That's a curious idea. Develop it for me, please. What do you mean by "Not in the culture?" If ya'll wanted positive rappers, you'd have them. Pronto.It's my assertion that the millions of people that help a rap album go platinum plus basically ignored hip hop otherwise. I'm talking a period of about fifteen years in particular as far as gangster rap, and about thirty years overall. They just thought it was cool. Look the look. But if they immerse themselves in the culture, they'll know they got taken.
What I mean by not in the culture is that if a guy is being played on the radio 24-7 he's going to get ingrained into people's heads, and permeate throughout the entire society. If a guy presses 175 copies of a demo and devoted fans download it off a torrent site, no matter how dope it is it's not going to have the same nationwide impact.
On this we agree. Major corporations quietly narrowed the culture until only intentionally malformed sperm could escape. It's a archtypical blip I've noticed across the spectrum of American entertainment. Case in point, word is Young Buck wanted to put a police protest song on his album. Interscope was like, "Yeah, right. You out yo mind." Companies like this don't define "grasping the culture" in the same way you or I might. They mean choking the life out of music and minds. They mean squeezing every penny from any kid that could get twenty bucks from his moms for a watered down peon on a string.Institutions and corporations don't define culture as it happens. In this case, they trample culture by taking talented guys that might have a couple of political or self-effacing songs or strange styles and pushing them out or worse, turning them out. Because the consumer doesn't want to nod his head; doesn't want to wonder how a guy came up with that line. The consumer wants to be titillated with a clown or a thug. 70% of people that buy rap CD's are white males. Why would people be pissed at rappers if crime and hip hop are related, or at least really, really tight? They need to put that blame where it belongs. I'm grown enough to eat steak, but the most readily accessible conduit for nourishment is only serving junk food. Sometimes it's an exquisite confection, but among too many sweets nonetheless. My little cousins and nieces watch BET, MTV. They being taught by rapper middlemen that they are destined for prison or sex and implying both simultaneously without ever really saying it. We had better and more diverse messages and ideas for a long time. It's the one of the few good things about me being this old man.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gentile @ Jul 1 2007, 03:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wrong. Hip hop has always had a deluge of positive rappers. White people don't want to buy that sh*t. And that's the biggest problem with hip hop. White men as a demographic are the number one priority. And the current crap on Viacom is what they seem to believe and love.</div>Uh, what you said doesn't even disagree with me. There are positive rappers, and I never denied that. Most people don't want to buy positive rap. Furthermore, I didn't make a distinction between race and rap. I just said that rap makes unacceptable things acceptable in our society. Though, I will say that some seemingly have the ability to make a clear distinction between just music and real life, while others don't. So please enlighten me. How am I wrong?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Justice @ Jul 2 2007, 09:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Uh, what you said doesn't even disagree with me. There are positive rappers, and I never denied that. Most people don't want to buy positive rap. Furthermore, I didn't make a distinction between race and rap. I just said that rap makes unacceptable things acceptable in our society. Though, I will say that some seemingly have the ability to make a clear distinction between just music and real life, while others don't. So please enlighten me. How am I wrong?</div>Ok, let's check your original statement.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The music does motivate the culture, though. I'm not saying that a rapper makes you put a joint in your mouth or rob a store, but it is so deep in the culture that when you hear it everyday and your friends do as well, it's pretty acceptable. If Dr. Dre and Snoop were saying don't do drugs and please help stop crime instead of talking about how awesome the sticky icky and cappin mothafuckas were, I'd put a bet down that a lot of kids would be thinking before they do things.</div>Basically, your solution was for the gangster rappers to change stripes. That's not a solution. That's turning on your master. And its punishable by the death of your career. You got young uns rhyming about a lifestyle that they don't even know from experience because it's the only way a record label will listen to them to give them a chance to get pimped. See, I drink forties, I smoke weed. I smack hos. I do crime. But I'll never shoot at a cop. Cross my heart, and hope to lose my record deal.I think you're wrong in approach as well. If you want to be critical, start with the toughest things to change. Say this is your axis of evil: Record executives, American Fans, Rappers. Starting with the rappers is a punk move and demonstrates nothing but the frantic search for a fall guy. All that crap that you say is "so deep in the culture" gets strategically placed in the cultures from who?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gentile @ Jul 3 2007, 06:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Basically, your solution was for the gangster rappers to change stripes.</div>I didn't suggest any solution. I didn't say rappers should or shouldn't do anything. I just said that if rap weren't so "nigga nigga nigga, I'm a cop killa!", then our society would definitely be better off as far as crime goes. That is obviously a pipe dream.
I dont have a lot to say here but what I will say is,-The African American male is the most copied person on the planet and I dont get why- Rappers make it seem glam,orous to be a "thug", Its not! Its a life and death struggle, its out of nessacity often.I get sick of seeing people dressing like af-americans and talking like them too, Why idolise minority of a minority? There are plaenty of african americans that are not shooting, rapping, banging "hoes" and smoking weed. Why is it that the law breaking minority are the ones people idolise? Well because young men are scared they see these "thugs" as someone that are "tough" and they (subconsciously I suspect) think by mimicking that behavior that they themselves are tougher. I wonder whose fault it is that adolescent males think like that? The media? the music industry? Well im not sure but I think it is silly- why aren't these people idolising people who are making a difference - nelson mandela, Martin Luther, even Oprah for gods sake? These are people who have made massive differences to the world and but young males would rather idolise Curtis Jackson or Marshall Mathers? WTF? I dont really know what to say but I was most blown away by this phenomenon the other day, I have a freind (he's white) and a few years older than me(he's 28). He thinks he going to be a rapper *sigh* but that all good im fine with it if thats his dream, anyway I asked him to come with me to the races on the weekend and he said "Man, I dont think you'd see many thugs at the races" I was blown away - this is a guiy who grew up in the burbs in a well off family never even seen a gun or a homeless person and he thinks that he's a thug?!!!!!!The sad thing is that is the attitude of alot of young men. Stupid as it is I guess Music has to takes its share of the responsibility on that but so do PEOPLES PARENTS.Sorry about the rant -lol
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Clangus @ Jul 3 2007, 08:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I dont have a lot to say here but what I will say is,-The African American male is the most copied person on the planet and I dont get why- Rappers make it seem glam,orous to be a "thug", Its not! Its a life and death struggle, its out of nessacity often.I get sick of seeing people dressing like af-americans and talking like them too, Why idolise minority of a minority? There are plaenty of african americans that are not shooting, rapping, banging "hoes" and smoking weed. Why is it that the law breaking minority are the ones people idolise? Well because young men are scared they see these "thugs" as someone that are "tough" and they (subconsciously I suspect) think by mimicking that behavior that they themselves are tougher. I wonder whose fault it is that adolescent males think like that? The media? the music industry? Well im not sure but I think it is silly- why aren't these people idolising people who are making a difference - nelson mandela, Martin Luther, even Oprah for gods sake? These are people who have made massive differences to the world and but young males would rather idolise Curtis Jackson or Marshall Mathers? WTF? I dont really know what to say but I was most blown away by this phenomenon the other day, I have a freind (he's white) and a few years older than me(he's 28). He thinks he going to be a rapper *sigh* but that all good im fine with it if thats his dream, anyway I asked him to come with me to the races on the weekend and he said "Man, I dont think you'd see many thugs at the races" I was blown away - this is a guiy who grew up in the burbs in a well off family never even seen a gun or a homeless person and he thinks that he's a thug?!!!!!!The sad thing is that is the attitude of alot of young men. Stupid as it is I guess Music has to takes its share of the responsibility on that but so do PEOPLES PARENTS.Sorry about the rant -lol</div>Yup, that's another problem. Suburban white kids trying to mimic blacks and giving us as a race a bad name, because not all blacks have that "thug" mentality. Everybody ends up wanting to be a rapper; they don't want to idolize Martin Luther King or Oprah because there's no money for themselves or hoes or fast cars. They don't give a damn about trying to make a difference in the community but they go around saying that the hood is rough and it ain't no place to live- how about trying to do something about it?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Justice @ Jul 3 2007, 08:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I didn't suggest any solution. I didn't say rappers should or shouldn't do anything. I just said that if rap weren't so "nigga nigga nigga, I'm a cop killa!", then our society would definitely be better off as far as crime goes. That is obviously a pipe dream.</div>That's an awfully inaccurate parody. Nigga nigga nigga.If you ever want to do anything about it, boycott major record labels, and cable video channels. Tell your friends to do the same. These niggas don't know sh*t about music. Support artists that aren't created by these mega companies. Stop giving a F*ck how people that make music look. Do these things and you'll make a little dent.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gentile @ Jul 3 2007, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's an awfully inaccurate parody. Nigga nigga nigga.If you ever want to do anything about it, boycott major record labels, and cable video channels. Tell your friends to do the same. These niggas don't know sh*t about music. Support artists that aren't created by these mega companies. Stop giving a F*ck how people that make music look. Do these things and you'll make a little dent.</div>Yeah, sure. Way inaccurate. Do you have any concept of parody? You are right that there are no songs that say, "nigga nigga nigga, I'm a cop killa!" Good job correcting me. I don't watch MTV (aside from the occasional Scarred), VH1, CMT, or anything other similar channel. Very few of my friends do. I haven't bought a CD in years, and I'm pretty sure the last one wasn't a rap CD. I like how you're lumping me into your imaginary lump of white people, but I'm not your stereotypical fool.
-I've always maintained and mentioned respect for your intellect, Justice. I didn't call you stupid or mean to lump you with anybody. My fault if you took it that way. -Chill with the personal sh*t, man. I'm way more interested in the ideas than launching personal attacks.-Your nigga nigga nigga parody was off the mark because you can still use the term and be respected within hip hop as a lyricist or a deep thinker with diverse styles, sincerity, and wide topics at your disposal. The word nigga ain't ruining nobody.
