16 The shapes of respect Let’s just focus on recent history. In 1965, the American soul singer Otis Redding released the single Respect, in which a man demands respect from his female partner. However, the song only gained national and international success two years later, with the cover sung by Aretha Franklin, who modernised its meaning. Firstly, it is a woman demanding respect from her man, thus giving the song the traits of a feminist anthem. The cultural climate was driving towards a political reading, and Respect became a song about civil rights, those of Black people fighting against racism. Indeed, in 1960s America, the problem was no longer the laws, which on paper treated all citizens equally, but rather the factual discriminations, such as Southern whites who did not accept coloured children in their schools. The problem, in essence, lies precisely in the lack of respect: respect for federal law, respect for people. But times do change. Decades later, Notorious B.I.G. released his own Respect, in which he describes the struggles of growing up in the hostile environment of the ghetto and the necessity of earning, precisely, the respect of his peers. Nothing to do with respect for federal law, in here: Biggie evokes the status dynamics within the rap scene, a set of survival norms founded on values like authenticity, loyalty, perseverance, and strength of character. Generally, rappers do not seek respect for their community, but rather they compete among themselves, within the community, to accumulate prestige. It is a symptom of disillusionment with the ideals of the 1960s: if I cannot be accepted by the whole society, then I will be content to reign within my narrow circle. Thus, in a certain sense, we are back to the feudal conception of respect, conceived as the insignia of a rank. This can be discerned, listening to the songs, in certain recurring expressions, in the chivalric tones: bow down, pay homage, watch the throne... To be respected in rap means climbing the social pyramid, becoming the king or the boss, and from the pinnacle, exercising power over everyone else. A form of redemption for those from the ghetto, but also for all those middle-class youths who recognise, in this somewhat mafia-like storytelling, the metaphorical expression of their own experience. Adolescence indeed resembles a ghetto, where brutal rules prevail, and reputation is the most precious asset. Of course, it may happen — and indeed it often does — that the logic of respect can get out of hand. For a lack of respect outside a nightclub, occasionally a stabbing occurs. In 1994, it was a gunshot that led Notorious B.I.G. to death – from dissing to dissing, the boastfulness he had accumulated to gain prestige within his faction had exasperated the rival faction. The man who shot him, arming himself with courage and taking responsibility for the crime, surely gained a reputation among his peers. Sometimes, one might kill because of respect; sometimes, one might die because of it.
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