Upwardly Mobile HIP-HOP

For those that desire the American Dream, the credit card is a cultural artifact that creates the illusion of the American Dream because the concept of credit allows the individual to purchase without having capital upfront. For some of those within contemporary hip-hop culture, the credit card, more specifically the black card, acts as a staple of consumption. This particular cultural artifact gives off the impression of high class and extreme opulence. Their lifestyle, in terms of class, represents the American Dream because they have amassed a certain amount of wealth, which has allowed them to create a line of credit that can easily be paid back. The hip-hop industry is also an industry that allows its users to become upwardly mobile. The person entering is usually from a low to middle class standing and after being in the industry for a certain amount of time, they are able to gain a certain amount of wealth that they would not normally enjoy. Actually the hip-hop industry has created many ‘rags-to-riches’ stories. The Black Card is a cultural artifact that is a clear indication of this growth from rags to riches. I say rags to riches not to show that blacks are of a lowly class structure, I say this because African Americans have just been given opportunities for socio-economic advancement. In a sense, the hip-hop Industry acts as a counterbalance to the systemic and institutionalized racism that has shaped this country since the creation of this country. The hip-hop industry has helped to create an African American elite. This elite class advertises their wealth to the youth (those that help stabilize and enliven the hip-hop culture). There is a clear sense of upward mobility when discussing hip-hop artists but there have been distinct measures taken in this country that have tried to keep African Americans economically stagnant. Not until 1954 did the United States enjoy the desegregation of schools. The eradication of slavery happened almost a century and a half ago. This is the beginning of the disparity which has kept African Americans from becoming the elite class. To be given equal rights almost 150 years ago in a country which is twice that age is a telling tale. The hip-hop industry has become a vehicle for change and has allowed upward mobility in the African American community to thrive.

luxuryplastic.com---------------> to view the Black Card's Relevance to Hip-Hop Culture

LEVI AD

I decided to use the Levi Strauss Ad campaign because this is the particular type of clothing that I have been wearing for the past year. This particular ad campaign is known as 'RED TAB ON 4 LIFE' because they are trying to develop the impression that the clothing and the indivdual are not created seperately. The ad that I chose has a man and a woman standing side-by-side, hanging on a clothingline outside of an apartment building. The male and the female are both topless, which tells the viewer that this particular advertisement only deals with the jeans. For that matter, they are not wearing any clothing but the jeans. This is done to further amplify this fact. Also in this ad they are wearing jeans that are soaked with water. The pants are soaked with water to show why these jeans are being hung outside. The only thing that makes this ad unbeleivable is that these jeans are being hung by the person that is wearing them and are not being hung by the person that is wearing them. Typically one would just hang their clothing on a clothing line and wait for their clothing to dry, but Levi decided to show how their clothing represents a particular lifestyle indicative of the working class male and female. Issues of social identity are definitely represented in this picture. In this particular ad one is able to see that on other floors there are clothes that are already being hung out of other windows. Because of this, one can conclude that this Levi ad does not specifically deal with male and female clothing; they are trying to incorporate both sexes. This is done to broaden their capital and from the viewers perspective it does not discriminate or leave out males or females. This ad also speaks to a particular social class. I would say that the male and female who are hanging from this particular clothesline are of the working class because the upper class would not hang their clothes from a clothesline. In the ad these youths seem like the 'new age' because both the male and the female models seem to be in their mid 20's. If they are in their mid 20's and are apart of the working class then one can assume that they work in their jeans. One can assume this because the clothes that they wear represent 'RED TAB ON 4 LIFE'. The '4 life' tells the reader that the clothing is used for all facets of day (work and play). If the individual and the jeans are inseperable then they must be worn during all times of the day including work. This shows that the brand is not only made for social gatherings such as parties, but they can also be worn for work. These particular jeans fit the 'new age' lifestyle because they are rugged, yet casual, and seem to replace khaki's on the list of 'work wear'. The buidlings in this particular picture seem to be the same, which tells the audience that it is an apartment complex of some sort. This tells the viewer that these people are of a certain social class. They are not elites, because as said before, the rich do not hang their clothes from windows. This ad tells its viewer that it is cool to wear LEVI's because young vibrant youths wear them. This means that these clothes are not just for youths, they are just targeted at youths so that older age brackets can see the image surrounding the particular line and potentially buy the product. They would buy the product because it represents everyday wear and because they represent a casual feeling, that in turn represents comfortability and maneuverability.