Hip hop. Art or Poison?
That was the title of a CNN special my wife and I watched as we trudged along the treadmills at LA fitness last Saturday. We didn’t listen to the program (no headphones) but we watched as they put up image after image of scantly clad young women, weapon wielding gangsters in baggy clothes and clouds of smoke surrounding smiling faces filled with gold teeth. Most people would agree it has fallen into the “poison” category. In fact sales dropped so dramatically last year that it appears even Rap listeners may be getting fed up with it. Really interesting that this article comes out the day that Black history month ends.
RubeRad said,
March 1, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Maybe the “wigger” fad is over, so the bulk of the customer base is vanishing?
zrim said,
March 1, 2007 at 8:44 pm
speaking of black history month…
my third grader’s PS class had to pick a figure in black history and do a report. then they have to do a sort of re-enactment of that person, kinda like a wax meuseum thing. one of her little friends’ parents (odd folks) has protested. their daughter will be doing the report but no “acting like a black person, no sir.” they really have their panties in a horrible little bunch. they claim it will make the 1 black student in class feel odd-man-out. IMO, it’s a latent racism that seems to be driving things here. sounds pious to be seen protecting the “poor little black kid’s feelings,” but these folks make comments behind the scenes like, “so where’s dutch history month? where’s white people day?” gimme a break! i am beginning to really loathe this white-bread west michigan dutch factor in some ways. apparently it was such a controversy a few years back they voted not to do this black history month.
funny hting is, they really think they are making some sort of difference by keeping their kid from doing some innocuous character monologue. yeah, real winsome and effective! don’t you know you are “those people” being whispered about? geez, it’s third grade, lighten the frick-frack up.
zrim
Echo_ohcE said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:09 am
As a Christian, I would never tell a fellow Christian that they should or shouldn’t listen to this or that type of music. One pastor I know is a big AC/DC fan.
But there does come a point where you have to ask, aren’t you ashamed to listen to that and be entertained by it?
Some things can be overlooked, ignored, in order to enjoy good music. But when it’s a contest as to which song can be the most disgusting, well, you might want to think about drawing the line somewhere.
In the same way, I would never tell a Christian that they can’t watch an R-rated movie. For crying out loud, the world view portrayed in some G-rated movies can be very harmful. But nevertheless, you really need to think about drawing the line somewhere. Not all R-rated movies are the same. But also, what bothers me is not what bothers you, and vice versa.
In other words, while a line should definitely be drawn somewhere, and some things are obviously over on the other side of that line, we should all remember not to judge another for what they listen to.
Because after all, even if someone really likes the filthiest rap music about the most disgusting human acts, the fact that they can enjoy that reveals that there’s a far greater problem going on in their heart than their choice of music.
As a Christian, some things should probably make you uncomfortable, and if it doesn’t, perhaps you should ask why.
Just a thought.
E
itsasecret2u said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:22 am
This is tough for me…
I don’t like a lot of the hip hop that’s out at the moment (and I haven’t had a working radio for over 2 years in my car, so I’m really not up on music in general). At the same time, I love stuff with a good beat and some hip hop falls into this category. But it’s like I tell my youth girls: listen to the way they talk about women in these songs. Do you want to be identified as a “ho?” Or worse? If you want to be appreciated in a different way, don’t get your groove on to such tunes.
Incidentally, I find that for dancing purposes, old-school, relatively clean stuff like Thriller or Bad-era Michael Jackson is even better. But try telling that to a 16-year-old.
itsasecret2u said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:27 am
The “Art” claim reminds me of when Tupac was alive and he compared himself to a rose growing out of the concrete.
He said that if you saw a rose growing out of the concrete, would you really pay attention to the fact that its petals were a little crumpled or droopy. No, you’d be amazed that there was a ROSE growing out of CONCRETE. Yet he felt he was being unfairly judged. He was rough around the edges, but was a sensitive soul – a poet – who rose out of unfortunate and difficult circumstances.
He’s got a point, but most roses don’t have “THUG LIFE” tattooed across their stomachs, thus making them a lot more endearing than Tupac was.
Echo_ohcE said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:59 am
Secret,
the problem with much of our culture is not what it says about women, although that’s important, but what it says about God. Treating women like objects is bad because of what is says about God, to God, and how it is disobedient to God. Love for God is expressed by love for fellow man. Abuse of your fellow man is a manifestation of hatred and rage toward God. So singing songs about how cool it is to abuse women, shoot cops, deal drugs, steal, rape, etc, is like giving God the finger.
E
itsasecret2u said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:34 am
True, true.
Danielbalc said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:05 pm
My favorite tunes are classic rock. Before I go bowling I get myself pumped up by listening to AC/DC.
Danielbalc said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:05 pm
itsasecret2u said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:36 pm
All hardcore people listen to AC/DC before…… going bowling?
I can’t really make fun. I used to listen to “American Woman” (Lenny Kravitz’s cover) and/or Marilyn Manson and/or Iron Butterfly before leaving the house every morning, just to inject myself with the proper amount of attitude to pull off my look at the time (red and black “skunk” hair, liberal amounts of black eyeliner, combat boots, lots of glitter, and a scowl). Niiiiiice.
Danielbalc said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:40 pm
You obviously don’t realize how hard core bowling is. You need to rent the Big Lebowski.
Albino Hayford said,
March 2, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Nope…none of that satisfied me untl I heard a flute/beatboxer playing the Inspector Gadget Theme who changed my life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0
danielbalc said,
October 18, 2007 at 6:23 pm
OK so we had this conversation a LONG time ago but it jumped back into my sights when this article found it’s way onto the cover story of foxsports.com
Jason Whitlock of the KC star manages to do something no white writer could ever do without getting fired…
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303138,00.html
Pablo Honey said,
October 18, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Here is Jason Whitlock’s article.
pokerforprofit said,
October 18, 2007 at 8:00 pm
That’s great. He said what everyone has been thinking for some time.
Shape up or get out. I like the new NFL Goodell is ushering in.
Pablo Honey said,
October 18, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Yes Goodell is doing a lot of good things, but he is also tinkering with some things that should not be changed. He is considering holding the Super Bowl overseas, an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. The Super Bowl and the millions of dollars it generates needs to stay in the U.S., and it needs to come back to S.D.
danielbalc said,
October 18, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Oops. Sorry about the wrong link.
Although the Watson statements are very interesting and somewhat relevant. I actually meant for that link to be in the gay genes conversation.
thanks for the help pablo