SOHH.Com Town Hall Meeting: Hip-Hop In Need Of A Change Part II
Posted on April 20, 2007 4:08 AM
The comments have been crazy regarding the “Hip-Hop Is In Desperate Need Of A Change!!!!” post. And I’ve been reading every comment. Some people got the point, others missed the point entirely, and some people just got way off topic.
But the most important thing is that we’ve opened dialogue and that’s one of the most important aspect of this entire controversy.
There were so many comments about the current state of Hip-Hop that I decided to post a few.
Banga said:
Claps to GYANT for telling the truth
The reality though is as a people
We aren't willing to be confronted about our own sht.As you can see your already getting people here tryin to justify bullsht. No one wants to own up to that fact that the shts wrong. The attitude is this is the status quo and who are you to tell us we need to change. It been like this and that the way it is. The ironic thing is slavery and civil rights was the status quo and that was the same sht white America was saying to us. Its been like this and thats the way it is. The only difference is now we're doing it to ourselves. We're complicating the issue not white america they're pointing out the contradiction. And we look like unintelligent azzholes trying to justify bullsht! All because we refuse to admit we're wrong. Its time to stop tryin to save face. The contradiction is why this issue keeps coming up.
Now white america is pretty much sayin fk the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons they're a bunch of Hypocrites. Go ahead Imus say what you want, we got your back all these hip hop artist and black people do is contradict themselves. And their ignoring all arguments we have cause they feel we have no credibility. Why cause we are contradicting ourselves, we just won't man up and fking admit it.So Gyant your gonna take heat
but this is why but what your saying is the truth people just don't wanna hear it.
Sam C said:
First off the reason we can criticize ourselves or make what some perceive as negative comments about ourselves is because we're all in the same boat... we know what its like to be in our shoes.I can't criticize a woman because I'm a man but I can criticize myself. That’s the difference, we can't talk about a subject we don't know anything about and can't claim to know what its like to be in someone else shoes.
Hip Hop says a lot of things that offend people but hip-hop is not supported by advertisements by corporate sponsors, you have to willingly purchase this music and willingly listen to it. A show like Don Imus is free to the public and paid for by corporate sponsors. The hip-hop you hear on the radio may be totally different from what the unedited cd is. Words are edited and sometimes changed completely to be radio friendly. Even Wal-Mart refuses to carry any music with content advisory stickers.
This comparison to hip hop is completely unwarranted. I don't even like the radio versions of Nas' "Hip Hop is Dead" or Ludacris' "Slap" because when you listen to the song its clear that the "killing" spoken of is symbolic in the same way that "Hip Hop" is not a literal person and even though this couldn't be more obvious these artists obey the rules and censor themselves by changing their lyrics to be radio-friendly. So don't compare hip-hop to Imus because censoring himself is exactly what he HAS NOT done.
Regular commenter, and friend to the SoHH Atlanta blog DJ OKTOBA said:
GYANT WE SHOULD HAVE YOU FIRED FOR THIS SHIT!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS??? I know for a fact that you have seen me post on here damn near everyday for the past few months and you know how I feel about racism being from Alabama... The fact that you are a Blogger does mean much at this point to me...I am in full support of anyone being held accountable for their actions, and NOW Imus is being held accountable, have you ever had a white person say something disrespectful to your face??? Probably not you are what 6'8, they will wait and say it behind your back, I didn't expect you to take a particular side in this issue but since you did let me check YOU!!! You played ball I balled for 8 years and I've won Championships (Str8 UP) So tell me how woulld you feel if you lost the National Womens Championship and then get called "Nappy Head Hos" or go home and see a "JOURNALIST" call you a nigger or a bunch of thugs just playing basketball... 1st off Rutgers has accomplished more this year than they have ever accomplished as far as sports and athletics go, and to have all that overshadowed by one person, that s not right and I dont care if you are white, black, or green ITS NOT RIGHT!!! Rutgers is a very Prestigous school and they are one of the best schools in the nation as far as academics so these young women ain't dummies they are our little sisters and nieces, I personally have a little sister graduating from Oral Roberts University on May 5th so I feel the arents and the Coach saying that this is degrading and deplorable...
Now is there a double standard YES!!!there always has been, but black people didn't complain about Imus his listeners did, it was two days later when the press got a hold of this story...
So please miss me with that bullshitYou get called worst by your own people??? Its probably because you agree with idiots like Don Imus and Michael Richards and Matt Herbz all them in the same category RACIST!!! I hate toseepeople go unsathed thru this type of media shit storm but these problems are 90% of the time brought on by yourself... I never heard of Don Imus and i'm suppoese to feel sympathy for this racist FUCK HIM!!! and the WHORE"S in his family and you too GYANT for agreeing with this a$$, I know you will come back and say I just said he shouldn't have been fired, but yes he should have if you use national media outlets like MSNBC and CBS online (Home of the Men's and Women's NCAA Final Four) This has nothing to do with being sensitive or anything like that because if you got on this blog talking crazy about white people they will fire your black a$$, and it will not be for all the shitty and old blogs you post either I gaurantee...
And Big Sipp had this to say:
This is my 1st time actually commenting on this blog, even though I read it all the time. To quote Jay-Z, "Lyrically I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, (but I did 5 mill), I ain't been rhyming like common since". These artist use Rap(Hip Hop), to feed their families. Some of them don't have the education, or the work experience to live the life of the prominent "Black Leaders" or the "Status Quo". So I'm not mad at them for doing what they do to provide for their families. The fact of the matter is, is that there are hoes and bitches, and pimps and drugs in the community, that's not the only thing, but it's what you hear on the radio and see on the videos. So is it the rappers fault 4 gettin money? Or would you rather see them adding to the crime rate? Or better yet lets take all of them and give them a Mickey D's uniform! Don't blame Hip Hop! Hip Hop didn't make Don Imus say that! If you don't like the music turn it off, or better yet, go buy the conscious rappers, request their music on the stations! Taking food out of the mouths of "Rappers" and their families won't solve the problems that blacks face in America. Each one teach one! It starts inside each and everyone of us. We need to start raising our kids instead of putting them in front of a T.V.. If we change as a people (which will probably never happen) but maybe then the music will change. Music only reflects the views of what's going on in the world, whether good or bad! This issue is not over by any means.
Contrary to some peoples opinions this wasn’t and isn’t a “bandwagon” issue. I feel very passionately about this issue and will definitely keep my eye on what’s going on in our culture going forward.
That’s one thing that I don’t think people understand. This culture belongs to each and every one of us. We’ve supported it, we’ve stood by, and most of us breathe it in every single day.
I plan on reaching out to the Atlanta Hip-Hop community in the upcoming weeks to get their perspective on what's really going on. And the responsiblity they feel, if any, on putting out good music, or should I say socially conscious music.
Listen, have a great weekend. Be safe, wear condoms, open up a book (if you havent already). And we will talk again on Monday.
Talk to y'all lata
--SoHH Gyant
Comments
first #1 numero uno ha!!!
DAMN...OKTOBA
I dont think I could I agree with you more...
@ GYANT, this idea of having a dialogue on important topics is cool...but lets start discussing ways that we can bring about change. Its not enough to talk about our thoughts on whether or not Imus should have been fired...but lets discuss how to have our collective voices heard when this shit happens in the future...cause it will! DIG THIS, hip hop is the new black church in a sense...it is the place where we can have one voice..and be heard loud as hell throughout the world...this web site should find more ways to unite these voices not divide them!
FLorida Power & Light
Thanks for the featured comment Gyant!
Hop over to my blog for more of my thoughts on this subject!
http://blog.myspace.com/bxnjpapi
Thanks Uno,
-Sam C.
Right on...Why couldn't the so called "HIPHOP SUMMITT" start this?
People get ready there's a change a coming !!!
Talk is Cheap...Stand Up and Take A Stand For Once In Your Life People!!!!
Boycotts and Protest are easy and very effective way to bring about Change!!!
STAND UP AND "DO THE RIGHT THING"!!!!!!
@ GYANT
TV, HIPHOP dont bring up your children
PAERNTS BE PARENTS...single
Those with out parents, crack, alcohol etc
Hopefully its not genetic an that child doesnt become dopefiend, criminal
and hasnt lost there MIND.
with out birth defects an a COMMON SENSE factor.
Even a child knows RIGHT from WRONG.
a common sense barometer if NO parental influence teachers, uncle, aunts, coaches ETC...
Your fucked...Gangs even while your in you have a revelation after deaths, a life style you dont want to be a part of.
HIPHOP, didnt cause Operation Iraq Freedom.
The OVERSATURATION of BLACK Culture that has made it O.K. the WHITE NORM , botocks lips, ass implants, tans, rock n roll, rap.
This is NOT a general statement they ( White society ) has followed
THE DEFINITION of COOL BLACK CULTURE = society
SPEECH, FOOD, MUSIC, CLOTHES
they have morphed AND NOW THEY CALL US NIGGA...an CALL us HYPOCRYTE.
Reminder
Don Imus was fired FOR PAST AND PRESENT..NOT the one comment..
Don Imus HAD A HISTORY of RACIST, SEXIST comments..
HIPHOP is NOT a excuse for HIS RACISM
nor OUR ( BLACK PEOPLE ) SOCIAL in action TO TELL WHITE PEOPLE THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO CLAIM....
HIPHOP didnt call ME NIGGA..promoted it yes.
Zone 4 Ben Hill
Attic Crew
I posted this on the NYC blog yesterday:
*******WARNING LONG ASS POST*******
Ok i said i wasnt going to post today, but i just have to say this.... this topic is beating a dead horse, before the Imus thing and all of this blame hip hop stuff, i recall me and N-site talking about this exact topic, and i agree that gloryfying the negative is wrong, but it also has to be said or people will act like it dont exist, if rappers stop talking about drugs and violence will it stop??? hell no... people that live in these violent and drug infested neighborhoods will be the only ones talking about it, and they will not be heard, because hip hop is the only thing that we have a people to adress thses topics, and back in the 80's & 90's when people claim that the rappers were addressing these issues, these same people who are blaming hip hop didnt give a damn about our problems.
rappers were saying "we have these problems in our neighborhoods, can you pepple help us" (basically) but nobody was lisening or gave a damn.
now since asking for help didnt work, what is the next thing to do? we all know that these rappers aint selling drugs and killing people, but they come from this enviormnemt they asked for help, people didnt care, now they are putting it in your face so that you can see what we go through, i'm sure you dont want your little kids hearing about how much dope Jeezy sold, while you drive them to soccer practice. but at the same time i dont want my kids seeing the dope being sold when they are out playing with thier friends.
all of the drug and violent images in hip hop, are a reflection of the problems that we have in our country, and you cant ignore it. it's like you have a child at home, and he's hungry, he might make jestures that he want's food, but if you ignore him he will start crying to get your attention.
you cant expect to get rid of hip hop ant that will be the answer for world peace. If you want to get rid of a big ugly tree in your front yard, you cant just cut off a few branches that are in your way, you have to remove the entire tree from the roots and everything.
and anyway if they force these record labels to fire all of the artist who talk about guns and drugs what do you think will happen? those rappers will be making big money, because people will want to hear them more than when they were signed to these major lables, you see how the mixtape game was booming before they busted Dj Drama.
on another note, i've never heard of Miss Jones, so i cant speak on her, but the diffrence between her and IMUS is that they had him on T.V. on a station that is known for news and politics, why would you have a shock jock on that station? and why would a shock jock, expect his political views and the views of the politicans to be credible on his show, when he's making these commenst about other races? that is unacceptable on MSNBC, now if he was on Comedy Central i wouln't mind that much. because i know what comedy central is about. but if Miss Jones is doing the same thing and it's on a nation wide level, fire her ass too.
the same with these rappers, we all know that hip hop/ rap is about contraversy and pushing the envelope, that's the name of the game, if you dont have that in the game what will you have?
now people are talking about censor hip hop, hip hop has already been censored people, that's why they put the stickers and shit on front of the CD's telling people that there is some things being said on this album that you might not agree with, and if you like the song but dont want to hear the curse words and shit, go to Wal-mart and buy the edited Verson. half of what's said in the vieos are bleeped out or changed to fit TV. they didnt bleep out the nappy headed hoes comment on IMUS, but if a rapper would have said hoe in one of his songs they would bleep it out on BET. and you are saying that we are holding people to a double standard? no, if you want to say negative shit say it somewhere where it will be ok to say it, make an album or write a book and say what the fuck you want to say.
Posted by: Victor Newman at April 19, 2007 11:45 AM
And to add to the double standard thing, so white people say that it's a double standard because we say nigger and all of this shit right? isn't it a double standard for them not to alow Gays to get married? and yes i agree the idea of two men getting it on is disgusting, but they say we hold thiem to a double standard when this country is full of double standards.... now i know people gonna say that being gay is against the bible and shit (i havent read the bible so i dont know) but last time i checked the government and the church was separate, that's why they wanted to take God out of the plege or something like that, but why are our lawmakers deciding on who the pastor wants to marry? Just a thought.
and yes i'm like Tim Hardaway when it comes to gays. (gay men)
No one really wants to change Hip Hop outside of the Hip Hop community. That is really my problem with all the debates that have been rising since the Don Imus incident. For example Oprah had her forum on Hip Hop. She had Russell Simmons Ben Chavis, Common . . .all 3 great men. But, if your problem is with rappers you claim are mysogonistic, how come you didn't invite any of them to the show??? The showed the Tip Drill video, how come you didn't invite Nelly? To me if these people really wanted to open a dialog and effect change, they would start with the people they see as a problem. That is why I say that those of us that love the art that is Hip Hop have to support it right now. Yes we need to support change in it as well, but right now we just need to support it from those outside forces that only wish to destroy it, and profit from it's destruction. I honestly feel like Hip Hop in many ways is fine and doesn't need to be changed. We have plenty of artists that make great music that does not degrade our communities or are women. The real problem in my opinion, is that these record companies are doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to promote these artists or these songs. Yeah you can get upset that they are playing booty videos at 4 in the afternoon, but you should be more upset that there are other videos they could be playing but choose not to. I'm all for change, but lets not let THEM play US
Im glad we are having an open forum on this topic because honestly I'm not feeling like this situation is totally hip hops fault...Yeah rappers need to be a little more responsible about how they conduct themselves...but at the sametime all the sexual pervasive comments, the n word, and degredation of women was here on this earth way before rappers started rapping about it...another thing is we as a society we need to change our views... not just blacks or whites everybody has to step up and say hold on thats wrong how were treating women or etc...My biggest problm with rappers is the way the segregate themselves by claiming that their east coast or down south....to me we are all amercians because a hood in chicago is the same in Boston or a hood in alabama is the same in cali...rappers need to stop hatin on other rappers cause they sound like they from the south even thought they maybe from the east coast...f it if my man from the bronx wants to make a downsouth soundin record shit do ya thing...cuz at the end of the day we are all americans and america is a melting pot of different cultures lets embrace it instead of hatin
Im glad we are having an open forum on this topic because honestly I'm not feeling like this situation is totally hip hops fault...Yeah rappers need to be a little more responsible about how they conduct themselves...but at the sametime all the sexual pervasive comments, the n word, and degredation of women was here on this earth way before rappers started rapping about it...another thing is we as a society we need to change our views... not just blacks or whites everybody has to step up and say hold on thats wrong how were treating women or etc...My biggest problm with rappers is the way the segregate themselves by claiming that their east coast or down south....to me we are all amercians because a hood in chicago is the same in Boston or a hood in alabama is the same in cali...rappers need to stop hatin on other rappers cause they sound like they from the south even thought they maybe from the east coast...f it if my man from the bronx wants to make a downsouth soundin record shit do ya thing...cuz at the end of the day we are all americans and america is a melting pot of different cultures lets embrace it instead of hatin
Damn, Oktoba came off like a BITCH on that one... Matt Herbz does not promote racism. Imus got what was coming to him, I'm not sorry for him. A White Nigga ain't losing any sleep over that shit. Now, had a real white nigga said the shit that he said about them nappy headed hoes, shit might be permissible, but Imus is a fake white nigga and he got called out about it. He ain't nothing but a fake-ass white nigga trying to front like he's down with the bruthaz or something. That bitch nigga 1. needs a haircut 2. needs to suck a black nigga's dick for real. I'm riding for the cause in 07!
White Nigga Movement.
Anything less would be uncivilized.
--Matt Herbz, CEO of WNM
quick question regarding womens claim about hip hop degrading women. when it comes to the women saying that hip hop is degrading, isnt it the women responsibility to say NO to these videos out here that are degrading them. no one is making them jump in front of the camera and shake their ass while the rappers are in the background calling them bitches and hoes right? can anyone answer this for me seriously?
Thanks Gyant for reopening this discussion. We need it, unfortunately some people aren't equipped to express their frustration in a coherrent way to drive their point(s) home.
Everyone who visits SOHH.com obviously loves hip hop, rap music or whatever you want to call it. The truth of the matter is that it is hard to defend sometimes because of the down right dumbness that swirls inside the industry. Its easy to blame hip hop for what is wrong in the black community. Still, it is not justified because the problems we face are generations old.
True enough there are several outside factors influencing the ebb and flow of the hip hop industry, but the negative parts of the industry/culture is sensationalized to the point of exhaustion.
I was born and raised in GA, and I grew up listening to all types of MUSIC, and I continue to appreciate it for what it gives me. However, I realize that hip hop/rap music only reflects a portion life as a black person. Many people around the world (including some black people) actually believe all we do is snap & trap, pop lock & drop, throw d's on cadillacs, sell weed, get high, and work all night and day on new ways to kill ourselves. Unfortunately, the buying public doesn't want to support rappers who act civilized . . . even the rappers who claim to be gansta act that way for the camera. Most people who actually LISTENS to music instead of SKIMING through it realizes their are some fake ass rappers claiming to be something they are not!!!
. . . I'm tired of typing right now because I can literally talk about this all day, and I gotta go to work.
TOP 10 JAY-Z SONGS:
1. SONG CRY
2. BROOKLYNS FINEST
3. FRIEND OR FOE
4. IT WAS ALL GOOD/A WEEK AGO
5. BRUSH UR SHOULDER OFF
6. MONEY, CASH, NAPPY HEADED HOES
7. CAN'T KNOCK THE HUSTLE
8. 99 PROBLEMS
9. SO GANGSTA
10. IT'S ALRIGHT
TOP 10 REASONS WHY CAMS NOT THAT BAD:
1. HORSE AND CARRIAGE
2. INTOUCH WITH FEMANINE SIDE(PINK)
3. KEEPS SOME BEEF GOING
4. REFUSES TO SNITCH WHILE SNITCHING
5. SLAM SLAMMA WITH THE CAM CAMMA
6. BIGGIE THOUGHT HE WAS A GENIUS
7. WAS MASE'S BUDDY
8. BROUGHT OUT JEWLEZ SANTANA
9. HAS IBS OR IS THAT AIDS
10. GOT SHOT BY THE ROC
Gyant you're on the bandwagon. Admit it blog writer!!!
Until men are ready to stand up and be men and tell the little dudes to fall back fortheir own good, then hang it up, we are going to have a minstrel show instead of music.
as I said yesterday, artists in the mid amd late nineties talked about hoes and guns truew, and then they balanced it out by showing the human side of their faults by talking about their regrets and their love of God and wanting forgiveness, they talked about murder in a poetic sense about the dual layers of complexity, the loss and the anger to return fire to those who killed. They talked about being husbans, men, fathers, sons, etc.
They had for lack of a better term "soul"
when they said they were just reporting on what is happening in the minds of the young in the inner cuty it was a believable and legit defense of the music at that time,
now it's just bullshyt used to cover their ass. This aint the hood.
Goodie MOB's soul food LP captured the hood.
quite simply Hip Hop used to have a soul.
Now we are witnessing the death of this thing, why because we have new jacks arriving by the boat load daily and they lack any respect for the past or enough life experience to tell a decent story.
we are all gettin tired of hearing about how you gonna nurder all of us and then ship 20,000 keys in past homeland security officers.
someone anyone say something or do something new without being an arrogant oreo like Kanye and the other backpackers.
We took the bait. Every time one of our art forms becomes controversial we end up losing it to the mainstream or white america. I won't sit here and regurgitate what everyone else has said so far, but I will say this. Hip Hop is not the reason for the blight, lack of compassion, and nihilism within our communities. I'm so tired of blame being pushed at an art form. Parenting needs to increase within our communities, serious parenting, not the put the roof over my head, feed me parenting. I'm talk quality time where informal and formal discussions take place, where the dinner table has a meaning, and weekends are spent having fun and being a family. I don't mean family where you have mom, dad, kids, but a family in a since where time is spent and the kids feel valued.
We have to start loving our kids and really teaching them right from wrong, and it starts from a young age.
Parenting needs to increase within our communities, serious parenting, not the put the roof over my head, feed me parenting. I'm talk quality time where informal and formal discussions take place, where the dinner table has a meaning, and weekends are spent having fun and being a family. I don't mean family where you have mom, dad, kids, but a family in a since where time is spent and the kids feel valued.
Posted by: lms1- philly at April 20, 2007 10:58 AM
^^^^^^^^
Co-sign
Until we invest in our kids future, we will coninue to repeat the cycles of self-hatred and raism. If a child's parents are in the club makin it do what it do....who is going to teach the child to have some sort of self-worth? Who will teach them not to accept racism and negative stereotypes that have been placed on their people....last time I checked some people now a days think the t.v. is their babysitter. With that being said, it is no wonder that our community is in trouble.
What can we do to change??? Hip hop is the scapegoat Im frm Alabama so I know a Lynching when I see one, and that all this is... Should Hip Hop be apologizing for the statements Imus made??? Is Imus hip hop??? Has Imus done anything for the Black community other than degrade our sisters and neices and make racist and slanderous terms about women he has never met??? Hip hop has done more good than Rock and Roll, Country Music, and all the others combined... Hip hop raised millions for Katrina victims, they have donated millions through various charitable organizations like the Ludacris Foudation, and G unity Foundation & not to mention Non-profit organizations like HHSN... We are so blinded by the negativity that we can't see the positives...
The one woman said Snoop should be fired for using the term bitches and hoes so much, well what about his various charities and youth leagues sports and scholarships he gives out every year... These people do more good in the communities than anyone and everybody is pointing fingers nowbecause of what some Racist old fucker said, and got fired Imus is a multi millionaire who will be just fine his a$$ needs to stop running to sell out a$$ Al Sharpton ( Like he the fucking voice of black people) you call somebody a nigger go see Big Al he'll straighten it out LMAO... He bad as JJ rubbing Dr King blood on his shirt fake a$$ people always been around us we just gotta keep our eyes open... GYANT The verdicts not in on you yet my brotha whats it gone be???
I ain't ridng this Scapegoat I gotta get off before it start I suggest everybody else does the same...
DJ OKTOBA IM STILL CHILLING
Gyant I got your email homie I read everything clearly Trust me...
@ Parents of the New Generation
Don't let any culture raise your children thas you responsibility if Oprah had children then she may have a better understanding, did you see when the dude who looked like he was in Black face (Stanley Crouch) make the clown comment Kevin Liles got heated because that was extremly disrespectful... If parents are not working with these kids then nothing will ever change society sets double standards, but its up to the parents in our communities to teach their children right from wrong... OSmething Imus' nappy headed drnk slut park trailer trash a$$ mommy shuld taught him...
DJ OKTOBA I just left something out
"Regular Commenter and Friend"?? WTF!
Ok, I guess the rumors are true. Gyant and Oktoba are F'in each other! No homo, but that's homo. I don't support anyone who uses racism to say why others are racist. WNM in dis bitch, we ain't goin NOWHERE.
Now that I got that out the way, I still don't agree with your reasoning about why Imus should NOT have been fired. That guy had a long history of racist and sexist comments, this was the straw that broke the camel's back (like when you went brokeback on Oktoba). I don't see how the fuck a racist comment by an old white racist relates to Hip-hop?. Y'all fell into the media trap where they were simply looking to blame someone else than a "white radio talk show host" for what happened. It seems like the media blames hip hop for everything that's gone wrong recently. See VT "glock 9 is the preferred gun of hip-hop". I think it's bullshit that people all of a sudden decide we need to change hip-hop because of this.
No one will agree that there is nothing wrong with hip-hop, but change needs to happen through more outlets than just simply the rappers.
The WNM07 is ready to take on that challenge and we are prepared to minimize the use of the "N" word unless it is of the outmost importance. We will begin using the word "NINJA" in some of our writing and scripture from now on. What are you doing to help?
--MATT HERBZ--
I do it cause I luv it
WNM07! fuck the indian ninjas
@Dj Oktoba
A huge part of the problem is that an alaraming rate of teenagers have become parents. They themselves are not ready to be done being children. They still want to idolize and party like the people the see on t.v. In turn their kids immulate their parents behavior, and those are the values that stick with them. They are not taught anything else. There are programs that specialize in helping parents (i work at one) however you cannot force someone to do something they have no interest in doing.
I am not going to warn anyone, if I post a long entry. If you do not want to read, listen to the radio.
Before anyone tries to discredit any of the points I am saying by attempting to convey by saying, I do not know the streets. I would like to open by saying that I am Detroit born and raise. Twenty four years here, ten in the Herman Gardens Project. Its torn down now but when I was there, I was wild and in these streets from sunrise to sunrise.
This seems to all relate to intelligence and enlightenment. Not to say that you are not intelligent because you justify this madness, it is just to say that if you can think critically enough to come up with a good reason to call women b**ches and h**s all the time but can not see that you are a walking contradiction, you are mad. The most valid point condoning this madness came from DJ OKTOBA which I had a hard time finding fallacy with what he said. The fact still remains that their public disrespect is a disease to our culture. You see boys, too young to know what they really saying, reciting this poison and calling women B**ches. No they're not talking about you're mom, sister, aunt, or cousin at the time but they have planted the poison for them to be addressed that way by others. I have always considered myself a hip hop purists because, I was raised by teenage parents and I always heard eighties hip hop growing up. After hearing men who wear able to articulate and make money without those words, it baffles me as to why someone feels that it is a necessity in their lyrics.
I personally have ban alot of music that is ridiculously disrespectful. You know, I could even play that last track of Ruff Ryders Vol 1 in my car with my younger sister cause I respect them too much. You all know the lyrics that X spits on some X shit. Go play that in front of you're grandmother. If you do not feel it appropriate then why drive through you're neighborhood with it spewing out of your speakers for young girls and boys. I always love the Ruff Ryders, I even bought Vol 4 but after DMX had the song, "My baby mother be bugging" on his latest cd, I resolved that I can't support him anymore. I have stopped listening to alot of this madness out here. Never was a Fat Joe, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross,Clipse Ja Rule, Fifty cent, or "Killa" Cam fan. Because of them perpetuating ignorance, I can not bring myself to support people that have caused countless misguided young men to think its cool to destroy your community with drugs and violence. Hell, the drought 3 was some of the illest lyrics Ive heard in a long time and I will try not to support the Carter3. I refuse to believe that someone so talented, had to resort to profanity, when he had a successful career without it.
Now, lets talk about the public faces. Snoop said that people such as Russell Simmons was not a good person to speak on hip hop. That was ignorant mainly because he was one of the best to speak on it. He was one of the parties who nurtured hip hop and to now see it grow up to be a unproductive child, has to be frustrating for him. Oprah invited people who were articulate. I am in the hood, do you see how these dumb bastards of rap act "in the hood" when posed with a question they can't answer. Their first response is anger in agression. A gentlemen who did a documentary of hip hop on PBS confronted the Clipse and one of those idiots couldn't do anything but roll his eyes, As if he's tired of hearing it. That was so hilarious because I am tired of the clipse speaking of the many different ways they can flip a birdie. All these rappers that claim crack is amazing, if true, the drug market would be saturated. Oprah could not invite Jeezy, Pusha T, or Camron because they are inarticulate idiots, who would have reverted to threats and agression. When confronted about hip hop, Jeezy wanted to question where Nas was from etc and if he was really street. That was absolutely ridculous. Honestly, Jeezy or none of the street bums would have survived in my hood because you have to knuckle up tile about thirteen, thats when people start bringing guns into the picture. He would have been a victim til he got a gun and would probably get punked everytime he doesn't have it on him. They are a bunch of cowards and it amazes me that many of you do not see this. I do not respect them because if they claim to be talented, they could diversify content. When I was in undergrad, you should would be frustrated to know the image you idots perpetuate. I have a sociology and criminal Justice classes called Blacks in social institutions and Criminal Deviant Behavior. Academia thinks of the so called thugs as rebellious, scared little boys with daddy issues and most of you are hiding you homosexuality. That was a common theme throughout all the classes. Now, the argument was given that Imus should not have been fired, that is ridiculous to think. Yes he should have and I am pissed everytime I hear a reference to it. I do not side with the caucasians, I actually have a very intense inner hatred for them but that is my own issue I am dealing with. If you know people from my project in Detroit, I am DeAundre, ask about me. I got down in my time but luckily I was blessed with the intelligence to see the madness in all of this. The fact that many of you do not see the problem in this means that my people will be subjected to the garbage for many more years. Hip hop was a creation of immense potential that has been turned by the race who created to harm themselves. For this, I am so sad. Good luck to you all.
White people are laughing because they don't need slavery or share cropping anymore, hell just wait till the next mix tape comes out and there will be 200,000 more 13-25 year olds trying to reenact the lyrics that the rapper himself wouldn't even do.
They must love this.
They taught us to hate ourselves a few generations ago, and now its paying off for them. Hell, we even dedicate a whole music chanel to hating ourselves. Now they can all say theyre not racists because they don't have to openly do the job anymore, we are doing it gladly for them.
Where are all of these birds we are flipping ending up? Yeah, you got some fuxxing 24 inch rims, great for you retard, and someones mother is dead, lil sister is now on the street and a prostitute due to having no parents etc.
thats real cool.
in my hood, it never ceases to amaze me how hard and ruthless everyone is now. Everyone wear shades all day and night, no one speaks to each other and now an icy grill stare has replaced the word "hello". Then you have the lowlifes in wife beaters, pants down to their gotdam knees, that curse and smoke dope around my little kids that go outside the house to play.
Oh this is "keepin it thuggy" huh? Yeah this is a real great development and outcome from the music.
I hate this shyt
It is odd that this is featured on an Atlanta blog Gyant for the record i like most of you posts and i actually agree with both you and Oktoba but what i have to say is this problem became more prevalent when the south ATL in particular started blowing up. NOw before everyone start saying oh he a NY dude hating the south let me first explain the south has no substance that i have heard yet maybe the under ground but as far as whats coming my way all i hear is a punch of dumb shit / ignorant shit now the counter argument will be well look at Ny artists they talk about the same shit and in alot of cases i agree but there is a balance for every 50 cent or mobb deep or dmx etc there is a Mos Def a Talib Kweli a Q-tip a You feel me so there is a alot of positive too that is why NY is the Mecca of hip hop real talk! where as for every Great group or rapper with some substance Like Outkast or Scarface or Goodie Mob Chamillionaire there are 1000 Jeeezy's and yola's
I agree 150% with Detroits post its i ronic i actually live in Detroit now and the people here feel how i feel about hip hop
This is the one hundred million nigga meeting and things still are the same way, nothing change. hip hop is dead and Puffy killed it!!!! Niggas is going to be niggas until the end of time.
if rappers stop talking about drugs and violence will it stop??? hell no... people that live in these violent and drug infested neighborhoods will be the only ones talking about it, and they will not be heard, because hip hop is the only thing that we have a people to adress thses topics, and back in the 80's & 90's when people claim that the rappers were addressing these issues, these same people who are blaming hip hop didnt give a damn about our problems.
***************************************
@ Victor Newman: what the fuck are you talkin about???
The rappers people are crying out against aren't talking about the hood's problems, they're glorifying them. Rappers like lupé fiasco and common are TALKING about the hood's problems. Rappers like 50 cent, Jeezy, et al are GLORIFYING them like that's how it SHOULD be. Choose your words better.
And since when was the black community in the u.s. asking for help? "help" would come in the form of education and getting the drug dealers off the streets. But from what I see, ya'll got free public schools just like everyone else and just aren't going to class. And wanna complain about stupid shit like how "there's not enough books"...wtf???
And getting the drug dealers out would be a good look for ya'll too, but at the ame time ya'll got the "no snitching" mentality. How the hell is this asking for help? You can't help your damn selves. You had the right idea with the Black Panthers (they were running out drug dealers, trying to get the hood's mentality right), but as soon as the gov't shut them down, ya'll gave up and decided that 2Pac, Biggie, an jay-z would make better saviors. They don't owe ya'll nothing. they got out of the hood. The hood owes itself.
Now hood niggas are walking around trying to justify themselves and the way of life they ALLOW in their own neighborhood and TAKE PART in like they've been "forced" to do it.
What your problem is that the parents (black american parents) aren't parents. There's NO EXCUSE for a black child not to graduate high school (especially with how dumbed down our schools here in the U.S. are) and go to college (especially with all the sub-$2,000-s-semester colleges out there and FREE MONEY the government gives out EVERY SEMESTER (I get $1800 a semester Pell Grant).
Find me an excuse and I'll show you the easy and FREE solution.
All ya'll niggas that DID graduate high school (you should be proud), but still got excuses as to why you can't afford college, fill out a GOTDAMN FAFSA and get your free money.
Black Americans are all like little children. Why? Cuz ya'll are afraid to get your feelings hurt, so you do dumb shit just to fit in when you know it's wrong.
What excuse do ya'll have for the fact that chinese/hispanic/haitian/europeans come to this country and not speak a damn word of English can get their act together and by the 2nd American generation own property and be educated, but ya'll niggas (some of you are NIGGERS) have family that's been here since slavery but still renting, still uneducated, still broke ass blacks? Oh, my bad. It's the "white man" keeping you down. So the "white man" walked you away from the school and put the blunt in your hand. The "white man" bought you a gun and an ounce of cocaine.
One last question? Why can't ya'll figure out that if you can't afford to have a baby you should pull out or just use a condom? I mean...how smart do you have to be to figure that out...?
the thing is fuck imus the shit is over. racism isn't. it still exists and forever going to exist. getting beyond the what is eating at our community is the problem. why is it all the stuff that has hurt our race on the top of our record charts. do we really need to hear about what has kept us down. maybe I should make a song about a prostitute that makes a lot of money that is spreading hiv. that's no different than what the rappers who talk about selling dope do. I would love for some one to me what is so good about selling death to black people and bragging about it? if its the money, then I guess the destruction of our people has a price. young jeezy, love the beats and delivery but the "hard", to our people. I guess someone has to get stepped on.
Yo white nigga, I feel you dawg. Keep it real. Fuck all this change Hip-Hop shit. Let's switch it around, everytime they say let's change hip-hop you say let's change heavy metal.
We as a people need to change HEAVY METAL. For the betterment of all society, we must change Heavy Metal!
WE MUST CHANGE HEAVY METAL!!! WE MUST CHANGE HEAVY METAL!!!! WE MUST CHANGE HEAVY METAL!!!!
@ Bee
I agree it is hard for adults to raise children so its obviously difficullt for teen to raise children I agree... PS I seen you page you cute sister LOL...
@ S.W.A.T.S 73
Once we again homie we on the same page the responsibilities start with the parents and not BET
@ Matt Herbz
The Ninja thang is cool you ain't you still a fag with that little brokeback comment, I go hard everyday ad just how you making a chnge I won't beef with the white NINJA Movement ever...
@ Mumu
Thats the type of attitude and mentallity that as ignorant motherfuckers like KKKramer and Richards in the positions they're in...
@ Akeem
Hip hop and the music usuallty reflect where you are from "USUALLY" all these rappers ain't did what they are claiming we all know that, but one hing about the comment is that we don't always decide what get airplay most PD (Program Directors)across the country don't really like the type of music thats being put out andobviously the public doesn't either but with all the trash coming out its hard to filter out the Quality music very hard, bu the South has some very insightful and thoughtful young brothas who spit Real so for every D4L theres a Little Brother for every Young Joc there is a Bunch-A-Brains, or Dead Prez ( I know they from uptop but they from FAMU also) Go Rattlers and all the HBCU's that support Hip hop...
I trully think Hova said it best awhile ago...
"Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense/ I did 5 mill I ain't benn rapping like Common since..."
They dont want us to have the type of power as the Black leaders of the 70's but its just like crack they dont get involved into its in suburban Iowa or Elljay, GA or somewhere thats when its a National crisis...
DJ OKTOBA IM STILL CHILLING
@ Gyant thanks for keeping it real today you didn't have to do that and I appreciate that Bruh...
I'm out till Monday y'all have a good weekend and be safe keep your eyes open...
PS The 81 year old crack slanging Granny from Alabama is not that Rare Trust ME!!!
I've read a lot of the comments on this topic, some people expressed their opinions very well. BUT THE KEY WORD HERE IS OPINION. Every word that is used in Hip Hop is also used in a ton of movies. But the facts are you don't have to listen to an artist or watch a movie if you don't want to. For the people in this blog or the girls at spellman that are offended by the H word or the B word or the N word YOU CAN ALWAYS PURCHASE THE EDITED VERSION. Or you can choose not to listen period. The use of profanity can't be justified because it needs no justification. Why do movie writers include profanity in movie scripts? Because artists express and create in all types of ways good or bad. All of the profanity is edited on the radio and in videos so if you are listening to an unedited version of a HipHop song it's because you choose. If you are offended by it choose not to.
GO TO WALMART AND GET THE EDITED VERSION IF YOU'RE OFFENDED BY THE LANGUAGE USED IN SOME SONGS
WHITE FAGGOT MOVEMENT
WE HEAR!!!!!!!!!
WUZ UP MATT I KNOW YOUR A FAGGOT TOO!
I LOVE U E-THUGZ
ALL MY WHITE FAGGOTS STAND UP!!!!!
@SOHH GYANT
What's good homeboy! Ey man, can you holla at your bosses about that SOHH NYC blog, the faggish phony postin is gettin stupid. They even on there talking about underage pedophile type mess bruh.
SOHH Reckless is about as useless as a dirty tampon when it comes to being any kind of responsible grown up and doing what needs to be done about the mess. For real, it's out of hand and the activity that is being talked about really needs to be looked into.
Holla at me at "mrpeezy@yahoo.com" if you need to get at me for any reason about any of this mess.
@ Mumu
Thats the type of attitude and mentallity that as ignorant motherfuckers like KKKramer and Richards in the positions they're in...
Kramer and Richards is the same person you DWEEB. That's the problem with you so call educated niggas, you read two books now all of a sudden your a scholar. White people is going to always be in charge as long as they control :Religion, Goverment, and Schools. If you stop acting like niggas then people won't treat you like one!! Now go kill yourself
What EVERYONE keeps missing is this... THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!! If you dont like what a rapper says... turn off the TV/Radio. If eont want your kids listenting to it, BE A FUCKING PARENT!! Rappers are entertainers. They tell stories about their lives or the lives of others. When Ludacris goes home to his mother or sister, he doesnt walk in the kitchen and say.. what up HO!! His mother isnt beat boxing while she is making breakfast. These rappers live normal lives just like we do. It is a MAJOR double standard!! When Arnold Schwartzanagger shot all of those people in the movies he is looked at as an enterainer. No one prevented him being GOV stating that he is a bad role model for children by portraying so much violence. No one has put Quinton Terantino on blast for the violent movies he makes. I have yet to see Sylvester Stallone get blamed for the erroding of our society, but HIP HOP entertainers do. You know why??? Because it is mostly YOUNG BLACK MALES in the forefront. If HIP HOP was mostly white, they would be looked at as poets expressing themselves. They would be respected as ENTERTAINERS. Oprah is full of shit too!! She had the cast of Sopranos on her show and laughed and had a good time. She didnt attack them for glamorizing that mob lifestyle, but she attacked Ludacris!! Fuck Oprah. Open your eyes and realize there is a MASSIVE DOUBLE STANDARD and that rappers are the same as actors.
everybody, dissed nas for the "hip hop is dead" movement. Could he have been right, is he a profit?....you decide.
WHATEVER.
I would like to see Hip Hop answer the challenge all the rappers stop talking about violence and drugs and stop degrading women and just do nothing but positive songs and once that is done and all the problems still exist in the world then ask all of the people that were doing the criticizing NOW WHAT! Because you know all of the problems that exist in America were not caused by Hip Hop and is also not being glamorized by Hip Hop but is basically telling what is going on and we all know that the truth hurts and there are a lot of people in the world that can't handle the truth. Oprah will never understand because she is cluelesss to the fact as most of the people she has in her audience are as well. They know nothing about the hood and cannot relate to what goes on in the hood all they know is they want to hear nothing but positive things said well I am sorry there are a lot of negative things going on in the world. Everytime you turn on the news you hear about someone dying. I had to turn the news off one night because the 3 segments local news, weather and sports hell someone died in each of them and I was like damn. Oprah is filthy rich and has been for a long time so the shit we see and go through she can't relate as well as much of the other people that are doing the criticizing. It is what it is.
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The one woman said Snoop should be fired for using the term bitches and hoes so much, well what about his various charities and youth leagues sports and scholarships he gives out every year... These people do more good in the communities than anyone and everybody is pointing fingers nowbecause of what some Racist old fucker said, and got fired Imus is a multi millionaire who will be just fine his a$$ needs to stop running to sell out a$$ Al Sharpton ( Like he the fucking voice of black people) you call somebody a nigger go see Big Al he'll straighten it out LMAO... He bad as JJ rubbing Dr King blood on his shirt fake a$$ people always been around us we just gotta keep our eyes open... GYANT The verdicts not in on you yet my brotha whats it gone be???
I ain't ridng this Scapegoat I gotta get off before it start I suggest everybody else does the same...
DJ OKTOBA IM STILL CHILLING
Gyant I got your email homie I read everything clearly Trust me...
Posted by: DJ Oktoba 4 President at April 20, 2007 11:16 AM
I CO-SIGN this.
Speaking of Snoop I am hearing his name being dropped a lot. Don Imus took specific women and called them Nappy Headed Hoes so we actually know who he was talking about and the women he decided to label were youung girls attending college doing something psoitive with there life how dumb was that. If you are that dumb then hell you don't deserve a job. Snoop on the other hand throws the name out in the air and there is no faced attached to it and he is not speaking directly to anyone so who is he actually talking about can anyone tell me. So hell if he throw it out and you get offended then you must fit the bill. Just like if someone walked in the room and said I can't stand yo funky ass and there were not talking to me they just said it out loud and I get offended then my ass must be funky because if it isn't and he wasn't talking to me in the first place then why do I feel insulted. Face it there are hoes and bitches in the world and I am sure that is who Snoop is refering to and if you don't fit the bill then keep it moving.
Coming back to Snoop and all these other rappers the problem is that on the professional side (or carrer) they portray all this negativity which to me, whether it be entertainment or whatever is wrong, but nonetheless entertaining for some. In the outside some of them could be them most helping of individuals and that is one hell of a contradiction. It's kinda hard to defend yourself behind how much charity organizations you own when last week your video aired on MTV talking about how you gon kill this nigga, fuck that bitch and smoke that blunt. Basically as some ofyou have posted already and i dont care what anyone thinks (or rather think about it for a minute) HIP-HOP IS PART OF THE PROBLEM. Im not saying ban it, but that we should all work together to change it. There's always gonna be negativity and violence in it for we come from violent communities but that should be used to help others living outside these depraved communities feel our struggle and maybe eventually come out in the open and help. Rather today, it is glorified and niggas in need of parenting and that lacked proper education at home by THEIR PARENTS cannot make the difference. HIP-HOP IS ONE PROBLEM, PARENTING IS ANOTHER, EDUCATION A THIRD, VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND MOSTLY AMONGST OURSELVES IS YET ANOTHER AND THE LIST GOES ON.
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May's BLACK ENTERPRISE Reveals the Top Places to Live, Work, and Play
NEW YORK, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- BLACK ENTERPRISE (BE) today revealed its most recent list of top cities for African Americans as featured in its May 2007 issue. The top picks were culled from more than 2,000 interactive surveys completed on www.blackenterprise.com and by editorial staff evaluation. The editors weighed the following criteria as it pertained to African Americans in each city: median household income, percentage of households earning more than $100,000, percentage of businesses owned, percentage of college graduates, unemployment rates, home loan rejections, and homeownership rates.
Rounding out the 10 best cities for African Americans list is: No. 1 Washington, D.C. The No. 2 pick, Atlanta, GA, No. 3, Raleigh-Durham, NC No. 4, Houston, TX; No. 5, Nashville, TN; No. 6, Dallas, TX; No. 7, Charlotte, NC; No. 8, Indianapolis, IN; No. 9, Columbus, OH; and No. 10, Jacksonville, FL.
On this year's list, the No. 1 city for African Americans is the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, which includes parts of Northern Virginia and Maryland. Residents who enjoy living in our nation's capital and surrounding region cited the robust job market and top-notch cultural activities as grounds for their overall satisfaction. "The perception of the city has changed. There's a lot more business development," says D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. At $404,900, D.C. has the highest median home value of all the cities on BE's list. Other positive factors: D.C. has the lowest foreclosure rate (0.3%), property taxes, and sales tax (5.75%) among the top 10. Survey respondents are very dissatisfied with the quality of education, however, stating that the public schools are in desperate need of repair. Ironically, the D.C. metro area has the best-educated black population of the cities, boasting the highest percentage of high school and college graduates.
The No. 2 pick, Atlanta, GA, continues to impress. The city is home to 64,000 black-owned businesses and continues to offer extensive entrepreneurial opportunities. No. 3, Raleigh-Durham, NC, boasted a 3.4% rise in job growth, the highest employment statistic among the cities ranked. Rounding out the 10 best cities for African Americans list is: No. 4, Houston, TX; No. 5, Nashville, TN; No. 6, Dallas, TX; No. 7, Charlotte, NC; No. 8, Indianapolis, IN; No. 9, Columbus, OH; and No. 10, Jacksonville, FL.
BE's 2007 list revealed some major differences from its 2001 and 2004 lists. All three lists have five cities/regions in common: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, and the Washington, D.C. metro area. This year's list and the list from 2004 share Nashville, TN, and Columbus, OH. However, three cities from 2004 failed to make this year's ranking: Birmingham, AL; Baltimore, MD; and Memphis, TN. Birmingham's residents didn't give as strong a response as they had for the last list, and the residents of Baltimore and Memphis cited dissatisfaction with several key living standards.
Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Raleigh-Durham were newcomers in the 2007 ranking. For the third consecutive time, major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles didn't meet the criteria. Chicago and Philadelphia, which appeared on our 2001 list, failed to return. Residents of these urban hubs continue to be disenchanted with nagging social problems, including the high cost of living, rising crime rates, and substandard public schools.
Just as in 2004, the South continues to be the region of choice with representation from eight cities-two from North Carolina; two from Texas; one each from Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee; and the Washington, D.C., metro area. The career mobility, affordable housing, and overall quality of life found in Southern cities appeal to the black families that live and work there.
The May 2007 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE, complete with full profiles and key statistics for each city, is available on newsstands April 17.
BLACK ENTERPRISE, your ultimate guide to financial empowerment, is the premier business and investment resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers. The monthly publication provides 3.9 million readers with information on entrepreneurship, careers, and financial management. As the definitive source of information for and about African American business markets and leaders, BE is the authority for business news and trends.
Source: BLACK ENTERPRISE
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oprah is full of shit too!! She had the cast of Sopranos on her show and laughed and had a good time. She didnt attack them for glamorizing that mob lifestyle, but she attacked Ludacris!! Fuck Oprah. Open your eyes and realize there is a MASSIVE DOUBLE STANDARD and that rappers are the same as actors.
Posted by: HipHopExec at April 20, 2007 4:32 PM
everybody, dissed nas for the "hip hop is dead" movement. Could he have been right, is he a profit?....you decide.
Posted by: truht comes to light at April 20, 2007 4:43 PM
Once again I Co-Sign this
hip hop needs change? NO, u need to change! hip hop is who we are and its our image. You want ppl to c u in a different light, then clean up ur act. Dont clean up ur image first, thats not how it works. You clean up ur act and then ur image will follow. Everything that comes out of a rappers mouth is a result of our actions.
Rappers talk about this crap cause thats what sells. If ya'll didnt buy it and support positive hip hop then you wouldn't hear all this crap on the radio. These rappers rap what they see or what they hear about and ya'll go out and buy it! How come nobody bought lupe's album? He is a great lyricist that admittedly doesn't use the terms bitches, hoes and nigga. He even did a song that reflects what this discussion is all about, its called "hurt me soul". Check it out.
Some of you need to stop acting like ur stupid tho. You know damn well that when a rapper says "ho" he isn't talking about a respectful woman like Oprah but them hoes on Maury povich. Believe it or not there are HOES out there and after watching a show like maury how can u possibly not believe they earned the title?
Like i said, rappers rap what they see and there are hoes out there. Now if these women didnt carry themselves like hoes then ho wouldnt be such a popular term in rap.
As far as Imus goes I find it interesting that he didnt have to work too hard to get black ppl to turn against themselves and their culture
@ Detroit
Well, I’ll start off by saying even though I disagree with most of what you’re saying….I can see we have a lot in common. We’re the minority as far as the survivors of these malevolent streets and it’s important to understand that, because most brothers and sisters can’t cope or won’t survive the illness that these streets impose on us all, and that’s no coincidence…but that’s another topic. And the ones that get through are either: depressed, been through the system, hospitalized, and or traumatized. These people (including myself) that fall under the “traumatization” caused by these streets or the hood, grow up with imperfections and bad habits, otherwise a lot of us are fucked and don’t even know it or understand why and not only do you have your own people scrutinizing you for your imperfections, you have their white counterparts joining as well. No one likes to speak on that, especially the white liberals, conservatives and upper-class Blacks that are in opposition to Hip-Hop, which leads me into the discussion.
I think the vast majority of Hip-Hop supporters are not defending the right to say profane words such as Bitch, Ho, Nigga, etc…but are explaining its use. My generation is the inheritors of the profanity, the violence, drug use, misogyny, sexism, homophobia, poverty, bluntness, and at times destructiveness that white liberals, conservatives and upper-class Blacks are ashamed of and or in extreme opposition to. My generation did not create these circumstances; we are a byproduct of them. Your generation of Hip-Hop was undergoing the change of these circumstances and was amidst the influx of drugs, police brutality, destruction of the Black family, Aids, inept educational systems….now here we are! The offspring of the debacle of any serious Black leadership! The off-spring of Reaganomics! CIA drug conspiracies! These have molded the streets, our hoods! These are what these rappers have come to be.
To break it down, when the pimps & prostitutes, drug trade, gun violence, gambling and other forms of the underground facets of illegitimacy became normalized and “habitualized” by a generation, its most precious art forms and way of expressive and dignified speech & terminologies will reflect that, by even the most intelligent people! That’s what’s been happening to Hip-Hop, its been happening for a while now & add the manipulation and marketing by major record labels and the backing of significant corporations, as well as the negligence of the atrocious conditions of the hood…..you’ll have a recipe for what Rap music has become. In other words, the poisons you hear in these streets are now on these records, and with Hip-Hop becoming mainstream….the status quo is in opposition to it.
I think you have more of a moral criticism of Hip-Hop, which I understand. But the vicious cycle of the hood is what creates it, along with the industry. So everyone wants to get upset with Ho, Bitch & nigga….hmmm I wonder how many people in opposition to these words actually use them or treat women like Bitches and Hos (sexist/misogynist)? I guarantee that discussion won’t come up…and we’re the hypocrites? The overall discussion has become one-sided and wasn’t intended to address any real issues, by those that are leading the discussions.
I don’t have too many issues with rap, but one of them would be the over use of the words Ho & Bitch, because not every woman is a Ho or Bitch. I think most of us know not to use these words around our elders and children, because we know that they’re profane. Only people that are comfortable around their friends and peers use profanity amongst themselves, because it has become apart of their diction….with my generation our dictions and terminologies have crossed the lines and have become too widespread, and I think this is where Hip-Hop and other forms of entertainment are liable. To say that Hip-Hop is perpetuating ignorance or violence and should be censored is like saying movies like Paid in Full, Scarface, New jack City, Clockers, Belly, Empire, Carlito’s Way, Blow, Show Girls, Playas Club, etc….should be censored or banned. What’s the difference? You really think Rap music influences young Black males to sell drugs and destroy their communities? My father didn’t listen to Rap music….my friends that are in prison don’t blame Rap music for their incarceration.
I do agree with you on the Snoop Dogg statement, even though he does a lot for the community…he’s not the best role model and spokesperson for Hip-Hop on issues like these. As far as the Clipse and Jeezy responding in the manner that they responded to these scrutinizing questions, how do you think a man will act when constantly feeling animosity and opposition? My generation is quick to have the fuck you attitude because a lot of us feel that way, it can feel like the world is against you and you might not react in the most articulate or fashionable way, but you will react in a way to defend yourself or devalue those that oppose you. And lets try to make this discussion too personal, because ignorant statements will eventually be made, I’m sure you don’t know Jeezy personally & neither do I, so you can’t say what way he’ll react in any hood or in any circumstance.
But I think you’ll agree with me on this point. With the involvement of White America in this issue, as so-called “concerned Americans” dedicated to the end of misogyny in Rap music, it’s fairly suspicious and apparent that there are ulterior motives. It’s clear that Don Imus was the sacrificial lamb in this entire ordeal and now the forces have turned to Hip-Hop once again, seeking to further infiltrate and control it. Whenever white America involves itself with any Black cause, the cause always ends up manipulated and perceivably beneficial for whites and their degree of comfort. Historically what’s good for White America isn’t always good for Black America, with all these hidden agendas and ulterior motives. I’m watching closely what the next step will be, because it will not stop with just Hip-Hop.
@ Akeem
“i have to say is this problem became more prevalent when the south ATL in particular started blowing up.”
How retarded is that? In the times and discussions we’re having now. How does some shit like that come up? I guess you never heard of Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Jay Z, BIG, Nas???? I’ll refresh your memory…. “Oochie Wally”, “Girls, Girls”, “Tip Drill”, “Me & My Bitch”, “Is that Yo Bitch”, “Hoes”....etc
The lyrics pertaining to these subjects haven’t changed much, but they have become mainstream. None of the songs that I listed came from Atlanta. If you’re biased just say so, we all just gotta keep it real.
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Black Immigrant
I agree rappers like Lupe and Common are talking about the Hood’s problems in an effective way, I think the radio and other major entertainment mediums should play their songs a lot more. But rappers like 50 cent & Jeezy are talking about the Hood as well, from a different lense….not in a way advocating that it should be as it currently is, but in reality how it presently is. I’m not a Hip-Hop apologist, I’m not going defend some of these lyrics, but if I see an unfair criticism or comparison then I’ll point it out.
I don’t know what schools you’ve been to, or heard about…..but compare schools in the inner-city to those in more affluent communities and observe the differences in these educational institutions.
Getting drug dealers out of the hood? That sounds like more jails and Black criminals to me. How about stopping the drugs & guns from getting in the hood? We can stop people from getting into the United States but we can’t stop drugs and guns? You ever heard of the first drug wars, the Opium Wars (Chinese vs. British)? Understand what the influx of drugs and other malevolent vices do to a people, look it up and see for yourself how the British (whites) did to the Chinese and the effect that it had on these people and you will get a better understanding of how and why our communities have been suffering
This was an ignorant comment:
“You can't help your damn selves. You had the right idea with the Black Panthers (they were running out drug dealers, trying to get the hood's mentality right), but as soon as the gov't shut them down, ya'll gave up and decided that 2Pac, Biggie, an jay-z would make better saviors.”
Before anyone comments on the generation of the Black Panther party and today’s current generation, educate yourself on how the BPP was dismantled and kept so, and how the influx of drugs, Ronald Reagan, the CIA, unemployment and gentrification played a role in today’s current condition of the inner-city communities of America. You missed out on about 2 decades worth of events that affected the Back community, with that statement.
Aside from some of the ill-informed comments you made, you did bring up a lot of good points. Our communities don’t value education as much as we should, our parenting isn’t where it should be, and our mentality towards our communities and one another isn’t justifiable. Although America has played a significant role in our subjugation, we as a people have helped to oppress ourselves as well. I believe when discussing our communities and the issues that affect us, we need to be critical of all factors that have contributed to our conditions and be equally critical of them.
People are going way overboard with this "Hip Hop is to Blame" trend Hip Hop didn't start Playboy or Penthouse magazine, Hip Hop didn't mess up Iraq, shoot up Columbine or VA tech, Hip Hop didn't make all os those white men on MSNBC's To Catch A Predator go to those houses to have sex with underage boys & girls, Hip Hop does'nt tell white people to take meth, but they still do it, Hip Hop didn't make the Bush Administration corrupt or kill soldiers in Iraq. There's so much more worse content on the net than anything Hip Hop, why are'nt people trying to regulate the internet? There's a lot more wrong with America than Hip Hop, besides all of the negative press will just make Hip Hop even more popular in the long run so...
HIP HOP IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go ahead and boycott bitches who cares, you're still bitches!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nigga's unite. They trying to take away our right to be just as obnoxious as the white men or any man. Where all pigs. WE MUST REFORM HEAVY METAL MUSIC!!!!!WE MUST REFORM HEAVY METAL MUSIC!!!! You bitches is sick.Can't you see your trying to take our freedom away? WE MUST REFORM PORNOGRAPHY!!!! EVERYBODY NEEDS TYO FIND JESUS......THAT MUTHAFUCA OWES ME $20.
Commentator: "So what are you going to do for the Black community?"
Old Dirty Bastard: "Nothing."
-Classic
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National Organization of Women Against HipHop...WEBSITE COMING SOON...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All artists degrading, disrespecting and defacing women in their songs or videos will be BLACKLISTED AND BOYCOTTED.
Channels (TV RADIO CABLE) will be boycotted if they carry these artists and programs.
Record labels will be blacklisted also.
See what happened when advertisers boycotted CBS? They had no choice but to fire Don Imus.
Now we focus our attention on hiphop to make sure these "so-called" poets according to Russell Simmons, will not make any more money.
I am surprised that Russell Simmons did not denounce hiphop for calling women bitches and hoes. His Baby Phat and Phat Farm lines are purchased over 90% by women.
Shame on you Russell Simmons, Benjamin Chavis, Common and MR. Liles on Oprah Winfrey.
HIPHOP IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW......Go get fucked!
There will be a new website coming soon.Its called B.I.T.C.H.H. (Brothas Is Tired of Crazy Honkies and Heffers or Hos)
www.giveaniggaabreak.com
FIRST OF ALL WHY ARE WE JUMPING ON THE OL CRACKER BANDWAGON ACTING LIKE OUR FEELINGS HAVE BEEN ABUSED BCUZ SOME HILLBILLY CRACKER CALLED OUR SISTERS NAPPY HEADED HOES?? HAVE ANY OF YOU EVER LISTENED TO DON IMUS BEFORE THIS??? HE SAID SHIT 10X WORSE THAN NAPPY HEADED HOES FOR DECADES BUT NO ONE EVER SAID SHIT?? WHAT ABOUT HOWARD STERN?? HE BEEN KEEPING IT FUNKY SHITTING ON THE NEGROES FOR DECADES WITH HIS "MAMMY" ROBIN BY HIS SIDE SHUCKING AND JIVING AT ANY AND EVERYTHING VILE STATEMENT THAT SPILLED OUTTA HIS MOUTH??? WHY HASNT ANYONE STEPPED TO HOMIE AND KEPT IT REAL?? WHO HAS OUR BEST INTEREST AT HAND WHEN IT COMES TO DEFENDING OUR CULTURE?? OUR IMAGE?? OUR MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS?? AL SHARPTON AND JESSY JACKSON?? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS A NIGGA WITH A PERM?? WHERES THE LEADERS?? ALL THE CONSCIOUS BLACK POWER RAPPERS WHO BEEN TRYING TO GET THEIR VOICE HEARD FOR YEARS WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?? AND IM NOT TALKING ABOUT KANYE SWEET ASS , WHERES THE SOLDIERS?? WHO HAS THE BALLS TO MAN UP AND ADRESS THE ILLS OF THE BLACK RACE?? LETS BE HONEST WE ARE IN WORST SHAPE THEN WE WERE PRE REAGAN -FUCK THE MATERIAL WEALTH WE'VE ACCUMULATED AND THE ILLUSION OF POLITICAL POWER THEYVE ALLOWED YOU TO BELIEVE YOU HAVE..WE ARE IN TERRIBLE SHAPE WE HAVENT LIFTED OURSELVES OUTTA THE PURGURTORY WEVE BEEN PLACED IN..THE MUSIC IS DEAD WE LIVE IN A DEAD POETS SOCIETY LIFE IMITATES ART THESE DAYS..THESE CRACKERS ARE PREPARING TO POLICE, CENSOR AND CRIMINALIZE YOU ASSHOLES WHILE YOU MAKE IT RAIN, MOVE YOUR WEIGHT , GET YOUR GWOP, POP YOUR COLLAR AND ALL THAT OTHER ADOLESCENT SHIT WE ARE PROMOTIN'..WE NEED TO POLICE OURSELVES WE NEED TO STOP SELLING POISON TO EACH OTHER AND GLORIFY THE DEATH CULTURE WE STUCK IN..WHERES THE BALANCE?? YEAH I LIKE LIL WAYNE JIM JONES AND ALL THE DOPE BOYS OUT THERE BUT WHERES THE BALANCE, STUDY YOUR FUCKING IDOL 2PAC HE HAD BALANCE THAT WAS THE BLUEPRINT FOR US BUT WE SHITTED ON HIS BLUEPRINT..IM WASHING MY HANDS OF IGNORANT MUTHERFUCKERS FROM THIS DAY ON WHETHER THEY BE OLD COUNTRY CRACKERS LIKE DON IMUS OUR UNCLE TOM FEDERAL AGENTS LIKE AL SHARPTON OUR RAPPPERS STUCK IN THE EIGHTIES THINKIN THEY COCIANE COWBOYS ITS ALL POISONOUS-WE NEED A REMEDY-QUICKLY ..GRAB YOUR NUTS ADDRESS OUR ISSUES SNAP OUT THE FUCKIN SPELL AND START CLEANING UP THE FUCKING BACKYARD NEGROES WE LOSING THE RACE MISRABLY!! BLACKKLOWDRECORDS/MYSPACE LOG ON
Seriously,
I hope that this attack on our freedom of speech doesn't spill out into the streets. People need to think real hard about what this means and what it could lead to.
Why can Hugh heffner live in a big ass mansion with a bunch of hoes but a nigga can't say it in a rap. Why can Clint Eastwood walk into a town shoot three muthafuca and rape a women(high plains drifter) and a nigga can't curse in a song. This is all I'm trippin on. The shit aint right and it seems like these crackers is settin us up to try to take away our freedom of speech.
Getting drug dealers out of the hood? That sounds like more jails and Black criminals to me. How about stopping the drugs & guns from getting in the hood? We can stop people from getting into the United States but we can’t stop drugs and guns?
****************************************
That's your problem right there. You want "someone" to stop the drugs and guns from getting into the U.S. But again, nobody cares about you but you! Everyone knows this! It's not up to anyone to get the drugs and guns from coming in the u.s. They can't stop it b/c we also can't stop PEOPLE from coming in. So that statement was wrong. It's up to that one black dude not to buy the drugs, distro it and have it sold into the hood. You mean to tell me somebody is out there giving out free crack? No. SOMEBODY has to buy it and resell it. That somebody has to be stopped. Not by the gov't. By the people who he/she is oppressing, a.k.a the hood.
I dont understand how a negro could put a cap in someone for something frivolous like a stepped on shoe or a verbal insult, but nobody is man enough to stand up to the man who's poisoning your own people.
And yes, I have been in inner city schools (my parents came here dirt poor remember?) Could it be that they would be run better if parents taught their kids to shut their mouths and listen when an adult speaks? What I saw was a bunch of frustrated staff members b/c they were too busy having to POLICE the kids that were in school instead of TEACHING them.
Oprah said it best "why keep gving charity to people who don't care or want it?" How many inner city "save the poor nigger children" charities/campaigns are gonna have to be brought up before ya'll start appreciating?
It's seriously embarrassing to people who are educated but unfortunately are criticized/pre-judged b/c we share the same skin color as these people. You sound like you're very educated. Dont act like you're not embarrassed by your own people's ignorance sometimes.
Afro Americans get mad, but that's exactly why black immigrants are so quick to point out their nationality and denounce being afro american.
Black solidarity is a self imposed myth that stems from a much older myth,that is that we are all the same. Another part of the myth is that we can some how come together and solve ore problems. The only true solidarity is our humanity. Until we let go of the myth of race we will continue to hate ourselves and be frustrated. "We as black people" is used a lot. Actually it's the same as saying "us niggers". The truth is some people are going to get high, some women are going to sell their bodies and the list goes on and on. This is not a "black" problem, it is something that all humans do. Individuals, free and human. There are no white people or black people. We should all be outraged that we have been tricked into believeing in race. What good has it done? How real is it?
Ok,
I take some of that back. I just watched about five minutes of "Soul Plane" and now I believe that niggers really do exist.
First off, does O own this site. too? Hip Hop is NOT in need of ANY CHANGES that will limit what an artist can say. It's called FREEDOM OF SPEECH (I wouldn't expect an immigrant to fully grasp this concept). It's funny because I actually know of a few hoes AND some bitches, but that's because they really are hoes and bitches! The real issue is not what rappers are saying; it is the fact that the media blew the REAL issue here. Imus should not have been fired. Yes, his comments were tasteless and corny, but that's what the guy does. I didn't take him seriously- and I'm a black man. Instead of demanding apologies and firings, we had an opportunity to truly discuss these issues but it's gone now amidst all the finger-pointing and scapegoating. I can take a good black joke, even a corny one sometimes (Mencia). People need to stop being so sensitive to bull----.
I can't say I didn't see this coming, though (KKKramer). Coroporate America is funny that way. Only the media could turn a bad joke by an old, rusty, white man into a childish "Well look, they're sayin it too!" type of deal. Totally lame and I don't buy it.
I DO agree that hip-hop is not at it's finest point, though. This is due to the lack of creativity by the artists. But really, I haven't seen a rapper get on the stage and openly worship Satan, bite off the heads of small animals, snort lines in front of the crowd, etc. It just seems a little funny, really. So just to get this straight, Supahead is NOT a hoe, right? She's a respectable woman, huh? Even though I got a flick with her provin her namesake. HER NAME IS SUPAHEAD, BUT SHE'S NOT A HOE?!, wow. Only O could work that magic. Here's a question, would it be better if rappers said, "I'm bout to check that promiscuous chick, starin' in the back of the club..." or "this woman with a bad attitude is outta control..." Ya see that probably wouldn't be such a tall task if the education in this country were somewhat equal throughout rich and poor neiborhoods. It's not an excuse: The more education you have, the more vocabulary you can tap into.
Think for yourself, people.
@ Figga
Boycott?
Peep this:
Gerald Levin, CEO and Director of AOL Time Warner
Robert Iger CEO of Walt Disney Company
Edward Bronfman, Sr., Chairman of Seagram Company … His group just acquired Warner Music led by media mogul Edgar Bronfman, Jr. for $2.6 billion, in a move to trim the media group’s debts and signaling a return of the former Seagram chairman to the music business.
Edward Bronfman, Jr., President and CEO of Seagram Company Ltd. and head of Universal Studios
Summer Redstone, Chairman and CEO of Viacom, Inc.
Peter Chernin, President and CO-CEO of News Corporation, Limited
Dennis Dammerman, Vice-Chairman of General Electric
The above seven men collectively control ABC, NBC, CBS, the Turner Broadcasting System, CNN, MTV, Universal Studios, MCA Records, Geffen Records, DGC Records, GRP Records, Rising Tide Records, Curb/Universal Records, and Interscope Records
Where do you want to start boycotting?
Not to be childish but; "Factoid" shut the fuck up you stupid ho bitch.
I would mind snorting a few lines right about now. But anyway, I say we start by boycotting air then work our way up.
Yo Brad how do you know all these CEO names? Who the fuck are you, Bellzabub?
And Black Immigrant, do us Afro-Americans a favor and don't point your finger but put some fucking deoderant on. A little lotion wouldn't hurt either.
@ Black Immigrant
Once again you bring up some good points, I appreciate the honesty. You’re right nobody gives a fuck about us! We all know that, but the problem is that a lot of us need others to give a fuck about us. Some of my brothers and sisters are stuck and need that helping hand.
“It's not up to anyone to get the drugs and guns from coming in the u.s. They can't stop it b/c we also can't stop PEOPLE from coming in.”
That’s crazy! What do you think the Coast Guard is for? What do you think customs is for? DEA? FBI? Police? These are supposed to be the agencies designed from keeping the poison from coming in. They do a pretty good job with the suburban communities compared to our communities, don’t they?
“You mean to tell me somebody is out there giving out free crack? No. SOMEBODY has to buy it and resell it.”
Once again, do your research homie. I have no reason to lie! Look up the CIA crack/cocaine conspiracy and see for yourself. The same methods used to bring drugs and guns into our communities have also been used throughout the African Diaspora (Black people throughout the world)….yes in Africa, Brazil, the United States, Jamaica, etc… This isn’t a coincidence. Don’t just take my word for it, look it up yourself. You combine these factors with poverty, lack of resources, unemployment & you’ll end up with rampant drug use, mass incarceration, prostitution and senseless violence. That has been the plight of the Black race…like I said look it up!
“I dont understand how a negro could put a cap in someone for something frivolous like a stepped on shoe or a verbal insult, but nobody is man enough to stand up to the man who's poisoning your own people.”
This is part of the traumatizing effect of the ghetto, the fragile egos of the Black man. The Oedipus complexes, the adolescent mentality, so on & so on. I struggle with this bullshit too; although the hood teaches valuable lessons and makes you stronger it also can poison your mind.
“I have been in inner city schools (my parents came here dirt poor remember?) Could it be that they would be run better if parents taught their kids to shut their mouths and listen when an adult speaks? What I saw was a bunch of frustrated staff members b/c they were too busy having to POLICE the kids that were in school instead of TEACHING them.”
Well I’ve been in inner-city schools all of my life and I’ve also went to schools that are in affluent neighborhoods too, so this isn’t speculation, it’s an observation. Better schools: better resources, better facilities, better curriculum, etc… Remember while we’re blaming the parents for their bad parenting, the kids are the ones that suffer. They bring their baggage to school, to these educational institutions that are ran like prisons, resource poor, watered down curriculum, etc… Shit, there’s enough blame for everyone!
“It's seriously embarrassing to people who are educated but unfortunately are criticized/pre-judged b/c we share the same skin color as these people.”
This is where we definitely don’t see eye to eye, what kind of statement is that? This is way of thinking is shared by those that are leading the attacks against Hip-Hop. They’re “embarrassed” in front of their white counterparts and based off of this “embarrassment” seek to “change” it, not the betterment of the hood, not the betterment of the educational system, not the drug trade, not the gun violence, not police brutality, not Hurricane Katrina victims, not Haitian immigrants, none of the issues that effect our people and are relevant to our struggles. They wish to fully assimilate and live that “American Dream”. If that’s how you get down, then by all means do you. I just know I’m dedicated to the struggles of my peoples no matter what anyone else thinks! This “I got mines” way of thinking is also what has kept the hood in shambles; it perpetuates the desolation of the Black communities. I’m getting “mines”, but I’m going to help my brothers get “theirs” too, so we can have “ours”! The ideal of communalism has been depraved in the Black psyche as we have been reconditioned to accept the capitalistic ways of America and are stuck on the idealism of individuality.
And by the way, Fuck Oprah! Don’t get me started on her.
You niggas still up too huh?
@ Sin
The purpose of me listing all of those CEOs was to show Figga & anyone else who thinks boycotting these Record Labels is effective or will help their cause, whatever that may be, that these record labels are backed by these major companies.
Because what people don't know is that the Major corporations that own Universal, Sony, Interscope, Geffen, MCA, MTV and other big record labels & entertainment mediums...are the likes of NBC & CBS and other major companies. Don't believe me? Look it up.
More Examples:
NBC Universal owns:
-NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, Sci Fi Channel, Trio, USA Network, Polygram, MCA, Interscope, Geffen, Motown music
-Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studio Florida, Islands of Adventure, City Walk, Wet N' Wild
Viacom Owns:
-Paramount, CBS, UPN, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, Spike TV, CMT, Comedy Central, Showtime
Where do you start boycotting? Will it be effective? The same people that support the record labels that you so adamantly oppose own virtually every media outlet in the world!
1st of all, to me (don't get all bent out of shape, I said it's my opinion) but I don't see it as a "racist" issue until you begin to include the media blaming RAP music. Not Hip-hop. Rap.
Don Imus shouldn't have called a team of women, college women at that, who've worked hard, played hard, practiced hard, and most importantly studied hard (to get to Rutgers in the first place) to get to where they are, nappy headed hoes. He's an adult, he's capable of making his own decisions and he should have known that this is one thing that should not have been said. You may be able to get away with much, but contrary to what many believe, there IS a limit on what you can and can't say. Your freedom of speech can only go so far until there's a problem. Not taking anyone's side, but there is truth to what Imus said about that term being created in the black community. Think about yourself. . .have you ever thought or called a woman (of any ethnicity) a nappy headed ho or either of the two? More than likely or you've at least heard the term before. So, don't act like it's something you've never heard before. There's MUCH contradiction among this issue, such as Snoop Dogg speaking on this issue. I'm black. I like rap. I RAP MY DAMN SELF, BUT FUCK SNOOP DOGG, AND I LIKE HIS FUCKIN' MUSIC!!! HOW CAN HE COMMENT ON THIS ISSUE, WHEN HE OPENLY COMMENTS ON HIM TAKING UP BEING A PIMP ONCE? ONE OF THE CHICKS HE COMMONLY REFERS TO AS A BITCH OR WHORE IN HIS MUSIC OR IN CONVERSATIONS, MORE THAN LIKELY WAS A HARD WORKING COLLEGE STUDENT HERSELF! FUCK HIM. . .as far as him commenting on this subject. No homo, lol. Back to the issue. . .
It doesn't become a racist issue, until you involve Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton running to the Rutgers College and playing "Black Ambassador" and pointing out the fact that they were all black. They made this out to be a racist issue. The reason CBS and everyone else dropped this issue, was that they knew they were going to come to the rescue of these black college students and cause an uproar. But what they've really done was bring this major contradiction among the American culture (why must I refer to myself as "African" American. . .) where many men and women alike refer to other women as nappy headed or whores, bitches, sluts, whatever they choose. Shit, I've never seen them, but they might HAVE had some nappy ass hair. Who knows?! But, Imus should have kept his mouth closed.
Point being:
QUIT LETTING JESSIE JACKSON AND AL SHARPTON BOOST YOUR FUCKING HEAD UP, AND MAKING EVERY FUCKING THING INVOLVING BLACK PEOPLE A RACIST ISSUE.
Imus might've done this (knowning it would cause an uproar) to end his contract with CBS and go to Satellite radio (just as Howard Stern did) and make double or more the money he was getting on regular fucking TV and/or radio.
Rappers (not all) constantly talk bad about women in their songs and get away with it. You can't blame RAP for THIS problem, but it could be related to the issue. You shouldn't disrespect women or anyone at all, period, whether it's so-called poetry or not. That has nothing to do with disrespecting someone. If a chick broke your heart by cheating on you or you found out she's a prostitute or something, she's just that. That's it. No bitch. No whore.
But let's bring about another issue. . .what is a bitch or whore?
A bitch is a female dog. Why is it so fucking bad to call a woman, who at the same time will call a man a "dog", a bitch? A bitch is a female dog. The only reason this is a problem is because 1) there isn't a word for a male dog besides "dog" and 2) society deems it a bad word. What's so fucking bad about it? Explain that issue to me. But at the same time, if over half the population of the world thinks it's bad and shouldn't be sad, DON'T FUCKING SAY IT.
Imus is wrong.
Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Calvin Broadus, and Russell Simmons is wrong.
Just as well as the rappers that have a problem with this and the words are a part of their vocabulary. I have reason to believe Snoop calls or has called a woman a nappy headed hoe before.
To get back on the subject, this is not a racist issue.
Im