What was the most interesting thing you learned from the video? Did it make you change how you thought about hip-hop?
The filmmaker, Byron Hurt, proposes the following arguments in the film. Which ones do you agree or disagree with? Why?
1. The hyper-masculinity and violence present in hip-hop is part of the larger American culture that values and promotes violence.
2. Hip-hop is both homophobic and homoerotic simultaneously.
3. Music corporations, which are run by wealthy white men are responsible for prioritizing the messages that hip-hop promotes.
4. The genre of hip-hop is denigrating to women.
5. Hip-hop utilizes the stereotypes of black masculinity to sell records to primarily white audiences.
What examples from contemporary hip-hop can you find that either supports or refutes these arguments?
In what ways does race intersect with gender and class in the construction of black masculinity?
What are some of the similarities between how black men were represented during slavery and Jim Crow and their representations in music today?
Do you think that hip-hop is homoerotic? Why or why not?
What was the cause for the shift from hip-hop that engaged with political and social issues to 'gangsta rap' (which one could argue that does not engage with these things). What role did race play in that shift?
Do you think that hip-hop can be problematic? In what ways?
Does hip-hop have a responsibility to be socially responsible? What about country music? Pop?
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