"Rap is really funny...But if you don't see that its funny, it will scare the shit out of you."
- Ice T; Rolling Stone, August 1992
This lady I work with bum-rushed my desk today, militantly declaring that I needed to "delete all the rap music from my iPod because Hip Hop is going down!" She apparently watched Oprah's Hip Hop Townhall last week and feels all the "booty shakin'" and "b*tches" and "hoes" is "out of line" and "has gone too far" and "Hip Hop is to blame and should be shut down!"
"Word?"
Look, "bitches", "n*****", and "nappy-headed hoes" being common-place in today's society is not Hip Hop's fault.
FACT. Simple and plain.
Hip Hop itself is too vast to lump into one bucket. The 4 (primary) elements (B-Boying, Grafitti, DJing, and MCing) aside, rap music alone is too diverse to point a blame laced finger at. The problem is that the most controversial/offensive/destructive forms of rap music dominate the airwaves.
And Hip Hop doesn't control the airwaves. Media companies do.
Remember when there used to be a balance? Remember when Ice Cube, and Digable Planets, and Bone Thugs and A Tribe Called Quest would play back-to-back on your FM dial and it wasn't a big deal - it was the norm? Remember how C. Delores Tucker, Tipper Gore and the rest tried to shut down "Gangsta Rap" back the mid-90s (pioneering the same tactics Rev. Al Sharpton plans to use during his crusade), but failed because - Gangsta Rap included - Hip Hop's message was too apparent, too tangible...too relevant?
Now? There's too many "b*tches" and "hoes" - and subsequently (like Chris Rock said) "its too hard to defend."
There are thousands of different artists out there with thousands of different perspectives who aren't bangin' the on radio, or knockin' on Mtv, or BET. And the reason they aren't is because the industry (media companies, record labels, program directors, and the like) consciously selects what will and will not be heard.
Its not that people (overall) prefer b*tches and hoes and gang culture over their own relateable lives (Kanye and Outkast are testiments to that; both multi-platinum artists with largely positive messages). It is because in the end - like my boy Will says - people like what they know (as long as the beats hot). Everyday-people will continue to say what they want to say. You can't stop a regular cat walking down the Ave from objectifying women and degrading himself. Its a losing battle. But media companies can stop offensive behavior from appearing over public airwaves - just like they stopped Don Imus.
If rap on the radio is truly too vulgar, spin more Lupe Fiasco. If thre are too many b*tches and hoes in different area codes, rock some Little Brother. If there's too much ass-shakin' on the TV station, throw a Sean Price video into the rotation.
My point is, Hip Hop is too broad to pigeon-hole. A variety of options are out there - just like they were in the 80s and 90s. The real question is, why are they no longer on radio, and video?
Just something to think about.
Carry on...
- Ice T; Rolling Stone, August 1992
This lady I work with bum-rushed my desk today, militantly declaring that I needed to "delete all the rap music from my iPod because Hip Hop is going down!" She apparently watched Oprah's Hip Hop Townhall last week and feels all the "booty shakin'" and "b*tches" and "hoes" is "out of line" and "has gone too far" and "Hip Hop is to blame and should be shut down!"
"Word?"
Look, "bitches", "n*****", and "nappy-headed hoes" being common-place in today's society is not Hip Hop's fault.
FACT. Simple and plain.
Hip Hop itself is too vast to lump into one bucket. The 4 (primary) elements (B-Boying, Grafitti, DJing, and MCing) aside, rap music alone is too diverse to point a blame laced finger at. The problem is that the most controversial/offensive/destructive forms of rap music dominate the airwaves.
And Hip Hop doesn't control the airwaves. Media companies do.
Remember when there used to be a balance? Remember when Ice Cube, and Digable Planets, and Bone Thugs and A Tribe Called Quest would play back-to-back on your FM dial and it wasn't a big deal - it was the norm? Remember how C. Delores Tucker, Tipper Gore and the rest tried to shut down "Gangsta Rap" back the mid-90s (pioneering the same tactics Rev. Al Sharpton plans to use during his crusade), but failed because - Gangsta Rap included - Hip Hop's message was too apparent, too tangible...too relevant?
Now? There's too many "b*tches" and "hoes" - and subsequently (like Chris Rock said) "its too hard to defend."
There are thousands of different artists out there with thousands of different perspectives who aren't bangin' the on radio, or knockin' on Mtv, or BET. And the reason they aren't is because the industry (media companies, record labels, program directors, and the like) consciously selects what will and will not be heard.
Its not that people (overall) prefer b*tches and hoes and gang culture over their own relateable lives (Kanye and Outkast are testiments to that; both multi-platinum artists with largely positive messages). It is because in the end - like my boy Will says - people like what they know (as long as the beats hot). Everyday-people will continue to say what they want to say. You can't stop a regular cat walking down the Ave from objectifying women and degrading himself. Its a losing battle. But media companies can stop offensive behavior from appearing over public airwaves - just like they stopped Don Imus.
If rap on the radio is truly too vulgar, spin more Lupe Fiasco. If thre are too many b*tches and hoes in different area codes, rock some Little Brother. If there's too much ass-shakin' on the TV station, throw a Sean Price video into the rotation.
My point is, Hip Hop is too broad to pigeon-hole. A variety of options are out there - just like they were in the 80s and 90s. The real question is, why are they no longer on radio, and video?
Just something to think about.
Carry on...
