would later be described as conscious or underground. Underground hip hop is

characterized as so because its artists do not have a major following in

mainstream U.S. culture. This is credited in part to the genre’s focus on political

messages and the artists’ appeal to niche audiences. In my script I attempt to use

Duck’s choice to go mainstream to illustrate this divergence.

Hip Hop In the Mainstream the Ice Age - Late 90s

At the peak of Gangsta Rap’s popularity in the nineties the murders of

Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. rocked the hip hop world and ushered in

what some hip hop artists have labeled the Ice Age. Many emcees were achieving

rock star status in the image they portrayed, After the violent murders of Shakur

and B.I.G., the most popular hip hop shifted its focus from violence to decadence.

Notorious B.I.G personified this transition before his murder in his classic hit

“Juicy.”

It was all a dream

I used to read Word Up magazine

Salt'n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine…

I made the change from a common thief

To up close and personal with Robin Leach…

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

When I was dead broke, man I couldn't picture this

50 inch screen, money green leather sofa

Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur

Phone bill about two G's flat

No need to worry, my accountant handles that

And my whole crew is loungin'

Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'

Thinkin' back on my one-room shack

Now my mom pimps her act with minks on her back…”(1994)

While misogyny and violence were still common themes in popular hip

hop music in the late ‘90s to the present, bling has become the new staple of

success in Hip Hop Culture.

Hip Hop Culture’s Ice Age will be the setting for Emcee Duck’s present.

Duck’s persona will emphasize the decadence and extravagance that characterizes

the era. Like Notorious B.I.G. Duck will project a true Horatio Alger rise to

wealth and fame. Though Hip Hop Culture began as a grass roots outsider culture,

hip hop has been redefined by its own commercial viability in mainstream culture.

Because profits drive sales, the industry sells the brand that makes the most

money. Unfortunately in the United States sex, drugs, violence, and material

excess have become the earmarks of authenticity for hip hop artists because hip

hop music that incorporates these topics sells the most. In my script, rather than

trying to assign blame for this trend I will attempt to illustrate some of the factors

that contribute to its continued occurrence. To do this I will further examine the

relationship between sub-culture and mainstream culture.

The Co-optation of Countercultures by the Mainstream

In order to take a broader view of how sub-cultures can be influenced or

even subverted by mainstream cultures I researched literature on the

commercialization of hip hop, hip hop as a sub-culture, other youth driven music

sub-cultures, and the issue of authenticity as it pertains to hip hop music. I found

the greatest amount of literature on the commercial use of hip hop, which would

seem to support the argument put forward in the Blair study that Hip Hop Culture

has already been subverted through commercialization (Blair, 21).

In addition to reviewing Blair's work in detail I will review a sampling of

the other literature that examines the effect of commercialization on Hip Hop

Culture and the perception of Black culture in the United States.

Blair's study, “The Commercialization of Rap Music Youth Sub-Culture”

explores what happens when a culture that is in opposition to or on the edges of

mainstream culture is endorsed by the mainstream and used as a marketing tool

by the members of the mainstream culture. Blair makes the assertion that, "There

is something horribly wrong with a dominant community repeatedly co-opting the

cultural forms of oppressed communities, stripping them of their vitality and

form, the heritage of their creators and then popularizing them. The result is

bleached Pepsi culture masquerading as the real thing" (Blair, 21). Blair notes that

there have been other youth music sub-cultures, such as punk and heavy metal,

but maintains that hip hop, because of its use of sampling of previous popular

music, is more accessible to more people and is a more viable commercial tool.

The article goes on to examine hip hop's roots as a localized form of expression

utilized by young Blacks in the Bronx, NY and then applies a theoretical

framework around its development in order to suggest the next possible step for

hip hop.

Blair uses Gottendiener's proposed model, which takes a semiotic

approach to better explain the process of hegemony, the power exerted over the

culture of a sub-culture by a dominant culture. Gottendiener's model seeks to

explore the exchange of symbols and meaning between the producers and users of

pop culture. His view is that the "mass" culture develops as a result of dynamic

meaning creation from groups which may or may not be closely allied with the

dominant ideology" (Blair, 26). From here, Blair applies Gottendiener’s three

stage model to Hip Hop Sub-Culture that explains the development and demise of

a culture. In stage one a product takes on the meaning given to it by members of

a culture. In stage two members of the culture purchase these products for their

symbolic value, and finally in the third stage, the symbols of the culture are

appropriated by mass producers to sell their products (Blair, 28).

Duck’s character follows a path loosely based on this model. Duck’s early

career will reflect stages one and two. His life in the present will demonstrate the

beginning of stage three in which Duck as a symbol for hip hop has been

appropriated by mainstream culture. Finally Duck will have to face the possible

outcome of Gottdiener’s third stage when taking a glimpse of his future as his

image is stolen for the purpose of selling products unrelated to music.

Blair contends that presently hip hop music is in the third stage of the

model and looks to television advertising as proof. Blair looks specifically at a

sampling of ads that aired during children's Saturday morning programming in the

1990s when hip hop was starting to demonstrate great commercial success. She

found that Barbie, Barney Rubble, McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, and "Punchy"

from the Hawaiian Punch soft drink were all featured as rappers in commercial

ads (Blair, 29). In conclusion, Blair blames the watered down hip hop that most

Americans are exposed to through mass culture for the end of hip hop's utility for

disadvantaged youth who were the original creative force behind the music.

I think that Blair's methodology and her assertions are not without merit;

however, her study focuses in on only two aspects of Hip Hop Culture, the MC’s

and the DJs. She ignores bombing (the practice of writing graffiti on public

spaces) and breaking (referring to the style of dance associated with early hip hop

music) almost completely. These omissions provide a limited perspective on the

scope of the effect commercial success has had on the culture. Blair also omits the

evolution of Underground Hip Hop into a culture within the sub-culture.

Underground Hip Hop artists rebuke the standards of authenticity as prescribed by

the mainstream and establish their own set of values. Blair’s argument that hip

hop music has been watered down can only be applied to one genre of hip hop

music; however, because the mainstream audience’s financial support of the hip

hop music industry has been the driving force behind its rapid growth the

repercussions of the effects in Blair’s study may eventually apply to Hip Hop

Culture in its entirety. If watered down hip hop becomes the staple in the

mainstream music industry, will other forms of hip hop survive once it has

become out of fashion?

As the gangsta image that critics of hip hop music have always slammed

has proved more popular and profitable in mainstream music, the many positive

images portrayed by socially “conscious” emcees, breakers, graffiti artists, and

DJs in the underground have been largely ignored by the same critics. I believe

this dichotomy should be at the center of the current debate over the direction of

hip hop music in the future. How can a diverse sub-culture be entirely

condemned by members of the mainstream because the negative aspects of part of

that sub-culture are the only parts that are profitable within the mainstream?

As a Black fan of hip hop, I am concerned that the commercial viability of

hip hop music has led to the destruction and exploitation of Hip Hop Culture and

Black culture through manipulation of what it means to be authentic in hip hop.

The politically and financially minded hip hop artists Dead Prez, explored this

situation in their song “Hip Hop.”

Nigga, don't think these record deals gon' feed your seeds

And pay your bills, because they not

MCs get a little bit of love and think they hot

Talkin' 'bout how much money they got; all y'all records sound the same

I'm sick of that fake thug, R&B-rap scenario, all day on the radio

Same scenes in the video, monotonous material

Y'all don't here me though

These record labels slang our tapes like dope

You can be next in line and signed; and still be writing rhymes and broke

You would rather have a Lexus? or justice? a dream? or some substance?

A Beamer? a necklace? or freedom? (2000)

Dead Prez asserts that hip hop artists have replicated the “fake thug, R&B

rap scenario” over and over to the point that the image has lost its efficacy. They

compare the sale of hip hop tapes to “slangin dope,” implying that record labels

have taken on the role of drug dealers and that their product is a negative

commodity. In addition Dead Prez contend that the artists’ value is limited

because they are easily replaceable, saying, “you can be next in line and signed;

and still be writing rhymes and broke.” The group’s statement amounts to the

belief that Hip Hop Sub-Culture has been taken over by the mainstream culture it

once rebelled against. At the beginning of my film Emcee Duck will represent hip

hop music that has been corrupted by mainstream culture’s definition of authentic.

Finally he will have to decide whether he would rather have “A Beamer? A

necklace? Or Freedom?” In other words, will he continue to sell mainstream hip

hop music?

While I believe Duck’s resolution of this dilemma suffices for the

resolution of the film, I believe that the impact of commercialism on Hip Hop

Culture and Black culture deserves a broader discussion, which warrants returning

to Blair’s examination of the commercialization of Hip Hop Culture. She applies

Gottdiener’s three stages of “production and control of ideological meanings” to

Hip Hop Culture (Blair, 28). Gottdiener “assumes that the production of meaning

takes place by virtue of a social relation, such as reciprocal linkages between

producers and users as mediated through mass cultural objects”(Blair, 25). In the

third stage of Gottdiener’s model, mainstream culture commodifies a sub-cultural

form, removing it from its context and stripping it of its intended or initial

meaning. Because sub-cultures are formed by reconstructing meaning to create

style, this deconstruction renders the style defunct as well as the sub-culture

associated with that style. As I argued previously, I believe Blair has a narrow

view of Hip Hop Culture. I also believe that her application of Gottdeiner’s model

is too one sided. I agree with her argument that mainstream culture in the U.S. has

had a profound influence on Hip Hop Culture, and that it has presented a

redefinition of authentic Hip Hop Culture, but I do not believe that the sub-culture

is defenseless against mainstream culture’s influence.

In McLeod’s exploration of authenticity in hip hop, he identifies several

properties that make hip hop authentic based on claims from hip hop artists and

interviews with fans. Among these properties are “Blackness (meaning produced

by Black artists),” masculinity, staying true to yourself, being from the “street”,

and staying old school (Mcleod, 144). I believe that these values are poorly

defined at best and have more to do with the intangible mystique of any culture

witnessed by an outsider; however, underground hip hop artist like Dead Prez and

Public Enemy have contributed a competing definition of authenticity in Hip Hop

Culture that has received minimal media attention from mainstream culture. I will

return to this competing definition and sub-culture’s defense against assimilation

later in further detail.

Although all aspects of Hip Hop Culture may not be in the same stage of

Gottdiener’s model it is important to understand the effect of commercialism on

the sub-culture as a whole. Again, this will be the perspective I want to explore in

my film project. To get a clearer idea of the way Hip Hop Culture has been

appropriated by mainstream culture I think it would be useful to look at some

concrete examples of how it has been used directly as a marketing tool.

Hip hop as a Marketing Tool

Keeping the power of mainstream culture’s ability to change a subculture

in mind, it is interesting to examine literature on how different aspects of Hip Hop

Culture have been used as marketing tools. In a 2003 Advertising Age article

“Corporate America Cozies up to Hip hop,” authors Atkinson and Halliday

looked at the corporate line-up whose products were promoted at the Source Hip

Hop Music Awards. T-mobile and Nike joined auto marketers from Ford to GM

in sponsorship of the event. Larry Samuel, author of "The Trend

Commandments," is quoted in the article as saying, "Hip hop is where rock n' roll

was in the '70s. It's evolved into a safe place…there's too much bling-bling in it

for everyone"(Atkinson, Halliday, 2). Safe seems to be the important word here.

The question might be, "safe for whom?" Because hip hop music’s commercial

success has been derived in part from its dangerous image and rebellious rhetoric,

its evolution into a safe place for mainstream audiences implies that it is no longer

separate from mainstream culture. This seems to be an index of Blair's third stage.

Another article, “Adidas aims for 'street cred' with hip hop alliance” from

Media Asia, speaks of the pairing of rapper Missy Misdemeanor Elliott with a

new line of shoes that have been labeled the 'Respect Me' collection. An Adidas

brand spokesman stated, "We have an ongoing partnership with Missy, whereby

she has been wearing Adidas in a lot of her music videos and at award shows.

This is the first formal endorsement and is the first time we have partnered

with a performance artist" (Hargrave-Silk, 6). Not surprisingly a shoe company is

trying to base their product’s image around a Black celebrity. It is, however,

surprising that this is Adidas’ first formal endorsement with a performance artist,

since the brand already has such following among breakers, and was given years

of free advertisement by RUN DMC, one of the first commercially successful rap

groups who wore Adidas predominantly and even rapped about Adidas.

In another article found in Advertising Age, “Cool Consumption good fit

for Hip hop,” author T. L. Stanley points out that hip hop music has easily lent

itself to product placement As Ryan Berger, a strategic trend spotter, notes in the

article "these brands are part of the artist’s lives, and what they're selling is a

lifestyle"(Stanley, 16). The article goes on to explain how rappers like Busta

Rhymes have parlayed their affection for Courvoisier into endorsement deals.

Andre 3000's mention of Polaroid in his 2004 hit "Hey Ya" is also mentioned as

the inspiration for the company's new image. The article goes on to note that

there are limitations on the products rappers can endorse, by quoting a brand

strategist's statement: "There's a law of diminishing returns…and customers are

smart enough to know that if Missy Elliott starts rapping about household

cleaning products, then there's something wrong" (Stanley, 16). It would seem

that this strategist believes that consumers are not totally blind to blatant

marketing ploys.

In an article taken from the New York Times, “Bridging Hip hop

Consumers and Suits,” Jeff Leeds takes a look at the career of Steven Stoute, an

advertising executive with roots in the hip hop music industry. Because of his

unique position as the manager of several hip hop artists, Stoute has been able to

live a double life, as an authentic member of the hip hop music industry and an

executive in the not-so-hip corporate world of mainstream advertising. Formerly

the manager of early '90s rap group Kid n' Play, Stoute has pioneered such

pairings as McDonalds and Justin Timberlake, and Reebok and Jadakiss (Leeds,

E.1). A spokesman for Hewlett-Packard said that Stoute, who is now working on

their campaign, "has ensured that the company's bids for young consumers will

come across with ‘authenticity.’ The last thing we want to do is look like we just

wrote a check for entry to the music business"(Leeds, E.1).

Inspired by the growth in sales of Ray Ban sunglasses after the hit movie,

song, and video "Men in Black," Stoute began his career as "a translator,

explaining the music industry's Sub-Cultures, predominantly the black world of

hip hop, to the typically middle-aged White ranks of the corporate world, and vice

versa"(Leeds, 2). Given the proliferation of advertising using the formal elements

of hip hop, it would seem that corporate America is getting better at addressing its

consumers using hip hop.

Toyota's recent use of hip hop in marketing the Scion brand gives insight

into just how deeply entrenched commercialization has become in hip hop. The

car manufacturer has actually created a sub-brand and promotes underground

artists financially. The article goes on to state that, "Scion, trying to preserve the

hip hop, underground community, has elevated talented amateur musicians,

artists, and fashion designers into more commercial exploits" (Halliday, 8). When

asked how "Scion will adapt when today's underground becomes tomorrow's

mainstream," the head of Scion’s campaign says "we will be evolving to the next

thing in a couple years" (Halliday, 8). Scion’s marketing strategy would then

seem to provide clear evidence that hip hop music is in the third phase of

Gottdiener’s model. Once hip hop music has lost its authenticity it will no longer

be useful as a marketing tool, but the greater tragedy is that the culture will have

lost its vitality. Once Scion has transformed underground artists into

commercially successful artists, their utility in reaching Scion’s target audience

will be lost because despite the artists’ intended message, they will be perceived

as a marketing ploy.

In effect even hip hop music that has found a place outside of mainstream

radio play is being co-opted in the same way as mainstream hip hop. These last

five articles have served to illustrate that hip hop has become an effective and

widely used marketing tool. Some marketing campaigns have arisen naturally

because hip hop artists have endorsed certain products in their songs. Other

brands, like Scion, Hewllet-Packard, and McDonalds, have used hip hop music to

reach their target markets. Though some artists are sharing in the wealth of the

commercialization of their products, the exploitative nature of marketing a sub-

culture is summed up in the Scion spokeswoman's assertion that they will move

on to the "next thing" when underground hip hop has lost its edge and their

market, which ironically their commercialization of the form will facilitate.

Though the articles' main focus has been on hip hop music artists, most of the

campaigns have relied on the lifestyle of hip hop, which includes breaking and

bombing, to contribute to the sense of authenticity behind their brand.

Further Effects of Commercialization on Hip Hop

Culture

In order to gain perspective on the impact of mainstream culture’s effect

on Hip Hop Culture I think it is important to consider the effects on aspects of the

culture that have not been assimilated as rapidly as the music. In the early

eighties, bombing (writing graffiti) was briefly assimilated into mainstream art

culture, but its commercial success was short-lived as was its acceptance as a

mainstream art form. Lynn Powers discussed the evolution and decline of the

graffiti art movement in her “Whatever Happened to the Graffiti Art Movement?”

Graffiti art began in the inner cities of New York in the ‘70s, and has been

considered a pillar of Hip Hop Sub-Culture since the beginning (Powers, 137).

Inner city youth, primarily Black males, would write their names on public and

private property in order to express themselves, as acts of rebellion, and to

achieve a certain level of fame and respect in their community. The stylized

lettering that bombers use is personal to each artist, and sometimes

undecipherable to outsiders, which helps to create an identity for bombers that

sets them even farther outside of mainstream society and mass culture. “Taki

183” is widely noted to be one of the earliest, if not the first bomber (Powers,

137). His signature could be found anywhere from subway cars to ice cream

trucks.

Bombing grew as a practice among youths as did the size of the tags.

Whole subway cars and sides of buildings became murals. Graffiti artists were

gaining the hatred of public officials and community members that considered

graffiti to be vandalism, but at the same time, graffiti was also garnering the

attention of mainstream art enthusiasts. At the onset of the movement, some

graffiti artists found in the streets were commissioned as artists to create murals

on buildings and later on canvas.

Powers makes the assertion that “in most cases the work’s (graffiti)

popularity was based more on the novelty of being produced by poor minority

criminals than on any intrinsic artistic value. Ultimately (and quickly) the novelty

wore off” (Powers, 141). In this example, the cooption of the graffiti sub-culture

into mainstream art culture resulted in the misrepresentation of the original art

form, generated a small amount of financial gain, and ended in the rejection of

graffiti as art by the mainstream. It is easy to draw parallels to the

commercialization of Hip Hop Culture in total with the way that one of its pillars

was co-opted and rejected by mass culture. But at the same time the decline of the

graffiti art movement did not spell the end of the graffiti sub-culture. This is

evidenced in the widespread existence of bombers today. Graffiti was also

always on the fringes of acceptability in the mainstream because in its true form

bombing is illegal. Still I can’t draw conclusions about the commercialization of

Hip Hop Culture by comparing it to the commercialization of just one of its parts.

As discussed earlier, marketers are selling the hip hop lifestyle, not just the

emcees, and the music, so in that way, graffiti is still being co-opted by the

mainstream even though it has not been endorsed as a traditional art form by

mainstream culture. Even though graffiti will not be a major subject in my film

project, the idea that sub-cultures and the products of sub-cultures can function as

fads in mainstream culture has influenced the direction of my script. This

oversimplified perception of Hip Hop Culture by mainstream culture in the U.S.

deserves further examination because of the sub-culture’s link with Black culture.

In the article “A Nation of Millions: Hip Hop Culture and the Legacy of

Black Nationalism,” S. Craig Watkins, traces the roots of the commercialization

of Hip Hop Culture to the commercialization of Black Nationalism. Watkins

asserts that mass culture changed the meaning associated with the Black

Nationalist movement by focusing on its members’ style of dress rather than their

message. Watkins writes that, “Ultimately, by associating black militancy with

revolutionary style rather than revolutionary politics images of the past are

appropriated in a way that negates rather than enlivens social and political

memory” (Watkins, 388). In other words, style takes precedence over substance.

The commercialization of Hip Hop Culture mirrors this phenomenon in

the explosion of Gangsta Rap into the scene in the early ‘90s. Watkins states that:

“…though the ghettocentric gaze(of gangsta rap) produced

insightful commentary on the lived experiences of poor and

alienated black youth its growing popularity obscured alternative

ways of imagining and representing black American life…The

infusion of corporate dollars accelerated rap music’s penetration of

the cultural mainstream while also establishing a narrow

conception of production-worthy music” (Watkins, 389).

Watkins concludes by questioning whether the commercialization of Hip Hop

Culture, which he equates, with Black culture will take control of production out

of the hands of Black culture. (392) While I agree with Watkins’ reasoning, I

would argue that control of production of hip hop music is less important than the

control of the culture’s ethos. Because the value of the culture’s products to its

members is dependent on the meanings they associate with them, altering the

meaning strips the value of those products for members of the sub-culture.

In the articles so far I have examined the commercialization of Hip Hop

Culture and the possible ramifications. In these last few articles I will explore the

ways in which Hip Hop Culture strives to preserve itself, and take a look at some

of the effects of the commercialization of Hip Hop Culture.

Retaining Sub-Cultural Authenticity in Hip Hop Culture

The control of the definition of authentic hip hop music and Hip Hop

Culture will determine whether Hip Hop Culture can resist the effects of

commercialization. In order to explore this idea in my film I researched literature

that attempted to define what it means to be authentic in Hip Hop Culture.

In his study, Watkins suggested that hip hop music attempts to maintain its

authenticity through the essential tenet of Hip Hop Culture, which is ‘keeping it

real.’ I believe that the phrase is used so much in and outside of Hip Hop Culture,

that ironically, ‘keeping it real’ has lost its authenticity. Kembrew McLeod’s

article, “Authenticity Within Hip hop and Other Cultures Threatened with

Assimilation,” addresses one of the main issues at the heart of the

commercialization of Hip Hop Culture: can hip hop stay authentic and still make

money commercially? McLeod sought to define authenticity/keeping it real in hip

hop by conducting phone interviews with several Black hip hop artists. He asked

each artist the four questions listed below:

1. What does the Phrase “keepin’ it real“ mean to you?

2. Who, in hip hop is keepin’ it real?

3. What makes someone real in hip hop?

4. What makes someone fake in hip hop?

(McLeod, 138).

McLeod’s findings indicated that Blackness is defined through

expressions of masculinity, staying true to yourself, being from the streets, and

staying old school(McLeod, 139). While McLeod’s study found that there

seemed to be a consensus of what constitutes keeping it real among the artists he

interviewed, the definitions he arrived at were poorly defined at best. At worst

they are very limiting to the genre as a whole. The success of female artists like

Queen Latifa, and Erykah Badu contradict McLeod’s findings. The major success

of Eminem also stands in opposition of Blackness as a determinant of authenticity

in hip hop music.

Dipa Basu’s study “What is real about ‘keeping it real’?” approaches

authenticity from another perspective. Basu’s definition of keeping it real is

based on his conception of selling out. The phrase ‘selling out’ implies

sacrificing authenticity for financial gain. Basu likens hip hop preoccupation with

selling out to the attitudes of ‘60s’ folk musicians that selling too much meant

selling out (Basu, 375). Keeping this in mind, Basu decided to find out what

keeping it real meant to Black entrepreneurs in the hip hop industry. Basu and the

entrepreneurs that he interviewed advanced the belief that financial success had

nothing to do with selling out. They noted that historically Blacks were not able to

profit from the music they pioneered and, most Black artists today have no choice

but to seek profits from their work because many seek music as their only means

of achieving financial success. Basu concludes that in “the notion of ‘keeping it

real’ as an entrepreneur making a living from rap there is an emphasis on

maintaining an outlook, posture, and sentiment that resonates with key elements

of Black cultural life indelibly linked to race, class, space and gender and its

various forms of cultural representation” (Basu, 379).

Basu’s study puts a different twist on hip hop music’s use of authenticity

as a defense against commercialization. For Basu and the entrepreneurs he

interviewed, authenticity has nothing to do with making money. The implication

is that authenticity should have more to do with racist attitudes towards Blacks

who have found a means of economic success that is for the most part

inaccessible to Whites. So does keeping it real while making money mean

keeping it Black?

Basu’s take on authenticity will play an integral part in my script as

Emcee Duck contemplates his image. Is his image really detrimental to Hip Hop

Culture, or are his critics motivated by the racist attitudes toward successful

Blacks? This will be a theme that I will touch on repeatedly in my script. Because

this is an important element in my film it is worthwhile to study the possible real

world repercussions of this issue.

Defining authenticity in Hip Hop Culture could have deeper consequences

than dipping record sales. Hip Hop Culture and the perception of Black culture in

the United States are forever intertwined. Child Psychiatrist Ardis C. Martin

explored the possible effects of media depictions of Blacks on the development of

Black children’s racial identity in his article, “Television Media as a Potential

Negative Factor in the Racial Identity Development of African American Youth.”

Martin asserts that the persuasive nature of television causes people to

believe what they see and that “Adolescents often look to the media

to explore

new roles, observe the way they are depicted, and

see if they can identify with

these images. This can prove dangerous

because groups of people can be reduced

to mere negative depictions

or categorized in unflattering ways which may then be

accepted

by the majority and possibly minority cultures as fact.” Hip Hop Culture

is reflected not only through music, but through videos, movies, television shows,

fashion, and in sports. If Martin’s contention proves valid hip hop could influence

not only Black children’s development of racial-identity, but also the perception

of Blacks by outside cultures.

A 1976 article by Ball-Rokech and De Fleur explored the latter. Their

Media System Dependency Theory sought to define the relationship between

consumers of different media and their perception of the real world and how their

perception influenced their behaviors. One aspect of MSDT holds that people are

likely to believe what they internalize from different media and that this belief can

be especially strong when they are exposed to something that they have no formal

experience with in reality.

Because television and film media have the most far reaching and

pervasive influences, representations of Hip Hop Culture and Black culture within

those forms of media are important indicators of the perception of each culture in

the United States.

Martin’s study of the influence of media depictions of Blacks and Ball-

Rokeach’s 1976 study concerning media system dependency theory are issues that

I will attempt to explore in Duck’s relationship with several other characters in

my script as he questions the impact of his art. Hoping to harness the pervasive

nature of film in my own work I researched three Hip Hop genre films that I

believe have influenced the way people in mainstream U.S. culture have come to

view Hip Hop Culture.

Film Review

Although Hip Hop Culture is based in music, television and film have

played important roles in the culture’s development. MTV, which first aired in

1981, helped to popularize hip hop through videos. Run DMC, MC Hammer, and

LL Cool J. opened the door for other artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac

Shakur. MTV’s show, “YO MTV Raps” featured hip hop videos and interviews

with artists in a daily hour long segment from 1988 – 1995. MTV provided a

format for hip hop artists to reach audiences that might not have access to their

music, it gave the music a face, and because the network was focused on a

youthful audience, hip hop was put in a position to win over a highly marketable

fan base.

By exposing the visual aspects of hip hop, television and film made the

culture more accessible to people who might not have connected with the music

alone. In addition, break dancing, graffiti, and hip hop fashion, visual aspects of

Hip Hop Culture were presented to mainstream audiences.

Because some of the images were taboo in the mainstream, they also drew

criticism and even censorship. In the early ‘90s, the hip hop group 2 Live Crew,

whose lyrics and videos were infamously misogynistic and riddled with profanity,

were censored to the point that their 1988 album Move Something earned the first

explicit lyrics warning sticker.

Hip hop movies added powerful mythology to Hip Hop Culture by

creating stories to which mainstream audiences could relate. The way that films in

the Hip Hop genre blend fact with fiction also adds to the power of their

mythology. Often real figures in Hip Hop Culture, artists and even businessmen

are featured as themselves or as characters that are similar to their hip hop

personas. By adding some facts to the fictional presentation of Hip Hop Culture in

films audiences are more likely to base their behavior or ideology on the film’s

version of reality.

Most early hip hop films were presented from the perspective of the

underdogs struggling to overcome an obstacle or gain acceptance in a society that

looks down on his or her talent. The 1984 film, Breakin is an example of a Hip

Hop Culture underdog story. Breakin introduced break dancing culture to

mainstream audiences. When Kelly, a White upper-class teen who is a classically

trained dancer, meets Turbo and Ozone, two urban Black and Hispanic B-

Boys(Break Dancers) culture’s collide. Turbo and Ozone were real b-boys, but

played fictional versions of themselves in the film. An unlikely partnership forms

between the three because of their love for dance. The trio “battle” for acceptance

in the world of classic dance, but are rejected as much for their diversity as for

their style of dance.

Another common theme in early hip hop movies was the struggle to

succeed financially or artistically without sacrificing authenticity. The 1983 film,

Wyld Style follows the life of a graffiti artist, Zoro, who is played by the real life

graffiti artist Lee Quinones. Zoro is famous in the Hip Hop community for his

art, but his identity is a secret. When graffiti becomes fashionable in the New

York City art scene, other graffiti artists copy Zoro’s style and begin to make

money and win acclaim. Zoro is faced with the decision whether to “sell out” and

succeed or “keep it real” and live in obscurity and poverty.

These films and films that I will discuss in more detail have added to the

mythology of hip hop through establishing common themes, settings, and

character types like the “quirky underdog,” the “street smart thug with a heart,”

and the “ruthless gangsta.” Whether seen as character types, or stereotypes, these

thematic elements created representations of Blacks and Latinos that were already

familiar to White mainstream audiences. Although these films are fantasy, I

believe they helped to establish the parameters of commercially defined

‘authenticity’ in Hip Hop Culture as seen from the mainstream perspective.

Understanding these common themes will help me to differentiate my script from

its predecessors and allow me to play against these themes to illustrate the

invalidity of these stereotypes.

One of the earliest and most influential hip hop films, Krush Groove,

released in 1985, is loosely based on real story behind the creation of Russell

Simmons’s Def Jam record label. The film’s tagline, “In the streets, the subways

and the clubs, they created the sound that would turn their world around,”

reinforces the message that the film is an accurate depiction of the birth of hip

hop; however, like Eminem’s 8-Mile, Krush Groove, is more mythology than fact.

The film features several big names in early hip hop who portray

themselves, including Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, Sheila E, The Fat Boys, and LL

Cool J. Their performances and simply the presence of real hip hop artists lent a

great deal of credibility to the film.

The main characters, Russell Walker (Simmons) and Rick (Rubin) are

young entrepreneurs trying to start a hip hop record label. They don’t have

enough money to start the label, so Russell borrows the money from a known

crime boss. The entrepreneurs meet with immediate success, inevitably run afoul

of the crime boss who tries to leverage his investment into a controlling share in

the label. In the end Russell and his brother Run come up with the money in the

nick of time.

In reality Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons started Def Jam Records out

of Rubin’s New York University dorm room (Gueraseva 5). Rubin was a music

aficionado, but his background was in punk rock. His education was paid for by

his family, but Rubin spent most of his time during college networking in New

York music venues. Def Jam was an idea before it was a company, but Rubin

presented the company as if it were already in business, even distributing business

cards with his dorm room address.

Meanwhile, Russell Simmons had dropped out of college and was

working as a concert promoter. When he met Rubin, Simmons had already

founded Rush Artist Management using the connections he made as a concert

promoter. The two entrepreneurs shared a common vision, each contributed

$4000, and Def Jam became a real label.

Although the origins of the Def Jam label are not entirely dissimilar from

those presented in the film, there are key differences that not only serve to make

the film more entertaining, but also feed into the mythology of Hip Hop Culture.

In Krush Groove, Russell is the main character and is responsible for starting the

label. Rubin is in the film, but his role is marginalized. In the film, Russell is

portrayed as a street-smart hustler, not a college educated entrepreneur. In the

film Russell borrows the money to start the label from a gangster instead of using

money earned from his success as a concert promoter. In this sense the film

presents a skewed view of history that aligns more closely with the gritty urban

image of Hip Hop Culture that gives the music its edge and that draws fans to the

stores.

While the story and production quality are not the best, the film

romanticizes this early hip hop success story in such a way that it has a nostalgic

feel about it that was even present when the film was first released in 1985.

Although at this time, hip hop was still a fledgling in the music industry, Def Jam

was already an established label and the hip hop artists who portrayed themselves

were already famous.

In one iconic scene, a young LL Cool J., along with his crew, force their

way into the Krush Groove offices in order to audition for the label. He slams

down a boom box and bursts into a verse from his hit “I Can’t Live Without My

Radio.” Impressed by his swagger and ability to rock the mic, LL is signed on the

spot. Although LL Cool J was playing himself in the film, Rick Rubin selected

him because he was impressed by a tape that he submitted in 1984. Later, Rubin

introduced Cool J to Russell Simmons. Although LL’s audition in the film

captured the essence of the qualities that made Cool J a successful hip hop artists,

by introducing him as a street savvy kid who wouldn’t take no for an answer Cool

J’s origins, like the origins of the Def Jam label take on legendary status.

Like the Sugar Hill Gang, Krush Groove, presented an image of hip hop

that was not truly authentic, but because the Time Warner film was the only

exposure that most people who were not familiar with the culture of hip hop, it

became what was authentic to the majority of viewers who had no first-hand

experience with hip hop.

Unlike Krush Groove the next film that I will examine tries to tear away

the fantasy and romanticism that surround Hip Hop Culture. Rusty Cundieff’s

1994 mockumentary, Fear of a Black Hat, is the hip hop equivalent of Hair

Metal’s This is Spinal Tap. In This is Spinal Tap, a documentary crew follows the

careers of the members of a heavy metal band. The film is a satirical look at

aspects of the musicians’ lives and a behind the scenes look at the music industry.

Like heavy metal, hip hop isn’t presented as a business, but as a life style. When

that fantasy gives way to reality the film draws humor from the incongruity.

Fear of a Black Hat takes audiences behind the scenes as it follows the

story of fictitious hip hop group N.W.H. (Niggaz with Hats). The film is riddled

with references to actual hip hop artists, as evidenced by the title which is a play

on Public Enemy’s album title, Fear of a Black Planet Although N.W.H. is a play

on the real group N.W.A, an early gangsta rap group from the west coast featuring

Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy – E, the hip hop artists in the film parody a

conglomeration of different of real artists. N.W.A was one of the first successful

West Coast gangsta rap groups. Tasty Taste’s name is a play on name of Public

Enemy’s Flavor Flav, but Tasty’s appearance and behavior parodies Easy-E.

Cundieff uses absurdity to lampoon the violence, misogyny, and profanity

of gangsta rap juxtaposed with the realities of the music industry to shed light on

the creation of hip hop’s dubious ethos. The members of N.W.H. are followed by

a documentarian working as a sociologist examining Hip Hop Culture. In

interviews the band members slip back and forth between their one-dimensional

rap identities and their more realistic personalities. Often the group’s over the top

presentation of their gangsta image sheds light on the absurdity of the image put

forth by real gangsta rappers. For example, when asked why they never smile the

group explains that smiling gives the appearance of weakness. Tone Def explains

“See Taste, he once shot a motha fucka for taking a picture while he was thinking

about smiling.”

Throughout the film, Gangsta Rap’s use of violence and sex to sell records

is questioned. Defending the group’s use of violent lyrics, the character Tasty

Taste explains that though N.W.H. might seem violent, “We anti-violent. Anyone

says different, I’ll bust a cap in their ass.” In an effort to explain the deeper

meaning of the group’s song P.U.S.S.Y. Ice Cold breaks down the anagram, "P",

Political, "U", Unrest, "S", Stabilize, another "S", Society, "Y", Yeah. The

group’s feeble attempts to defend their image reinforce the film’s assertion that

the hip hop industry is less about art and more about making money.

Cundieff’s absurd look at Hip Hop Culture succeeds in exposing the

realities and contradictions that shape the presentation of hip hop to mainstream

audiences. When N.W.H. breaks up, satirizing the break up of N.W.A., the three

members of the group pursue different paths allowing Cundieff to scrutinize

aspects of hip hop beyond gangsta rap. Tone Def enters the world of alternative

“positive” hip hop, Tasty Taste delves further into gangsta rap, and Ice Cold turns

to pop music. When their solo careers fail, the group reunites, setting aside

personal differences for the sake of making money, and the members return to

their gangsta personas. The artists’ transformations expose them for what they

really are, actors portraying characters.

The final film that I will discuss is the most recent and reflects most

directly the intersection of Hip Hop Culture into the mainstream. In the film 8

Mile, Eminem portrays a character loosely based on the persona that Eminem has

developed as a rapper in real life. In this fictional account, Eminem’s character

“Bunny Rabbit” literally battles for acceptance within Hip Hop Culture as a White

emcee.

Rabbit is poor, fatherless, has an estranged girlfriend, and speaks with the

dialect of urban African-Americans. Rabbit faces discrimination when trying to

break into the hip hop industry because he is White and Black audiences will not

accept him as an authentic emcee. The film reaches climax when Rabbit wins a

rap battle by listing his flaws as a White rapper while at the same time

emphasizing the hardship that he shares with the poor urban blacks.

I am white, I am a fuckin’ bum,

I do live in a trailer with my mom,

My boy Future is an Uncle Tom…

Don't ever try to judge me dude

You don't know what the fuck I've been through

Fuck y'all if you doubt me

I'm a piece of fucking white trash, I say it proudly

And fuck this battle, I don't wanna win, I'm outty (2002)

Similarly Eminem overcame limitations other White hip hop artists have

faced by adopting and overstating black stereotypes, by drawing legitimacy from

his association with black hip hop artists like Dr. Dre, and by turning his

weakness, being White in a Black sub-culture, into his greatest strength. Eminem

also sets himself apart from the image of the middle-class White America by

emphasizing his origins on the bad side of the tracks, in the poverty stricken 8

mile neighborhood.

Eminem’s appropriation of hip hop authenticity can be received in

different ways. One could make the argument that Eminem broke barriers and

expanded the definition of authenticity in hip hop. His success as a White hip hop

artist means that race is less important to authenticity in hip hop. On the other

hand, Eminem’s ability to style himself as an authentic hip hop artist could

support that authenticity in hip hop is a commodity to be bought and sold or given

away.

Like the hip hop artists in Rusty Cundieff’s mockumentary, Eminem is an

actor playing a role. The persona that he puts forth in his music is just one aspect

of his personality. Unlike Eminem, black hip hop artists may shed their hip hop

personas, but they cannot separate themselves from mainstream culture’s

perception of black culture as defined through hip hop. Audiences perceive

Eminem as a White artist in a genre largely dominated by Blacks, but Black hip

hop artists are perceived as representations of authentic Black culture.

Each of these films examines authenticity in hip hop. Krush Groove

romanticizes the origins of the Def Jam record label. Fear of a Black Hat shatters

the 2 dimensional portrayal of gangsta rappers and asserts that their use of

violence and misogyny is exploitive. 8 Mile examines the intersection of ethnicity

and socio-economic status as the criteria for determining authenticity in hip hop.

In all of the films, acceptance and financial success are the protagonists’

end goals, and in all of the films, authenticity is the means to that end. Although 8

Mile pushes the boundaries of authenticity by introducing a White protagonist, his

acceptance and success are still based on his approximation of the characteristics

associated with poor urban Black culture. I find this problematic because I think it

applies limits to the art form and, in turn, the art form produces a two dimensional

presentation of poor urban Black culture.

All of the films reviewed in this section end right after their protagonists

have achieved success and acceptance, but what happens after a hip hop artist

achieves success and acceptance, if their outsider status was the key to their initial

success? My film will explore this issue.

Thesis Project: Screenplay Synopsis

Among artists who have gained acceptance as measured by radio play and

album sales, the current focus on money and bling has caused critics to label the

current era of Hip Hop Culture the “Ice Age.” Because hip hop has achieved

acceptance and its artists have become moguls, my film will not be told as an

underdog story, but from the standpoint of a champion at the height of his career.

In order to explore Hip Hop Culture from this stand point, I think the story

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens provides an ideal format. As outlined by

Blair’s study, Hip Hop Culture has arisen from modest beginnings to achieve

great financial success. Like Dickens’ character Ebaneezer Scrooge, Hip Hop

Culture has become obsessed with money. And finally, like Scrooge, if Hip Hop

Culture is truly on its deathbed, it must carefully examine its past and present in

order to prevent a dismal future.

Dickens’ story has been adapted and remade several times as a film.

According to the website Internet Movie Database there have been 39

incarnations of the story on film and on television (IMDB.com,7/2010). The

underlying theme that is repeated throughout the retellings is that greed is the root

of evil. While the remakes have varied in tone and humor this theme has

persisted. By remixing A Christmas Carol I hope to emulate Hip Hop Culture’s

ability to appeal to an audience through familiarity and relevance while altering

the original work’s intended message. I believe that familiarity will help the

audience connect with the characters and that the relevance of the topic will be

made clearer by contrasting the old theme with the new one.

I chose to model my film after 1988’s Scrooged, starring Bill Murray and

directed by Richard Donnar. I hope to replicate the tone and humor of Donnar’s

adaptation in my film. Donnar’s adaptation replaces Ebenezer Scrooge with a

television executive, Frank Cross, played by Bill Murray. Cross began his career

playing a lowly dog on a children’s show, but through guile and ambition became

a high ranking television executive. Cross’s heartless pursuit of success as an

executive is typified in a scene in which he instructs a stage hand to staple

reindeer horns to the head of a mouse as part of his production of a television

adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

In Donnar’s film, Bob Cratchet is replaced by Cross’s overworked

underappreciated secretary, and Tiny Tim becomes the secretary’s mute son.

Karen Allen plays the role of Cross’s former love interest, Claire, who he pushed

aside as he climbed the corporate ladder.

I also believe Donnar’s version of Dickens’ classic is the best fit to base

my film on because it takes place in modern times. The Cross character, as

portrayed by Murray, is also over-the-top relentless in his pursuit of success and

in his obliviousness to consequences of his behavior. In the end Cross finds

redemption by finding the Christmas spirit, repenting on national television, and

rediscovering his humanity as evidenced by his reunion with Claire.

Like Scrooge and Cross, the protagonist of my film, Emcee Duck, will

have to examine his origins, his present state and his possible future. The most

important supporting characters in my retelling of the story will be Bob Cratchit

and Tiny Tim. In my script Bob Cratchit will take the form of Emcee Duck’s

manager, Bob, and his Tiny Tim, will be Cratchit’s impressionable son Tiny.

Duck’s relationship with Bob will closely resemble that of Dickens’

Scrooge and Cratchit. Bob will be overworked and underappreciated, but loyal to

a fault. However because in my script Bob will be Duck’s senior he will also

contribute a fatherly voice of reason.

Duck’s relationship with Tiny will diverge from Scrooge’s traditional

relationship with the original Tiny Tim. In my script Tim will be used to explore

the effects of media representations of Blacks as discussed in Martin’s study.

Unlike the original Tiny Tim, my version of the character will idolize Emcee

Duck. Duck’s treatment of Tiny in the present will influence his behavior in the

future reflecting predictions of Martin’s findings. Instead of Tiny being crippled

literally, his misplaced faith will be the obstacle he must overcome.

In the end instead of rediscovering the Christmas Spirit, Emcee Duck will

have to rediscover the true spirit of Hip Hop Culture in order avoid a horrible

future and finally find redemption.

My film will reflect my belief that Hip hop music, for the most part, has

been assimilated into mainstream culture in the U.S. Although some aspects of

Hip Hop Culture have not reached Gottdiener’s third stage, in which a sub-culture

loses its vitality, as a whole the culture’s ethos has been transformed. As

discussed previously Hebdige’s study on the meaning of style elicits comparisons

of Hip Hop Culture in the U.S. to the course of the Punk subculture in the U.K.

Like Punk, Hip Hop Culture’s style has been adopted by mainstream culture and

used for marketing to the point that the formerly rebellious style is now a part of

pop culture.

I believe this development has both positive and negative consequences.

Mainstream hip hop music is no longer a viable means for artists to express the

effects of poverty and discrimination for young disenfranchised Blacks. However,

the success of commercialized hip hop music has fostered diversity and racial

tolerance in both Hip Hop Culture and in the U.S. mainstream culture, as a wider

audience has been exposed to and embraced underground hip hop music and

culture. Underground hip hop artists have opposed he myopic definitions of

“keeping it real,” that were presented in McLeod’s study in form and style, and

through the success of women and racially diverse artists. Even the supposed

“death” of hip hop music has at the very least focused artists’ and fans’ attention

on the symptoms that contributed to the decline or in my opinion, transformation

of Hip Hop Culture into its current state.

The current state of hip hop music allows for much more flexibility in its

definition of authenticity. Previously hardened Gangsta rappers such as Ice-T and

Ice Cube now portray detectives on network television shows, and wealthy

heiresses like Paris Hilton as well as adolescent white teen idols like Justin Bieber

can find commercial success as hip hop artists. So, although the things that made

Hip Hop Culture authentic in the early ‘80s are of little importance in current

mainstream hip hop music, Hip Hop Culture persists. The continued success of

hip hop music, underground or mainstream defies critics contention that hip hop

has died. My study of the subject brought me to the conclusion that the only way

that a sub-culture can die is by becoming stagnant. Whether Hip Hop Culture has

changed for the better or for the worse, it’s scope has broadened and it’s effect on

mainstream culture in the U.S. has been significant.

In my film I hope to reflect this contention. Within the format of a

Christmas Carol, I will examine the origins and evolution of Hip Hop Culture,

illustrate the current trends and problems facing the culture, and attempt to impart

my belief that Hip Hop Culture has not died, but is in the next stage of its

metamorphosis. By co-opting the use of redemption for Ebenezer Scrooge in the

original A Christmas Carol I hope to give my audience the sense that the future of

Hip Hop Culture should not, and does not have to be determined by the values of

mainstream culture in the U.S., but instead by conscientious artists and informed

fans.

“A HIP-HOP CAROL”

FADE IN:

EXT. - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER - EVENING

It’s the MTV music awards ceremony. FLAVOR FLAVE

is there with BRIDGETTE NEILSON on his arm.

Ahead of him 50 CENT limps down the isle in his

signature wife beater and chains, accompanied by

the G-UNIT. JOHNNY KNOXVILLE parachutes in on

fire and is greeted by WEE MAN and BRAD PITT who

extinguish him upon landing. ARNOLD

SCHWARZENEGGER dressed in a tux waves to the

crowd as he enters the theater. SUCHIN PAK

abruptly breaks off an interview with JUSTIN

TIMBERLAKE because the CROWD is now clamoring

around the red carpet to catch a glimpse of the

latest arrival.

A stretch Hummer limousine rolls past a clamoring

MOB OF PAPARAZZI lining the edges of the red

carpet. After at least ten tinted windows pass

by at about 1 mile an hour the rear door of the

limo pulls up to the edge of the carpet and a

VALET opens the door. A stunning pair or gold

bikini clad VIDEO HONEYS that could be twins step

out onto the red carpe, each holding the end of a

cylinder of gold fabric. The Two Honeys roll out

a gold carpet over the red carpet. The limo pulls

away and a sparkling gold convertible 64 Impala

low rider driven by FARNSWORTH BENTLY rolls up

with EMCEE DUCK, the hottest MC in the rap game

perched atop the back seat head rest talking on

his cell phone. Duck is Black, about 35, and has

a tattoo on his left arm reading “R.I.P. Fezzy”

above a scar from a bullet wound.

After pausing briefly to take a sip from his

jewel encrusted pimp cup, Duck tosses it aside

and jumps out of the car onto the gold carpet.

Sporting a pair of aviators, a gold plated

microphone necklace dangling over a kevlar vest,

a pair of custom Tims, a diamond encrusted dollar

sign necklace and a diamond ring for each finger,

DUCK begins wading through the crowd pushing past

the mics REPORTERS shove in his face. Duck

strides confidently into the theater, taking

little time to bask in the adoration of the

crowd.

INT. - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER – ONE HOUR LATER

CARSON DALY is standing center stage at a podium

with a crowd of teens of all types CHANTING

“Emcee Duck, Emcee Duck!”

CARSON DALY

And the award for hip hop artist

of the century year goes to…

Duck talking on his cell snaps to attention,

abruptly ends his phone call and leaps to his

feet making his way to the stage before Carson

can finish. Pushing Carson aside he lifts the

award above his head triumphantly.

DUCK

First of all, to all the haters

who said I couldn’t do it, what

now? What? I’d like to thank

first and foremost…myself.

Without my vision, creativity,

physical strength,

insightfulness, and single-

minded determination and

individual effort this never

could’ve happened. I would also

like to thank MTV for proving

itself as a credible

organization and finally giving

me the recognition I deserve.

Speaking of recognition it’s

‘bout time all ya’ll recognized…

MUSIC comes up signaling that Duck has used up

his allotment of time.

DUCK

Wait, no, I’m not finished!

Nooooo!

INT. – DUCK’S BEDROOM – MORNING

Duck awakens startled from his dream by his CELL

PHONE RING. Grabs the phone.

DUCK

Hello? Bob? Do you know what

time it is? What time is it? Why

didn’t you call me? Look, the

meeting will start when I get

there.

Duck rolls out of bed, rubs his eyes and then

smiles as he looks over at the wall of Grammys,

Source, and BET awards opposite his massive bed.

Reenergized, Duck skips merrily out of the room.

INT. – DUCK’S HALLWAY - Morning

Duck skips down the hall past ten framed gold and

platinum albums taking time to gaze adoringly at

each. At the end of the hall he abruptly stops.

INT. DUCK’S LIVING ROOM - Morning

Duck pauses to admire the gigantic portrait of

himself hanging above his mantle. Now solemn, he

uses the sleeve of his robe to polish an empty

glass case marked ‘MTV Hip-Hop Artist of the

Year, 2011’.

Duck’s cell phone RINGS again snapping him out of

his trance.

INT. - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

LEO, music promoter, sits at the end of a long

conference table. The room is decorated with rock

n roll memorabilia and platinum records. Leo, a

balding white guy with a pony tail looks as if he

purchased his outfit from a store specializing in

music promoter uniforms…from the ‘80s, complete

with a ragged the Who t-shirt under a suit coat

and narrow red-framed glasses. As he texts on his

iPhone he sips a vente from Starbucks. When he

sees Duck enter he jumps to his feet and attempts

a complicated handshake with Duck. Duck ignores

him.

LEO

Whassup bra? Perrier? Gin and

Juice? You want it, we got it.

Duck nods a half greeting as he wraps up a call

on his cell and sits at the end of the long

table. Duck’s manager BOB CRATCHIT enters the

room, arms overflowing with papers, files, and

two cell phones. He sits down awkwardly, looking

disheveled and nervous as usual. Bob is followed

into the room by DR. CORNELL WEST,a scholarly

gentleman with a wild afro and RUSSELL SIMMONS,

wearing a jogging suit from his own line of

clothing. The men exchange greetings and sit

down.

LEO

Let’s get to it homies. Let’s

not bullshit, hip-hop is on the

brink of…

RUSSELL

Bankruptcy!

DR. WEST

Moral bankruptcy!

LEO

Yeah, all that, whatever. Here’s

what I think they’re talking

about. Lets take a look at a

clip from your latest video.

Leo CLICKS a remote to lower a gigantic plasma TV

screen from the wall behind him. The screen

lights up and the group turns its attention on

the display. The video begins with a scene set in

Duck’s office. Both the members of the meeting

and the viewing audience are transported into the

scene.

INT. DUCK’S OFFICE - DAY

The office is decorated in a reserved, but modern

style with a large mahogany desk surrounded by

bookshelves, but the main feature of the room is

a huge vault door occupying almost the entirety

of one wall.

Duck, dressed in a gold robe and aviator

sunglasses approaches the door. He allows a laser

censor to scan his retina, unlocking the safe.

Duck steps through the door.

INT. - MONEY VAULT – SECONDS LATER

The room has stark white walls surrounding a

small swimming pool filled with gold coins and

gemstones. Duck steps out onto a diving board 20

feet above all of his gold. He disrobes revealing

his sparking gold boxers and gold swim fins. He

dives head first into the pit of gold coins and

swims through them like a fish through water. He

emerges holding a suspicious baggie with one hand

and holding BEYONCE, wearing a gold bikini, with

the other arm.

DUCK

Yup, yup, My Number One Dime and

my number one “dime.”

A gang of CROOKED COPS burst through the door of

DUCK’s money vault guns drawn, interrupting his

verse. DUCK back flips into his sea of coins and

disappears, only to reemerge YELLING and wildly

firing a gold plated AK.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – EARLY AFTERNOON

LEO

See that’s what we’re talking

about.

DUCK

What?

LEO

Dr. West.

DR. WEST

The shameless materialism! The

objectification of women! The

violence!

DUCK

You’re absolutely right. I told

the director I shoulda had 2

AK’s.

Dr. West, Leo and Russell can’t believe Duck’s

density.

LEO

Ok, ok. What about these lyrics…

“Bitches, bitches, bitches was a

problem when I didn’t have no

loot, now I’m iced out and

ballin’ in paternity suits.”

DUCK

Yeah that shit is tight! And

it’s true, too.

Duck pulls out his wallet and flips it open to

reveal a picture of a child that looks exactly

like him if his head was attached to a baby’s

body.

DUCK

That boy don’t even look like

me. Well, he does have my eyes.

RUSSELL

What we’re talking about here

brotha is your image. You’re on

top of the game. You represent

hip-hop and hip-hop represents

African-Americans. You’re a role

model!

LEO

Exactly! You feelin’ me? Huh?

Leo extends his fist to Duck for a pound, but

this time Duck, Russell and Dr. West give Leo a

‘you-must-be-kidding-me’ look.

DUCK

Look, we all know sex and

violence is what they want. If

it didn’t sell then I wouldn’t

even be in here. Besides fool

this is my art. Whatever

happened to the first

commandment?

DR. WEST

That’s the first admendment.

Duck stands to address the room.

DUCK

Whatever. “Free speech is

intended to protect the

controversial and even

outrageous word; and not just

comforting platitudes too

mundane to need protection.”

Colin Farell.

BOB

That’s Colin Powell.

DUCK

True dat.

LEO

Ok, ok, ok. Here’s something we

can all agree on. The “N-Word.”

It’s gotta go. For example the

track listing on your latest

album…Niggaology, Nigganomics,

Niggarithmatic. How can you

respect yourself when you refer

to yourself as a, a…nigger?

DUCK

Who you calling a nigger, Nigga?

Duck lunges out of his seat at Leo, but Bob,

Russell and Dr. West manage to hold him back. In

the commotion, Duck’s gun slips out of his jacket

pocket and fires, shattering the plasma screen

still frozen on Duck’s video image. Everyone hits

the deck.

LEO

Ok that’s lunch.

INT. - THE BACKSEAT OF DUCK’S LIMO - LATE AFTERNOON

Duck looks stressed sitting next to Bob whose

jitters aren’t helping him as he tries to roll a

joint on his lap. He hands the joint to Duck and

lights it for him. Duck inhales half of the joint

with one breath.

DUCK

Why Bob? Why are they trying to

stifle my creativity? I’m giving

the people what they want.

BOB

It’s just that, you know, sir,

the world has changed. Since Don

Imus…and and…

DUCK

Don Imus! That cracker

mothafucker never listened to

any hip-hop.

Duck takes another drag.

BOB

But you have to admit sir, your

songs are all over the airwaves,

and kids. I have kids sir, and

well aren’t they impressionable?

Duck blankly stares out the window at the passing

scenery. The limo rolls past a liquor store next

to a McDonald’s in the corner of a strip mall

underneath a Victoria’s Secret Billboard with

Tyra Banks modeling a bra, then an Army

Recruitment office with a Classic Uncle Sam ‘We

Want You’ poster, and finally a rundown looking

public high school. Duck exhales a plume of milky

white marijuana smoke directly into Bob’s face.

DUCK

Yeah, I agree. I’m just a scape

goat. Scrape goat. Goooaaaat.

Greatest of alllll time. Home

Jeeves! Big day tomorrow. You’ll

see. Everybody loves me.

INT.- DUCK’S LIVING ROOM - DUSK

Duck enters the room still smoking his joint, but

stops dead in his tracks at the sight of LILAH,

standing, scowling at him from beneath his giant

portrait, clutching an issue of Entertainment

Weekly. Standing in a pair of three inch heels,

Lilah towers over Duck. Though she has a thin

model’s body her dark eyes and mane of black hair

make her into an intimidating figure.

LILAH

You shiftless no account broke

dick cheating nigga mothafucker!

I hate you!

DUCK

He doesn’t even look like me!

Lilah, even angrier throws the magazine in his

face.

LILAH

Page 9, paragraph 3. “Emcee Duck

will walk down the isle at the

MTV awards accompanied by his

mother June and his rumored

fiancée Lily.”

DUCK

It’s just a typo.

LILAH

It better be! No way your mama

is coming to the show. That’s

my night to shine and there’s no

way your momma’s gonna be all up

in my lime light.

DUCK

But she’s …

LILAH

In the way. You’re Em Cee Duck,

the richest, hardest hip-hop

gangsta M.C. on the planet. Not

the biggest punk ass momma’s

boy. It’s marketing. Think about

it. Brad and Angelina, Jay-Z and

Beyonce. We’re Lilah and Duck!

We’re set to be the hottest

power couple in hip hop.

DUCK

But I finally got her to…

LILAH

NOT coming!

DUCK

But…

Lilah glares at Duck with new intensity.

DUCK

Ok, I’ll text her.

Lilah softens and lovingly caresses DUCK’s face.

LILAH

One more thing honey.

Gripping Duck by the shirt, Lilah violently knees

him in the balls, dropping him to the floor.

LILAH

Next time you feel the need to

spread your little seed with

some groupie think about that!

Or at least wear a condom. See

you at the pre-pre-party at

Diddy’s.

Still clutching his groin, Duck passes out curled

up on the floor in the fetal position.

INT. - DUCK’S LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT

DUCK awakens still balled up on the floor. The

sound of glasses CLINKING together draws Duck’s

attention to his living room bar.

DUCK

Lilah? Is that you? Damn Girl!

OLD DIRTY BASTARD, appearing as a large dark

silhouette continues to rummage through the

liquor selection without reply. Duck can only

make out a few curly braids on top of the

figure’s head.

DUCK

Freeze nigga!

Duck pulls out a shiny 22 from behind his back

and aims it at the figure, holding it sideways,

gangsta video style.

ODB

What up dun, got any Grey Goose?

DUCK

Old Dirty Bastard? Ahhhhh!

Duck unloads six shots wildly at the ghost. The

bullets pass harmlessly through ODB’s body and

explode the bottles and glasses behind him.

ODB

(singing)

Recognize I’m a fool and you

love me! Ha ha ha haaa.

ODB steps out from behind the bar and takes a

long swig from a bottle of Grey Goose, but the

vodka streams through his ghostly body and spills

all over the floor. Duck jumps behind the couch

in fear, but ODB appears out of nowhere standing

beside him.

DUCK

But you, you’re dead. Am I dead?

ODB

No fool! Hip-hop is dead.

DUCK

No, I’m dreaming right? Yeah

that album didn’t even go plat

once, ok, maybe with sales

abroad, but the Euro is stronger

than the dollar so if you carry

the two uh…

Duck stops mid sentence taking notice of ODB’s

ghost slyly pocketing his diamond studded Rolex

off the side table. The watch falls through his

ghostly coat pocket and onto the floor.

DUCK

You really are Big Baby Jesus.

ODB

Yeah, and you’re fucked nigga.

Tonight you will be visited by

three ghostly ass mothafuckers.

The Ghost of Hip-hop Past. The

Ghost of Hip-hop Present. And

the Ghost of Hip-hop Future,

dun.

DUCK

Huh?

ODB

Wu-Tang is for the children! We

teach the children!

DUCK

Huh?

As ODB fades away into the darkness Duck’s giant

plasma screen TV comes on in a flash illuminating

the room in pale light, and blasting the latest

Duck video through the surround sound. Startled,

Duck stumbles over the couch in fear. Calming

himself Duck rummages through his pockets and

finds the remains of his joint. He starts to

light it, then thinks twice and puts it down and

backs away. Then he thinks a third time, picks it

up, takes a drag and flips his cell phone out of

his pocket.

DUCK

Bob be here in 5 min. Gotta hit

up the pre-party.

BOB (V.O.)

But sir you said I could have

the night off to…

DUCK

Bob! I need you man. This skunk

you got me is off the heezy.

Gotta be on my game, bring

Starbucks.

BOB (V.O.)

But I have to take my son…

Duck flips the phone closed before Bob can finish

his sentence.

INT. DUCK’S LIMO – EARLY EVENING

Duck sits next to Bob in the backseat of his

limo. Duck is sipping on an espresso with a

confused look on his face. TINY TIM sits opposite

Duck in the limo. The tiny 5

grader is enveloped

by his massive starter jacket, baggy jeans and

gigantic Timberland boots that don’t even touch

the floor. His eyes are wide as saucers and his

mouth is hanging open.

DUCK

Bob, who’s that lil nigga?

BOB

That’s my son Tim sir, we call

him Tiny. It’s my night to take

him to the boys and girls club

for hip hop club.

DUCK

What’s wrong with him?

BOB

He’s starstruck sir. He’s one of

your biggest fans.

Duck suddenly becomes friendly. Tiny reaches into

his coat pocket. Duck suspiciously reaches for

his 22, but comes to his senses when Tiny extends

a copy of his latest cd across the seat.

DUCK

Oh you want an autograph? Don’t

let me see this shit end up on

E-bay!

Tiny nods nervously.

DUCK

You gonna be a big time agent

like your pops, Tiny?

TINY

Hell no! I’m gonna be a

mothafuckin G, a M.C. and a

millionaire, and I’m gonna have

a clothing line! Just like you.

Bob bows his head and pinches the bridge of his

nose as if he’s heard this speech one time too

many.

DUCK

Well good for you Tiny dogg!

Don’t let nobody say you can’t.

Haters, police, teachers,

doctors, mommy and daddy. You

gotta be like ‘Got Beef?’ I’m

stackin cheese! Chedda! I got

lettuce! I’m makin bread!

Bringing home the bacon. Getting

that ice and cream. Cash rules

everything around me, get the

money. Dolla Dalla bill yall.

Tiny nods excitingly at every word spoken by his

hero.

TINY

Wow! Mr. Duck will you come to

my hip hop show? I’m not very

good and the other kids, well if

you came with me…

BOB

We’re here sir.

DUCK

Aright Tiny, wouldn’t miss it.

Bob write that down. Peace Tiny

.Stay Black ma nigga.

Duck tosses the cd to Tiny. Tiny reads the

inscription… “Got Beef? Stack chedda, Tiny ma

nigga. Emcee Duck. Not for resale.”

INT. DIDDY’S PENTHOUSE APARTMENT - 2:00 AM

Duck enters the room and instantly becomes the

center of attention. He gives JUSTIN BIEBER a

pound and winks at RIHANNA. Someone tosses him a

beer that he catches deftly without even looking.

As Duck mingles with the crowd he gets a lot of

props to his face and some hateful looks behind

his back. Duck spots NINA, his former partner,

standing at the other side of the room wearing an

African head wrap and a long gown. He discretely

makes his way over to her, purposely bumping into

her, but pretending it was an accident.

DUCK

Assalamu Alaikum, Sista Shabazz.

NINA

Uh-huh. Nigga please.

DUCK

Good to see you too. How’s your

mom and dad? They still ask

about me?

NINA

I’m serious Calvin. All that

bling, money, bitches shit is

getting real old. You’re better

than that. Listen, I’m hosting a

benefit concert for…

DUCK

Ok. Charity. I’m a charitable

person. How much do you need?

NINA

No I want you to perform. Bob’s

son is performing too. We can do

some of the old material.

DUCK

You mean the ‘doesn’t sell

enough to cover the cost of

marketing’ material? The

‘nobody wants to dance too, let

alone purchase’ material?

Duck looking over Nina’s shoulder notices Lilah

enter the room.

DUCK

I gotta go! Call my agent about

the check.

INT. - EMPTY HALLWAY - NIGHT

Duck escapes down a hall, ducks into an open

elevator.

INT. – ELEVATOR - 3:00 AM

Duck smashes all the buttons just trying to get

the doors to close. The elevator lights flicker

as the elevator drops and then smoothly lowers to

the floor marked ‘$’.

INT. - DIDDY’S STUDIO - NIGHT

The lights are off, but there’s someone

SCRATCHING RECORDS ON AN OLD PAIR OF TURNTABLES.

The elevator doors open and Duck steps cautiously

into the room. Noticing a dark figure standing

behind the turntables, Duck reaches for his gun,

but he can’t find it. The DJ lets the record

play:

“Kick off shoes, jump on jock,

Listen to the Jam Master as he

starts to rock

His name is Jay and he’s on his

way,

To be the best DJ in the US of

A…”

The lights come on revealing the GHOST OF JAM

MASTER JAY wearing the signature RUN DMC black

hat, sunglasses and gold chain. Duck backs away

in disbelief.

DUCK

Jam Master Jay? Damn that was

some good weed.

JMJ

I’m the Ghost of Hip-hop Past

stupid.

JMJ starts SCRATCHING a familiar beat and Duck is

mesmerized by JMJ’s turntablism. JMJ allows the

records to PLAY out the recognizable hook to LL

Cool J’s “My Radio.”

INT. - A 1980’S STYLE LIVINGROOM - DUSK

A modest but comfortable middle-class home complete

with shag carpeting, a new VCR and cable, hooked up to

a TV perched on top of a broken console tv from the

‘60s. Duck and JMJ are standing in the back of the

room where a YOUNG EMCEE DUCK and his fat friend FEZZY

are sitting enthralled by the image on the working TV.

JMJ

Nice digs, baller. I thought you

were from the hood?

DUCK

Yeah, well we moved on up.

Young Emcee Duckis watching the LL Cool J

audition scene in “Krush Groove.”

INT. - KRUSH GROOVE OFFICE - DAY

Russell, RICK RUBIN and some OTHER EXECS are

holding auditions in a cramped room filled with

records and papered with concert fliers.

RUSSELL

No more auditions.

LL COOL J., a young man in a blue kangol hat and

matching blue shirt, pushes his way into the room

accompanied by TWO OTHER YOUNG MEN in track

suits, one holding a stereo.

RICK RUBIN

Sorry man, auditions are over

today. Maybe you can come in

next week? We can work

something out ok?

LL COOL J

Box!

LL’s stereo carrying friend presses play and

BLASTS a BEAT at the stunned audience. LL begins

rapping and posturing, even getting in the faces

of the now-receptive execs.

LL COOL J

My radio, believe me, I like it

loud

I'm the man with a box that can

rock the crowd

Walkin' down the street, to the

hardcore beat

While my JVC vibrates the

concrete

I'm sorry if you can't

understand

But I need a radio inside my

hand

Don't mean to offend other

citizens

But I kick my volume way past 10

My story is rough, my

neighborhood is tough

But I still sport gold, and I'm

out to crush

My name is Cool J, I devastate

the show

But I couldn't survive without

my radio.

INT. - DUCK’S CHILDHOOD LIVINGROOM - DUSK

Young Duck and Fezzy rewind the tape and Fezzy

dances while Duck raps and moves along with LL.

JMJ and DUCK watch and join in as they’ve gotten

caught up with the kids’ excitement.

JMJ

Now that’s how we used to do it.

Look at your chunky friend go!

Fezzy deftly pops and locks and then smoothly

transitions into a back spin on the floor.

JMJ

It used to be about being

creative, having fun, and

getting respect on the mic. Not

about being iced out and making

it rain.

The effect of the nostalgia having worn off, Duck

now stands uncomfortably in his old home,

DUCK

Yeah, that’s what it was about

alright? I saw Rev Run rockin’ a

mink on “Run’s House,” livin’ in

his mansion with his Bently and

a Viper just the other night.

Now let’s get out of here

before...

The front door opens and Duck’s MOM walks in

wearing a nurse’s uniform, carrying a bag of

groceries. Mom shuffles over to Duck’s younger

self and grabs the remote to lower the volume.

MOM

I could hear that loud mess from

the driveway. Keep it down.

DUCK

Mom can I have turntables for my

birthday?

MOM

Maybe if you get your grades up,

you might have time to get a

job, and then you can get

yourself some record players.

DUCK

Turntables mom! I don’t need a

job. I’m gonna be a MC.

MOM

You’re going to college, and get

a degree, and work for a living,

because that’s real life. That

mess on TV, that’s just the

latest minstrel show. If you

don’t know what that means look

it up and write it down for me

before dinner.

JMJ

Damn! Your mom is serious dog.

She must be proud of you now

though.

DUCK

Yeah. Can we go?

JMJ motions toward the front door. Duck opens the

door and steps outside.

INT. - SUBWAY STATION - NIGHT

But instead of finding himself on the front

porch, Duck steps onto a subway platform and is

engulfed by dozens of other passengers exiting a

train. It’s a subway stop in Queens, New York.

JMJ

Home sweet home.

DUCK

Jay, I’m serious take me home! I

got the MTV awards in like 9

hours. I gotta get my beauty

sleep.

JMJ

But Duck, you are home.

A TEENAGE DUCK and TEENAGE NINA are rapping over

a beat playing on a boombox sitting on a

cardboard sheet with a smattering of change.

TEEN DUCK

…and then elections got stole,

the polls officially closed…

TEEN NINA

Two towers fell, and some assets

got froze…

TEEN DUCK

Now the climate got cold, but

the new threat…

TEEN NINA

Is the same as the old…

The CROWD largely ignores the performance. Teen

Duck and Teen Nina hold out copies of their album

for sale, but the crowd avoids them. An OLD MAN

and a COUPLE OF WHITE COLLEGE KIDS drop some

change next to the boom box.

JMJ

You two had good chemistry.

Why’d you break up?

DUCK

Creative differences.

Teen Duck and Teen Nina gather up their

belongings and take a seat on a bench next to the

escalator by the payphones.

TEEN DUCK

Only $20 off 5 trains?

TEEN NINA

We’ll make triple that during

rush hour.

TEEN DUCK

You’re missing the point. This

is bullshit. People don’t want

to hear it. Why starve when we

could get paid? We need to get

big, and then we can give back.

Now that’s the win win.

TEEN NINA

You don’t have to go through

with this?

TEEN DUCK

Yes I do. I told you I’m just

gonna move a couple o-zees for a

friend of a friend and I’ll be

able to pay for the studio time.

TEEN NINA

Why can’t you just be patient?

TEEN DUCK

Why can’t you grow the fuck up?

Damn! Tryna keep a nigga down.

Nina’s look of concern becomes a disappointed

frown. She turns and walks away, taking the

escalator up pausing to look back, but Teen Duck

doesn’t notice.

A rotund YOUNG MAN Duck’s age wearing a hoodie

and shades gets off the train carrying a duffle

bag. He walks over to the payphone next to Teen

Duck and drops a bag. Teen Duck drops his

backpack and discretely picks up the duffle bag

at his feet.

An OLD BUM asking for change interrupts the

exchange. He grabs the backpack and reveals

himself as an undercover cop. The Young man

struggles with the cop. Teen Duck joins the

scuffle. A SHOT RINGS OUT. Teen Duck falls down

holding his arm and the Young man falls down and

lies motionless. The Cop pulls out a walkie

talkie.

COP

I need back up. You, freeze!

TEEN DUCK

Fezzy! You ok? Fezzy?

DUCK

What’s the big deal, Jay? I did

6 months in juvie. That stint

just helped to establish my

street cred.

JMJ

What about him?

Jay points to the Young Man, clutching his

stomach in pain.

DUCK

That wasn’t my fault! It wasn’t

my fault.

A train pulls into the station and Jay steps on

board. Duck boards behind him just as the doors

are closing.

INT. – ELEVATOR – 4:00 AM

Duck finds himself back in the elevator at

Diddy’s going up, but Jam Master Jay has

disappeared.

INT. - DIDDY’S PRE-PRE PARTY – 4:00 AM

The party is dying down and only a few scattered

groups remain. Duck emerges from the elevator

confused. He see’s Nina approaching.

DUCK

Nina, did you just see Jam

Master Jay come through here?

NINA

Nigga, you trippin?

DUCK

I just…nevermind.

NINA

What are they doing to you

Ducky? Call me if you ever want

to get your head straight, or

if…

Duck sees Lilah coming his way. He starts to back

away, but she stops to give dap to LIL BOW WOW.

NINA

The concert’s at the urban youth

center tomorrow night. You can

make it there before the awards.

It would mean so much to Tiny

and to me.

DUCK

And miss my grand entrance? I

got an image to uphold. Now

who’s trippin’?

Duck recognizes Nina’s look of disappointment.

She turns and walks away without looking back.

Duck sees Lilah coming his way again and decides

to run before she can corner him. Opting for the

door marked stairs instead of the elevator, Duck

bounds out of the room.

INT. - DUCK’S OFFICE, DEF MUSIC STUDIOS - DAYTIME

Duck is asleep, laying face down on his desk

holding his gun in one hand and sucking his thumb

on his other hand. Duck’s secretary LORRAINE, a

middle-aged black woman with wide hips, butts

into the room holding a Starbuck’s cup and a bag

of doughnuts. Finding Duck asleep on his desk,

Lorraine carefully removes the gun from his hand

before slamming the coffee onto the desk to wake

him up.

LORRAINE

Your publicist, image

consultant, and stylist are

waiting.

DUCK

Well send them in then.

Lorraine scuttles out of the room and Duck’s

publicist ESCOBAR busts into the room with

FARNSWORTH BENTLEY, his stylist, and KATRINA, his

image consultant, right behind. The three stumble

over each other trying to be first to get Duck’s

attention. Escobar, a portly Hispanic man with

pink hair wearing a Gucci track suit elbows his

way to the front.

ESCOBAR

T.I. is getting out of jail,

again, soon. You need to get

busted for weed or something so

he doesn’t take up all the free

publicity.

BENTLY

And you’re not wearing that

whack shit tonight. I got you

that new shit right here.

Bentley, dressed in a dapper white suit, pulls a

jewelry box out of his jacket pocket and flips it

to Duck. Duck opens the box and is blinded by the

glare from a huge pair of diamond dollar sign

shaped earrings. Katrina, a young white woman

with glasses, holding a stack of disorganized

folders interrupts by dropping her pile on Duck’s

Desk.

KATRINA

Look Duck, I need you to break

up with Lilah. She’s too old for

our new target demographic, the

fourteen to eighteen year old

crowd. Have you ever met Miley

Cyrus? Oh, and with the whole

T.I. situation, it might be time

to toughen up your image again.

Wink wink.

Escobar pretends to shoot himself in the arm.

DUCK

That was a serious flesh wound!

If it had been one inch to the

left I might never have been

able to play piano ever again.

Maybe we shouldn’t be glorifying

that type of violence anyway.

The Katrina, Escobar, and Bentley look at each

other to make sure they just heard the same

thing. Duck picks up his gun and points it at the

group.

DUCK

Bounce!

The group scurries out of the room. Duck taps the

button on his desk intercom.

DUCK

Cancel all my appointments till

the awards. All of them!

Duck exhales a breath of relief and puts his head

down to go back to sleep on his desk. There’s a

KNOCK at the door.

DUCK

Go away! All appointments

canceled!

Duck picks up his intercom angrily, but it’s not

working. There’s another KNOCK at the door.

DUCK

Lorraine! I thought I said no

appointments!

Duck slams the intercom down and stomps toward

the door, but as he reaches for the handle EAZY

E’S GHOST passes through the door into the

office. Duck falls backwards onto the floor.

Eazy duz it, Nigga.

DUCK

Eazy E?

As the ghost approaches Duck pops up and backs

away until his back is against his window.

I’m the mothafuckin Ghost of

Hip-hop Present.

DUCK

What? This shit is too much.

We’re in the present. Whatta you

got to show me I can’t see for

myself?

Eazy pulls out a pair of dark sunglasses and

hands them to Duck. Eazy waits for Duck to put

them on then opens the office door.

Get to stepping…

INT. – HALLWAY OF DEF MUSIC RECORDING - DAY

Duck steps hesitantly into the main hall of Def

Music.

LORRAINE

Nice glasses, sir. Very old

school.

As if reading her mind, the sunglasses provide

subtitles translating her inner thoughts into

words.

SUBTITLE:I hate you, you egotistical moron. I

hope you go to jail soon.

Duck pauses in stunned silence. Duck’s intern,

CHUCK, a skinny college kid wearing a “Duck For

Life” t-shirt, walks by.

CHUCK

What up sir? That new track

you’re working on is sooo

tiiiight!

SUBTITLES: So I leaked it on-line for beer money.

Duck starts to chase after him, but notices Leo

walking down the hall with the CEO of DEF Music,

RICH GUY.

DUCK

Sup’ my niggas.

LEO

Emcee Duck, I was just looking

for you.

SUBTITLE: So that I wouldn’t have to run into

you.

DUCK

Hello Mr. Guy.

GUY

I am such a big fan.

SUBTITLE: Who are you?

GUY (CONT.)

My grandkids just love your

music.

SUBTITLE: It just put them through college.

DUCK

You two must’ve been discussing

the future of my next album?

LEO

Exactly!

SUBTITLE: No.

LEO (CONT.)

We’re going to break records.

SUBTITLE: In the percentage we’re gonna make off

this.

GUY

We have a lot riding on your

success.

SUBTITLE: Although we’ll still make money on

your certain failure.

LEO

You’re the sound of this

generation.

SUBTITLE: Only an idiot would buy that.

GUY

Excuse us son. It was nice

meeting you.

SUBTITLE: Now fuck off so I can get some

coffee.

Guy and Leo walk away smiling at each other,

occasionally glancing back at DUCK.

GUY

Is he still a worthwhile

investment?

LEO

One or two more mediocre pop

albums. Then we’ll put him on

the hook of some R&B shit til he

gets played out. The Ja Rule

treatment.

GUY

Just remember to get the rights.

He might get shot or something.

Guy and Leo high five and part ways. Duck stands

in stunned silence. Eazy shoves him in the chest

to wake him up.

DUCK

What? That just confirms what I

already knew about those two.

Nah, I just thought we outta be

in Compton soon.

Eazy smacks the back of Duck’s head causing the

magic sunglasses to flip off.

EXT. – ARTIFICAL CUL-DE-SAC IN COMPTON - DAY

Duck stands on a sidewalk entrance to the cul-de-

sac.

DUCK

What the fuck did you bring me

here for? You know I got beef

with some niggas up here.

Them niggas over there?

A black lowrider ‘62 Chevy Impala with tinted

windows slowly creeps around the corner. Duck

reaches for his gun, but remembers that he can’t

be seen or heard. A group of TEENAGE BLACK BOYS

emerges from one of the homes. One of the boys is

wearing a diamond necklace and some Tims, and

another is wearing big diamond earrings, and

another rolls out in a wheel chair holding a

basketball and wearing the latest Jordan’s. The

Impala continues its slow advance in their

direction. The front window slowly rolls down

revealing a LATINO YOUNG MAN with a tattooed arm

wearing a blue head scarf at the wheel.

DUCK

Oh shit. Them fools is ‘bout to

get jacked. Do something Eazy!

As the Impala pulls along side the kids, they

stop in their tracks. The rear window rolls down

and clouds of smoke billow out of the window. A

man’s hand emerges from the window and motions

with a thin black finger for the kids to come

closer.

DUCK

I’m serious Eazy. What does this

shit have to do with me? Drive

bys happen here everyday.

The kids take a step toward the window and the

glint of metal momentarily startles them. It’s a

kitchen knife. The figure in the shadow finally

emerges from the dark, leaning against the window

frame. It’s SNOOP DOGG, holding a knife and slice

of bread!

SNOOP

Pardon me little homies. Do

ya’ll got any Grey Poupon?

DIRECTOR (OS)

Cut! Perfect Mr. Dogg. Once

more, but this time more smoke.

SNOOP

Fo sheezy ma nizzle.

Duck turns realizing that he’s not really in

Compton, but in a soundstage designed to look

like a Compton neighborhood.

DUCK

What the fuck is this shit?

I guess the boyz in the hood

aren’t always hard after all.

DUCK

What are you trying to tell me?

Is this supposed to mean hip hop

has depicted life in the ghetto

in such an exaggerated and one

dimensional manner? That the

problems caused by poverty in

the Black community have been

hidden in plain sight? That a

truly sad situation has been

turned into a marketing ploy?

That hip hop is no longer an

effective tool of subverting the

mainstream because hip hop has

subverted itself for a piece of

the pie? For Grey Poupon?

Don’t quote me boy, I ain’t said

shit.

Duck’s cell phone RINGS.

DUCK

Hello?

LILAH (VO)

Where the fuck are you?

EXT - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER - DAY

A bustling CROWD OF YOUNG BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE have

already arrived and celebrities are filing out of

limos and Hummers and Ferraris, one after the

other. As Duck’s gold limo arrives the crowd

rages into a frenzy. Lilah timidly steps out of

the limo, still on her cell.

LILAH

Hello? You’re dead! You are

dead!

INT. - COMPTON SOUNDSTAGE - DAY

Duck claps his phone shut and spins around.

DUCK

Eazy, I gotta…

But Eazy has disappeared and Duck finds himself

standing on an empty soundstage. He checks his

watch and scrambles for the exit.

EXT. - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER - DAY

With a mix of hate and embarrassment, Lilah helps

Duck’s Mom, now a middle-aged conservatively

dressed Black woman, step out onto the red

carpet. Cameras stop flashing and the crowd sighs

in disappointment realizing that Duck is nowhere

to be found.

EXT. - STREET CORNER OUTSIDE OF THE STUDIO LOT - DAY

Duck flips out his cell phone and dials

frantically.

DUCK

Bob, where the…What do you mean

where am I?

BOB (VO)

I’ve been trying to reach you

for hours. Don’t worry, if you

can’t make it, we’ll say you

were arrested or something.

Besides I arranged for your mom

to accept the award on your

behalf.

DUCK

What! Just send the limo Bob,

NOW.

BOB (V.O.)

Where are yo…

Duck’s phone cuts out.

INSERT: Cell phone reading “Low battery”.

DUCK

Noooooooooo!

Duck checks his watch, and then starts running

attempting to hail a cab, but no one will stop.

Duck notices the Impala from Snoop’s commercial

pulling off the lot and runs to intercept it. He

throws his watch into the driver’s window and

jumps in back.

INT. – IMPALA - DAY

DUCK

Get me to the MTV awards right

now and I’ll double...

Before Duck can finish his sentence the driver

turns to face him. The GHOST OF HIP HOP FUTURE

places the watch on his skeletal wrist. He’s

wearing a black hooded robe and his face is

obscured by the darkness of the hood.

HIP HOP FUTURE

Bling bling.

The Ghost turns away LAUGHING maniacally and

CLICKS THE AUTOMATIC LOCKS to prevent Duck from

escaping. The low rider bounces once on its

hydrolics and peels out around the corner.

DUCK

Enough! Enough already. I’ll do

some PSA’s, I’ll quit smoking

weed, I’ll even stop saying

nigga! What do you want from me

nigga?

The Impala stops abruptly and the doors unlock.

EXT. - A BRICK BUILDING - DAY

The Ghost of Hip-hop Future steps aside revealing

a life size shining gold statue of Emcee Duck.

Duck looks astonished.

DUCK

This must be my memorial. It’s

beautiful!

Duck approaches the statue in awe. He reads the

inscription written on the placard below. The

inscription reads ‘Over a million niggas served!’

VOC

Got beef?

Startled, Duck realizes that the voice came from

the statue. He looks closer.

VOC

Got beef? Hello? Order when

ready.

DUCK

Ok I’ll take a….Wait a minute.

Duck looks around him and realizes he’s standing

in a drive thru at a fast food restaurant. He

looks at the large menu next to the statue. Above

the menu the words Duck Burger glow in yellow

light. The restaurant’s slogan is written below

in cartoon letters, “Got Beef? Come get served.”

Duck strains to read the menu items.

DUCK

Duck burger, with extra beef?

Duck Fries? Cheddar Stacker?

Lettuce Rapper? C.R.E.A.M shake

with duck fries? No! This can’t

be right!

VOC

Can I take your order?

Duck clutches his chest ala Fred Sanford. HONK, a

car edges up to the menu. Duck runs to the pickup

window and pushes his face through the glass

doors.

DUCK

Get me the manager! This is

sue…

Duck realizes that the worker at the window is

Nina. Deep lines in her face show her age and her

hair wrap has been replaced by a visor and

hairnet, which can barely contain her scraggly

gray hair.

DUCK

Nina? Is that you?

The car, full of TEENAGERS pulls up to the

drive through window.

DRIVER

Hey, aren’t you, uh famous?

NINA

You recognize me? You must be

older than you look sweet thing.

I’ll autograph your duck fries’

wrapper.

DRIVER

But you…what happened? You’re

so…and you’re working at…?

NINA

Look, you want these fries or

not?

DRIVER

Yeah, sorry.

NINA

Here you go kid.

Nina hands the order through the window, but

before she closes the window the driver throws

his coke back at her, splashing the liquid all

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over Nina’s face and the Teenagers PEEL OUT while

LAUGHING WILDLY.

DUCK

Ghost! Ghost! Take me home,

please!

Hip Hop Future, stuffing Duck Fries into his

hood, points a skeletal hand toward a mansion on

a nearby hill. Duck realizes it’s his home and he

starts running in that direction.

INT.- DUCK’s LIVING ROOM - DAY

Duck runs through the door past his gigantic

portrait.

INT. - DUCK’S STAIRCASE – DAY.

Duck bounds up the stairs past his gold and

platinum records.

INT. – DUCK’S BEDROOM – DAY.

Duck finally enters his room. He trips over a

pile of fast food wrappers and slides face first

through a sea of trash. When he stands up he sees

that someone is in his bed. An OLD, OBESE,

BALDING, EMCEE DUCK struggles to bring his fat

arm to his face in order to eat a Duck fry. In

Old Duck’s other hand he holds an MTV award.

DUCK

No! No, that can’t be me? I

turned into Jabba the Duck! Why?

Whyyyyy?

Without knocking, GROWN UP TINY enters the room.

He’s still tiny, but wears a suit and carries a

briefcase. He wades through the food wrappers and

plops a clipboard down on Duck’s chest. Old Duck

drops his fries and signs the paper without

reading what’s on it.

DUCK

He must be my manager now. I

thought he wanted to be an Emcee.

101

OLD DUCK

S’up Tiny?

OLD TINY

What’s up is I’m buying you out

old man!

OLD DUCK

Huh?

OLD TINY

While you’ve been eating our

profits from Duckburger I’ve

been buying up stock and now I

hold majority control. I’m

selling the franchise and the

rights to all things Emcee Duck

to China. I’m gonna be rich

biatch! Got beef? Ha ha ha ha

ha.

OLD DUCK

But I’m your idol?

OLD TINY

That’s right. I’m just doing

what you told me to do, getting

chedda by any means necessary.

You just got served. And I

almost forgot, Baby Girl?

Lilah, a bit older, but still

stunning walks into the room and

kisses Tiny passionately.

Old Tiny and Lilah walk out of the room LAUGHING.

Simultaneously Old Emcee Duck and Emcee Duck

grasp their chests, but Old Emcee Duck is having

a real heart attack. Emcee Duck attempts to start

chest compressions, but he can’t because his

hands go right through him. He looks at his

future self’s ketchup covered mouth in disgust.

DUCK

Least I can’t do mouth to mouth.

102

Emcee Duck throws himself at the feet of the

Hooded Figure. He grabs his robe and begs.

DUCK

Please no? I can change! I can change! Please?

INT. - EMCEE DUCK’S BEDROOM - PRESENT DAY

Emcee Duck wrestles with his bed sheets, still

pleading.

DUCK

I can change!

Emcee Duck is awakened from his trance by his

CELL PHONE RING. He opens his eyes and looks

around. He grabs his phone and answers.

DUCK

Hello? Bob! Shut up! What day is

it? I’m not too late! I’m not

too late!

INT. – MANN’S CHINESE THEATER - EVENING

The MTV Awards are close to finishing. KURT LODER

is sitting at a table with Lilah, Bob, Tiny, and

Duck’s Mom.

LODER

I’m here with the mother of

multi- platinum…

Lihlah grabs for control of the mic.

LILAH

And fiancee!

Kurt deftly regains control of the mic and nudges

Lilah back into her seat.

LODER

…Multi platinum recording

artist, business mogul, and self

proclaimed richest MC in the

world, Emcee Duck, who is yet to

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arrive. To quote the man,

himself, “He went from OE and

Cheetos to caviar burritos.”

Could you ever have imagined

your son would achieve such

success?

MOM

Even as a young boy he excelled

at anything he put his mind to.

And ambitious, so ambitious.

LODER

Hero to many, reviled by others,

who is Emcee Duck to you, Mrs.

Duckett?

MOM

He’ll always be my wonderful son

and I’ll always be…

MILEY CYRUS and ZAC EFFRON are standing at the

podium on the main stage. The lights dim and

Duck’s face flashes onto the gigantic screen

above the main stage. He’s eating a money

sandwich in a scene from one of his latest

videos.

MOM

…proud of him.

CYRUS

The first nominee for hip-hop

artist of the year is the

richest mother duc…

EFFRON

Shut yo mouth.

CYRUS

I’m just talking ‘bout Duck.

Emcee Duck.

The giant screen displays Duck’s table with his

Mom, who’d be blushing if she could, Lilah trying

to take up as much room on the screen as

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possible, and finally focusing on Duck’s empty

seat.

EXT. - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER – EARLY EVENING

Bob is waiting outside nervously. Duck’s gold

stretch Hummer speeds round the corner and skids

to a halt in front of Bob. Duck is at the wheel.

DUCK

Jump in!

BOB

But sir?

DUCK

No time, let’s go! We’re late.

Bob cautiously gets into the vehicle and Duck

floors it before Bob can even shut the door.

INT. - MANN’S CHINESE THEATER – EARLY EVENING

Cyrus, holding the envelope, is about to announce

the hip-hop artist of the decade award.

CYRUS

And the winner is…Emcee Duck!

The audience erupts in APPLAUSE, but Duck is

nowhere to be seen. Cyrus and Effron look around

the audience. Cyrus’s iPhone RINGS. She answers.

CYRUS

It’s him. Uh, ok. Check out this

app!

Cyrus holds the phone up to the mic. Duck’s image

is simulcast from the phone onto the giant screen

above the stage.

DUCK

Hello MTV and America. I can’t

accept this award because if I

do hip hop in the future will

only sell things like fast food

105

and real artists won’t be taken

seriously. When our kids grow up

they’ll abandon us ‘cause we

didn’t show them how to live

right. And I’ll become morbidly

obese and have to wash myself

with a washcloth wrapped around

a stick! Hi Mom! I love you.

Thanks. Peace I’m out. I got a

show to do.

The crowd in the theater is silent. Duck’s Mom

smiles proudly.

EXT. - URBAN YOUTH CENTER - EARLY EVENING

In the middle of a park, a DIVERSE CROWD OF YOUNG

PEOPLE gather around a stage.

EXT. – BACKSTAGE - DUSK

Nina is helping Tiny get ready for his

performance. Tiny peeks out from behind the

curtain searches the audience.

TINY

Duck’s not coming is he?

Nina pats him on the shoulder.

NINA

Don’t worry, he’ll see the

video.

Tiny can’t hide his disappointment. He balls up

his face, grabs the mic from Nina and takes the

stage.

EXT. - URBAN YOUTH CENTER - EARLY EVENING

HONKING, Duck drives his gold stretch Hummer

through the middle of the crowd. He emerges from

the sunroof and runs onto the stage. Tiny, Nina,

and the crowd are amazed. The crowd CHEERS

106

wildly! He takes off Tiny’s head scarf and

necklace and gives him a hug. Tiny waves at Bob.

DUCK

Tiny, forget what I said before

about beef and chedda. Be like

your dad, not like me.

Tiny waves at Bob.

DUCK

Now, let’s kick it old school.

Nina, you too.

The DJ starts the MUSIC.

DUCK

Broken glass everywhere,

People pissing on the stairs,

You know they just don’t care.

NINA

I can’t take the smell,

I can’t take the noise,

Got no money to move out,

I guess I got no choice…

TINY

Rats in the front room,

Roaches in the back,

Junkies in the alley with a

baseball bat,

I tried to get away but I

couldn’t get far

Cause the man with the tow-truck

repossessed my car.

DUCK/LILA/TINY

Don’t push me, ‘cause I’m close

to the edge.

I’m trying not to lose my head.

It’s like a jungle sometimes, it

makes me wonder

How I keep from going under…

107

FADE OUT

108

Thesis Report

The process that I used to write “A Hip Hop Carol” was a learning

experience. I found that writing a script is a challenge that can be exhilarating

and fulfilling, but can also be draining and replete with frustration. My script took

about two years to write; however, at certain points I let it sit idle for weeks and

even months at a time. At other times I would work diligently, setting aside

several hours each day to write and revise. The principal difficulty I encountered

when trying to write my script was that I was simultaneously trying to revise and

finish my thesis proposal. Both my proposal and script evolved in unison. When I

would change my mind about a point in my proposal, I would revise my script

accordingly and when I found that my narrative conflicted with an argument in

my proposal I had to reevaluate the idea in my proposal. In the end I believe that

this process, however long and disorganized, helped me to come to a better

understanding of my argument and of myself as a writer.

My goal in undertaking this project was to explore the questions I put

forward in my thesis proposal creatively through a narrative script. The main

question I wanted to answer was: what happens to a subculture when a dominant

culture appropriates its style in order to achieve financial gain. Specifically I

wanted to examine the effects of commercialization on Hip Hop Culture in the

United States.

109

True to my indecisive nature and my disorganized approach to this project,

I only arrived at this plan after deciding not to produce a short documentary on

the subject. I wanted to use documentary to explore the commercialization of Hip

Hop Culture because I thought it would be straightforward, entertaining, and

concise. I thought using testimonials from hip hop artists and fans, and footage of

Hip Hop Culture in the media would present a clear picture of the effects of

commercialism on the subculture that I could see clearly in my daily experience.

However, as I have explained, I hadn’t completed my thesis proposal and my

mind was full of ideas and arguments, but no direction.

As I made progress on my thesis proposal I began to understand that the

documentary I had in mind had become more nuanced and less straightforward.

This is because my perspective changed and arguments that I once believed to be

solid began to lose their footing. Specifically, I think my initial agenda was to

focus on the negative consequences of commercialism on Hip Hop Culture like

the emphasis on violence and the two dimensional depiction of Black people.

Blair and Gottdiener’s line of reasoning seemed to uphold this approach, but I

began to believe that the scope of their argument was too narrow based on my

own background knowledge of the subject.

Their summation of Hip Hop Culture only focused on hip hop music that

is played on the radio or featured on MTV. In addition, the three-stage model

Gottdeiner presented seemed to overlook the possible effects of subcultures on

dominant cultures. Writing “A Hip Hop Carol” helped me to arrive at the

110

conclusion that culture is not something that exists and then stops existing, but

something that evolves.

As discussed in my thesis proposal I chose to write my script as a remake

of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. I found that the parallels between

Dickens’ protagonist, Ebeneezer Scrooge and Hip Hop Culture’s recent

materialistic turn were ideal for my exploration of the effects of commercialism

on Hip Hop Culture. Because hip hop music is such a young invention I thought

that the way Dickens led his character into the past, present, and possible future

would allow me to present the past, present, and a possible future of Hip Hop

Culture in a recognizable and proven format.

When I began writing I built my script around a protagonist similar to

Dickens’ Scrooge, and some of his more recent incarnations. In Donnar’s remake

of A Christmas Carol, the film Scrooged featured Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a

frustrated, contemptuous, and miserly television executive. I chose to attempt to

replicate the humor of Donnar’s character in my own protagonist, Emcee Duck.

My character’s namesake was inspired by the often comical monikers hip hop

artists have created for themselves and from Disney’s incarnation of the Scrooge

character, Scrooge McDuck, the richest duck in Duckberg. McDuck’s love of

money and his tendency toward excess influenced the depiction of my

protagonist.

Hip hop artist Kanye West was another influence. I believe his brash

attitude, award show antics, and exuberant displays of wealth are endemic to Hip

Hop Culture. He is also one of the artists who I believe has best captured the

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contradictions of commercialized hip hop music with the most honesty and style.

“Jesus Walks,” a song on his debut album, The College Drop Out, decries the role

of diamonds in Hip Hop Culture in light of the devastation the diamond industry

has wrought on Sierra Leone. In another song from the album, “All Falls Down,”

West laments on his own internal struggle with materialism.

Man I promise I'm so self conscious

That's why you always see me with a least one of my

watches

Rollies and Pasha's done drove me crazy

I can't even pronounce nothing, yo pass the Versace

Then I spent $400 bucks on this

Just be like nigga you ain't up on this

And I can't even go to the grocery store

Without some ones that are clean and a shirt with a team

It seems we living the American Dream

But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem

The prettiest people do the ugliest things

For the road to the riches and the diamond rings

We shine because they hate us floss because they degrade

We trying to buy back our 40 acres

And for that paper look how we'll stoop

Even if you’re in a Benz you still a nigga in a coup (2004)

Kanye’s statement, “We shine because they hate us, floss because they

degrade us. We trying to buy back our forty acres,” emphasizes the lack of

personal fulfillment and intrinsic value an individual or culture can experience in

trying to achieve success in terms of a materialistic value system. I want my script

to illustrate that the values associated with Hip Hop Culture have been subverted

by the materialistic value system of dominant culture in the United States by

using Emcee Duck’s journey to enlightenment as a metaphor for the hopeful

evolution of Hip Hop Culture.

112

To begin I wanted to set the scene by presenting my audience with Duck’s

idealized world concept. To do this I open my script with a dream sequence in

which Duck is idolized and praised at the MTV music awards where he is the

honored recipient of the Hip Hop Artist of the Decade Award. In this scene I

wanted to exaggerate his extravagance and his narcissism. My description of the

scene is meant to be light-hearted on the one hand, but I included a real location

and the names of real celebrities in the scene to point to the fact that the depiction

is not far from reality. This dream sequence also leads to the reveal of Duck’s

goal at the start of the story. He wants validation, praise, and a gold reward for his

achievements from MTV, which I use as metaphor for mainstream culture.

When Duck awakens from his dream I wanted to continue to emphasize

the over the top extravagant lifestyle he leads in reality. I wanted this scene to live

up to the depiction of so many hip hop artists’ homes on the MTV show Cribs.

Duck’s home is plush and huge. He’s surrounded by gold and platinum records

and gigantic images of himself. The only bare spot in his home is the empty spot

in his trophy case that awaits his ultimate prize, the MTV award.

I went back and forth on the tone of these two scenes. After presenting a

draft of these scenes to my thesis advisor I reworked them because I think they

cast my main character in a bad light. Initially I wanted my audience to see Duck

as a fool to be reviled. Upon revision I decided that I wanted Duck to play as

more of a misguided character with self-esteem issues. I thought audiences would

be more interested in and able to relate better with a more likeable character so I

113

tried to push the scene in an almost whimsical direction, like the opening of an

Austin Power’s movie.

One of my most difficult struggles was with the reinterpretation of the Bob

Cratchit character, Bob, Emcee Duck’s manager. Cratchit was essential to

Dickens’ character as Scrooge’s tormented servant. Here I looked back on

Donnar’s Scrooged for inspiration. In Donnar’s retelling, he uses Frank Cross’s

secretary to play the Cratchit role. In his film the embattled secretary both cares

for and puts up with Cross’s miserly and bitter attacks. In my remake, Bob is not

servile, but underappreciated. Duck relies on him for everything, but when Bob

offers guidance Duck turns a deaf ear. I made Duck younger than Bob because I

wanted Bob to have a fatherly air about him. I wanted Bob to embody Duck’s

missing conscience and good sense. When we first meet Bob, he’s with Duck in a

meeting in which Duck is being berated for the irresponsible depiction of sex,

greed, and violence in one of his videos. Afterward Bob offers words of wisdom,

but Duck blatantly shuts him out. I think this scene turned out to be very

important, but it actually came about as an afterthought.

Another place I had struggled with my script was in setting up the

storyline to jump into the A Christmas Carol format in a somewhat believable

way. On my first attempt I placed Duck’s character at a party when the first ghost,

my reinterpretation of the Marley character appeared. I thought this was an abrupt

jump because although I had shown that Duck was living an extravagant lifestyle,

I hadn’t shown that it was an empty life devoid of moral value. In order to deliver

a better set up, I added the scene in which Duck arrives at his record label for a

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meeting with Leo, his representative at the label, Russell Simmons, and Dr.

Cornell West. Again I wanted to use real people to give the film a stronger

impact. In this scene the meeting examines one of Duck’s music videos and the

characters present their perspectives on his behavior. Simmons and West attack

the morality of his behavior while Leo panders to their criticisms. Duck defends

himself with a misquoted freedom of expression argument coupled with the

argument that he only produces what audiences want to buy. Here Duck confronts

criticism that has been leveled at hip hop music’s crass commercialism and uses a

similar defense, that it’s the consumers’ fault. Finally, Duck takes on the role of a

victim.

Because I reworked this section of the script I cut out a scene in which

Duck meets with his girlfriend Lilah. Lilah’s character is a departure from

Dickens’ story. She was meant to play a greater role, but I found that developing

her character was not essential to the goal of my script. Instead I use her character

as a tool to move the story along (how?) and to illustrate the division of Duck’s

public life with his private life in part by providing a stark contrast with the other

women in Duck’s life: Nina, his love interest and Duck’s mother. While Lilah, a

superficial and materialistic model pushes Duck to pursue fame and fortune at any

cost, Nina a down to earth artist pushes Duck to reevaluate his image. Duck’s

mother is a reserved and dignified woman who supports her son, though she

disapproves of his lifestyle.

At this point after illustrating another side of Duck’s life I think the

introduction of the Ghost of Old Dirty Bastard, who plays the role of Marley in

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my remake, makes more sense. Like Marley, ODB formerly one of Duck’s

contemporaries, returns from the dead to warn him that the life he is leading is

misguided at best and immoral at worst. I chose to use hip hop artists who had

died in reality to play the roles of the ghosts because hip hop artists have a

reputation for becoming the victims of violent and early deaths. I chose ODB to

represent the Marley character because in life ODB fell victim to excess. Having

become bankrupt, he died in poor mental and physical health due to complications

associated with the abuse of drugs and alcohol. He represents that part of Hip

Hop Culture that glorifies self-destruction.

After ODB delivers his mysterious warning, Duck goes back to living his

life unshaken. In the next scenes I introduce the two remaining consequential

supporting characters Nina and Tiny.

Nina is my interpretation of Dicken’s character Belle, who Scrooge

forsakes in his quest for riches. For my purposes Nina represents not only Duck’s

forsaken love interest, but underground hip hop. Her character’s physical

description is meant to resemble Eryka Badu, which I thought was appropriate

because of her well known reputation for dating hip hop artists. Her style is also

meant to represent underground hip hop music. She deplores the violence, sexism,

and materialism of mainstream hip hop music, choosing instead to make music

that sells less, but speaks honestly to the experience of urban poverty.

Tiny represents the character Tiny Tim, but aside from his name and short

stature he doesn’t resemble Dickens’ character. He does serve a similar purpose,

to show Duck the error of his ways. My version of Tiny Tim is an impressionable

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elementary schooler who idolizes Duck despite his father’s discouragement. I

chose to depart from Dickens’ version of the character because I think the

traditional role he fulfilled would not fit with my story. Dickens’ Tiny Tim was

all innocence and faith and a little too pure. In my remake Tiny is innocent, but

impressionable, and he easily succumbs to the influence of Duck’s hip hop music,

which is anything but pure. In Duck’s first interaction in ‘real life’ with Tiny, he

gives him advice, similar to the message I believe mainstream hip hop extols,

make money by any means necessary because that’s all that matters.

At this point I stepped away from writing the script for several weeks. I

was satisfied with my start, but I had lost track of how I wanted the story to end.

Here I was still trying to complete my thesis proposal and was beginning to

consider the idea that Hip Hop Culture had not died as it seems that Gottdiener’s

model would indicate. I settled on ending in a dystopian future where hip hop had

died, and the materialistic values it supported had created a war between the

impoverished masses and the wealthy elite. This was too big of a departure from

the tone of the film and it was too big of a leap to suggest that one hip hop artist

would cause this upheaval. I was also stuck on how to write out the remainder of

the story so that this ending would make sense. However, I still wrote out this

ending. Although I was unsatisfied with it and I knew it would have to be

reworked, it helped me start writing again. I think that I learned that for me,

writing anything no matter how bad is a better cure for frustration and writer’s

block than stepping away and getting out of a routine.

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Another reason I think my choice to write a remake was a beneficial

decision is because it gave me an outline to follow. When I got back to writing I

knew I had to present my protagonist with ghosts who would lead him through

episodes from his past, present, and possible future. Filling out those scenes was

difficult, but having a template helped me to get started. I knew that when Emcee

Duck visited his past I wanted celebrate the beginnings of hip hop music, to let

him and my audience reminisce and experience some nostalgia. Following

Dickens’ storyline I also knew that I had to illustrate the turning point when Duck

would choose a life of greed and abandon his love interest Nina. I also had to

consider Duck’s age because I wanted to link the events that I visited in the past

with his childhood. Finally, I had to choose an appropriate dead hip hop artist to

play the role of the ghost.

To accomplish these goals I set the scene in Duck’s childhood home.

Duck finds his younger self watching a classic scene from the movie, Krush

Groove, in which hip hop icon LL Cool J makes his film debut. The scene sparks

nostalgia with any hip hop fan. I hoped that the setting, Duck’s average

middleclass home, and Young Duck’s youthful exuberance would make his

character more likeable.

I chose Jam Master Jay of Run D.M.C. to play the part of the Ghost of Hip

Hop Past because he was an early hip hop artist that had a great influence on the

culture and because despite his non-violent image, he still suffered a violent

death. This has added significance to my script because the second scene I wrote

for Duck’s visit to the past originally centered on an idea I had to have Duck play

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an inadvertent role in Jay’s murder at this studio in New York. I wanted to place

responsibility on hip hop artists for their role in generating the violence in Hip

Hop Culture.

In the end I decided to change the scene because I think that it was too

long and convoluted, and because it departed from the storyline too much. Instead

I focused on a Teenaged Duck’s relationship with his partner Nina at the time. I

set the scene in a subway station where the couple are performing for donations

and trying to sell their demo with little success. Duck blames their material’s

political message for their lack of success. The couple parts ways when Duck

decides to go through with a drug deal that ends in violence and his arrest.

However, Duck’s arrest ends up playing a part in his success as a mainstream hip

hop artist by adding to his street credibility. I wanted this scene to mimic the

evolution of the Gangsta Rap genre of hip hop music and I think by changing the

scene I got closer to accomplishing that goal.

Again, following Dickens’ template I returned Duck to the present. I

wanted to show that Duck’s character was already starting to experience some

internal struggle and growth. I also wanted to take a page out of Rusty Cundieff’s

book and illustrate some of the unexpected behind the scenes aspects of the hip

hop music industry. Cundieff’s Fear of a Black Hat spoofed the hip hop music

industry by showing that hip hop artist aren’t as tough or two-dimensional as they

appear, and showed some of the factors that contribute to the image they present

to their audience. I tried to replicate this concept by using a scene in which Duck

is confronted by his image consultant, publicist, and style consultant. I wanted

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their exaggerated superficiality to lampoon the outrageous images presented by

some real hip hop artists.

Returning to the Dickens storyline, I chose Eric Easy – E Wright to play

the part of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Easy – E represented the Gangsta Rap

era through his role as a founding member of N.W.A. one of the most successful

Gangsta Rap groups. Easy – E was also one of the earliest public figures in my

memory to die from AIDS.

I wanted to use Duck’s visit to the present to allow his character to see

mainstream hip hop music as a cold and practical business. I wanted to present

Duck and hip hop music as a replaceable cog within that business. Using Easy –

E’s sunglasses as a vehicle Duck is allowed to literally see the true thoughts of his

colleagues at his record label. This was a scene that I struggled with and am still

not thoroughly happy with, but several revisions later I ended up returning to my

original concept for the scene.

In the second scene with the Ghost of Hip Hop Present I wanted Duck and

my audience to visit the reality of urban poverty. My hope for this scene was to

show that the depictions of life in urban ghettos have become so common place

that they no longer provoke contempt or compassionfor the plight of the people

who have to live there. I tried to accomplish this by tricking the audience. Duck is

put in a position to witness gang violence, firsthand, but is shocked to learn that

what he thought was real, was actually a staged commercial. I hoped this scene

would reflect the use of Hip Hop Culture to market goods to mainstream

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audiences who are attracted to its edgy style, but aren’t confronted with the harsh

realities that contributed to the style’s development.

At this point I had to confront the difficulty of writing the lead up to the

climax and resolution of my remake. Although I’ve noted a few times that I

revised scenes and how I’ve gotten off schedule there were actually many more

revisions and breaks in my schedule than I could write about coherently. When I

came to my final decision on how to end my script I had finished my thesis

proposal and came to the conclusion that neither Hip Hop Culture nor mainstream

culture in the U.S. was totally responsible for the commercialization of Hip Hop

and the resulting effects. I found that both sides contributed to the formation of

Hip Hop Culture in its current state. I also concluded after reading Hebdige’s

work surrounding the evolution of British Punk Culture that although Hip Hop

Culture is unique, it is subject to the same cycle of rebellion, acceptance, and

assimilation. So in my script I decided that I wanted to explore the negative

aspects of the commercialization of Hip Hop Culture in the future and allow my

protagonist to choose a different path representing the potential of Hip Hop

Culture to redeem itself.

I chose not to use a hip hop artist to play the role of the Ghost of Hip Hop

Future although I considered the ploy of having the Hooded Figure reveal himself

to be Duck’s ghost, but I thought that was too contrived. Instead I chose to leave

the Ghost anonymous and focus on Duck’s vision of the future. In the future I

wrote for Duck his image has been stolen to use to market a chain of fast food

restaurants. His love interest Nina is reduced to the position of a cashier for one of

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the restaurants and has lost her beauty and faith. And Tiny, having taken Duck’s

advice, betrays his idol in the name of greed. Duck himself dies an unflattering

death alone with only his MTV award.

In the end I wanted to mimic Dickens’ depiction of Scrooge awakening on

Christmas morning just in time to redeem himself. I revised this scene more than

any other in the script. In one version I used Duck to deliver a tirade against

commercialized hip hop at the music awards. In another I had Duck give the

award to his mother. Finally I thought about my goals for the scene and the

morals I wanted to impart to my audience. I wanted the scene to sum up the

lessons Duck learned, offer him a chance at redemption, and to stay true to

Dickens by involving Tiny in the scene. I cut the scene down to the bare

minimum remembering that a quick resolution is usually the most effective. With

Duck refusing the award I wanted to imply that acceptance by mainstream

audiences shouldn’t be hip hop artists’ primary goal. And finally, I wanted to use

Duck’s fulfillment of his promise to Tiny to represent a new direction for hip hop

music in the future.

Overall I am happy with the script I wrote. More importantly I have new

confidence in approaching a project of this scale. While at the outset of this

project I intended to write a feature length script I am not disappointed that I

ended up writing a short film script. As I worked I tried to rely on the lessons I

learned in my script writing class, the most important being make sure that every

scene has a purpose. That lesson helped my writing a great deal. I found that

when I got stuck on a scene it was not just helpful, but necessary for me to

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evaluate my goals. Then, I approached my writing with them in mind revising a

scene until I could see a clear path between the events in the scene to the goal I set

out to accomplish.

While I am satisfied with my script I am very aware of my shortcomings

as a script writer. Dialogue was something with which I struggled throughout this

process. I tried to take shortcuts as often as possible. In fact many of the lines I

wrote for the Ghosts are direct quotes from the artists taken out of context. As

often as possible I wanted to make up for my failings as a dialogue writer by

illustrating my views through scene descriptions rather than using back and forth

banter between characters. I think that if I were to revise this script again I would

spend more time fleshing out those descriptions to that end.

My last assertion about this project was that it was completely worthwhile.

I have gained a better understanding of how to gather my thoughts, ground them

with research, and how to direct them with purpose. I have enjoyed pushing

myself to grow intellectually through this project and its completion has set a

benchmark that I will attempt to surpass in my future work.

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Films Cited

And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip Hop. Dir. Lowe, Richard, and Dana Perry.

Bring the Noise LLP, 2004. Film.

8 Mile. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Universal Pictures, 2002. Film.

Fear of a Black Hat. Dir. Rusty Cundieff. Destination Films. 1994.

Scrooged. Dir. Richard Donnar. Paramount Pictures. 1988.

Style Wars. Dir. Henry Chalfant, Tony Silver. PBS. 1983. Film.

Wild Style. Dir. Charles Ahearn. First Run Features, 1928. Film.

Music and Lyrics

De La Soul. The Stakes Is High. 1996. Musical composition.

Dead Prez. Hip Hop. 2000. Musical composition.

Notorious B.I.G. Juicy. 1994. Musical composition.

N.W.A. Fuck the Police 1988. Musical composition.

Public Enemy. Don’t Believe the Hype. 1988 Musical composition.