If I were to extend this further, I would want to look more at America’s history of commodifying or racializing black people for the nation’s agenda. When reading about this what I thought about most was the commodification of popular black artists, specifically in the rap genre. Most present day rappers write music that is vulgar and surrounds a lifestyle full of hardship, what some people may refer to as “ghetto”. What is not often talked about is the music industries benefit from black rappers talking about these subjects. Also, the cookie cutter image it paints black rappers as. It can be compared to the characterization of Baartmann in a way. French people viewed black people as what was presented to them and at that time it was Baartmann. Today, when people think of black rappers, it is often rappers who preach this life of hardship. It then creates an image where if you want to be a rapper, there is a lifestyle and image you have to follow. In turn, rappers are generalized as a whole with this view even if it is not what they write about. Where commodification of rappers enters the conversation is the monetary or social benefit industries gain from rappers speaking on lifestyle. A particular artist that would be interesting to look at with this idea would be Kendrick Lamar. He over time has subtly added messages to his work that discuss benefits industries get from prying on black individuals.
Works Cited:
Mitchell, Robin. Vénus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-CenturyFrance. The University of Georgia Press, 2020.
