They Spinning: Materialism in Black America

"They spinning, nigga! They spinning!!"

In his trademarked high-pitched voice, comedian Chris Rock poked fun at Black America's obsession with the infamous Sprewell rims in "Never Scared." Like much of the routine it was sad, but funny. Sad because, yes, many Black Americans seem to be obsessed with all things "bling." Whether that bling be jewelry, cars or clothing, we can't seem to get enough gaudy and over priced merchandise. Funny because someone has actually invented self-spinning chrome rims.

A couple of questions arise from this observation. They're old ones, but I feel the need to rehash them a bit, if only to understand the phenomenon a little better myself. It all boils down to this: Why do so many Blacks seem so materialistic?

"Not holding up their end."

It's been a few months since Mr. Cosby made his public statements about Black America: "They are standing on the corner, and they can't speak English... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth... The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal." Needless to say the lines have been drawn, but unlike Mr. Cosby, I don't think the issue is as black and white as the choice between $200 sneakers or "hooked on phonics" as he latter framed the problem. Cosby, and those like him, lose a lot of gray area when they make blanket statements about black culture that assume too much. One assumption is that our culture lives in a vacuum, without influence from, and to, the outside world. I think it's safe to say that this assumption is wrong. No matter how hard we may wish it wasn't so, our decisions are influenced, to a degree, by outside forces.

There is a constant back and forth between Blacks and the culture at large, with blacks usually getting the shit end of the deal. For example, Japanese rap fans are now calling themselves "niggaz." From clothing, to music, to slang, to dance, to style, to even our point of view, Black American culture has been absorbed, copied, and reproduced for mass consumption for blacks by the corporate world. It's in that last bit part we can see the contradiction to Bill Cosby's assumptions, and the idea that blacks are just money spending fools who simply need to get their act together.

In this relationship, popular black culture doesn't come from blacks anymore. Rap, for example, started as the music of ghetto youth who couldn't afford instruments; now it's an international, multibillion-dollar a year industry. In that industry it is non-black A&Rs, record company execs, lawyers, and journalists who now have the ability to tell us what rap is. It's no longer in the hands of those who created it. This same formula (blacks create, non-blacks take, then sell it back to blacks) can be applied to many other aspects of black culture besides rap. As small communities erode away in the face of globalization and growing technology, blacks are looking less to each other and more at Corporate America for its ideals, its heroes, and its values.

Going back to rap, many look at 50 Cent's G-Unit product line (shoes, clothes, games etc) as an example of Black entrepreneurialship. Yes, 50 is making money, but in reality he's a face that companies use to sell products. G-Unit clothing is run by Ecko (Marc Ecko), G-Unit sneakers are produced by Reebok (a multinational business run by non-black business men; it's CEO is Paul Fireman), and his G-Unit music label is under the umbrella of Interscope records, whose head, Jimmy Ivene, very consciously picks acts who are commercially viable. 50 Cent is selling the product, but these (all white) men make the bulk of the money. They create what blacks view as hip-hop, and for the moment that is 50 Cent. Next year, it'll be another rapper who fits the mold that they've created. They're there because they help sell the expensive products that people like Bill Cosby denounce.

This is the "commercial logic" that media critic Robert McChesney talks about: "The commercial logic is the idea that everything is dedicated to the idea of selling something. The whole point of the relationship... is to turn them upside-down and shake all the money out of their pockets. That's the sole purpose of... the creative [in the eyes of the businessman]. There's traditionally been a distinction between the editorial or creative side and the commercial side... It has come under sustained pressure, because the people who actually make the decisions are commercial..."

In the case of Black culture, this logic leads to the manipulation of images and icons that are part of Black culture by businessmen who are in no way, shape, or form concerned about the impact their decisions have on Black people. In her ColorLine article "Niggas, Dykes, and Corporate Types" Akilah Monifa sums up the corporate view of black culture: "The marketing people rip off the things that they find saleable, like lightweight rap music, baggy shorts, Air Jordans, hip-hop dancing, and, most of all, the athleticism of mostly black athletes. This strategy has brought unprecedented profits to Nike..."

With this in mind watch as values and quality go down. This happens because superficial cheapness makes more money than something made with thought and care. See how it applies to our world... rapping about murder, or writing books about "Thug Love" require little imagination or talent, and because they appeal to our most sensationalistic urges they sell fast. These products become legitimized by corporate created black cultural idols like 50 Cent, and soon everyone is hooked up to a BET-style Matrix where they're constantly sold products and given values that create a need to buy those products.

Why do niggaz love $200 sneakers? It's because that's what being advertised to them when they watch TV, when they listen to their music, when they read their magazine or book; it's because output from real and thoughtful Black culture creators has been suppressed and replaced with market driven phonies. If advertisement didn't work so well, companies wouldn't do it.

I think the powers that be, whether it's the government, labels, or who knows who, it seems like they had a little meeting and decided to get rid of all the Hip-Hop that was threatening or underground. They basically are only letting a certain amount of acts live, which are the commercial acts.... It's basically commercial or bust." - Dray from Das EFX

"You can't hate the roots without hating the tree."

On "Truth is" (the opening track of Pete Rock's Soul Survivor II) spoken word poet Black Ice states: "External blingers is all we can be cause on the inside we been given nothing to shine on/And a record deal's harder to get than coke, so my niggaz get they grind on/Cause the TV tells us, aim high nigga, make all goals lateral/But see that takes paper that we don't have so, niggaz put they souls up as collateral." Again, it's an old observation, but it needs revisiting.

Advertisements can't control your mind - but that's not what they're supposed to do. Ads prey on insecurities, and in that they're sickeningly successful. If you didn't feel incomplete emotionally you wouldn't feel the need to buy the unnecessary products they advertise. Growing up this was part of my culture. For me, it was a Karl Kani hoodie, though there was nothing particularly special about it other than the brand name. The Karl Kani brand commanded respect in my school because the price was so damn high; and in a school where everyone was poor, or just getting by, having that hoodie was a peacock-like way of displaying to everyone that you had money, even if you were just as broke as the next person. I stole that hoodie from my older brother's closet one day and when I showed up to class all eyes were on me. One girl even checked the inside to see if it was real. When she pulled out the logoed tag everyone awed, and I smiled with satisfaction. The whole situation gave me a misplaced feeling of pride.

This desire to fulfill unnecessary needs is created by the fact that many blacks feel (some rightfully so) that they have nothing. It's a lack of historical knowledge that leaves us feeling worthless; it's a lack of real wealth, and real control over our lives in this society that leaves us feeling powerless. These feelings are manipulated so that we reach for the socially acceptable, often materialistic, solutions to these problems. If you're powerless, buy something that will give you influence over other powerless people (ie. a gun). If you're poor, then buy things that will prove to others that you're not (ie. a $210 pair of Evisu jeans). These are the solutions that we're given, and they manifest themselves in the various forms of "bling." In the minds of many, having a hummer means you have wealth, even if you still live in public housing.

Often we hear, critical advice on how Blacks should or shouldn't act. Rantings like Bill Cosby's, or even Chris Rock's "Black people vs. niggers" routine have come to supplant any real analysis of the situation. The fact is that Blacks are a constant target in this society. Among first-time youth offenders, Black are six times more likely than whites to be sentenced to prison by juvenile courts. For drug offenses, Black youth are forty-eight times more likely than whites to be sent to prison. Based on current incarceration rates, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics projects that 30 percent of Black boys who turn twelve this year will have been in jail at least once in their lifetime.

With job opportunities we're facing the same situation. In New York nearly one-half of Black men are without jobs. A Northwestern University study found that among job applicants whites with prison records were called back more often than Blacks with no prison record at all.

These horrific statistics about Black America are tied to a superficial and shortsighted view of life. They create an environment where hope is scarce and expectations are low - and so is what you strive to attain. When the world around you gives you no avenues to achieve status you may grasp at straws, in the form of exaggerated status symbols.

"My hood's all fucked up. There ain't no goals. The little boys turn to convicts and girls turn to hoes." - Lloyd Banks

Personally speaking

Nothing is absolute when talking about the motivations that drive a people day in and day out, and this isn't an attempt to create that absolute.

Sometime ago I had a conversation with a young lady who had just given up on Blacks and Latinos. A Black Cuban, she was angry at her cousin who joined the military for the money, even though he knew full well that this war was based on lies, and he'd very likely end up killing someone or getting himself killed. I explained to her the "economic draft": the poor are always disproportionately represented on the front lines of an army because their economic opportunities are so nil that killing, or being killed, becomes a viable career option. She understood the concept but replied, "You can't blame everything on society. People are responsible for themselves." This is true, and of course there are exceptions to almost everything here. There are also exceptions on black poverty. For the most part blacks have represented (and continues to represent) a disproportionate amount of the working class and poor in this country. In 1999, median income for African Americans was $31,778, compared to $51,244 for white families, and in 2001, 30 percent of both Black and Latino children lived in poverty. And in an admittedly old, yet sadly not out of date stat from 1995, average white households had $18,000 in financial wealth, while Black households possessed a total of only $200. Amidst this crippling poverty, however, we find Oprah.

The point is that the exceptions don't discount what can be observed in general. In general, it's bigger than arguing for personal responsibility. The exceptions, however, are too often trotted out to support arguments like, "We should exercise more self-control with our money and our lives." These statements have validity, but for the most part, only in a world where everything is equal, where there are no forces of negative influence or oppression. When we get to that place then it will become relevant to talk about which individual knuckle head is spending how much on what. Right now, however, much of the problems that we deal with as a people are systematically created by the society we live in.

The way to fight this materialistic mentality is not by blaming each other, but to fight for real power and real control over our own lives. Forget the jewelry and get your freedom.

"Politically, I beg to differ on the views of freedom. We are victims of a capitalist system. As workers we are exploited. As people we have no power over our own lives. No self-determination and no ability to reproduce the things we need for ourselves. So we are dependent on people who historically have beaten us, jailed us, lied to us etc. I don't see any freedom in that." - Stic from Dead Prez