Monday, April 30, 2007

De La Hoya v Mayweather - Smart Money?

Floyd is not winning any popularity contests on HBO's 24/7. However, I believe he will kick Oscar's ass Saturday Night. Blind speed. Maybe the fastest fighter of all time. And that's saying something.

Bets? Predictions? Don't wait until Monday to lay your cards flat.

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH

Admit it. People who claim not to feel Fiddy, at the end of the day, haven't really heard Fiddy. Sure, they've seen a couple of videos. Yes they're tired of their teen age daughter playing "In Da Club" over and over. But they aint never heard Ghetto Quaran'. They aint never heard Power of The Dollar. They can't name a rapper with more flow than Fiddy shows on As The World Turns. They don't understand 50's Baltimore Love Thing any more than they understand James Joyce's Ulysses.

The fact is they are rap Has beens. They "used to like rap", "back in the day". Now they're older. They've moved on. They have detached from the music, and appropriately so. They are paying bills now. Raising children. Looking forward to voting for Obama. However, no one wants to admit they aren't keeping pace with the music. Couldn't be that.

Fact is most Hip Hop Apologists understand 50 about as well as their parents understood NWA.

I was in a club in Panama City when "Just A Lil Bit" came on the stereo. Women went bananas. They couldn't even speak English and they completely lost their minds when they heard the flow. Where I come from, say what you want, but what women feel, is what counts. 11 Mil world wide (during the era of downloads) means a lot of women. Hate rap? Caught up in the "Bitch & Ho" hype? That's your business. But don't front on what 50, Nas, Jay, Lil Wayne - and dozens of other super talented brothers are producing. Now that's not taking anything away from Tribe, and The Roots. It just is what it is.
This is 50, comin' out your stereo
hard to tell though coz i switch the flow
eyez i lil low coz i twist the dro
pockets on swell coz i move the o's
My neck, my wrist, my ears is froze
Come get ya bitch, she on me dawg
She musta heard about the dough
Now captain come on and save a hoe
I get it crunk in the club, I'm off the chain
Number one on the chart, all the time mayn
When the kid in the house, I turn it out
Keep the dance floor packed, that's without a doubt
And shorty shake that thang like a pro mayn
She back it up on me I'm like oh mayn
I get close enough to her so I know she can hear
System thumpin', party jumpin', I said loud and clear

Common Says Sorry To Duke Team

Remember that freestyle Cam'ron did about the Duke Lacrosse team? Well, he's issued a full apology for his remarks that were made off the top of his dome.

“I want to say first of all that I apologize for accusing people wrong that didn’t do it. I just felt like, ‘That’s my sister,’ so I felt emotional about it, and I guess I did what a lot of people do to other people, to convict them or consider them guilty before we even know the truth,” the rapper to The Raleigh News and Observer.

I don't feel Common on this one. #1 Just because a woman is black, doesn't make her my sister and does not warrant my automatic, knee-jerk, put my life on the line, defense. My sister? Act like it. Which does not mean selling pussy to white Frat boys and then claiming rape when shit goes sideways. The credibility of real sisters, victimized by rapists has been permanently damaged. Not to mention the hundreds, perhaps thousands of young brothers locked in cages in the For Profit Prison system because some other ... "sister" ... lied about being raped.

#2 I didn't feel them Handkerchief Head Civil Rights Negros, giving speeches in front of the frat house in front of TV Cameras, wearing those buster ass Zoot Suits, and organizing midnight marches. Had the sisters accused young brothers of raping them, those racial ambulance chasers would have never even shown up. It sends the wrong message.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Now Does This Really "Degrade Black Women"?



Yes ma,
Bed-Stuy Fiesta
Remix with the homie from the Mid-West A
Game recognize Game
Hoes do too
It's the new 2 Live Crew
I supposed you knew

Why They Fear Hip Hop


The Prayer

"The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings."

Friday, April 27, 2007

Since They Don't Teach Garvey In Integrated Schools ...


Hip Hop Before Hip Hop Was Cool

God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.

I have no desire to take all black people back to Africa; there are blacks who are no good here and will likewise be no good there.

I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together.

Look to Africa, for there a king will be crowned.

Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences.

One God! One aim! One destiny!

Our success educationally, industrially and politically is based upon the protection of a nation founded by ourselves. And the nation can be nowhere else but in Africa.

Progress is the attraction that moves humanity.
Marcus Garvey

The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.

The God in whom we believe, we shall worship him through the spectacles of Ethiopia.

The whole world is run on bluff.

There shall be no solution to this race problem until you, yourselves, strike the blow for liberty.

Unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own.

Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will.


Thursday, April 26, 2007

Why Oprah is Hip Hopping off Target

"Boyce Watkins is one of the greatest minds of our time"
- Marc Lamont Hill, Temple University Professor and CNN/FOX analysis


By Dr. Boyce Watkins

When I was young, my mother used to say, “ Coco (my nickname), your mouth will either make you great or get you killed, I’m curious to see which one.”

My mother may see her prophesy fulfilled by that religious figure otherwise known as Oprah Winfrey. I was asked to appear in a documentary as an Oprah critic, but I refused. People think that because you question someone’s motives, you must hate them. I don’t hate Oprah, I love her. But my love can’t match the worship she receives from the millions who rely on her for life support. Oprah should change her name to “Black Baby Jesus”, since her following makes me think she sprinkles crack cocaine onto the TV screen. Talking about Oprah on national TV will get you in serious trouble and I have never gotten as much hate mail as I get when I mention her name. I quickly recognized the gravity of challenging a sacred religious figure, as I have nightmares of the angry big woman from “The Color Purple” running at me in the cornfield and saying, “You told Coco to beat me!”

This week “Queen Pope-ra” gathered for a “town hall meeting” with her army of soccer moms, all to discuss how terrible hip hop has become (as if they know anything about rap music). She included the “brilliance” of men like sports writer Jason Whitlock, who couldn’t get second place in a two-man spelling bee against George Bush. The only rapper present was Common, whom I don’t think has ever “spit” a vulgar lyric in his life. Not that Common “ain’t tight”, but his presence on the show was probably rewarded by the fact that he has been approved by Queen Pope-ra for being a good boy, not a “hood boy”.

Let’s be clear. Much of hip hop is dog crap, any dummy who watches MTV knows this. But it’s not identifying the problem that matters, it’s how you analyze it. Basically, I can say 4 things about Oprah’s “town hall meeting”: wrong people, wrong venue, wrong analysis, wrong target.

The “town hall meeting” quickly turned into a cheerleading convention, with nearly every person stating that hip hop is bad, rappers suck, and some even saying that we can’t hold Don Imus accountable for what he said, since black people say the same thing. Blah blah blah blah blah.

So, as Oprah held her anti-meat convention with an audience full of vegetarians, I wondered if she realized a few important facts. First of all, the language used in hip hop does NOT excuse Don Imus. The “I’ve seen others do worse” argument is just dumb. I wouldn’t be able to defend a crime against white women by saying that I saw a white man do worse. Secondly, if you want to impact hip hop, attacking the artists in a venue of people who don’t even listen to the music is not going to achieve very much. OK great. Now soccer moms will no longer buy rap music. But guess what? Their kids don’t give a damn. Third, having a “panel of experts” consisting of a bunch of people who feel the same way you do is NOT a town hall meeting. It’s a McCarthyist witch-hunt against those you do not agree with. Oprah is good at having those, as she possessively avoids “providing legitimacy” to those with whom she does not agree. She proved that to the rapper Ludicris, whom she reluctancy placed at the edge of the stage as a member of the film “Crash”, proceeded to chastise him, and then edited out his response to her statements. Only a bully a**hole would do something like that.

If rappers suddenly changed their tune, then the record labels would simply do as Queen Pope-ra has done with Jason Whitlock; find some other idiot off the street to say what they want to hear. If you really want to have this conversation, and you want it to mean something, you have to go after the labels. This isn’t so easy, because many of the companies that own these labels ALSO own a piece of Oprah.

Hip hop hating is not the answer, and neither are cultish gatherings with Stepford Wife-like unanimity. Constructive and productive solutions work best. THAT is how you kill the monster.

What did the Cuban people do to us?

Dennis Kucinich and President George W. Bush have taken diametrically opposite positions concerning Cuba. Kucinich has now called for an end to the embargo against that Communist nation.

Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) said "The United States' Cuba policy is a failure. The unilateral embargo must be lifted. The persistently hostile and aggressive rhetoric must cease. We must lift not only the trade embargo. We must also lift the travel ban. We must cooperate with Cuba on issues of national security."

"It is time to create a new era in Cuban-American relations," he said.

The administration, however, remains firm that the embargo must remain in place.
WHY?

Power of Media

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hate Him! Ban Him! Punish Him! Fire Him! Send Him To Prison! From April 07

Among the vitriolic condemnations of Michael Vick this week emerged a strange phenomena. Yes, many appear sincere dog lovers appropriately outraged at the treatment Federal Prosecutors attribute to Vick, but there was another voice blaring above the crowd. The cry of the "Outraged Negro" calling for the crucifixion of Vick seemed to have a little extra in it.

When did it become fashionable for black people to hate black men?

Notice that every other week or so, the corporate media parades a brother in front of the cameras to become the national object of hatred and scorn. If it's not Terrell Owens, it's Kobe Bryant. If it's not Kobe it's Isaiah Washington. If it's not Pacman Jones it's Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Next week it will be somebody else.

Yes the news pundits always have a good argument / accusation, and brothers are not completely without fault. Yet the venomous hatred that bubbles just beneath the surface, the hyperbolic mob justice and group think that chants for the blood of these often strong, typically heterosexual and more often than not, rich black men - is uncanny and revealing.

The latest trend is to position ... Negros ... at the front of the mob to cast the first stone of condemnation. Apparently corporations have learned that it is more effective to have a Negro like Oprah or Stanley Crouch to serve as the face of their collective scorn than Rush Limbaugh.
Main Entry:
Plan ta tion Ne gro

Plan·ta·tion Ne·gro • Pronunciation: [plan-tey-shuhn] [nee-groh] 'nE- Form: plural Plantation Negroes
 • sometimes offensive : a member of the black race distinguished from other members of the black race by debilitating group think and a perverse loyalty to a system that operates not in his interest. He inherits an unusual psychological characteristic that compels him to reserve the majority of his scorn and bitterness not for the system that encumbers his people but for his brothers and sisters who reject the system. Often satisfied with the appearance of advantage over other members of his group, the Plantation Negro constantly seeks sanction and adjudication from an external master authority. Easily divided and conquered.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

"ALPHA DOG" White Boys HiJack Hip Hop

Next year as Justin Timberlake accepts his Oscar, and thanks the "brilliant" screenwriter and director Nick Cassavetes for "creating" such an amazing and meaty role, as the critics rave about the deep cultural authenticity and ferocious energy of the story's characters, as academics write papers on the revealing social commentary of this film, as Oprah gives a standing ovation to Timberlake and cast, and then proceeds to CRY when the trailer is played - I hope handkerchief head Plantation Negros everywhere realize this aint nothing but a hijacking of Hip Hop.

10 years from now Plantation Negros will pay Ivy League schools $95K per year to teach Hip Hop to their daughters.

Hip Hop is black America's HBO. From documentaries to Real Sex IX. Neither all "good" nor all "bad". Simply a media asset. What we do with it is the question.

Monday, April 23, 2007

ROBYN - POST OF THE WEEK

This one sista got more heart guts and intellectual courage than 3 reactionary Plantation Negros combined. Her analysis is chess ya'll cats talking checkers.

You guys are supportive of the 60 minute piece, but answer this, what exactly did Anderson Cooper do to help our community last night? Frankly, how is he any different than Camron?! He too is simply peddling what sells in the wake of the Don Imus fodder, true?

If you read my comments above, no where was there a defense of hip hip. I am simply saying, dont lay at our feet social constructs that existed long before Camron was newsworthy or Anderson Cooper has a reporting gig. Constructs that have real and legitimate justifications and cause, that of course were not explored. Oh but I forgot, CBS had to ensure that they had enough time to explain that 50 Cent/Camron beef. "Anon" hush with your there's only so much air time nonsense.

Apparently, yall dont see anything wrong with treating young black kids like specimins appropriate for bullshit analysis and examination by others on national TV.

Sorry, if I do.

First Oprah, Now 60 Minutes.

More Handkerchief Head Negros Paraded In Front Of TV Cameras to dump everything on Hip Hop.

The "Hate Hip Hop" formula is pretty simply: 1) Inventory crime, violence and dysfunction in the "inner city". 2) Show 6 second video clips of rappers appearing to endorse, glorify or promote said dysfunction 3) Goad semi-articulate, shallow thinking black people to publicly support the notion that all of this pathology is "da fault of Hip Hop". 4) Broadcast carefully selected clips of inarticulate "rappers" attempting to defend the use of violent and sexual imagery in their videos.

The Goal? Pave the way for laws and regulations to control Hip Hop. The Motive? To manufacture consent.

As Minister Farrakhan so eloquently states - Hip Hop is a competitor for the hearts and minds of millions of young people around the world. Big Brother doesn't like competition. They see Hip Hop as a threat. Discrediting Hip Hop paves the way for speech laws and Thought Police powers.

Why go after black Hip Hop yet ignore Jewish Hollywood?

Handkerchief Head Negro On 60 Minutes

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Maurice Bishop 1944-1983

"Caribbean left-wing movements began to contact and support each other. In Grenada on 10 May 1970, Bishop led a demonstration of favorable approval for the black-power uprising in Trinidad, including support for ‘Grenadian brothers’ on that neighboring island. He was inspired by the Black Power Movement and Black dignity.

During 1970, a gathering called the 'Rat Island Black Power Conference' was held off St. Lucia. At the Rat Island conference, Bishop met the late George Odlum of St. Lucia, Rosie Douglas of Dominica, and other West Indian intellectuals. Out of the ‘Rat Island Conference’ came the group known as ‘Forum,’ closely aligned with the National Action Front (NAF) in Grenada.

Regional intellectuals from St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada took on consolidation in a Caribbean association of political groups called ‘Forum.’ ‘Forum,’ active in Grenada in June-July 1970 had a newspaper of the same name. Forum primarily protested the policies of Eric Matthew Gairy and discussed issues of black nationalism. In Grenada, ‘Forum’ joined with ‘Cribou’ in 1971 to uphold International Solidarity Day, sponsored by the ‘Pan-African Secretariat’ in Guyana, and a ‘National Conference on the Rights of Black People’, a group protesting racism in Great Britain." - Ann Elizabeth Wilder - The Grenada Revolution Online

3 STRIKES LAW = MODERN SLAVERY?

Two-thirds of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8 is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the "war on drugs," in which three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color.

What are America's black attorneys doing about this discrepancy?

Michael Fisher said...

The Hon. Elijah Muhammad had a solution for the racist justice system:

Stay away from criminality, mind your own business, build your own business, if they come to take your stuff, defend yourself with a vengence.

De facto the American justyice system as far as black folk is concerned always had a "three strike law". Heck, a "one strike law". If you f***d up they'd hang a black man for an offense fr which they'd give house arrest to a white guy.

Thus... don't give 'em any excuses. There's no need for any of us to get into the drug trade on any level. period.

Denmark Vesey said...

"There's no need for any of us to get into the drug trade on any level. period." Michael Fisher

Who's "us" Mike?

Does "us" include Pfizer? Does "us" include Merk? Does "us" include GlaxcoSmithKline who reported profits of over $5.8 billion last year?

Or does "us" mean everyone except rich white men and corporations?

Massa can deal all the drugs he wants for "social anxiety" disorder and to sedate kids with which no one wants to deal.

But not underclass brothers from the street. Nooooo. Umm. Um. Can't have the peasants creating markets and dominating an industry. No sir. Too much power in that.

Diabetes killed over 80,000 Americans last year. Less than 600 people died from Cocaine use.

It should be illegal to sell High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not marijuana. Regulate it. Control it. Tax it. Making it illegal artificially supports the price making it profitable to deal.

Warehousing 2 million human beings is not in the interest of America.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Civil Rights Negros Could Learn A Thing Or Two From Snoop


What Corporate Negro got balls like this?

This is how those handkerchief head Civil Rights Negros pimping the Rutgers girls should have handled Don Imus. All of that punk ass whining ... "we so hurt Mr. Mean White Man" talk is for busters.

Young Brothers - We Gonna Make It



What!

Oil on Canvas, 2003
5.5 x 4.5 feet
$300,000


Does This Use of "Hoes" Defame Black Women?


What they don't know is!
The bullshit, the drama (uhh), the guns, the armour (what?)
The city, the farmer, the babies, the mama (what?!)
The projects, the drugs (uhh!), the children, the thugs
(uhh!) The tears, the hugs, the love, the slugs (c'mon!)
The funerals, the wakes, the churches, the coffins (uhh!)
The heartbroken mothers, it happens, too often (why?!)
The problems, the things, we use, to solve 'em (what?!)
Yonkers, the Bronx (uhh!), Brooklyn, Harlem (c'mon!)
The hurt, the pain, the dirt, the rain (uhh!)
The jerk, the fame, the work, the game (uhh!)
The friends, the foes, the Benz, the hoes (what?!)
The studios, the shows, comes, and it goes (c'mon!)
The jealousy, the envy, the phony, the friendly (uh-huh!)
The one that gave 'em the slugs, the one that put 'em in me
(whoo!) The snakes, the grass, too long, to see (uhh, uhh!)
The lawnmower, sittin, right next, to the tree (c'mon!)


What we seeing is!
The streets, the cops, the system, harrassment (uh-huh)
The options, get shot, go to jail, or getcha ass kicked
(aight) The lawyers, the part, they are, of the puzzle (uh-huh)
The release, the warning, "Try not, to get in trouble" (damn!)
The snitches, the odds (uhh), probation, parole (what?!)
The new charge, the bail, the warrant, the hole (damn!)
The cell, the bus, the ride, up North (uh-huh)
The greens, the boots, the yard, these hearts (uhh!)
The fightin, the stabbin, the pullin, the grabbin (what?!)
The riot squad with the captain, nobody knows what happened
(what?!) The two years in a box, revenge, the plots (uhh!)
The twenty-three hours that's locked, the one hour that's not
(uhh!) The silence, the dark, the mind, so fragile (aight!)
The wish, that the streets, would have took you, when they had you
(damn) The days, the months, the years, dispair
One night on my knees, here it comes, the prayer!

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Ass?

The Meteoric Rise To Stardom of Buffie The Body

37 Magazine covers in 2 years, countless videos and now movie offers galore.

Buffie Carruth grew up in a fairly large family consisting of seven children. Growing up without a father, she was raised single-handedly by her mother.

Carruth's most notable feature is her large derriere. Her voluptuous buttocks have garnered attention from both male (defintitely them) and female fans alike. Early in her modelling career, magazines were accused of altering her image digitally. In a King Magazine interview, she states "Yes, it’s real! When a lot of people see my pictures, they automatically think Photoshop blew my ass up. People have actually seen it in person and they still don’t believe it. I can see why people might think it’s fake..." She also has a part in the movie ATL (2006) as Big Booty Judy. She is currently dating New York radio personality DJ Kayslay.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Can Hip Hop Stop The War?

"And can we please have a moment of truth?
For soldiers and troops away with helmets and boots
And families back home who pray they make it home safe
Hopin' that they don't get hit with a stray or missiles"

Could the anti-War movement benefit for Hip Hop's global media swagger?





ME AND MY BITCH - A Love Song



When I met you I admit my first thoughts was to trick
You look so good huh, I suck on your daddy's dick (yeah)
I never felt that way in my life
It didn't take long before I made you my wife (uh, yeah)
Got no rings and shit, just my main squeeze
Come into the crib, even had a set a keys
During the days you helped me bag up my nickels
In the process, I admit, I tricked a little (yeah)
But you was my bitch, the one who'd never snitch (uhh)
Love me when I'm broke or when I'm filthy fuckin rich
And I admit, when the time is right, the wine is right
I treat you right, you talk slick, I beat you right

Moonlight strolls with the hoes, oh no, that's not my steelo
I wanna bitch that like to play celo, and craps
Packin gats, in a Coach bag steamin dime bags
A real bitch is all I want, all I ever had (yeah, c'mon)
With a glock just as strong as me
Totin guns just as long as me, the bitch belongs with me
Any plans with another bitch, my bitch'll spoil it
One day, she used my toothbrush to clean the toilet (that's nasty)
Throwin my clothes out the windows, so when the wind blows
I see my Polos and Timbos
Hide my car keys so I can't leave
A real slick bitch, keep a trick up her sleeve
And if I deceive, she won't take it lightly
She'll invite me, politely, to fight G
And then we lie together, cry together
I swear to God I hope we fuckin die together
- Biggie Smalls

MODERN HIP HOP IS ONLY ABOUT BITCHES MURDER AND MONEY

Comin' up I was confused, my mama kissin' a girl
Confusin' occurs, comin' up in this cold world
Daddy ain't around, prolly out committin' felonies
My favorite rapper used to sing ch-check out my melody

I wanna live good, so shit I sell dope
For a fo' finger ring, one of them gold ropes
Nanna told me if I pass I'll get me a sheep skin coat
If I move a few packs I can get the hat, now that'll be dope

Tossed and turn in my sleep at night
Woke up the next mornin' niggas done stole my bike
Different day, same shit, ain't nothin' good in the hood
I'd run away from this bitch and never come back if I could

Hate it or love it, the underdog's on top
And I'm gon' shine homie until my heart stops

Go ahead, envy me, I'm rap's MVP
And I ain't goin' no where so you should get to know me


Mr. Wilson said...

Okay DV...

First thing I want to say is...primarily I am on your side but...

I do have to play devil's advocate about modern rap. You have to admit that most of the hip hop we get exposed to today, is not the raw expression of what is in the hearts and minds of these young and talented griots. What we get is sent through a filter meant to get the most units sold, even if its white kids. If you listen to "underground" hip hop, even the gulliest grimiest brothers seem real, human, and somewhat balanced. Mainstream (aka corporate-sanctioned) hip hop is marketing-driven, not art driven,

In 2007 rappers are on the slave block as they get presented as products and brands. I don't think 50 cent got shot 9 times with a real gun, but it makes for great marketing because he sounds invincible and untouchable. I bet 50 cent has gone to Jimmy Iovine with more than one record expressing how lonely and isolated he is, but Jimmy ain't letting the public see 50 as anything but an alpha male silver-back urban gorilla that solves all problems with dispassionate aggression. "Nigga get your ass back in the studio and murder somebody on the track...do you think Vivica liked you for your soul?"

Most of these young rappers are not being honest about how they are getting manipulated and pimped by these companies (although Jadakiss has made some notable references throughout the years). Most of the rappers you mentioned are coerced every step of the way through their creative process by the irresponsible and money hungry white-run corporations to express themselves the way they do. They don't even get signed unless they demonstrate that they are willing to be exploited, and once they get the contract, they must do what the label says or never get one word on a record, ending up broke as fuck. I will grant that some brothers are too brilliant to be completely nuetered and find a happy medium between pleasing execs and still saying something relevant (Jay-Z and Andre 3000), but many are just tyring to eat and will do and say anything (ying yang twins) they are told to. The execs will force the rappers to be or do anything that they think will results in album sales, and some shit is socially irresponsible. Suggesting to little black boys that affluence is the only way to demonstrate self worth is social irresponsible. Suggesting to little black girls, that their ability to make their ass cheeks clap together is more interesting than anything they could ever say is socially irresponsible. I am not saying this is the source of the problem, but it isn't helping.

DV, I know this for sure: something is missing. Rakim had swaggar, Biggie had charisma, Pac had heart, but the corporations hadn't locked things down so tightly then. Today, the images are skewed, unrealistic, 1 dimensional and there is much less diversity. Where are the fun happy but fairly clean rappers like kid and play and will smith? where are the political rappers like public enemy? where are lyrical monsters like big daddy kane? where are the new native toungues? where are the pharcydes, the black moons, the souls of mischiefs?

today's kids are identifying with Lil Wayne, and Young Joc but partly because they aren't getting exposed to anything else. we talked about exposure at dina's, and these kids are getting exposed to the same hyper agressive mysogynist image instead of getting exposed to a diverse range of rap heros and identifying with them all. i had eazy e, but i also had krs-one and they were both embraced by radio and mainstream outlets then. or is there really something different about this generation?

DV, just admit that something is amiss and in spite of the fact that rappers represent a liberated crotch grabbing alternative to looking up to corporate negros, the truth is almost every rapper you have named IS a corporate negro. and not only that, at least this corporate negro isn't owned and can take his brilliant understanding of info. theory and communications systems to another corporation if this one starts tripping. in other words, the truth is that given my education and experience, i have more options than 99% of rappers, but how would kids ever know that?

but basically, i am on your side against anybody that tries to demonize hip hop or any genre of hip hop. fuck anybody who says there is something wrong with gangsta rap. NWA was a blessing to me and expressed a hostility and rage I didn't even know I had as a good little southern boy. Although I wouldn't even want to hang with cats like Havoc and Prodigy if I knew them, I think my life is enriched by Mobb Deep because what they do is artful.

okay...chew on that...

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

"I HATE HIP HOP" - DECONSTRUCTED



Denmark Vesey ...

Chicken or the egg?

Rapper or the Audience?

Fundamental to the anti-Hip Hop argument: 1) Rap appeals to kids. 2) Kids emulate what they hear. 3) Therefore Rappers must be held responsible for what they say. Rap indulges in the use of terms like “Bitch” and “Ho” and “Nigga”, while celebrating guns and violence which triggers a tsunami of negative behavior throughout the culture.

Have I left anything critical out of the argument?

Good.

I argue that that is arrogantly ignorant analysis. To reduce all that Hip Hop to a gross categorical over simplification is the height of intellectual laziness.

To boycott Hip Hop while eagerly consuming mainstream bad language, sex guns and violence is the ultimate in discrimination and self-hatred.

These “kids” who are the subject of our discussion are not completely ignorant mindless sheep. Actually they are the products of a variety of complex unique historical, ecological and socio-political factors. In a world of ideas and messages competing for their attention, Rap is one of many contenders.

They RESPOND to RAP because RAP is relevant to them. They find it empowering.

Why do kids not respond to the messages from the bourgeoisie black consumer class? Why is Lloyd Banks more recognized than any member of the Congressional Black Caucus? Why is every black leader with the exception of Minister Farrakhan ignored by young blacks?

Because THEIR MESSAGE IS NOT RELEVANT. It fails to empower it's audience. The message is incoherent, vague and one-way. It lacks moral authority. It is void of courage. It is hallow old and not well thought out. It is contemptuous liberal feel good mentoring instead of mutually beneficial partnership.

Instead of criticizing rap, the energy should be spent developing and delivering an alternative message, equally relevant and intrinsically real that inspires, compels and empowers young blacks.

The Post Civil Rights Negro has failed to excite the imaginations of young black Americans. They appear refugees from a bygone era still struggling with racism and glass ceilings. Passed up by Mexicans and Asians. Last year’s players.



The Corporate Negro appears a disenchanted, compromised occupant of a glorified plantation. Often laid-off employee with a degree and student loans toiling away at jobs he hates while scheming an escape. Compromised emasculated conformist. A snobby sucka.

In a society increasingly dangerous for young black men, rap has served as a collective alter ego, a confidence sandwich to millions of young men starved for self-esteem. In the marketplace of masculinity black men are moguls. Aint no glass ceilings.

Yeah. Rappers talk about guns and violence. Therefor we have a more violent society. Bullshit.

Does James Bond make white people kill each other? Does Hannibal Lecter make white people eat each other? Does 24 make white people torture Arabs? The governor of California has killed far more people on the screen than has 50 Cent.

Should the only people allowed to use a gun on TV be white men?

Say what you want about Rap. But any brotha who can “take a phrase that’s rarely heard, flip it, and make it a daily word” and get paid millions and buy ball teams and when on the mic, make every woman in the club throw her panties on the stage – aint all that dumb.

While the corporate world appears to punish black men for being black men – the rap marketplace pays them for it. Women scream their names and try to touch them, not clutch their purses.

The iconography of Hip Hop has currency. Rich. Masculine. Media savvy. Powerful. Self-Defining. Accessible. Capitalist. Winner. EVERYTHING AMERICA WORSHIPS. – Jay-Z

The iconography of the Post Civil Rights Negro is the flickering black and white video of the emasculated loser, a victim ultimately dependent on the largesse of white folks – Harold Ford, JR.

The Corporate Negro seems a struggling hustler with a degree, a bitter bench riding player hater who would switch places in a heartbeat.

The fact is America worships Hip Hop. Every Sunday millions of consumers plop their fat asses in front of TV’s and consume a Hip Hop product slickly packaged as football.

Hate Hip Hop? That’s like hating money.

Hip Hop has international market and political potential yet to be tapped. For black people to divest themselves of Hip Hop would be like Jews divesting their interests in the film business.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Hip Hop - The Synthesis of The Ancient Griot Tradition, Technology & Capitalism


Intellectual Insurgent said... DV, I've been pondering this argument all day and it is finally apparent to me why it doesn't sit well for me. It suffers from the same intellectual fallacy as apologists for slavery make. "Well, slavery existed in Africa before the Europeans showed up and, therefore, we didn't cause the problem." True, just like the European slave traders, vulgar rap didn't "cause" the problem of degradation and demeaning of women. It just took an already bad situation, added its unique stamp to it and showed that they could be 100x worse than those before them. Snoop is to the church of secular liberalism what Europeans were to the institution of slavery.

I see your point Dina. My position on Hip Hop certainly includes, but is not limited to the rejection of the notion that Hip Hop is the “cause” of societal blight. However, equally important to my argument is the disingenuous and hypocritical attack on the art form by a group of people whose own house is not in order. I have coined the term “Post Civil Rights Negro” to describe the myopic and ineffective leadership of the African-American middle class. On whose watch we have witnessed the implosion of the African-American family, the complete capitulation of any real political power and massive economic potential reduced to pathological conspicuous consumption.

I celebrate Hip Hop because I see it as a desperate attempt at self-expression in an increasingly Orwellian world. The Corporate Negros and Post-Civil Rights Negros have so completely succumbed to the pressure to conform they hate black men who reject the values of a system into which they have bought.


Hip Hop & God


In the name of Jesus
(thats right)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
(preach)
And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn
(preach)
(Lord give me a sign)
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
(preach)
and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Hip Hop vs The Civil Rights Negro

“Now is not the time to close bases, ... With almost 140,000 American troops serving in Iraq, 17,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan and more than 60,0000 troops on the ground or aboard ships helping with relief and recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, our military is already overstreched.”

From standin on the corners boppin
to drivin some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen
For droppin some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard
From the dope spot, with the smoke Glock
fleein the murder scene, you know me well
from nightmares of a lonely cell, my only hell
But since when y'all niggaz know me to fail? Fuck naw
Where all my niggaz with the rubber grips, bust shots
And if you with me mom I rub on your tits, and what-not
I'm from the school of the hard knocks, we must not
let outsiders violate our blocks, and my plot
let's stick up the world and split it fifty/fifty, uh-huh
Let's take the dough and stay real jiggy, uh-huh
And sip the Cris' and get pissy-pissy
Flow infinitely like the memory of my nigga Biggie, baby!
You know it's hell when I come through
The life and times of Shawn Carter

Hip Hop vs The Post Bourgeois Negro

The increasingly vitriolic diatribes against all things Hip Hop (lower class blacks with more money than corporate negroes and less inclination to assimilate than civil rights negroes) have grown to ridiculous proportion. One would think rappers invented gratuitous sex, graphic violence and conspicuous consumption judging by the narrative of plantation blacks and Civil Rights Negroes who form the growing "I Hate Hip Hop and Cornrows Movement".

Once the spokespeople for all things black, the Post-Civil Rights Negro finds himself increasingly marginalized by the voice of Hip Hop, which commands audiences not seen on the Civil Rights tour since the 1963 March on Washington.

"We sick boss?"

Were it not for the occasional Don Imus or Michael Richards, Post Civil Rights Negros couldn't even get on television these days. Other than Farrakhan (who for all intents and purposes is Hip Hop) name a viable black leader?

The problem is no one listens to the Stanley Crouch’s of the world anymore. Hordes of out of work refugees from the Racial Cold War, have abandoned the causes of affirmative action and reparations. They have now flocked to higher paid jobs as racially licensed mouthpieces for white resentment against blacks they cannot control.

Corporate Negroes have rallied around the flag of Chris Rock’s “I love black people, but I hate Niggers” routine managing to take it to another level.

The "I Hate Hip Hop and Cornrows Movement" indulges in hyperbole that suggests "Hip Hop" is single handedly destroying black people, ‘decimating our culture’ and ‘Degrading’ black women.

That’s right. It’s all the fault of rap music. 60 years of failed social policy had nothing to do with the health of the black America. A war on drugs that became a war on people and has incarcerated over 1,000,000 black men IS NOT REMOTELY connected to the collective ill health of our community.

Rap is the reason black men don’t respect black women. Rap is responsible for global warming. Rappers created the myth of WMD’s and lied this nation into war. Rap causes diabetes.

Hip Hop did not produce our culture. Our culture produced Hip Hop.

Placing the blame for 60 years of failed social engineering at the feet of ... Hip Hop … is self-indulgent at and best bald-faced hypocrisy at its worst.