Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

should spend much more attention to the solution of the problem, instead of only
describing the problem and not offering a future perspective. Of course, gangsta
rappers are not the cause of every criminal offence that happens in the townships.
He feels the government should invest more effort in its youths, making sure they
receive resources to develop their talents and abilities, so that they can build
towards a decent life, instead of being bored day after day, with no job or hobby
occupy them. The government should also put more effort into decreasing poverty.
Young people see the luxurious music videos on TV, but when they open the
cupboard, they can not even find a piece of bread. Finding yourself in such a
situation can be a small step towards criminality.
Eavesdrop always feels a little scandalised when she sees small boys walking
around as if they are 50 Cent himself, because it is so far removed from reality. She
recalls how she once bumped into an eight year old, carrying a toy gun that shot
plastic balls, saying: “Mothafucka, I’ll kill you.” Although she thought it was funny
at first, she realised this was rather sad, because this was actually what this child
thought of as ‘cool’. She is also afraid that parents would not even notice this kind
of behaviour or realise the effect, because they do not know any better.
When we interviewed Mr. Fat we had not yet prepared any questions about gangsta
rap, and it was not a full topic in our conversation, but it did come up. He thinks
that a lot of people who portray themselves as gangsta’s or tough people are just
pretending. He thinks it is stupid when people with a middleclass background talk
about gangs and how they are the ‘real deal’, while they most probably have done
research about guns in books and on the internet. But even coming from a ghetto,
the Cape Flats or any disadvantaged background, what do you gain from always
talking about such negative issues? You are definitely not going to uplift the place
where you come from, on the contrary, you will only promote the use of more
violence.
“And like I says like you can talk about gangsta’s / and you can talk about
gun swinging / but what you do? / you put violence into your own
community.”
He himself was marginally involved with gangs during his youth, which means he
can relate to the things young people go through and he can identify with them,
because he has been there.
2. Findings