How about the Congressional hearings on the language and images used in gangsta rap music. Did you know that on the 25th the House was holding hearings? I bet most didn’t.
The discussion included present and former rappers, music industry executives, and of course our friend Philippe Dauman of Viacom (which owns MTV, VH1, and Black Entertainment Television). The various personalities discussed their views and in some cases justification for gangsta rap.
Rapper Levell Crump, known as David Banner – who ever that is, defended his use of foul language
“I'm like Stephen King: horror music is what I do…Change the situation in my neighborhood and maybe I'll get better.”
Well isn’t that special. Gansta rap is horror music. I couldn’t agree more. But at least there are choices and varying degrees of horror in movies and books. More importantly rap music should not be defined in such a narrow and limited manner.
Rap started as an expression of fun and having a party. It evolved to include personal views on life, and political statements. It wasn’t until 1992 that music companies started to promote, virtually exclusively, the current concept of what rap is. It just happens to also be the most profitable form of rap music for corporations, luckily for the single-mindedness of their choice for promotion.
And then there is the desire for someone, other than Crump, to fix his neighborhood. What a cop out. If he wants a better neighborhood, he can stand up and fix it. Asking someone else to change the situation is no different than asking the government (whom I presume he was inferring) to provide individuals with welfare so they can languish both socially and economically, I feel. It’s a poor justification for taking advantage of other African Americans. I find it no different than the excuse that someone will sell drugs because if they don’t someone else will.
On the other end was rapper Master P, Percy Miller. He provided an apology to women for his songs and lyrics. He noted that he wouldn’t let his own kids listen to the work he had done previously. I’m not surprised. I’ve heard that many rappers and executives in the music industry would never allow the use of words and references they use in their songs to be used or applied in their homes or to their families. Kind of like the old saying among drug dealers, ‘Don’t get high on your own supply.’
Continued in Part 2...
4 comments:
I didn't hear anything on the news about it either (but I knew about it beforehand). I think that it was really important. There are so many conversations going on about hip hop. Maybe the mainstream only has enough space for so many "Black" stories at a time...
Hey Bronze Trinity, good to see you back.
It would be a shame if there is a quota of "Black news stories" that the various major news organizations fill. But that would explain why the Jena 6 took so long to get attention, why the Jonathan Riches conviction was not mentioned, that Megan Williams is an obsured matter.
If there is a quota, I wonder if OJ used up all the time, of is that was a 'bonus'.
Seriously, this is a subject that demands attention, but I think that it won't get it because of the money and corporations involved. Far too many television networks, cable or otherwise, make too much money and are far too culpable to cover this story.
It's aggravating. But as long as we blog on, it will get out there.
Well the Daily show had a segment on it last night so that's a lot of viewers who now know about it.
While I'm glad it got a presentation on television, and thus reached a larger audience than I can get to (so far, working on it) it is a shame that it had to be in a comedic format.
Why the serious and far larger major news media need to cover this. It's an even that I cannot define other than newsworthy.
This isn't a joke, but if that is the only way to draw attention and intraspection I guess it will have to do. At least we bloggers keep up on all these stories that the news media seems incapable, or unwilling, to discuss.
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