Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance
Author(s)
Martinez, Theresa A.
Abstract
Cultural minorities have different forms of expressing resistance to oppression. Rap music has emerged as an African American vehicle of expressing opposition and criticism to society’s racial and institutional discriminations. A lyrical analysis of rap music artist ‘Public Enemy’ revealed themes of police distrust, fear of a corrupt system, disenchantment with the health care system and recognition. Rap music was perceived to have prophesied the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
