Has Hiphop done more to harm the Black community than good?
- Thread starter malikom
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Tony Soprano
Moderator
Creativity killed hip-hop, because nowadays everybody’s scared to be creative. Also, the record executives who bank-roll these acts feel as if they can pay someone to look like a fool for their own amusement.
They don’t want to see an act that is edifying or slightly talented, they want something that they see as “urban”, “sexy”, or “violent”, but in all actuality they want to see someone portrayed as ignorant.
These record executives (or “suits” as I like to call them) always want to convince themselves to do something different, but they have no idea how to do it.
They can't enslave us by putting shackles on us anymore, so they figure they can throw a ridiculous amount of money at us and turn us into some new-age court-jester.
Sometimes I don't think they even care if they don't get a return on their investment. If the return is one of us acting like buffoons or some glorified hoodlum then that’s a-okay to them.
That's who you should blame; the record execs are the guilty parties.
They don’t want to see an act that is edifying or slightly talented, they want something that they see as “urban”, “sexy”, or “violent”, but in all actuality they want to see someone portrayed as ignorant.
These record executives (or “suits” as I like to call them) always want to convince themselves to do something different, but they have no idea how to do it.
They can't enslave us by putting shackles on us anymore, so they figure they can throw a ridiculous amount of money at us and turn us into some new-age court-jester.
Sometimes I don't think they even care if they don't get a return on their investment. If the return is one of us acting like buffoons or some glorified hoodlum then that’s a-okay to them.
That's who you should blame; the record execs are the guilty parties.
karmacoma.
Well-Known Member
Tony Soprano said:
I guess the coons who take their money and make minstrel show CDs and TV programs are blameless.
Tony Soprano
Moderator
Oh no, I never said they were blameless. I said that "the suits" deserve the bulk of the blame. Some people are comfortable with losing their soul when they think they are gaining the whole world.karmacoma. said:
I do believe that things will eventually get better one day, it will just take someone with an extremely rebellious style of music that is socially conscious at the same time.
TheChosenOne
Well-Known Member
I don't think hip-hop..in and of itself has damaged the black community. There is no cause and effect here.
The rise of poverty, drug addiction, incarceration, miseducation etc. was beginning to happen before hip-hop even hit the scene. The difference between hip-hop back in the day and hip-hop now is that when I was a small child....rappers rapped about what was going on in the hood the way a quality journalist reports a story; there was no bias...they just told the story as it was happening. Young men being killed in the streets by other young men (and cops, sometimes) is a narrative that doesn't need to be overly dramatized....the story reeks of drama.
12-13 years ago...hip-hop changed....the generation of top flight rap artists that had struggled to make a name for themselves had risen to the top. Instead of rapping about "Brenda's Got a Baby" or how they've got us "Trapped"....the rappers rapped about the good life living in "California"...where their wealth and fame induced women to get on their knees and beg for "One More Chance."
The elder statesmen of hip-hop nowadays...(ex..Jay-Z)....own sports franchises and their own lines of clothes and liquor. The new generation, instead of rapping about the hood they've grown up in....rap about how they too can live the fast life and make the quick buck....while having sex with as many women as possible on the way to cashing in on their lyrics. Hip-hop's vulgarity as increased but it is arguably far less gritty in attacking prejudice, stereotypes, poverty etc.
The hip-hop artists today think that rapping about beating up another rapper is "edgy"....but it's actually...to use a Southern term....a "yellow-belly's" way out of telling the truth.
Any problems in the black community....would have existed with or without rap...the difference is that hip-hop from twenty years ago...had no problem putting a spotlight on those problems and indirectly attempting to solve the issues. Hip hop in today's world...merely seeks to gloss over the hardcore truth...and paint an unrealistic picture....a picture that says....ignore school, books and honest work....just do whatever you can to make money so that you can show it off...because your worth as a man is not measured by your character and integrity but by the number of carats on your neck or the price tag of your new set of rims.
The rise of poverty, drug addiction, incarceration, miseducation etc. was beginning to happen before hip-hop even hit the scene. The difference between hip-hop back in the day and hip-hop now is that when I was a small child....rappers rapped about what was going on in the hood the way a quality journalist reports a story; there was no bias...they just told the story as it was happening. Young men being killed in the streets by other young men (and cops, sometimes) is a narrative that doesn't need to be overly dramatized....the story reeks of drama.
12-13 years ago...hip-hop changed....the generation of top flight rap artists that had struggled to make a name for themselves had risen to the top. Instead of rapping about "Brenda's Got a Baby" or how they've got us "Trapped"....the rappers rapped about the good life living in "California"...where their wealth and fame induced women to get on their knees and beg for "One More Chance."
The elder statesmen of hip-hop nowadays...(ex..Jay-Z)....own sports franchises and their own lines of clothes and liquor. The new generation, instead of rapping about the hood they've grown up in....rap about how they too can live the fast life and make the quick buck....while having sex with as many women as possible on the way to cashing in on their lyrics. Hip-hop's vulgarity as increased but it is arguably far less gritty in attacking prejudice, stereotypes, poverty etc.
The hip-hop artists today think that rapping about beating up another rapper is "edgy"....but it's actually...to use a Southern term....a "yellow-belly's" way out of telling the truth.
Any problems in the black community....would have existed with or without rap...the difference is that hip-hop from twenty years ago...had no problem putting a spotlight on those problems and indirectly attempting to solve the issues. Hip hop in today's world...merely seeks to gloss over the hardcore truth...and paint an unrealistic picture....a picture that says....ignore school, books and honest work....just do whatever you can to make money so that you can show it off...because your worth as a man is not measured by your character and integrity but by the number of carats on your neck or the price tag of your new set of rims.
jellybird
New Member
I dont think hip-hop has changed or harmed the black community any more now than it did 20 years ago. Its no different than any other form of entertainment.
You have your good (old ice cube) and your bad (master p). You have your conscious (common) and your ignorant (soulja boy) and then there are those who "dance the dance" and just record songs that reflect their feelings at the time (jay-z from "money, cash, hoes" to "you must love me.")
I dont think we should be any more critical of "black entertainment" than we are of other forms of entertainment ("white" movies that range from 'harold and kumar" to "the lake house.")
Its when people take entertainment and the word of entertainers and dont separate it from reality (rappers dont "keep it ghetto" and stay in the hood, they make $ and get the f*uck out like any smart person) that we get this problem of increasing ignorance.
If the kids are ignorant...then the parents are not doing their job. If the adults are ingorant...then they deserve what ever they get.
You have your good (old ice cube) and your bad (master p). You have your conscious (common) and your ignorant (soulja boy) and then there are those who "dance the dance" and just record songs that reflect their feelings at the time (jay-z from "money, cash, hoes" to "you must love me.")
I dont think we should be any more critical of "black entertainment" than we are of other forms of entertainment ("white" movies that range from 'harold and kumar" to "the lake house.")
Its when people take entertainment and the word of entertainers and dont separate it from reality (rappers dont "keep it ghetto" and stay in the hood, they make $ and get the f*uck out like any smart person) that we get this problem of increasing ignorance.
If the kids are ignorant...then the parents are not doing their job. If the adults are ingorant...then they deserve what ever they get.
Sneakeedyck
New Member
I feel hiphop has harmed black america , but it also have helped as well.
Giving black youths something to shoot for. Seeing Jay-Z achieve what he has. I wish it would go away from gangsta rap and more Lupe's and Little brother"s
Giving black youths something to shoot for. Seeing Jay-Z achieve what he has. I wish it would go away from gangsta rap and more Lupe's and Little brother"s
Malik True
New Member
If you are relieving parents of their responsibility sure hip hop has ruined the community.
Not to change the course of the thread I actually found it more interesting that karmacoma used the word coon on an IR website. So that I understand, you post here because you're interested in WW but throw the word coon around, got it! :roll:
It would be real interesting to read the hate filled whore calling comments from the black men on here if one of the WW stated
"It's niggas like DMX who take money from the community but can't keep his punk ass from getting in trouble"
Just my .02 and some Lemons Heads
Not to change the course of the thread I actually found it more interesting that karmacoma used the word coon on an IR website. So that I understand, you post here because you're interested in WW but throw the word coon around, got it! :roll:
It would be real interesting to read the hate filled whore calling comments from the black men on here if one of the WW stated
"It's niggas like DMX who take money from the community but can't keep his punk ass from getting in trouble"
Just my .02 and some Lemons Heads
Moskvichka
New Member
DMX? Is that the rapper whose interview was quoted in the News section of the forum, who doesn't know who Barack Obama is?Malik True said:
pettyofficerj
New Member
Sneakeedyck said:
you know this guy used to be a drug dealer, right?
yeah, he's successful now..but i wonder how many people, in his community, he helped to string out on some drug.
karmacoma.
Well-Known Member
Malik True said:
You can roll your eyes all you want. It's funny how black people are the first to scream "keep it real" then cry like a bitch when somebody does. Coon is as coon does. The issue at hand is whether you co-sign with their behavior. I don't.
Back to topic.
GrecoJones84
Active Member
pettyofficerj said:
Lupe used to be a drug dealer? I find that hard to believe
Be-you-tiful86
Well-Known Member
Moskvichka said:
Yea thats him. DMX aka Dark Man X aka Earl Simmons
karmacoma.
Well-Known Member
GrecoJones84 said:pettyofficerj said:
Lupe used to be a drug dealer? I find that hard to believe
All rappers say they used to be drug dealers for their image.
Soulthinker
Well-Known Member
The rap music that degrades is harmful to the community.
Othello1967
Active Member
Has hip hop done more harm to Black community than good?
It shouldn`t matter if the community just sees hip hop as a group of guys and gals trying to make a living the best way it could. It beats being a drug dealer, etc. As far as I am concerned the rappers may represent just a portion of the black community but not the entire community and certainly not me. Martin Scorcese and Robert DeNiro made money portraying Italians as criminals but does anyone seriously believe all Italian Americans belong to the Mafia?
It shouldn`t matter if the community just sees hip hop as a group of guys and gals trying to make a living the best way it could. It beats being a drug dealer, etc. As far as I am concerned the rappers may represent just a portion of the black community but not the entire community and certainly not me. Martin Scorcese and Robert DeNiro made money portraying Italians as criminals but does anyone seriously believe all Italian Americans belong to the Mafia?
karmacoma.
Well-Known Member
Re: Has hip hop done more harm to Black community than good?
That's crap. This isn't the old days where blacks couldn't go to school, get jobs, etc. People have options now. The old "if it wasn't for rap/NFL/NBA I'd be robbing you right now" excuse is tired.
Good point but African-Americans are the only group in America who are judged by our worst rather than our best. That we're even talking about this as a Black man seeks the highest office in the land is ironic and laughable.
Othello1967 said:
That's crap. This isn't the old days where blacks couldn't go to school, get jobs, etc. People have options now. The old "if it wasn't for rap/NFL/NBA I'd be robbing you right now" excuse is tired.
Othello1967 said:
Good point but African-Americans are the only group in America who are judged by our worst rather than our best. That we're even talking about this as a Black man seeks the highest office in the land is ironic and laughable.
pettyofficerj
New Member
Re: Has hip hop done more harm to Black community than good?
eh..for some guys, it's not about finding a suitable alternative at making a living..
it's about making a lot of money..
lots of people have options, but which options pan out as much cash as dealing drugs, playing pro ball, or dropping a record?
karmacoma. said:
eh..for some guys, it's not about finding a suitable alternative at making a living..
it's about making a lot of money..
lots of people have options, but which options pan out as much cash as dealing drugs, playing pro ball, or dropping a record?
pettyofficerj
New Member
karmacoma. said:GrecoJones84 said:pettyofficerj said:
Lupe used to be a drug dealer? I find that hard to believe
All rappers say they used to be drug dealers for their image.
jigga was a dealer..
as for 50..his bullet wounds should be all the proof he needs..
no one blazes a guy 8 or 9 times over a bag of skittles...
not in philly anyway
lol..