Abstract

Excerpted From: Nick J. Sciullo, Conversations with the Law: Irony, Hyperbole, and Identity Politics or Sake Pase? Wyclef Jean, Shottas, and Haitian Jack: A Hip-hop Creole Fusion of Rhetorical Resistance to the Law, 34 Oklahoma City University Law Review 455 (Fall 2009) (254 Footnotes) (Full Document)

This article sets out to prove why the law must be investigated in an interdisciplinary fashion which invites an intersection between law, popular culture, and identity politics. First, this article describes how Wyclef Jean, a hip-hop artist, is an active voice of legal criticism and why his criticism is important to a larger discussion of the law. Second, this paper develops a conception of Creole/Haitian legal studies and its importance as an analytical lens through which to perceive the law and legal institutions. Third, this piece formulates a rhetorical criticism of the law through the rhetorical terrain of Wyclef's hip-hop music and cultural aesthetic to critique criminal law and legal institutions. The fusion of hip-hop, Haitian/Creole cultural identity, and rhetorical criticism, opens a new area for legal analysis and understanding. This article concludes by suggesting that rhetorical criticism, hip-hop, and other rhetorical acts (among them irony and hyperbole) provide new terrain from which to understand the law, and further, that the Haitian/Creole cultural identity is an important and underrepresented facet of legal culture, which further compliments current critical race theory.

There is not any sort of numbered pattern in this work and the presentation of issues discussed in this introduction is not consistent with the order of the paper's body because to do otherwise would deny the intersectionality of the issues discussed. It is therefore better to perceive this paper as a freestyle session, developing spontaneously, overlapping, and relapsing as an organic discourse. The issues of identity politics, popular culture, and rhetorical criticism exhibit a tremendous degree of intersectionality. This somewhat odd presentation style is preferred because strict adherence to traditional form and style are so limiting that writing in that style may restrict the utility of the criticism presented and render futile an understanding of the intersectionality amongst identity politics, popular culture, and rhetorical criticism.

Throughout the paper, examples of Wyclef's specific legal criticism are brought to light. These vignettes are weaved through the paper in an attempt to tie the larger theoretical components with Wyclef Jean's actual/practical legal criticism. The hope is that these vignettes will serve as useful examples in support of the theory discussed.

Understanding the Terrain: What's in a Name and Why it Matters

Articles have titles. Law reviews, as far as I can discern, require titles. It is not as if a law review article can be viewed as a Jackson Pollock painting where all one needs do is view it . . . . Or can a law review exist without a title? I argue that law reviews could be title-less, but will make the small concession to the legal academy and endeavor to develop a creative, attention-grabbing, and thought-provoking title. Instead of relegating my title's explanation to footnotes, I will endeavor here to engage in a discussion of this label because it might influence and inform the reader as to my thought processes, biases, convictions, and ideals. “Sake pase?” is a Creole phrase meaning “what's new?” I begin with this simple question as an invitation to readers and authors to do something new--to offer something original and informative to the legal community. What is new? What is going on? How can we as scholars, students, teachers, and others do something important and exciting that adds to the body of understanding about the law? How can hip-hop be investigated, critical race theory re-analyzed, and rhetorical criticism and the law blended?

I selected Wyclef Jean as a subject for study because of his varied styles and dissemination of several important legal messages. Wyclef received and continues to receive much critical acclaim as a songwriter, producer, and rapper. While he is not beyond criticism, his music has not been the subject of vitriolic rants by “haters.” That being said, understanding what Wyclef has to say might be easier than understanding what 50 Cent or DMX have to say. Wyclef is not the only hip-hop artist who provides thought-provoking messages and other scholars should certainly pursue what other artists have to say about the law. Hip-hop also is not the only music genre that functions as a social movement. Reggae, rock, punk, rhythm and blues, and emo can all be seen as providing an important forum for discussing societal issues and as avenues where clear messages can billow forth from the loud speakers regarding the problems that confront individuals on a daily basis. Hip-hop, however, provides a passionate voice of resistance. Morell and Duncan-Andrade observe:

The influence of rap as a voice of resistance and liberation for urban youth proliferates through such artists as Lauryn Hill, Pras, Wyclef Jean of the Refugee Camp, Public Enemy, Nas, and Mos Def, who endeavor to bring an accurate yet critical depiction of the urban situation to a Hip-hop generation.

“Shotta” is a Haitian term meaning “bad boy.” Wyclef uses this term often and it illustrates an important aspect of Haitian society-- resistance to the law. This is not to say that all Haitians resist the law or that they should. I do not intend to imply that Wyclef is a shotta. The use of shotta is rhetorically significant because it casts a persona in opposition to the law. The ability to develop personas, discussed later, is of pivotal importance to the ability of certain hip-hop artists to critique societal systems. The persona allows the actor to become detached from the critical project, allowing new interactions and freer ideas to circulate. From the perspective of this persona and in a dialogue between the law and this persona, something new can be learned.

The title of this piece references Haitian Jack, who is a figure of much debate. Haitian Jack, the man, the myth, the legend, is a debatable figure because no one seems to know if he is a person or a persona. Ultimately, it does not matter if Haitian Jack is a person because it is the attributes ascribed to this persona that matter the most when understanding Wyclef's rhetorical investigation of the law. If Haitian Jack is Wyclef, then understanding how Wyclef deploys this persona to resist the law is integral to understanding Wyclef's personal feelings on this subject matter. If Haitian Jack is an associate of Wyclef, then we have much to learn from the struggle of this individual and the way that individual has encountered the law and how that individual's struggle has informed Wyclef's criticism. The interaction between Wyclef and this caricature is helpful in understanding how irony and hyperbole are used in order to express ideas. Personal narratives are central to an understanding of the individual impact the law has on persons. Therefore, through the Haitian Jack story, Wyclef can teach narrative style criticism and use various rhetorical acts from a detached position in order to convey a tremendous amount of information. Lastly, if Haitian Jack is another rhetorically created persona, we can learn how that persona with no relationship to Wyclef functions and why its function is necessary or appropriate for a better understanding of an individual's legal condition.

“A Hip-Hop Creole Fusion” is an appropriate description of the analysis promulgated here. I draw on hip-hop, as well as Creole culture, to show how they interact with the law. Hip-hop is certainly an important lens through which to view the law. Hip-hop is credited as both a political and cultural force by many scholars. Unfortunately, Haitian and Creole culture are traditionally absent from legal consideration. Just as feminist legal studies, critical race studies, law and sexual preference movements, and many more have developed, Creole culture has several important statements to make about the law. Everyone meets the law differently, and in so meeting the law, one thing that cannot be discounted is an individual's ethnic and cultural background which greatly impacts an individual's perceptions about the law individually and communally.

“Rhetorical Resistance” is a term used to denote an intellectual pursuit of rebellion through the creation of rhetorical personas and other positions. This article does not advocate actual resistance (protest, boycott, sit-in, etc.), although it certainly does not oppose it. Focusing on the actual physical resistance of rebellion is a topic too large in scope to be included in this article. Rhetoric is the tool by which we create discursive space from which to engage in physical action. Rhetorical devices are extremely effective in the dissemination of information, in the teaching of ideas, and in the resistance to oppression. One cannot undervalue the significance of words as weapons. The performative content of any act is as significant as the act or the message to be conveyed by that act. Rhetoric is life. This paper will progress with that idea and will investigate the contours of resistance to the law through rhetorical acts.

[. . .]

What we need is a legal understanding infused with voices of the multitude. We need a sociopolitical understanding responsive to the underrepresented facets of society. Popular culture can, and does, provide an important lens through which to view legal arrangements and societal patterns and conditions. Wyclef Jean is on the forefront of such a critical perspective and understanding the rhetorical tools he uses to comment on the legal system contributes to a greater understanding of how Haitians and hip-hop fans understand the law. It is time to turn up your headphones because, “this music should be played as loud as possible, preferably in residential areas,” where it can invigorate and intrigue those in the legal academy and those in positions to increase the knowledge about hip-hop's many intersections with identity politics and legal understanding, as well as the resulting contribution to social thought.

B.A., University of Richmond; J.D., West Virginia University College of Law.

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