African American Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English, or Ebonics, is easily one of the most emotionally charged and historically deep-rooted languages amongst common tongues. Being derived from the shrouded code-talk of slave hymns that helped lead African American’s from the clutches of servitude and founded in the speakers’ native tongues and heritage, Ebonics carries with it more than just words, but a deeper meaning and resonance. For this reason, the use of this language in the hip-hop industry gives the music a power or a meaning that resonates with listeners especially of African American descent. However, with the growing popularity of the rap genre, and a move from lyrics centered around injustice (Olson & Shobe, 994) toward lyrics centered around the party life and gang life, the question arises: have rap artists traded in on the power behind A.A.V.E. and given up on the power of their words? Has rap music become less about the message and more about the money? In essence, has hip-hop lost its soul? And, if so, why has this occurred. In recent years, hip-hop has become one of the most popular musical genres in mainstream audio media. As of April 13th, 2009 nearly one third of the iTunes Top 100 Songs are of the Hip-Hop/Rap genre or from Hip-Hop artists labeled “pop,” which is fitting, given the popularity of the genre. This trend can not only be seen in digital media, but also in televised music programs and radio play (Bernard). The prevalence of the hip-hop genre is due in part to a large population of teens and adolescents that have become partial to the genre and the almost light-hearted modern lyrics that are often heard in singles like Asher Roth’s “I Love College,” an iTunes Top 100 and a musical ode to the average college life: sleeping around and partying. Gone are the days of “Fuck the Police” and “Fight the Power,” rebel-rousing anthems that boiled the blood of “helicopter parents” everywhere and fueled the backing of censorship, parental advisories, and the stigma of social rebellion and evil that surrounds rap music even to this day

(Jones). This larger scale demographic allows for more ears to hear the language of Ebonics and feel the angst behind it, if it is appropriately rendered. That is, the language can hold the same emotional charge as it did in slave days and be steeped in the same history, and turned towards a new cause, if it is appropriately and effectively utilized; especially among speakers of this Black Vernacular. The relation of the raw emotion to listeners can inspire them or terrify them, the latter being more pronounced in this age of censorship and protectionism. However, the change to less pointed lyrics and the higher popularity may not merely be correlative. It may very well be that the cause of the popularity is the loss of the political nature of the songs the people hear. As a tool of political rhetoric and social radicalism, the hip-hop genre has not been very effective in inciting any large scale political movement (Chang, 68). Anthems like “Fight the Power” and “Fuck the Police” are major outliers in terms of this type of song. They call for social change and draw attention to the injustices that were facing people at the time they were penned. However, the major movements that emerge behind these charged songs were gang violence, crime and insubordination that resulted not in a stable change, but a destabilizing of the rap community and the police and law enforcement. These songs led the way for other radical songs and piggybacks that called for the young, the black, and the oppressed to fight back against society, but again, constructive movements did not occur. Instead, rappers like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent that openly market drug use and gang ties have become major players in the rap industry commanding huge fan bases, yet they have not started movements to really change societal structure. It seems as though the gang lyrics, violence, and anger that can be found in rap lyrics are not taken seriously by listeners, unlike slave hymns which were integral to the maintenance of the Underground Railroad and the livelihood of slaves’ heritages, these lyrics aren’t necessary

or binding, instead they become jargon on the tongues of disaffected listeners. The listeners aren’t inspired or moved by the lyrics, they are accustomed to them and disinterested in them. The disinterest that can be seen in the lack of political change and radical movements is owed in part to the fact that, the marketable gang lyrics are just that: marketable. People like to hear the music, because it is entertaining, risqué, vulgar, and has a forbidden aura around it that comes with the [EXPLICIT] label. This means that the consumers aren’t buying the music in social protest, but just for mere enjoyment (Concepcion). Unlike the hippy movement of the 60’s and 70’s that bred sit-ins, riots, draft-dodging, and Forrest Gump, the lyrics of hip-hop fall short of politically motivating people, most likely because the lyrics are inflammatory, “Fuck the Police” does not give an air of enlightened political thinking but radical outburst, which angers the people it targets and does not resonate with the older generations or the younger ones. Now, the most popular songs from the hip-hop genre are far less inflammatory, instead they tend to focus on what teens and their younger demographics want to hear: sex, drugs, money, and catchy dance beats (Dalton). While still utilizing the Vernacular, rap artists have shifted their lyrics to target relationships like the hit “Umbrella,” dances like “Soulja Boy,” partying like “In da Club,” and sex like “Right Round,” and these present artists are making vastly more money than the artists of the earliest years of hip-hop and are seeing more fans and listeners in general. This relative “selling-out” and giving up on the political motivation behind rap may not bode well for the fight against social injustice, but it doesn’t make the music or the language any less emotionally charged. However, the emotion and the language are now geared in a way that appeals to more listeners and goes toward the preservation on the language. New wave music like T.I., Rhianna, Akon, and Kanye West appeals to more people on more levels than did older rap music, hence its popularity. The fact that the message behind the

music has switched from political to merely addressing common themes and desires of chosen demographics, shows an evolution in the thinking of rappers and mangers alike, toward longevity over abrasive action (Herd, 1261). The artists win more ears by appealing to, as opposed to attacking, the mainstream. This way, the power of the language still fuels the music, without Vernacular English, rap would lose its flavor and uniqueness. Thus, the lyrics and language are spread to more people sans a political agenda that would undermine the language. In terms of politics, the more popular rap is now generally weak, but the emotion behind the lyrics is still there in the use of the Vernacular Language. In terms of American culture and African-American Culture hip-hop has done a great deal to attack the status quo and still manage to bridge the gap between races (Chang, 68). The prevalence of Ebonics in rap has acquainted many non-ethnic, non-Ebonics speaking listeners with a language centralized to African Americans. This has allowed for curiosity to breed courses on Ebonics and black languages, which introduce students to the real “meat” behind the language, and the languages historical ties and importance. Furthermore, white rappers such as Eminem, Asher Roth, and Vanilla Ice have all made waves in the rap industry with their ability to make music in African American Vernacular English and their ability to relate to the struggles of black Americans perpetuated in some rap by the artists (Olson & Shobe, 100). The same relation can be made by average listeners with no ambition to become rappers, and for white listeners the idea of white artists using the language makes it feel less centralized and more open to all speakers. The emotional charge behind it has allowed it to grow to this proportion. In terms of emotional energy, African American Vernacular English was born of emotion and necessity, tied to ancient and lost heritages and has carried on through the years on the back of that charge and heritage. Ebonics has survived ridicule because a nation of people clings to it

as a key grip on the past and its importance to their present and future; thus, the perpetuation of the language in many media, but especially in rap and hip-hop, even with a loss in political motivation. Though there are not major chart-toppers anymore that call for disobedience and anger at the authorities and violent rebellion and the blight of African Americans there has not been an emotional dropping-off in the hip-hop genre (Crosely, 32). The political charge in rap failed to produce major movements or major sales, and in exchange for the perpetuation of the language popular sales won out. Because the struggles of the black man are not nearly obsolete in this day and age, it seems as though rap artists have sold out, but it is heritage that brought Ebonics to life, heritage that called the slaves to freedom, heritage that motivated rap music in the first place, heritage has played the most key role in major events for African Americans, keeping that heritage was more important than allowing it to die in the face of unmarketable music. This isn’t to say that all rap is laden with popular images and devoid of all politics, in fact, some of it is very political, but not on a wide scale. Rap has evolved, like any organism, to protect its major features, Ebonics, without losing its essence.