I’m not really into guns and I mostly don’t like gun talk in hip hop at this point in time. It’s just such a cliche and, in light of rap’s gun problems, I think you need a really good reason to bring guns into the picture. Unless, of course, you’re marketing to people that dig gun talk and the brandishing of weaponry.
The above image, that I found at FreeNYC, was left out of my Gnarls Barkley graphics post, though I am very interested in the way these guys play with gun imagery. I think they’re mostly making fun of the omnipresence of such imagery in hip hop and, possibly, in American culture. But, on its own, I just see a crazy guy pointing a gun at me. And I don’t like that, whether its Danger Mouse or 50 Cent, though Cee-Lo’s antics with the gun do strongly suggest parody.
The above image, part of the press materials for Ice Cube’s n*ggaz With Gunz mixtape sends a different sort of mixed message.
The press release refers to Rob Williams and Negroes With Guns and, with Ice Cube’s involvement, obviously also references NWA or n*ggaz With Attitude. However, though it is part of the Listen N Learn mixtape series and is said to be against gun violence, looking at the track listing and the cover art, I can’t help but feel strongly that this is one of those situations where the listener can enjoy gun talk while the artist can claim to be presenting a cautionary tale and yet benefit financially from gun talk.
However, since I haven’t heard the mixtape, I requested a press copy to follow up on my concerns. Once I get that, I may also be interviewing Mike Johns, the creator of the Listen N Learn mixtape series, to see how he looks at the situation.
On a side note, I think Rob Williams is a really important figure in Southern history and in the liberation of black folks. To some degree, I see him as a link between the nonviolent Civil Rights movement and the emergence of the Black Panthers, though I haven’t looked closely at the matter. I do know that the history of armed resistance by black people in the South is a largely untold story and I believe that is partly due to the fact that Civil Rights careerist reformists have been so adamant about distancing themselves from revolutionary movements.
But, while I think that such history is important to understanding the present day, I’m not convinced that gangsters with guns are a revolutionary force. That’s like the fantasies left hippies used to have about the Hells Angels and they paid for it at Altamont and in numerous settings that have only occasionally been put down in writing.
clyde,
interesting post. not sure if you are aware of this but most of the gnarls barkley press photos/public appearances are of them emulating films. one of the most widely circulated photos as you’ve already mentioned is of them doing a clockwork orange.
i’ve also seen a superman one and at coachella i think they did the wizard of oz. it looks like they are on a reservoir dogs/pulp fiction vibe with this one. so i think the marketing with guns angle may be coincedental in this ccase. however, i agree the ice cube imagery is more problematic.
I hadn’t realized that they regularly used film references since I’ve just seen occasional photos but I want to check them out more. Actually, aside from that, I’ve seen some other videos with Cee-Lo on youtube, new stuff I think, and I’m definitely digging it.
I’m probably not as sensitive about guns as I sound in this post. My own response is mixed and there are some very violent albums and films that I really dig, including Straight Outta Compton, though it gets harder to listen to all the way through as I get older.
But it’s hard for one blog post to contain the complexity of this topic so I just wanted to start getting it out there.
We all know Ice Cube is incredibly intelligent. Listen to his first album, watch “Black. White.,” or watch his interviews from his NWA days. Cube knows what people want and knows how to exploit it while dropping some knowledge on top. “N*ggaz with Guns” is a great way to grab attention in the mixtape market, where every cover combines cash, money, guns and hoes to some degree. Cube’s mixtape is taking it back to the basics of “I am dangerous and powerful” with that ridiculous assualt rifle. Notice how he’s almost lost in the picture, off to the side; he’s letting the image of the rifle do all the talking. On the tracklisting there’s several Ice Cube speeches on relevant issues in America today, plus he has artists like Nas and Styles P contributing, 2 concious “street” MC’s who work Cube’s formulas into their own products.
I’m very curious to see how that approach comes off on the mixtape.
And the cover itself I don’t find as threatening as pics of someone pointing a handgun at the camera. To some degree, it’s more Hollywood than gangsta.
america’s marketting fascination with guns and machismo stretches all the way from the NRA to NWA.
I get the Gnarls film references, and that the image is supposed to be satirical, but is it me or does cee-lo just look bad in all these pictures? (but, at least hes not posing with his shirt off…)