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The cultural commodity, like a drug, organizes the environment of the
consuming subject. It produces a powerful spatiotemporal hallucination.
For example, "gangsta" rap coming out of Los Angeles, as one such commodity,
produces a hallucination of that city that—in contrast to the Los Angeles
of my youth—is a world of surreal violence, extravagant excess, and political
nihilism. After having come in contact with this intoxicant, I can only
perceive L.A. as a double exposure: the image produced by my experiences
overlaid by that produced by cultural commodities. Part of the hallucination
that is Los Angeles, and that comes across on gangsta rap recordings (or
in gangsta movies like Menace II Society), reflects the sublime
horror of the absurd disparities that rule that city. The "set"—the palm
trees, the mountains, the beaches—seems inimical to the violence enacted
on it. These disparities influence gangsta rap formally. The highly refined
music produced by Dr. Dre, with its ethereal Moog lines and polymerized
bass curves, provides the lush backdrop against which the listener hears
lines like
Seven execution style murders
I have no remorse cuz I'm the fuckin' murderer
Haven't you ever heard of a
killer? (RBX) [sound sample]
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