What Up Fam, What Up Folk? It’s ya boy and you know things are going well when I can churn out a TDRS on back-to-back weeks. Big shout out to my ace-J Jackson and my deuce of diamond 50-Gran, for replying to last week’s Nappy Head Edition. 50-Gran, I am still working on the Al Sharpton does not represent me edition, so be on the look-out for that masterpiece. Anyway, ya’ll know how I do in terms of writing a TDRS. I try to hit you with a title that makes you think about the edition before hand. It’s probably pretty clear to you what this TDRS will be all about and NO it is not about fashion, it’s about hip hop!
So yesterday, I watched part II of the Oprah town hall meeting on the state of hip-hop and its effect on the black community. Unfortunately, this town hall meeting was driven by the comments of Mr. Don I-mus be a nut, but it is what it is. Actually, it really shouldn’t be b/c Oprah, as well as a significant percentage of white and BLACK America have been tricked into thinking the problems in the black community stem from hip-hop. That men treating women wrong, stem from hip-hop. That drug and gang activity stem from hip-hop. That homophobia stems from hip-hop. That all things wrong with our children today, stem from hip-hop. Check out what Keith Clinkscales (a FAMU alumn) had to say on this issue. http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/whitlock-provides-diversion-from-imus/20070417114409990001
There were two very insightful points that were brought up during the town hall meeting. The first was by Mr. Russell Simmons who said that rappers are only waxing poetic about their experiences and that this should not be censored by any means. He compared rappers of today to the great poets and speakers of change of the past. I took some time to think about this and was close to being in 100% agreement with him. He is correct that a person’s views should not be censored. I mean this would be un-American to believe in such a thing. Mr. Simmons is also correct when he says that that most of the rap stars are a product of their environment. Last time I checked, the crips and bloods in south central L.A. pre-dated hip-hop, so when NWA, Snoop, and Dre came on the scene, their words and descriptions were not something new. Yes, it was new to those living in suburban Chicago and Atlanta, etc., but definitely not new to those who live and experience the gang wars on a daily.
Like I said, I was almost in 100% agreement with Mr. Simmons. The real question for Mr. Simmons and the rappers who he says are modern day poets is that are rappers waxing poetic in order to effect change or are they purely glorifying their experiences or more oftentimes their make-believe experiences for the almighty cash? I think Mr. Simmons would really have to think about this and retract his thoughts regarding rappers as modern day poets. Sure, Mos, Talib, even OuKast and others fit his description, but there are so few who even come close. Take for instance Mr. Big Snoop Dog; do you think he is really trying to effect change with his “smoke weed everyday bishop don juan magic make believe world”? Do you really think when Nelly slid that credit card down that girl’s booty that he was trying to effect change? [Sorry, Side note: As a single man, I was not at all offended. As a married man, I am still not appalled; b/c Nelly did not put a gun to that girl’s head to shoot that video. America looked at as if Nelly was demeaning towards women, but those women truly saw it as an opportunity]. I mention these two examples and of course I have plenty more (don’t get me started on Atlanta radio) to say to Russell Simmons that of course, the bulk of rappers in the game are not trying to effect change! They are truly glorifying a lifestyle that they themselves really don’t have, but wished they had. Everyone wants to be rich and famous. If folks just looked at this as a business/entertainment and stopped taking this personal or trying to make things seem better than they REALLY are (like calling rappers poets), then all would be fine. There are simply some rappers that are idiots and others who are truly poetic. It’s really that simple.
Side note #2: I wrote this TDRS a day before the VA Tech shootings and after two days of around the clock news coverage, it was interesting how this had turned into a national debate on gun control. Who’s to blame for that? A great man once said, the he didn’t have a problem with guns; it’s the stupid muthasuckers who carry them! Before you start ripping the NRA and other gun control proponents, think about that for second. And after you think about that, think about how trivial it is to think that hip-hop or what the media terms the hip-hop mentality is the cause of America’s problems, but I digress….
Now I can really take Simmons’ thought process (that is, that rappers are a reflection of their environment) and link this to the history of Black America, but that is the easy way out. It shouldn’t be b/c Blacks, unlike any other people were two steps behind when we landed on the rock. We took a step forward with the end to slavery and being considered more than 3/5’s of man. However, the Reconstruction Period (post civil war) was a major obstacle that has never been overcome and never will. Poverty in Black America didn’t just start 10-years ago, it started 150 years ago when we went from a very sick form of communism (working for the country aka, slave-owners, but receiving basic necessities, food, shelter, clothing) to the wills of capitalism where the rich get richer and the poor get…you know the story. I just wish someone would really take a step back and think and say, jeez, we were just given the ability to vote without being killed only 42 years ago, that’s barely a generation. To think that Black America could become some nation or society similar to that of our white countrymen in such a short time span is a pipedream, especially when over that time there have been numerous efforts squash any effort to rise. And believe me, I am not one to make excuses for the shiftless and lackadaisical attitudes of many of our black men and women. I live with them in Southwest Atlanta and it pains me every day to see kids wondering the streets after 10pm with white tees down to their ankles, but again, I digress…
I really appreciate Oprah in her efforts to bring on national television this town hall meeting, but I’m really not impressed, that is, with the inevitable outcome, which will be another summit, conference, million man march esque discussion that will be full of sound and fury, but signifying NOTHING! Don’t get me wrong; Oprah has done more than anyone in terms of taking the risk to air this live to a global audience. However, getting Russell Simmons, Ben Chavis, and other prominent Black Americans to get on TV and hash out our “perceived problems” was EASY! BET could have done this and probably would have a better reception in terms of “African Americans” watching. I think Oprah, in all of her power, could have taken this debate a step further and put the CEO’s of the major companies that REALLY own and operate what we see and hear. Let’s put Bob Johnson on the hot seat and ask him what he thought about BET UNCUT when he ran the company. Let’s ask the CEO of Viacom, which owns BET what he can do to stop the madness of what’s being shown on his networks. Heck, if folks REALLY wanted to effect change, let’s write down who the advertiser is for every commercial that is run during those shows which denigrate women and then rally against them. I bet you money those videos will not be aired. Staging protest against the artist is a waste of time because black folks don’t buy music. We listen via free radio and cable, which half us don’t really pay for either. You bootleggers know who you are. I applaud the girls of Spellman in their campaign against Nelly and that’s really sent shockwaves through his universe…yep, he’s at 40 million sold. Good Job!
I also want to say that the women of Spellman College (Oprah included them via satellite) who were just downright angry with the panel that they should pull their g-strings out of their arse and calm the heck down. So what you were called a ho/bitch at the club? I know that you have been called worse, but please don’t blame this on the rappers. By the way, they, the Spellman women said they don’t listen to hip-hop, which I translates to me that they don’t go to club’s where hip hop is played, otherwise they would be hypocrites. Let’s say they aren’t hypocrites and they only go to jazz clubs and in that venue they are called a bitch or ho. Who’s to blame then? Is Branford Marcellus? John Coltrane? Come on now! I’m sorry, but I have been to MANY clubs and it is RARE to hear brothas calling women ho’s…. unless you remember going to the famous Metropolis on wicked Wednesdays at FAMU. Now would could deny that the chant of “there some hos in this house” was off the chain! This was not a derogatory chant; it was chant of exuberance given the many dimes that were truly in the club! Now I have been known, not guilty, with respect to dropping the bitch line and in most cases it was truly warranted, but I aint going there today. All I’m saying is that if you know there is a party going on at 112 and there’s no dress code, then you should know better that there will be folks who aren’t civilized and educated. The key is to just not go and if you do go, you should learn to ignore the idiots. They went on and on about how they don’t listen to hip-hop and good for them, however they cannot expect the world to walk in their ways.
As mentioned earlier (about a 1000 words ago…sorry), there was another significant point that was mentioned in the meeting that I felt did not get enough airtime and that was that our views of society all start at home! Like I said, rappers should not be censored, but many of them should quite frankly be ignored. And ignored to the extent you feel their lyrics in some way harm or offend you. I think this statement shields me in the event there was ever a raid on my home and the feds found my collection of NWA, Cash Money, NO-Limit records.
It’s those that “know better” that I have a really big problem with and it’s not just the kids. It’s the parents that should’ve known better than to let their kids be exposed to such filth as BET Uncut. I use filth lightly here, b/c if any of you have been to the world famous “Blue Flame” in the ATL, then you would know that on a relative basis, BET Uncut is pretty much like watching Hanna Montana or Raven on the Disney channel. My home girl Spiceida Davis is famous for saying…”I don’t know what yall talking about, I don’t watch BET”! At the time, we thought it was quite funny, but it was truly brilliant.
I’m sorry for my rant today, but I had to get Tuesday’s episode of the Oprah show off my chest. Again, Oprah gets big props for giving hip-hop a forum on which to respond. If this ever gets to you, I am truly thankful. I’d like to end this with a quote that I should have started this TDRS with and it is from one of the TRUE poets of hip-hop, Mr. Andre 3000 Benjamin: “Your White Tee, Well To Me, Looks Like A Nightgown. Why Don't You Make Ya Mama Proud And Take It Two Sizes Down?”
HollaAtYaBoy!
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