Decent Daddy, Imperfect Daddy: Black Male Rap Artists’ Views of Fatherhood and the Family

摘要

Research examining contemporary African-American male fathers has either presented them as being absent and uninvolved in their children’s lives (Moynihan 1965; Anderson 1999) or engaged with their children—despite structural or institutional constraints they face (Edin et al., Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 621:149–177, 2009; Reynolds, Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 624:12–28, 2009). Scant scholarship explores the medium that provides black males their own voices—rap music—in regards to their beliefs about the family. This exploratory research examines how black male rappers talk about motherhood, fatherhood, and parenthood. The content analysis of 391 of rap songs from the years 2004 to 2009 revealed that male rappers expressed unwavering love for their mothers, but contempt for the mothers of their children. Furthermore, they conveyed mixed feelings about their own fathers, but actively embraced fatherhood. Thus, many artists partially adhere to Anderson’s (1999) notion of the “decent daddy,” but are “imperfect” because of the fractious relationships with the biological mother of their children.