WRITTEN BY M. HARRISON & JUSTIN HARTFIELD | 01 JANUARY 2008
The Libertarian Rap Game PI Symposium
J. Hartfield:
“Get money.” - Every rapper ever.
In my mind, every libertarian candidate should walk up to the podium with hardcore gangsta rap blaring on thirty 15” subwoofers located directly in front of the stage. Think about it: hip-hop is the sound of the movement. What are rappers always talking about? How much money they have. Or they talk about being famous and making money. Or being famous and making money and fornicating with models from Milan. There’s more to the list but I think if you are smart enough to read this website, you don’t need me to elaborate in order to deduce the pattern.
Most rappers were born to poverty. Yet they triumphed over their initial meager beginnings and rose to world-wide prominence. They are the living embodiment of a Horatio Alger protagonist, the modern bootstrapper.
Full grown, finally a man, just scheamin on ways To put some green inside the palms of my empty hands Just picture me rollin' Flossin a Benz on rims that isn't stolen -Tupac, “Picture Me Rollin’”
Rappers are all about the free market. “Weak M.C.s” (unoriginal rappers) are admonished and called out to “battle” by other rappers looking to gain status through direct competition of skill. That’s like a CPA calling out another CPA and claiming they can file a 1040 form faster than their rivals at Goldstein & Brownberg. Hip-hop is the most competitive genre of music, without question. Competition is the core of the free-market system. Capitalizing on the human nature of competition is the only reason why the free-market is such a successful economic model.
Individualism is another tenet of the rap world. From the beginning of the artists life they are in struggle. Struggle against their economic condition. Struggle in their destitute surroundings. Struggle against a ‘racist’ society. And on.
The rapper learns to trust in himself to emerge out of the shadows of the ghetto onto the bright stage lights of the music arena. This process forges the ideals brought to the country by its founding fathers centuries ago. Maybe big Tommy Jefferson would like Trick Daddy-- What do you think, Matt?
M. Harrison:
It is true, the twin libertarian ideals of wealth and individualism are promoted passionately in rap music. In fact, both themes are so important that they, more often than not, comprise the entire subject matter of most rap songs. The time rappers don't spend enumerating their lavish purchases (rare), they spend tirelessly promoting themselves as the greatest poet, musician, jewelry model, venture capitalist, gangsta, etc., among their peers. This competition, as Mr. Hartfield noted, is textbook rugged individualism. Indeed, J.P. Morgan couldn't have scripted it any better.
This is the type of confident self-assertion detested by socialists. The only thing they hate more than confident individualism is materialistic desire, and rap provides both in spades. 50 Cent, for example, rose from the adversity of nine bullet holes in his flesh to acquire great fame and wealth. That type of capitalistic work ethic makes Jack Welsh look like a lazy slob.
Capitalism is so ingrained in the rap industry's Zeitgeist that even the poor, underground rappers who don't have any money talk about how much money they have. Socialists call this disgusting materialism; Adam Smith would call it the admirable incentive toward upward mobility. We all know who is right.
The smartest, most market-conscious rappers in the rap game brand themselves and become true entrepreneurs. Noting the extreme value of profit, they take a step beyond making money off of their ill flow and clever rhymes, and start making money off of living life as themselves. The only thing more capitalistic than making a profit is being a profit, and this economics lesson is not lost on Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop, Dr. Dre, and the other bling-blinging paradigms of free-market capitalism.
Indeed, where would rappers be without a robust market to enrich them through their music? Selling crack, probably. Which brings us to our second point. When they are not directly extolling the virtues of upward economic mobility, rappers are glorifying the social freedom to indulge in the perks that come with wealth and fame in a free-market society.
First and foremost is copious drug use, and the libertarian defense of the lifestyle thereof. Rappers are the most passionate advocates for narcotic legalization among all artists. They believe so strongly that drugs should be legalized that their political activism includes such emphatic measures as taking illegal narcotics gratuitously, publicly flaunting their usage (especially in front of police), and actively evading the law enforcement officials who are clearly envious of the rappers' breezy, individualistic, live-and-let-live lifestyle.
It's really a glorified form of civil disobedience, when you think about it. The recent hit, "Ridin'" contains this theme in abundance. It is a song dedicated, among other great American themes, to the ways in which Chamillionaire's great wealth facilitates his suave and effective evasion of drug enforcement officials.
Another libertarian feature of rappers is their marked distrust of state authority. More accurately, they hate all laws, governments and law-enforcement officials who dare to interfere in their personal affairs. Krayzie Bone recently summed up this attitude well with his line, in "Ridin'", "With no regard for the law, we dodge 'em, like - 'em all." Let's be honest, here. Is such a statement really that different from Thomas Jefferson's eloquent realization that "the government that governs best governs least"? I mean, by that measure, a rap-ocracy would be a Jeffersonian paradise. Rappers may be closer to anarchists, but anarchists are only impatient libertarians. Remember that.
Rappers get a bad rap (ha! What a great pun! OK, maybe not) because they allegedly promote the degradation of women. These claims are exaggerated. The truth is that they just don't love 'em hoes. But that doesn't matter, because hoes aren't even real women. There is no real malice toward females, qua females. Rappers are merely applying their shrewd sense of economics to the love game. It is an intelligent cost-benefit analysis: they gain easy and frequent sexual gratification while they forgo a few thousand dollars (pocket change, son) on Cristal champagne, diamond jewelry, Gucci lingerie, and other reliable keys to the promiscuous woman's heart.
Not only this, but the rapper is an unquestionable economic boon to women, specifically gold-digging women. Attractive-yet-ignorant women enjoy an unparalleled opportunity for the acquisition of great wealth: they can date and/or bear the children of famous rappers. How can feminists deride this? What opportunity! It's the American Dream! Where else, outside of education or hard work, can women guarantee themselves such a luxurious lifestyle?
Another source of hate toward rappers is fueled by their glorification of violence. Do not be deceived. Where this glorification is not an expression of First Amendment privilege (another noble cause of activist rappers), it is merely the rapper's promotion of the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment, perhaps only behind the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, is the rapper's best friend. The framers of the Constitution envisioned armed militias securing the safety of the public. I'm sure they would have also smiled upon the prospect of armed posses securing the safety of famous gangsta rappers. Don't forget, children, ill MCs need the Constitution, too.
J. Hartfield:
Rappers, like libertarians, believe it is a constitutional right to be able to own firearms. And, in some cases, as many firearms as possible. Rappers are constantly flaunting their .44s, not for malicious acts (okay, well sometimes), but mostly for protection (e.g. "The 'gat is tucked in my beater for the haters"). Rappers know that gun ownership in and of itself does not harm any other person, and therefore should not be a crime. Hip-hop artists understand inherently that criminals will not give up their guns even if it is illegal to own them, and thus they are somewhat forced to pack the "chrome four-fifth."
There is also an individualist appeal to owning a firearm. It harkens back to a day in America where the real "hustlers" would carry pieces in order to protect them from corrupt law enforcement, thieves, Indians and the like. This was Man versus the world in its classical form, and the government would never dream of interfering between a rancher and his right to bear arms. Oh, how this country has changed.
__________________
Check out Music 76 at:
Myspace.com/music_76
Also check out our list of Conservative/Libertarian bands/singers:
http://theprometheusinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti...
WRITTEN BY M. HARRISON & JUSTIN HARTFIELD | 01 JANUARY 2008
The Libertarian Rap Game
PI Symposium
J. Hartfield:
“Get money.” - Every rapper ever.
In my mind, every libertarian candidate should walk up to the podium with hardcore gangsta rap blaring on thirty 15” subwoofers located directly in front of the stage. Think about it: hip-hop is the sound of the movement. What are rappers always talking about? How much money they have. Or they talk about being famous and making money. Or being famous and making money and fornicating with models from Milan. There’s more to the list but I think if you are smart enough to read this website, you don’t need me to elaborate in order to deduce the pattern.
Most rappers were born to poverty. Yet they triumphed over their initial meager beginnings and rose to world-wide prominence. They are the living embodiment of a Horatio Alger protagonist, the modern bootstrapper.
Full grown, finally a man, just scheamin on ways
To put some green inside the palms of my empty hands
Just picture me rollin'
Flossin a Benz on rims that isn't stolen
-Tupac, “Picture Me Rollin’”
Rappers are all about the free market. “Weak M.C.s” (unoriginal rappers) are admonished and called out to “battle” by other rappers looking to gain status through direct competition of skill. That’s like a CPA calling out another CPA and claiming they can file a 1040 form faster than their rivals at Goldstein & Brownberg. Hip-hop is the most competitive genre of music, without question. Competition is the core of the free-market system. Capitalizing on the human nature of competition is the only reason why the free-market is such a successful economic model.
Individualism is another tenet of the rap world. From the beginning of the artists life they are in struggle. Struggle against their economic condition. Struggle in their destitute surroundings. Struggle against a ‘racist’ society. And on.
The rapper learns to trust in himself to emerge out of the shadows of the ghetto onto the bright stage lights of the music arena. This process forges the ideals brought to the country by its founding fathers centuries ago. Maybe big Tommy Jefferson would like Trick Daddy-- What do you think, Matt?
M. Harrison:
It is true, the twin libertarian ideals of wealth and individualism are promoted passionately in rap music. In fact, both themes are so important that they, more often than not, comprise the entire subject matter of most rap songs. The time rappers don't spend enumerating their lavish purchases (rare), they spend tirelessly promoting themselves as the greatest poet, musician, jewelry model, venture capitalist, gangsta, etc., among their peers. This competition, as Mr. Hartfield noted, is textbook rugged individualism. Indeed, J.P. Morgan couldn't have scripted it any better.
This is the type of confident self-assertion detested by socialists. The only thing they hate more than confident individualism is materialistic desire, and rap provides both in spades. 50 Cent, for example, rose from the adversity of nine bullet holes in his flesh to acquire great fame and wealth. That type of capitalistic work ethic makes Jack Welsh look like a lazy slob.
Capitalism is so ingrained in the rap industry's Zeitgeist that even the poor, underground rappers who don't have any money talk about how much money they have. Socialists call this disgusting materialism; Adam Smith would call it the admirable incentive toward upward mobility. We all know who is right.
The smartest, most market-conscious rappers in the rap game brand themselves and become true entrepreneurs. Noting the extreme value of profit, they take a step beyond making money off of their ill flow and clever rhymes, and start making money off of living life as themselves. The only thing more capitalistic than making a profit is being a profit, and this economics lesson is not lost on Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop, Dr. Dre, and the other bling-blinging paradigms of free-market capitalism.
Indeed, where would rappers be without a robust market to enrich them through their music? Selling crack, probably. Which brings us to our second point. When they are not directly extolling the virtues of upward economic mobility, rappers are glorifying the social freedom to indulge in the perks that come with wealth and fame in a free-market society.
First and foremost is copious drug use, and the libertarian defense of the lifestyle thereof. Rappers are the most passionate advocates for narcotic legalization among all artists. They believe so strongly that drugs should be legalized that their political activism includes such emphatic measures as taking illegal narcotics gratuitously, publicly flaunting their usage (especially in front of police), and actively evading the law enforcement officials who are clearly envious of the rappers' breezy, individualistic, live-and-let-live lifestyle.
It's really a glorified form of civil disobedience, when you think about it. The recent hit, "Ridin'" contains this theme in abundance. It is a song dedicated, among other great American themes, to the ways in which Chamillionaire's great wealth facilitates his suave and effective evasion of drug enforcement officials.
Another libertarian feature of rappers is their marked distrust of state authority. More accurately, they hate all laws, governments and law-enforcement officials who dare to interfere in their personal affairs. Krayzie Bone recently summed up this attitude well with his line, in "Ridin'", "With no regard for the law, we dodge 'em, like - 'em all." Let's be honest, here. Is such a statement really that different from Thomas Jefferson's eloquent realization that "the government that governs best governs least"? I mean, by that measure, a rap-ocracy would be a Jeffersonian paradise. Rappers may be closer to anarchists, but anarchists are only impatient libertarians. Remember that.
Rappers get a bad rap (ha! What a great pun! OK, maybe not) because they allegedly promote the degradation of women. These claims are exaggerated. The truth is that they just don't love 'em hoes. But that doesn't matter, because hoes aren't even real women. There is no real malice toward females, qua females. Rappers are merely applying their shrewd sense of economics to the love game. It is an intelligent cost-benefit analysis: they gain easy and frequent sexual gratification while they forgo a few thousand dollars (pocket change, son) on Cristal champagne, diamond jewelry, Gucci lingerie, and other reliable keys to the promiscuous woman's heart.
Not only this, but the rapper is an unquestionable economic boon to women, specifically gold-digging women. Attractive-yet-ignorant women enjoy an unparalleled opportunity for the acquisition of great wealth: they can date and/or bear the children of famous rappers. How can feminists deride this? What opportunity! It's the American Dream! Where else, outside of education or hard work, can women guarantee themselves such a luxurious lifestyle?
Another source of hate toward rappers is fueled by their glorification of violence. Do not be deceived. Where this glorification is not an expression of First Amendment privilege (another noble cause of activist rappers), it is merely the rapper's promotion of the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment, perhaps only behind the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, is the rapper's best friend. The framers of the Constitution envisioned armed militias securing the safety of the public. I'm sure they would have also smiled upon the prospect of armed posses securing the safety of famous gangsta rappers. Don't forget, children, ill MCs need the Constitution, too.
J. Hartfield:
Rappers, like libertarians, believe it is a constitutional right to be able to own firearms. And, in some cases, as many firearms as possible. Rappers are constantly flaunting their .44s, not for malicious acts (okay, well sometimes), but mostly for protection (e.g. "The 'gat is tucked in my beater for the haters"). Rappers know that gun ownership in and of itself does not harm any other person, and therefore should not be a crime. Hip-hop artists understand inherently that criminals will not give up their guns even if it is illegal to own them, and thus they are somewhat forced to pack the "chrome four-fifth."
There is also an individualist appeal to owning a firearm. It harkens back to a day in America where the real "hustlers" would carry pieces in order to protect them from corrupt law enforcement, thieves, Indians and the like. This was Man versus the world in its classical form, and the government would never dream of interfering between a rancher and his right to bear arms. Oh, how this country has changed.
Check out Music 76 at:
Myspace.com/music_76
Also check out our list of Conservative/Libertarian bands/singers:
http://music76.yolasite.com/