Introduction To Prophets Of The Hood By Imani Perry

In this paper, I will synthesize Imani Perry’s “Introduction” to Prophets of the Hood and Eithne Quinn’s “Alwayz Into Somethin’” to argue that hip-hop includes violent content because the reunion of Black culture led to open discourse that allows rappers to critique the violence within their communities as a product of the post-Fordism era and aspects of survival culture and that the white mainstream media misinterpret.
In the “Introduction” chapter of the book Prophets of the Hood, Imani Perry addresses that the white mainstream media categorizes things in a black-and-white manner, leaving no room for nuance. Perry exemplifies this by writing, “[white mainstream media] does not foster debate when it comes to hip-hop, but rather encourages censorship of ideological diversity through condemnation or praise” (6). Perry implies that white mainstream media's discomfort with the nuance presented within rap causes unfair categorization and analysis of the genre; the media chooses to erase it, minimizing it as an art form and mode of generating meaning and critique. The media paints a picture of glorified violence within rap music due to misunderstanding the context presented, ignoring its expression of lived

Perry states that “the refusal to serve as the moral conscience of the nation any longer has been the development of a music that allows for a wide range of expressions and positions, even within the music of one artist” (6). Perry indicates that rappers do not box themselves into one point of view on issues facing their community; they confront the issue — discussing the good and the ugly from all angles rather than taking the ‘right’ stance. Violent content often appears in rap because music serves as a space to recognize and critique violence within and toward a given