missy and marx

How is the bling-culture of today to be read in the light of general Marxist theory? Marxism says that in capitalism, a perceived personal freedom exists for the individuals who excel within the relationships of the ruling class, but in communism that freedom would belong to all. In Missy Eliot’s song, Click Clack the self-assertion of status and identity is based solely on personal appearance (“hotter than a summer day”); personal wealth as displayed by fetishised commodities (“semi-automatic track, drink a lot of similac”); and personal career achievements (“my record deal, my movie deal, I’m super sick-sick”). This goes against the Marxist idea that “only in the community with others has each individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community … is personal freedom possible” [German Ideology]. How close to personal freedom is someone who defines themselves solely on being individually better (tougher, richer, hotter, more successful)? Marx and Engles say that in order to really assert themselves as individuals, the people “must overthrow the State” [ibid.] and exist collectively.

The fetishised commodities that are valued in songs such as Click Clack – fast cars, bling, fashion accessories - all require labour and means of production but are disconnected from that at their reception. They are valued in terms of how they connote a level of status and confirm a position of power. In our capitalist system identities and social relationships are defined by the acquisition of private property. According to Marxism, this system denies individuals awareness of their social relations and creates a continuing status anxiety where everyone within the capitalist mode of production has an insatiable desire to consume: “I make cash, pay them bills, I pay them bills that buy them wheels.”

Marxism also foresaw that within a capitalist mode of production the individual would be commodified to gain social desirability through the valuation of their identity. Missy Elliott is a fictional character who was invented by Melissa Elliott and a team of stylists, press agents, dance choreographers, make-up artists and managers, to be marketed and sold. Because she is such a strong brand, she is a valuable endorser of other commodities. She recently appeared in print and television commercials for the conservative clothing label Gap, and her association with it was designed to give it more street cred.

The division of labour talked about by the early Marxists has since changed rapidly with things such as the emergence of the middle class, but the

exploitation of workers still exists. In our increasingly globalised world, the West turns to developing countries to use the labour of their cheaper workers, bringing the products back home to market them as expensive and desirable commodities. This is the case with designer brands like Adidas, popularized by the early hip-hop movement and now in partnership with Missy Elliott who recently launched her Adidas line of clothing, Respect M.E.

Marx said that the world is not made of disconnected and isolated ideas, but is an integrated whole in a state of ceaseless flux. The rise of hip-hop has been arguably the most influential pop music form of the last generation and is the result of the ongoing class conflict has been going on in various forms since for as long as civilization. It allowed the underprivileged black youth of urban slums in America not only a voice, but a means to economic advantage.

The beginnings of hip-hop are traced to the block parties of the Bronx in the early 1970s. The lack of wealth made for a creative and playful mode of production using existing products to create a style that offered free escape from the poverty of urban ghettos and the social alienation of black youth in a racist society. The music would cost nothing to make: amateur performers improvised lyrics, beat boxers provided beats with nothing but their voices, and DJs would sample sounds from existing records. Artistic styles like graffiti murals and break dancing also required no money to produce – the streets provided canvases and dance floors.

Inevitably major record companies latched on to the commercial possibilities of the new aesthetic and the dress, language, music and attitudes were quickly commodified. Innovative and experimental as it once was, the genre now floats right in the middle of the main stream and accounts for over 25% of all new record sales. Though born out of the desire to reject the White middle-class aesthetic, the uniform of low-slung jeans, Timberland boots, expensive trainers, big chains and designer tracksuits has become de rigueur among many youth cultures world wide.

The Roots, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are among some of the more recent successful artists who carry socially progressive messages, but voices like theirs are usually drowned out by the big stars who vocalise commodity fetishism such as 50 Cent, Jay Z, Puff Daddy, N.E.R.D and Missy Elliott. Public Enemy were one of the strongest voices of dissent to come out of early commercial hip-hop. Songs like Fight The Power carried a message that could be aligned with post-Marxist thinking: “to revolutionize make a change nothing’s strange … people, people we are the same … power to the people no delay … in order to fight the powers that be.” But today the message is different: bling-music says you can join those powers that be and acquire wealth for yourself, showing the rich and comfortable that they no longer have the same power over you.

So how should a song like Click Clack should be valued in terms of artistic merit, if at all? If we use Lukac’s model of true art being something that “combats the alienation and fragmentation of capitalist society, projecting a rich, many-sided image of human wholeness” [The Meaning of Contemporary Criticism] ,it falls hopelessly short. Missy’s sophisticated rhythms and arrangements pastiche various musical styles to create chaotic layers of sounds that reflect the feelings of frantic urban life in capitalist society, but I would say it offers no answers or insight. I would also say that it isn’t expected to and doesn’t pretend to.

Art has the power to change the course of history by influencing how things are thought about, but that potential is largely absent from the generic pop song. Pop music is an entirely Western form and many critics have observed that today it is increasingly manufactured with commercial gain in mind. Since Marx’s time, we have watched commerce get more and more comfortable in bed with 'art', and it’s not looking like it is going to leave any time soon. Perhaps even if the performer intends to communicate ideas that are in some way revolutionary, the form of the pop song will inhibit the message because it is so deeply ingrained in Western consumerism. Missy Elliott is an executive with a record label, a clothing line, a reality TV series, Hollywood blockbuster soundtrack collaborations and various associated merchandise. Click Clack is from her sixth solo album, The Cookbook, which has currently sold over 1.2 million copies globally.

Perhaps the music is to be listened to as tongue-in-cheek commentary on the emptiness of materialism: a reflection of an aggressive culture obsessed with excess rather than an endorsement of it. But even if the excess and hedonism is to be received with irony, it must come from somewhere. So whether the materialism is being subscribed to or merely reflected on, bling culture communicates something that is unique to modern capitalist society.

Images: Wikipedia (1, 2)

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