In the music industry, two types of people exist: performers and artists. Kendrick Lamar is an artist. Lamar's album DAMN. won eleven awards, including a grammy for the best rap album of the year (Parfit), continuing to make music at the height of his career would’ve been a rational decision. Instead, he stepped away from the spotlight for four years dedicating himself to a new album. In May of 2022, one thousand, eight hundred, and 55 days after the release of DAMN., he released his fifth studio album: Mr Morale & the Big Steppers. The title itself can be broken down, as it serves as a play on words for one's true morality and the facade they put on (Parfit). Just like the title: the album itself has two separate albums that dive into both mindsets separately (Parfit). The track N95 following the opening song serves as a metaphor, N95s being the masks healthcare professionals used during COVID. In this track Lamar addresses the cultural relevance of clout chasing and cancel culture, repeating over and over to take off the “mask” we’ve all been hiding behind.
N95 addresses clout chasing and its roots in insecurity. “Clout chasing” has become a well known concept within our culture. The article Clout Culture: A Toxic Phenomenon by Marcela Ferrufino communicates how the need for “clout” or power and influence drives lower list celebrities to use broadcasting wealth as a come up strategy. Lamar unmasks the phenomenon: “Take off the clout chase. Take off the car loan, take off the flex and the white lies…”(Lamar). Most of the influencers participating in clout chasing don't genuinely have the funds to afford the standard of living they broadcast. Lamar makes a metaphor of these people saying, “Servin up a look, dancin in the drought”(Lamar). Basically confronting how regardless of dry funding, the facade never really goes away. Not only does this affect the immediate consumer but it impacts the viewer. The reality of most people's situations do not line up with comfortably affording luxury brands, therefore viewers feel lesser than in comparison. In continuation of Lamar's previous line: “…It's a real world outside”(Lamar). This highlights how social platforms can take away a viewer's perception of reality which circles around to the viewer's behavior. With social media distorting these lines of normality it in turn influences mass consumerism in attempts of achieving a higher social standard (Marcela). Kendrick Lamar also addresses this side of clout chasing, and asks what consumers would do to achieve these “aesthetics” and deepens this point by asking “Would you sell your soul on credit”(Lamar). Ultimately, “clout chasing” is brought about by insecurity and the need for acceptance but reflects poorly in the viewer's behavior because it emphasizes the trend cycles of consumerism. This gets society nowhere, because if everybody owns, or more accurately possesses, the same stuff, is it really worth anything anymore? “What tf is cancel culture dawg?” is one of the last things Kendrick Lamar quotes on the N95 track(Lamar). Despite the timing, the depiction of “cancel culture” has been a recurring theme in many of Lamar's works. Cancel Culture is a current term for the internet shaming of individuals/celebrities, brands, books, movies, and tv shows for not following the guidelines of relevant and popular ideologies (Kato). The act of shaming people for behavior outside of social norms is a persistent trend throughout history, Dr Jill McGoral explains how cancel culture is just the new version. Cases involving cancel culture range from podcasters such as Joe Rogan (canceled many times for opinions not seen as politically correct) to Dr. Seuss. Following social media backlash, the licensing rights to six of Seuss’ books were pulled (Kato). When users of a social platform engage in the mob mentality of canceling something, mentally a handful of things happen. Canceling an individual creates a feeling of togetherness and psychologically it feels good to feed into something larger than yourself (Kato). This is especially true for the majority of users who may very well be typing their opinions in literal solitude. Kendrick Lamar references this mentality as “Venting in the safehouse,” in other words: openly hopping on a bandwagon behind the mask of social media (Lamar). Furthermore, the book So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson explains how the act of shaming or “canceling” someone creates a sense of virtue for the person behind the mask. Canceling an individual such as a celebrity based on their actions is one issue, but ultimately it feeds into the larger issues of opinion banishment and enforcement of social norms (Kato). Political issues are anything but black and white and most truly have no answer because either way they cannot completely fit into the mold of morality (Kato). Especially since morality is to a degree subjective. Lamar addresses this in the track: “I’m done with the sensitive, takin’ it personal. Done with the black and the white, the wrong and the right”(Lamar). Reframing complex political issues into rigid beliefs of morality is exactly what cancel culture is doing. In turn, pushing people away from the necessary political conversations and disputes democracy stands on. N95 serves as a great confrontation of the things currently dictating our culture: clout chasing, and cancel culture. In this track, Kendrick Lamar isn't talking to a wall, or addressing “society”, he's talking to you. We all participate in these aspects of pop culture whether we notice it or not, and it's not always a bad thing either. Having an awareness of our actions on the internet and the motive behind them can help us to understand the repercussions. While the COVID masks have been tossed to the side, the mask we all wear on the internet remains and what we decide to do behind that mask is up to us. Works Cited Ferrufino, Marcela. “Clout Culture: A Toxic Phenomenon.” The Tide, 2020, https://thermtide.com/10120/opinions/clout-culture-a-toxic-phenomenon/. Kato, Brooke. “What Is Cancel Culture? Everything to Know about the Toxic Online Trend.” New York Post, New York Post, 31 Aug. 2021, https://nypost.com/article/what-is-cancel-culture-breaking-down-the-toxic-online-trend/. Lamar, Kendrick. “N95.” Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, ed., Interscope Records, 2022, track 2. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/0fX4oNGBWO3dSGUZcVdVV2?si=4e157d706cef4268 May 16, 2022 | Published By Parfit. “Explaining Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers Albums.” Ambrosia For Heads, 24 May 2022, https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2022/05/kendrick-lamar-mr-morale-big-steppers-hidden-meaning-explainer-video/. Ronson, Jon. So You've Been Publicly Shamed. Riverhead Books , 2015.
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“Police only go after criminals, they just happen to be black” you're part of the problem. “Police are arrogant and racist” you’re part of the problem. “The police’s duty is to protect us”, wrong again. These are all current examples of misinformation relating to the topic of police brutality. Ironically enough, misinformation alongside gang related violence initially lead to the approval of the ADA Act of 1986, militarizing the police, targeting low income communities, and spiraling us into what we now refer to as “police brutality”. And what solidified this downhill spiral? A whole separate issue that still remains to be solved: drugs.
It's no surprise that pop culture has influenced young and old Americans for as long as anyone can remember. In the 1980’s, Al Pachino had set the standard for success and wealth following the debut of Scarface. Richard Prior stood as one of the most popular comedians, and Len Bias: starting forward at the University of Maryland was expected to outplay Michal Jordan in the upcoming 1986 NBA season (Schuppe 2016). With millions of Americans tuning in, all things pop culture seemed to have one thing in common: cocaine. Michelle Pheipher and Al Pachino casually, sniffed coke on the big screen surrounded by the most expensive props a twenty-five million dollar movie budget could buy (Gleiberman 2021). So Wall Street started doing it too, but not without a price. Cocaine prices were initially high, therefore it was a luxury only the wealthy could afford but, thanks to a cheaper alternative: freebasing (the result of burning the salt form of cocaine into a liquid and mixing it with sodium bicarbonate) anyone could afford to get high (Editors 2017). Richard Prior cracked jokes on live television about his silly freebase incident with crack. So, the affordable alternative to cocaine: crack gained popularity in low income communities (Gleiberman 2021). Everywhere anybody looked, people were either high, or looking to get high, a story not overlooked by the media (Gleiberman 2021). As headlines caught wind of the spiking cocaine rates, it was only a matter of time until the president got involved. At the 1986 NBA Draft, the Celtics with the second overall pick drafted Bias in hopes of replacing soon to be retired Larry Bird (Schuppe 2016). The anticipation of Len Bias vs Michael Jordan lasted all but two days. On June 19th 1986, forty-two hours after the Draft, Bias overdosed on cocaine (Schuppe 2016). So, the media responded, shifting the attention to crack and igniting a spark. The spike in demand for cocaine led to a spike in supply. For spenders this looked like anywhere from a $500,000 to a $1,000,000 annual loss (Editors 2017). For suppliers this looked like a $500,000 to $1,000,000 annual gain (Editors 2017). For anyone, let alone individuals from low income communities, that type of money was not only enough to support their families, but enough to live in luxury. Crack was cheaper, more accessible, flipped easier, and profited quicker than cocaine: making it the obvious dealing choice. Crack’s ability to expedite profits gained in popularity, so much so that it provided drug-related gangs the ability to pay off the police department (Gleiberman 2021). With the police turning a blind eye, the distribution of crack became an “underground capitalist economy...”(Gleiberman 2021). As crack distribution began showing proof of a steady income in low income communities, more and more young men began dealing. To prevent an overage of supply which would plummet prices and the income of dealers, territory was claimed. When territory was not respected violence broke out and casualties resulted (Howell and Decker 1999). As crime rates spiked, citizens who no longer felt safe began to protest (Gleiberman 2021). This made it easy for the media to frame crack users as violent individuals, which was a narrative that would continue to fuel the fire. Although Len Bias truthfully overdosed on powder cocaine, a rumor ran through media coverage claiming that he had overdosed on crack cocaine (Schuppe 2016). News stations frequently referred to crack as a plague, and pushed rigid concepts that were never backed by any real data. For example, children of mothers who used crack were referred to as “crack babies”. In a New York Times article published in 1990, Dr. Xylina Bean was quoted referring to these children: “What can you expect, given the limitations of public schools dealing with this population of poor and minority children?... If you add special needs on top of that, the likelihood of failure increases. These children enter school with an absolute prescription for failure.”(Chira 1990), and according to the Washington Post: “theirs will be a life of certain suffering, of probable deviance, of permanent inferiority. At best, a menial life of severe deprivation… the dead babies may be the lucky ones.”(Unknown 1989). A follow up report done by the New York Times in 2013 revises these beliefs, claiming that the symptoms noted in the 1990s were more a result of premature birth and fetal alcohol syndrome (Winerip 2013). Not only were these claims untrue, but they tied the idea of “-poor and minority-” with crack. There was never a lack of topics either, minority groups were framed for the resurgence of syphilis and AIDS, and young teenagers from these communities were framed as dangerous crack dealers (Kerr 1989). This ultimately shifted the “War on Drugs” towards citizens in minority groups making it more of a war on people than anything else. In September of 1986, President Ronald Regan addressed the nation proposing the Anti Drug Abuse Act and less than a month later congress approved. The Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 declared a 100:1 ratio for possession of cocaine as opposed to crack (Labs). In other words, possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine would result in a sentence of 5 years while possession of 500 grams of crack cocaine would result in a 100 year sentence. Low income communities were therefore targeted due to the prevalence of crack, despite the fact powder cocaine was equally as prevalent in upper class communities. Essentially, two different classes were doing a bad thing, but The Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 only punished minority groups. Furthermore, the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 increased funding for police departments as well as prisons (Adachi 2022). According to the U.S Department of Justice, the policy “ ..birthed the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which granted federal funds to local governments in order to obtain military resources to quell potential riots”(Adachi 2022).Meaning that the previously apathetic police departments had become militarized, with a notorious unachievable goal of prohibition. Not only did this push hysteria to dominate over evidence, but it gave leniency to the police department search and seizure policies (Adachi 2022). This ultimately led to excess charges of substance possession, gun possession, fraud, and immigration pushing incarceration rates to an all time high (Adachi 2022). The proposed Anti Drug Abuse Act suggested fighting fire with fire, and it did just that. After Reagan's initial stance on Drug policies, other candidates have taken harsh measures escalating the issue further. The Drug control budget shot from five million to twelve million during George W Bush’s term ending in 1993 (Pembleton 2018). In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed the 1994 Crime Bill, authorizing the death sentence as well as mandating the lifelong incarceration of individuals with three misdemeanors, popularly known as the “three strikes and you're out” penalty (Editors 2017). Despite these efforts, the Brennan Center for Justice reports crime rates peaking in 1991, meaning the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 did little to nothing to improve street violence (Howell and Decker 1999). The Anti Drug Abuse Act implicated hardships that rippled throughout low income communities, unfairly targeted minorities, and pinned law enforcement against these minority groups. It's important to understand that both police departments, and gangs have dirtied their hands throughout this process and shifting blame to one or the other does nothing to fix the disparity. Making claims such as “Police only go after criminals, they just happen to be black” or “Police are arrogant and racist” only fuels the fire when the stem of the issue is rooted in policies such as the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Thankfully, the US is currently pushing for reform. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 lowered the 100:1 ratio of crack vs powder cocaine to 18:1 (Schuppe 2016), and groups such as the Open Society Foundations are spreading awareness of the real systematic effect of policies like these. Like all problems, spreading awareness is always the first step anyone can take towards a solution, but more importantly: listening rather than arguing and shifting blame towards political policies, rather than each other, are the steps everyone should be taking. If we can be successful in this we might just become successful in extinguishing this fire we are so desperately fighting to control. Works Cited Adachi, Jeff. “Police Militarization and the War on Citizens .” Americanbar.org, 2022, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/2016-17-vol-42/vol-42-no-1/police-militarization-and-the-war-on-citizens/. Chira, Susan. “Children of Crack: Are the Schools Ready? - a Special Report: Crack Babies Turn 5, and Schools Brace.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 May 1990, https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/25/us/children-crack-are-schools-ready-special-report-crack-babies-turn-5-schools.html. Editors, History.com. “War on Drugs.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2017, https://www.history.com/topics/crime/the-war-on-drugs. Gleiberman, Owen. “'Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy' Review: An Eye-Opening Look at the Crack Epidemic, a Tragedy That Was Hyped and Exploited.” Variety, Variety, 9 Jan. 2021, https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/crack-cocaine-corruption-conspiracy-review-stanley-nelson-1234881879/. Howell , James C, and Scott H Decker. “The Youth Gangs, - Office of Justice Programs.” The Youth Gangs, Drug, and Violence Connection , 1999, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/93920.pdf. Kerr, Peter. “Crack and Resurgence of Syphilis Spreading AIDS among the Poor.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Aug. 1989, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/20/nyregion/crack-and-resurgence-of-syphilis-spreading-aids-among-the-poor.html. Labs, History. “The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.” Reagan's National Drug Strategy · Crackdown: Policing Detroit through the War on Drugs, Crime, and Youth · Omeka Beta Service, https://policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu/s/crackdowndetroit/page/reagan-s-national-drug-strategy. Pembleton, Matthew R. “Perspective | George H.W. Bush's Biggest Failure? the War on Drugs.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Dec. 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/06/george-hw-bushs-biggest-failure-war-drugs/. Schuppe , Jon. “Basketball Star Len Bias Died 30 Years Ago. the Impact on the Drug War Endures.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 2016, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/30-years-after-basketball-star-len-bias-death-its-drug-n593731. Unknown. “Children of Cocaine.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 July 1989, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1989/07/30/children-of-cocaine/41a8b4db-dee2-4906-a686-a8a5720bf52a/. Winerip, Michael. “Revisiting the 'Crack Babies' Epidemic That Was Not.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 May 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/booming/revisiting-the-crack-babies-epidemic-that-was-not.html. Sorority members are turning a blind eye to sexual assault and rape, going as far as placing blame on victims pledged as their own sisters, and none other than the social hierarchy ranking system is to blame. The article “Sorority Secrets: The Dark Side of Sisterhood That No One’s Willing to Talk About” by Alexandra Robbins explains the social hierarchy of Greek life and how it contributes to the silencing and blaming of sexual assault victims. Robbins also explains the business side of Greek life and how the need for houses to recruit new members prioritizes the popularity system and encourages sisters and head house leaders to turn a blind eye to the reality of assault and rape within the culture. Robbins acknowledges the subconscious transformation of toxicity that occurs when individuals are grouped and ranked. While Robbins raises some valid points on how the social heiarchy embedded within the Greek System contributes to sexual asult, this idea of the social heirchy influencing behavior can be expanded and further applied to silencing sexual assult victims hazing victims and voters in campus politics. In alignment with Robbins claim, there is significant evidence suggesting the social heirchy’s role in the high amount of sexual assault cases. Sorority members are overwhelmingly 74% more likely to experience sexual assault (Gaeta 2020). While the blame for sexual assault within the Greek system falls 100% on the fraternity, the act of silencing and blaming these victims falls on both soroity and fraternaty members alike. This is fully due to the hierarchy set in place. Each sorority and fraternity chapter is organized into tiers based on ratings which are often given by members of other sorority or fraternity chapters on websites such as greekrank.com. Robbins notes that ratings are most of the time based on member “likability” rather than academics and that whichever chapters are placed in the top, middle, and bottom ranking groups are extremely well known by members across all Greek life. Because of this popularity system, when accounts of rape do happen, it makes sence for victims to be skeptical about coming forward. Robbins brings to light how devastating a public scandal involving sexual assault can be to a sorority if a member accuses a popular fraternity member, touching upon the business behind the hierarchy. She depicts how higher tiers are more popular during the next recruitment, and resolves that if not enough members are recruited into a chapter, the NPC will close the chapter because ultimately the Greek system is a business and businesses run on money. This means that victims are likely to receive high levels of backlash regardless of if they are in the same sorority. The article supports the claim that a scandal like sexual assult can ruin a sorority's social calendar for the year and their rank indefinitely, so when an event like sexual assult is reported it’s greeted by an excessive amount of fear induced backlash. “The Sororities inflict values on us, and it's really confusing, so we take it out on one another.”(Robbins). So while Robbin’s claim that the social hierarchy contributes to high amounts of sexual assault cases on campus can be proven, the idea that the hierarchy is also contributing to the byproduct of blaming the victims can be critically implied. The idea Alexaundra Robbins brings to light about how the popularity system silences sexual assult victims can be reasonably applied to hazing victims. This system of ranking and inferiority is not exclusive to sororities. Fraternities run almost the same way besides the longevity of fraternities initiation process. Young men began the initiation process at the beginning of the fall semester, currently these “pledges' ' are still (a whole two months later) working to be initiated into their chosen fraternity. These initiation tasks span from innocent activities such as dressing a certain way or cleaning the fraternity house to drinking a “pledge master’s” semen or drinking excessively, to the point of death. These tasks according to Robbins can also involve more sexual activities, in 2016 an email was sent to members and pledges of Phi Kappa Tau at Georgia Tech explaining how to use alcohol as a tool to get “laid”, the subject of this email being “Luring your Rapebait''. At FSU’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Outer Space themed party, the pledges’ tasks included serving guests alcohol until 2 am, and cleaning the fraternity house in the morning. These pledges were dressed as stormtroopers and were not permitted to leave the serving area. This all raises the question of why fraternity pledges would willingly allow themselves to be treated in such a way, the answer points more directly to the hierarchy system than anything else. Over half of fraternity members report personal accounts of hazing, and a whopping 95% of these hazing cases went unreported(Adele H). Even more shockingly, 25% of this statistic accounted for coaches, and advisors who were aware of hazing incidents(Adele H). Listening to higher ranking members and staying silent not only proves Robbin’s idea that the social hierarchy contributes to the silencing of sexual assult assult victims, it also proves the social heiarchy’s involvement in hazing. This in turn leaves a trail that looks more like a recurring pattern of influencing the behavior of silencing victims than anything else the NPC and NAIC claim to be doing. If Robbins’ claims can be applied to heavy topics such as sexual assult and hazing, it can also be applied to less intense, although more corrupt, systems, such as campus politics. Every year, new members are voted into the student council. Fraternity and sorority members hold the majority of these student council spots; a large percentage of the voters also belong to various chapters of Greek life (Creedon) leading to the belief that candidates benefit from the social hierarchy. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. In 1914 a voting society was created at the University of Alabama, once banned from the University it dove underground becoming one of the most influential secret societies in Greek culture (Koval). This society, referred to as “The Machine” by outsiders and “The Group” by insiders controls approximately 2,400 votes, and as of now is made up of 16 fraternities and 8 sororities (Koval). After “The Machine” backs a candidate of choice, members intertwined with this organization will hold chapter meetings at their own houses informing chapter members who to vote for in the election (Koval). Robbins points out that impressing fraternities leads to a better reputation, this reputation can also be tarnished if sororities are not voting for the correct candidate. Punishments involving fines and being dropped from the society are enforced upon disagreement, and independent candidate harassment has been reported (Dash). Students acknowledge the presence of “The Machine” and are not only told to stay silent, but are threatened of the consequences such as being dropped from their own houses if they don’t comply (Koval). This is not a new concept, Robbins continuously notes that members of houses feel they need to act a certain way and do certain things that they aren't comfortable with. Members of this society are also sworn to secrecy, taking the initial oath, “Little is known and what is known is kept secret '' (Koval). While there is only knowledge of one organized underground voting group in the Greek system, the concept of voting for the “most popular” sister or brother is more than likely spanning over all universities. The social hierarchy set up by Robbins has shown time and time again its role in silencing now, not only victims but the working voters of the independent voting system, proving that it is more than capable of manipulating behavior. It's clear that Alexandra Robbins author of “Sorority Secrets: The Dark Side of Sisterhood That No One’s Willing to Talk About” was credible when explaining how the business side of the Greek system feeds into the social hierarchy, ultimately contributing to higher accounts of sexual assult and rape. She also brought forth ideas such as how the hierarchy is further contributing to the silencing of these victims. Further applying this idea to hazing victims and student voters at length proves the power behind this system, and its ability to manipulate behavior. As much fun as it may be to slam a powerful system, it's important to take the opposite route when greeted with real life instances. One way students, staff, and people in general can confront this issue is by listening. Sexual assult, rape, and hazing specifically are heavy topics in general and a thousand times heavier for victims. Listening and providing victims with resources such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) and the Hazing Prevention Hotline (1-888-668-4293) is one of the easiest ways to contribute to a solution. Spreading awareness is also extremely beneficial when monopolizing issues begin to surface. Starting conversations with others and their experiences can easily turn a spark to flame, so in a system where silence dominates, be a voice that can be heard. Works Cited Creedon, Kathleen. “SGA Is More than 50 Percent Greek. Here's Why That Isn't a Problem.” Trinitonian, 2019, https://trinitonian.com/2019/02/28/sga-is-more-than-50-percent-greek-heres-why-that-isnt-a-problem/. H, Adele. “Hazing Statistics.” Hazing, 2008, https://hazing.umd.edu/home/hazing-statistics. Koval, James. “Machine Still Exists at Alabama.” Welcome to the Machine :: Machine Still Exists at Alabama, 1983, https://www.welcometothemachine.info/media.php?ID=34. Robbins, Alexandra. “Sorority Secrets: The Dark Side of Sisterhood That No One's Willing to Talk About.” Marie Claire Magazine, Marie Claire, 21 July 2015, https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/news/a15160/sorority-campus-sexual-assault/. Student Affairs , USC. “University of Southern California.” USC, 2018, https://test20.usc.edu/financial-commitments/. |
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