Oprah's Hip Hop Summit
Today was day two of what I'm calling Oprah's Hip-Hop Summit. Only saw half of yesterday's show because of the breaking news out of Virginia, but I saw all of today's show.
Frankly, I'm almost speechless. I can't believe that some of the top industry producers of rap music in today's world could sit up on that stage, say they don't condone the language used in some of today's music, and then say that it's not fair to judge these "artists" or those who produce this music.
One of them told a story I'm very familiar with. He came to rap through a song called The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It was a powerful song about the denigration that many black people saw on a daily basis in their neighborhoods. But you know, there wasn't anyone calling women certain words, very minimal use of the N-word, though it was there, and nothing offensive to anyone except the listeners who knew about those conditions and wanted some way to fight them.
Back then, they also didn't talk about the love of drinking, getting stoned, or trying to have sex with as many women as possible. They didn't talk about bling or jimmies or shooting others, let alone how many times they'd been shot. And they didn't flash gang signs, wear grills, and talk about spinners.
The last rap record I bought was by Will Smith. No cursing, nothing bad about women,... only a party album, maybe not his best, but then I wasn't necessarily looking for his best; only the best of what was left.
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Well, we are judged by what we do, as a general rule.
If these "artists" don't like the way people see them, it's time they started showing the world something different - like a little respect for themselves and the people that they are singing to.
I have never cared much for rap - except some that was mixed with rock by a local group. But I do enjoy Will Smith's rap. There's just something about the whole attitude of his rap - fun, fun, fun.
I don't like or dislike rap,...
in general. Most of the time, these days, I'm not really sure what anyone is saying in these songs, so I'll gravitate towards the beat. For awhile,... then it starts to get on my nerve, and I'll probably just stop listening to it.
Some folks want to dismiss Will Smith as a rapper because his stuff isn't relevant; in other words, they say he sold out to make his money. Well, if all those rappers who want to keep talking about women and others in these negative ways want to do it for pleasure, without getting paid for it, then it's all good. But if they were somehow made to change it up, they'd change, and quick.
And I have to blame parents also, because almost every single one of these things has the adult warning labels on them, and the kids are still getting them. So, let's spread accountability around some.
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You are right on the money, Catfish. Parents are not
taking enough responsibility for what their kids listen to and watch. Heck, when I was a kid I wasn't even allowed to have a Beatles album because my parents didn't approve.
They say Will Smith sold out for the money? Good lord, I never heard of him riding around in some super fancy car, diamonds in his ears and his teeth and everwhere else, with an entourage as big as my mother's high school graduating class. These rappers make such a huge show of their money and status. What a crock.
Exactly, PW,...
the day you see Will Smith riding around with grills in his mouth, then people can say something about him losing his mind.
And, of course, we can extend this argument somewhat to parents letting their kids see R-rated movies and some of the video games they allow them to play.
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Absolutely, Catfish!! And that goes for TV shows, too!
Parents seem to think that it's the responsiblity of the media to supervise their kids. Well, to a certain extent, I do believe the media should be self-censoring. Don't get me started on Madonna doing soft-porn for 13 year olds. But, it's up to the parents to make sure that their children are watching and reading and listening to appropriate material.
Of course you know, PW,...
that someone else is going to pop in here, read some of this, and say that we don't have kids so how do we know.
And, of course, we're not buying that argument either. Our parents certainly controlled us. I didn't see All In The Family until I was 15 years old. Yeah, there were some other shows that my parents didn't know I was watching, but that was at 2 & 3 in the morning; that's not really a fault of theirs.
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And the reason I don't have children is because when
I was of the age to have children I didn't have a stable relationshp/marriage and didn't have the financial security to be sure I could support them. Of all the mistakes I've made in my life, bringing children into the world that I could not support and that I could not give a stable environement to was not one of them.
Both my parents worked full-time, my entire childhood. Yet, they managed to supervise my every move (well, kids will be kids). I didn't listen to music they didn't approve of, I didn't hang around with kids they didn't approve of and I didn't watch TV or movies that they didn't approve of. And my mother still waxed her floors by hand every 2 months, hung the washing out on the clothes line and did the ironing. So, bull shit to whatever argument any one else thinks they can come up with. If they haven't got time to supervise their children, then they haven't got time for children and they should not have had them. I wasn't born yesterday and lived all day for nothing.
Whew! Didn't even know that button was there. LOL!!! Guess it's just the end of a very trying day.
It needed to be said,...
and it's absolutely true. Even though I couldn't have had children on my own, when I was predisposed to want children I didn't have any relationships either, and then my wife and I tried for about a year, but it was a no go. We were already at 40, and now, having babysat for a two year old, we're glad it didn't happen. Kid wore us out!
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What a disgrace!
Lyers, the lot of them. How can these producers speak such falsehoods when the truth is so glaringly evident? Rap music, in terms of decent or enlightened living, has descended to the lowest archetype of music, not because the style is bad, but because many of its lyrics represent a low-class, and frankly, STUPID mentality. I cannot stand it, really, and I don't care to listen to it. It makes me angry to think that a form so creative is being used AND justified so obviously to promote detrimental values, notably to our young. What a shame!
True, Miss Inquest,...
Back in the day, the rappers were telling the real story of what was going on in the neighborhood and in their lives. These days, it's more of a glory road of lies and deception, and I was really not impressed when Snoop Dogg tried to say that when he used the word he was talking about the women in his neighborhood who let themselves be used and abused and didn't care about themselves. Last I heard, Snoop was living a fairly good life, living nowhere near the hood.
And, sure, 50 Cent can talk about his being shot, but I'm betting that, while he was laying in hospital beds recovering from his injuries, he wasn't thinking about how glamorous being shot was.
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Couldn't agree more, our Catfish.
Woes of that sort certainly aren't shared to teach a lesson, but to prove some foolish standard of hardness. I can just imagine: "Look, I steal, I drug deal, and I've been shot four times, for real!" And all this, no doubt, is lyrically trumpeted like a child's toy at show and tell! Disgusting.
You can add a few nukes for this industry, our Catfish. It's gone down the drain anyway, so much so that I am beginning to doubt its redeemable qualities...assuming there are any, at this point :(
I'm not going quite that far yet, IOAW,...
because there are a few folks who have been putting out some fairly good music without all the bad words and without taking shots at women. Sure, I don't know any of the names off the top of my head, but I've heard some that just makes my body move, and there's nothing wrong with that. :-)
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Fair enough, our Catfish.
I just hope that whatever little promise the rap industry does have is not overrun by its more destructive elements.
In the long run, IOAW,...
I think it will be just fine. A conversation has begun now, and, as always, the money is going to define what will be acceptable or not.
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May it be so, our Catfish.
I sincerely hope you are right.
Oh, I'll be right, Inquest,...
as far as that particular point is concerned. What I'm not so sure of is which direction it'll go. But we'll know one way or another within the next year or two, and then we can deal with it.
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I'll be watching, our Catfish.
For my nephew's sake, who, like many young boys, is being drawn by this largely wretched, irresponsible, and unrepentant industry, I anticipate positive change. It will be a glorious day when more entertainers, or would-be entertainers, accept their duty as models for their listeners and so consider, more considerately, the effect their music can have.
By the way, IOAW,...
these records do have adult warning labels, so if your nephew acquires it, the parents have to take the blame, and if he hears it at a friend's house, then he needs to be made to stay away from those friends. Because, in the end, parental responsibility has to also be there.
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No we don't buy that music, our Catfish.
At least when he is at our house, he is not allowed to watch it on TV, he is not left unsupervised on the computer, and he is not allowed to stay at the home of friends from school. He spends a lot of his time here. Still, he is getting access somehow, when he is away from our home, perhaps at school from the older kids. I don't know what happens when he is not here.
Probably hearing it on the radio, IOAW,...
because the popular stuff will show up there, but it's usually cleaned up, at least in America it is. But you said what you do at your house; what happens in his own home, especially when his parents aren't around?
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(sigh) I can't speak to that fairly, our Catfish.
I wish I knew.
That's okay, Inquest,...
we don't always know what's going on in another adult's home, that's for sure. I've had people bring their kids over, have me object to something the kid wants to watch or see, and have the parent tell me they let them watch it at home. My response is always "well, they're not watching/listening to it here". I have my own comfort level to deal with, if you know what I mean.
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I will add a point here Catfish about the Rap Crap!
Sassys
They are the first to thank "god" whenever they receive an award! It's hypocritical and offensive. But I would also like to add that few parents think of what their kids do while at anothers house...It doesn't bother me too much about the "cursing etc" but when my kids were little I would ask the parents "Do you own a gun?" It freaked some out and some got where I was coming from...most kids stayed at our house! Because the parents knew there would be no "accidents" and their kids would be supervised.
You're right, Sassys,...
there's a lot of hypocritical "god" thanking all over, in music, sports, etc. I hope to never be that kind of hypocrite.
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