Growing up in hip hop: The expression of self in hypermasculine cultures

Abstract

Recently, rappers Talib Kweli and Evidence discussed the conflict between rapper identity and individual identity as a person ages, with Kweli describing how a rapper’s persona ‘becomes like an armour’ and Evidence observing that ‘after a while that stops getting rewarding’ (People’s Party with Talib Kweli 2019: 54). These observations highlight the difficulties for artists to be able to express their own growth and development as their artist personas become ‘fixed’. This fixing or flattening of persona, combined with a hypermasculine culture that reflects a society where even the phrase ‘to catch feelings’ is a derogatory term, creates an environment in which opportunities for expression of personal growth, change and emotional responses have become limited. Taking an autoethnographic, multi-method approach, this article looks at examples in my own work with hip hop group Stanley Odd, which focus on personal, reflexive commentary as opposed to cultural or social commentary. Through the analysis of three songs released between 2012 and 2014, this article describes creative tactics and responses designed to navigate the boundaries of hip hop culture, Scottish culture and global culture, circumventing restrictions on emotive responses.