THE PSA: Blaming hip hop

[mrken12]

OP how did you forget to tag @PhonZhi

 

[Alan Emerald]

[QUOTE="ThatTruth777, post: 13413824, member: 1133"
And while those questions are pertinent, answer this. Is hip hop contributing to the problems we as a group face? You can't say without doubt that it does not. So, retool it to be productive or throw it into trash bin of history. Its intention has to match its purpose.[/QUOTE]

i for one can't say Hip-hop (assuming ur referring to rap more specifically) is contributing to the problems we face as a group any more than i can say movies, poetry, art, books or any other medium in general contributes. i doubt many thoughtful and informed ppl would make such a general conclusion about any of the other items i mentioned. Many of the ills seen reflected in rap music or Hip-hop culture are human ills, more specifically American ills.

There is negative in Hip-hop just as there is in just about everything else. To me it outshines the positive based on your chosen view.

 

[Data-Hawk]

Rap is what we do. Hip-hop is how we live.
Krs-1

The 80's / early 90's are over breh.. Most people don't know or care now a days..

 

[-----]

Nas & Wu told me The World is Yours/ Its Yours.

BIG told me "everything you get you for to work hard for it" & "sky's the limit."

Jay told me "all us Blacks got is sports and entertainment, until we even... Can't knock the way a playa eating, fukk you even."

These were empowering messages to hear as a teenager.

The respectability politics crowd doesn't like that though. They want you to swear fealty to YT Jesus and stay in your place. Suffer and smile and wait for a handout. Maybe if you pull your pants up and keep your hands clean a crumb will fall off your masters table.

Hip Hop at its roots is a massive fukk off to all of that. It's all about showing and proving and using skills to pay the bills.

At least it was and could be.

 

[Alan Emerald]

The 80's / early 90's are over breh.. Most people don't know or care now a days..

Sad but most likely true... at least for black ppl in America. Step outside (by plane, boat or internet) and the essense is alive and well.

 

[Dzali OG]

Started off rapping about the demons we saw...now we rap that we are the demons.

Would rap about the injustices, crime, negativity we see, now we glorify it.

It isn't hard to see what rap has become.

As a youth I was right beside Luke and the 2 Live Crew saying they have the right to say p*ssy on their albums and sell them to kids. Now I turn on my radio and "p*ssy" is barely bleeped out.

Is hip hop the blame...no...but it's like cacs saying, "Well we didn't kidnap you from Africa, your own people sold you ." Of course the answer is much more complex.

Lil nikkas, you may can't see it now, but keep living. You will.

Is rap creating this environment, no, but it is contributing to it. It's giving the youth negative imagery to distract them.

I know most of you are infatuated with the bad words and rebellious spirit, but keep living.

 

[Malta]

Hip hop isn't to blame, but it is providing a nice distraction from the real problems and the people controlling it do understand that keeping people blind is the way to go. The vast majority of songs are negative in some way shape or form, you think if there was a Public Enemy type group today that was getting the most spins on the radio it wouldn't have some kind of affect on peoples outlooks?

People are stupid and their minds are putty

 

[IVS]

Rap music is to African-Americans what Baile Funk is for Brazilians living in favelas, what Kwaito is to South Africans living in townships or Grime to English brehs living in rough housing estates : a reflection of a state of mind, a consequence of their environment. Blaming it or taking it away won't solve any problem but stripping those people of a way of expressing themselves or their ability to have some sort of catharsis.

The root of their issue is socio-economical more than anything. Fix poverty and you'll fix rap.

And what hilarious is all of them have one common thread. They are a the byproduct of contact with Europeans and White supremacy. Whether your master was British, Deutsch, Protuguese or Spanish, we've been oppressed by the same groups of western Europeans worldwide.

 

[PhonZhi]

Who owns the labels?


Who markets the content?

When they market the content does the positive content the same push as the destructive content? (If so/not, why)


Even before the inception of hip hop this system was still working to marginalize people of color........

Hip hop didn't break up the panthers

Hip hop didn't let drugs in the community

Hip hop didn't commit 500 + years of destruction in the form of slavery, war, miseducation, genocide.....

If one of you densley ignorant adults try and use hip hop as blame for black Americas ills you should be put on notice from this point forward as a clown




It's 2015.. This should be a well known fact from this point forward

@Emperor_ReinScarf @Napoleon
@ModernFonzie

If i made a thread titled"Rap Is the Sole Cause Of the Black Communities' Problems" i would look like a moron. Thats a moronic statement to make because our problems existed waaaay before the creation of hiphop right? Im assuming that you are well aware of "systemic oppression" and "media propaganda". Giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are aware of ways that white supremists have painted and molded the image of the black man throughout history, im gonna go out on a limb here and call this a moronic thread. To be well aware of the negative messages and content that's constantly being pushed, promoted, and glamourized to the black youth(along with knowledge of media propaganda) one would have to be a complete moron to think that this music is NOT being purposely used against us. Ironic that you use "densely ignorant" when its really YOU thats too ignorant to see the underlying affects of this poisonous rap culture. If you think that we're saying "rap is making black people kill, do drugs and rob each other" then you have been misunderstanding. Its waaaay deeper than that, and im not surprised that a "densely ignorant" person like you and people that have the same mindset as you cant see past the surface.

 

[PhonZhi]

Nas & Wu told me The World is Yours/ Its Yours.

BIG told me "everything you get you for to work hard for it" & "sky's the limit."

Jay told me "all us Blacks got is sports and entertainment, until we even... Can't knock the way a playa eating, fukk you even."

These were empowering messages to hear as a teenager.

The respectability politics crowd doesn't like that though. They want you to swear fealty to YT Jesus and stay in your place. Suffer and smile and wait for a handout. Maybe if you pull your pants up and keep your hands clean a crumb will fall off your masters table.

Hip Hop at its roots is a massive fukk off to all of that. It's all about showing and proving and using skills to pay the bills.

At least it was and could be.

You contradicted your entire post with that last line. Tell me, what has it turned into. And you posted those "empowering" lines right? Tell me why you NEVER hear "empowering messages" in todays music? And also tell me why the repeated messages of hate and negativity cant have the same affect on a person in a certain mindset that those "empowering" ones might have on another person in a different mindset"

 

[PhonZhi]

Rap music is to African-Americans what Baile Funk is for Brazilians living in favelas, what Kwaito is to South Africans living in townships or Grime to English brehs living in rough housing estates : a reflection of a state of mind, a consequence of their environment. Blaming it or taking it away won't solve any problem but stripping those people of a way of expressing themselves or their ability to have some sort of catharsis.

The root of their issue is socio-economical more than anything. Fix poverty and you'll fix rap.

so is positive, inspiring, motivating hiphop not allowed to be heard by the black youth? You dont think a song like this would be nice to hear by a kid going through a struggle every now and then? As influential as Lil Wayne is you dont think that some inspiring, motivating words could MAYBE have a positive affect? These rappers DO influence. Are we in agreement with that atleast or do you think they have zero influnce over the youth of america

 

[AyBrehHam Linkin]

Sad but most likely true... at least for black ppl in America. Step outside (by plane, boat or internet) and the essense is alive and well.

breh get the fukk outta here

 

[PhonZhi]

@PhonZhi

OP how did you forget to tag @PhonZhi

im in here. Yall started the party without me

 

[PhonZhi]

Damn you Kendrick, Drake, J. Cole, and Lecrae, y'all can't outsell gangsta rap, even though it doesn't sell records.



Oops.

people are waking up like i hope you will one day. The masses are starting to see straight through these puppet rappers. The constant theme with the rappers you listed is that they are THEMSELVES. We are getting tired of wanna-be, studio gangster rappers. We are starting to gravitate to cats who aren't afraid to be themselves and put their guards down. Rappers that we can relate to. Rapers who are just "normal people". We are tired of the lies, exaggerations and the fake personas. A shift IS happening

 

[PhonZhi]

I've made the same points that @Washington_Red made when this topic frequently shows its face, and its the fact statistical evidence fails to support the claim that hip hop is a verifiable negative for black youth. Almost all important metrics when it comes to black youth are moving in the right direction. A serious study hasnt established a relationship either way, but the fact that crime has plummeted during the hip hop generation doesnt lend any empirical validity to what the anti-hip hop crowd keeps yappin about.

So we know the anti-hip hop niccas are going off their "feelings". These feelings of theirs are manifested two fold. Either:

A) Current Hip Hop is a daily reminder they're aging.

Hip hop's target audience has always been teenagers and young adults, and its messages are powered by rebellion, aggression, hedonism, and a care free attitude and lack of maturity that only youth brings. When rap critics hear contemporary rap, it reminds them that they arent invited to that party anymore. This is evidenced by older hip hop fans romanticizing about the artists from their day, and how much better they were --- a time when rap was far more violent themed and misogynistic, which obviously works against their message of moralizing against negative lyrics. Rap was great back in the day because they were younger, and now they're not so its not.

B) Rap activates their own self-hatred.

You'll hear them complain about how rap makes black people look bad, as if they are paralyzed by the idea that another black man acting ignorantly is a reflection on themselves. Basically they are obsessed with being judged by other groups. Additionally, they have such a low regard for the intelligence and maturity of other black people. They think whites and other groups are smart enough to handle adult hip hop messages, while they consider blacks dumber, emotionally regressive, and therefore ill equipped to listen to rap --- as if the average black teen is going to listen to "Trap Queen" and be inspired to throw his school books in the trash, and go run work out the 'bando.

Yall STAY typing novels but never touch on the fact that this type of negative, hate-filled music is ONLY directed at the black youth. I NEVER hear songs in the mainstream from white artists alluding to "move that dope" or "ima send bullets through ya car door". Sure, there's some raunchy lyrics every now and then but for the most part "white" radio is clean and positive. Meanwhile, on top40 radio is songs about cooking up cocaine and shooting black men. Yall STAY side-stepping this fact. And you also didnt mention how this culture is playing a part in our OWN self-hate.