I just had to post this one up. Hip hop I believe is like the big bang theory. It has spread so far and wide on this planet that you can see it on television, magazine covers, theatre, on the side street, practically every where. It pleases me that it has had an influence on our society, but the crushing factor is that it isn’t a culture anymore, but a business.
Hip hop in its grass roots was a tool in surviving oppression, it was something compared to what it is now today. I can’t support music that demeans our society now.
“Hip hop didn’t invent sexism, violence, homophobia or materialism. If you listen to the language used by President Bush, you’ll realize that all those things are as much a part of America as baseball and apple pie. Who is more sexist, violent, homophobic and materialistic than the President of the United States? He’s the guy who wants to take away a woman’s right to choose and a gay couple’s right to marry. He’s the guy who wants to arm the nation with hand guns and started two wars in his first term alone. He’s the guy who promotes unchecked capitalism at the expense of worker’s rights. And he’s the guy with the power to do something about those things.
Still, that shouldn’t let hip hop off the hook. Hip hop may not have started any of those things, but it has amplified, and in many cases, glorified the images of violence, materialism, sexism and homophobia. Some people pick on hip hop just because they don’t like it. But many of us pick on hip hop because we want it to do better. We remember when the music of hip hop was connected to the streets, powerful and political and entertaining at the same time. And we worry that much of today’s hip hop and rap has descended into something meaningless, produced by people of color but largely consumed by young white guys in the suburbs.
And no matter how much we talk about hip hop, the white and black executives in the music industry don’t look like they’re ready to change its formula anytime soon. Nor for that matter is the consumer changing. Unless and until consumer outrage spurs action, the industry won’t be doing much about it.”
Extracted from : http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C8BA68457FA179AA (Full video also available here
2 Comments
August 31, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Yo man! tnx 4 the visit…
September 2, 2008 at 12:08 am
i agree with this whole thing Hip hop it was a tool in surviving oppression and/or fun with your friends. Hip hop didn’t invent sexism, violence, homophobia or materialism as much as it does now