Reading Paul Butler’s “A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice” raises some very interesting aspects of hip-hop culture in connection to justice that the average person probably doesn’t think about on a regular basis. However those submerged in the culture, or at least those who are in some way part of it do. Paul Butler talks about hip-hop as a form of expression which lends a voice to the oppressed minorities of America. The philosophers become the rappers, who through their lyrics channel ideas and raise issues of injustices which burden the lives of many millions of African-Americans everyday. Their lyrics reflect the reality of life for the struggling young man who lives in the projects, oftentimes with no hope for the future. Paul Butler also speaks of how the hip-hop philosophers lend their ideas of crime and punishment, and how often those ideas deviate from those given to society by standard of law. An ‘eye for an eye’ seems acceptable, and one can say is not unreasonable in a particular situation. What is also interesting is Butler’s mentioning that hip-hop is the only culture which acknowledges criminals as human beings. He quotes from lyrics of many very famous artists, who in their songs acknowledge the prisoners. This is largely due to some staggering statistics which Butler includes, such as one in three African-Americans being imprisoned, or even more alarming, that half the nation’s prisons are of the same race, whereas nationally only 14% of the population is African-American. To build on the idea, Butler stresses the importance of how negative of an impact incarceration has on already struggling minority communities. And it is true, if we think about such a family, in which the only man is imprisoned. What means of survival does a, let’s say, single mother have in this type of situation? What kind of future will children have if they see their brother or father arrested? We are often optimists when it comes to drawing conclusions on such speculative subjects. However, as Butler implies, the justice enforcers, as we know them to be criminal justice law, only contribute to this cycle of impoverishment, and strip the minorities of their dignity even further. Not surprisingly, those rappers who send the message are not mere posers, trying to act cool and promote themselves. Instead their lyrics reflect a much harsher reality, one which they had to go through themselves. For what is justice when it is selective of race or background? What of the racial profiling which Butler says the hip-hop culture opposes so largely? As stated by the author the criminal justice system was designed from the top down, but the hip-hop culture examines it from the bottom up, and therefore is much more reflective of the real experience of the punished who continue to “grow like coral” within prison walls.
