Gucci? Louis!

I first heard  "Gucci? Louis!" as a joke during a skit from a high school theater group. Two actors greeted each other with  "Gucci? Louis!" every time they were together in a scene. Sort of like "Ago? Amee!" from West Africa- Ghana, Nigeria. It basically means, "Are you listening? Yes I am". So this "Gucci? Louis!" was absolutely brilliant as a modern day spin on an ancient storytelling tradition. I absolutely LOVE it when class and cultural codes mix, the past and the present shift and overlap, tradition and experimentation meet and depart. (That's why I love theater, history and dance!)


Of course Gucci and Louis are two of the biggest brands of luxury clothing in the world, and until fifteen or twenty years ago, they were almost exclusively the possessions of the upper class and rich. The commercialization of a little known art form that started in the 1980's would change these high end brands from a signature of wealth and class to a popular brand worn by teenagers in the inner city. That little known art form is now a billion dollar global enterprise.

Whereas these used to be the symbols of original hip hop:

 

Nowadays these have come to be the symbols:

Originally, hip hop was not based on material consumption, it was actually created from a lack of material consumption. The New York City School System had eradicated music education in the public school curriculum, and the youth who created hip hop were musicians looking for a form and a source for their creativity. The same young people who would have been in orchestra, or marching band were using their innate musical abilities to fill a void in their education.

Hip Hop's exposure and acceptance to the mainstream media  has in some ways been it's best and worst accomplishment. While the art form has been legitimized, it has also been exploited for the gain of corporations who use the art form to sell their products. At the same time, they engage in practices that thwart the social development and empowerment of inner city communities.
Hip hop began nearly thirty years ago among Hispanic, African American, and Caribbean American teenagers mostly males in the Bronx. Now nearly thirty years later, rap artists are still by and large from the same demographic and cultural background. The number of successful white rap artists are notable: Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, and the chosen one, Eminem. It is still mostly a club of men, and female rappers are few and far between.


Which leads me back to my original Wow.


Enter 2010.


We are now seeing a complete re figuration of the traditional MC. Not as a Hispanic or African American female. These new MC's are from the West Coast, and they go by the name:

From their twitter page

Meet Kreayshawn, V-Nasty, and Lil Debbie.

There are so many social, racial, gender, and class codes that are crisscrossed in this new group that I do not even know where to begin. I do know that like them or hate them, they are taking their message, whether good or bad, to the people, and that is the real purpose of Hip Hop music. Not quite sure about their message, or what this means about the cultural appropriation of Hip Hop, but I do not think they should be held to different standards than male MC's.


Young people, in spite of their attitudes, can be very perceptive about the world, and how they fit into it. They often make remarks that are profound, even if they are uninformed and a bit immature in their delivery. These things do not drop out of the sky from another planet, this group has been years in the making, and is the result of Hip Hop culture crossing borders, and our society becoming "closer" because we can "communicate" on a faster, though more superficial level.


I am not sure what is being expressed here, and whether or not The White Girl Mob will be able to fully own their definition of themselves, in a world that leans towards women expressing themselves in less threatening ways. As a feminist, who believes in racial and gender equality for all beings on this planet, I certainly hope they can define themselves according to their own definition. However, I wonder if this is in retaliation to their environment, and to society's attitudes towards what is expected of "White Women".


Ultimately, original hip hop was a tough message of love for self, community, and family. Through the years it has transformed into something that is sometimes ugly, and unrecognizable. White Girl Mob is not the first hip hop group to use provocative language to achieve fame and success. NWA when it first debuted on the air waves, was hugely divisive and offensive to African American and Hip hop community.


I like to believe that hip hop has survived and continues to this day, because of the message at its core: Love for self, family, and community. Although the messengers do not always get this, Hip Hop as an art form is large enough to welcome people from all different walks of life. I hope that the White Girl Mob, (like  the members of NWA, who encountered all sorts of "trouble" from their new fame mixed with their old life), can transform themselves through the Hip Hop medium. After all, Hip Hop is art, and it is transformative.

To be continued- but check out their music!! Make up your own mind about these MC's.




Videos
Gucci Gucci by Kreayshawn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WJFjXtHcy4 

We Swobbin by White Girl Mob http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv_fLORekXs&NR=1


Articles
http://bossip.com/427262/white-girl-mob-hip-hops-favorite-white-girls/
http://www.vibe.com/posts/white-girl-mob-kreayshawn-affiliate-v-nasty-defends-her-use-n-word