Summary Of Manifestations Of Afrocentricity In Rap Music
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Cummings and Roy’s article, Manifestations of Afrocentricity in Rap Music discusses how Afrocentricity “represents discourse that seeks to bring about harmony and transcendence in the African American community” (Cummings and Roy, 2002, p. 60). This transcendence is represented through the concept of nommo, “the supernatural power of the spoken word” (R.J. Stephens, 1991, p. 25). Afrocentricity implies a “complete philosophical totalization of the African being-at-the- center of his or her existence” (Asanate, 1987, p. 125). In rap music, emphasis is placed on lyrics that often describe facets of the social, cultural and economic factors that African-Americans face. Rap music is known for its lyrical content. The article examines how nommo…show more content… My bias began when I selected this article because of its title. According to the article, rap music is “the desire of young black people to reclaim their history, reactive forms of black radicalism, and contest the powers of despair, hopelessness, and genocide that presently besiege the black community” (Dyson, 1991, p. 24). That quote in particular resonated with me, because it is discouraging to see young black man killed by police officers. Although, Police officers are individuals that society depicts as heroes, (and I am not saying they are not because they do put themselves in harm’s way daily) I cannot help but be cautious when I encounter police officers because there is research that proves that because I am black, I am going to be profiled or arrested at a higher rate than a white person. My experiences as a black male have led me to see and interpret the world in a completely different way than most, which a majority of rap music reflects. Rap discusses systems of oppression that I face on a daily basis that a majority of the population cannot relate too, which explains why this topic in particular coincides with cluster