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  • » Name: Amanda Bassa
  • » Location: VA
  • » Member Since: 09/21/07
  • » Bio: student, future change maker, and everything you wouldn't expect me to be.
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The Undisputed Truth

Hip Hop Did It Again (Pt. 2)


November 30, 2007 | Tags: none

Yesterday was a good day for the DX blog comments. As A.H.L.O.T. pointed out over in her blog* - for once in a very long time, people’s blogs weren’t getting flooded with bullshit responses or myspace plugs. It was nice to see. The products of this glorious day for the comments were well thought out responses that respectfully agreed or disagreed with the point presented. And that’s highly appreciated - because when people disagree with me in ways I can actually understand (rather than going “ayo Amanda you crazy as shit for thinkin’ that nonsense man who gives a fuck about this, peace to [insert neighborhood / gang here] and check out [insert website]”), I get some food for thought from you, and you end up expanding my mind and thought process. For that, I thank you. This blog is going to be long, I’m warning you. But I promise you a thorough presentation of specific examples of why I think the way I think about these things. And this is what some of you asked for. So…here you go.

Now it’s my turn to disagree and address some of that insight that was put in front of me yesterday. If you need a re-up you can find it at http://www.hiphopdx.com/blogs/ambassador/2007/11/29/hip-hop-did-it-again.html

A commenter by the name of People Please brought up some good arguments. Why am I singling out Whitlock? Well, over the span of time, I’m not. I have also addressed other (more high profile) people who publicly shit on hip hop on the regular - Bill O'Reilly, Oprah, Al Sharpton, etc. in previous blogs...I don't have to mention everybody all the time. Especially when everybody already knows about them. Whitlock just pissed me off this time, for some reason my overly-emotional girly ass felt offended, and I don’t keep quiet when offended. Consider that a personal thing. Which leads to something else…

Many, many people have criticized me for even caring about statements like the one Whitlock made. Why shouldn’t I care? I love hip hop, and they’re shitting on it. I love my family – if somebody called my family out like that, I’d care. I stand up to defend the things I care about, no matter where the criticism is coming from. That’s just who I am, and that’s what I’ll continue to be. If nobody cared, there would be no eventual progression, because nobody would care to take the initiative to make it happen. If you don’t care, then what are you doing to help hip hop?

Mr. People Please also brought up the fact that most of America doesn’t know about positive hip hop. This is true, and this is exactly why we have people like Oprah, Bill, and Al presenting their one sided arguments. There is a simple solution to this. Speak up! Spread your knowledge about good music to as many people as you possibly can. Bump your music at full volume down the street. Tap somebody on the shoulder who you don’t know and tell them about a great new album that came out. Spend time with the kids in your life. Your sister’s 10 year old daughter, your younger cousin, whoever. Even reach out to the older heads around that just don’t understand hip hop. Teach them that there’s more out there than what the media focuses on. I do my part, but I can’t do it alone.

I was also asked to call for a boycott of fake hip hop. This is a theoretically good idea but it poses a few problems. First of all, this blog isn’t going to reach everybody, and at the moment that’s all I have to get word out to the public like that. So just logistically, it wouldn’t work. Second of all, that “fake” hip hop is still somebody’s art. Sad as at is sometimes, even I bump that craptastic trunk-rattling bullshit rap my damn self. And some people out there really enjoy the music. It’s not cool to take that away from them. Which is important to note – I’m not pissed at the negative music, I’m pissed at the fact that people can’t find a balance between the good and the bad, or show the maturity to take what they hear with a grain of salt. Just like there was a place for the Bloodhound Gang (an album called “Hooray for Boobies”?), there is a place for Three 6 Mafia. It’s their art, this is a free country, and it’s not my right to ask for them to stop – just as they can’t stop me from writing.

Commenter Truth Hurtzz wants other genres of music that fuck up? Look at the stereotypical life of a rock star. Drugs and alcohol, groupies, strip clubs, and general rebelliousness. Hip hop artists like Eminem were being criticized for being overly homophobic. You want homophobia? Listen to some dancehall. How many rappers do you know run around talking about killing battybwoys with their AK-47’s and shit? How is “Hot Fuk” any less degrading to women than a Ying Yang Twins video? Have you ever watched CMT and caught a music video for Trace Adkins’ "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk?" No lie. It's the country equivalant of "Back Dat Ass Up", pretty much. Ass, ass, and more ass. It's not just rap. Perhaps country stars aren’t catching criminal charges that much…but is that hip hop’s fault? Or is it just the fact that law enforcement and the government were never fans of hip hop in the first place anyway and they love making hip hop look bad?

Also think about other non (predominantly, I know Paris and Lindsay are exceptions) music-affiliated people that are caught up with negative shit, and have their issues in the media for little kids to observe and take notes on. Have you watched TMZ or E! News lately? Think about how many TV stars and celebutante types like Paris, Nicole, Lindsay...Kiefer Sutherland, McCaulay Caulkin, Maureen McCormick (Brady Bunch), Jodie Sweetin (Full House)...get themselves caught up with shit that most rappers won’t even fuck with? You have sex tapes, meth addictions, alcoholics, people who drive the wrong direction on the freeway, drunk drivers, 85 pound girls who are posing on magazine covers, rehab frequenters...and I wouldn't call any of them hip hop. Yet, nobody's blaming them for the downfall of society and the crippling of the future despite the fact that they’re broadcast in the mainstream media more than the rappers who fuck up.

Truth Hurtzz also named a bunch of rappers that were shot and wondered about what other musical genres claim that statistic. Yes, you have a point, and it’s difficult to refute. However, were those shootings really rap music’s fault though? Hip hop began as an urban phenomenon. Urban society has always been plagued with social ills that rural areas don’t face with as much intensity, if at all. Overpopulated slums in third world countries are seeing more people die in their streets from violence as well, but that sure as shit isn’t hip hop’s fault. Demographically speaking, due strictly to where rap originated, it’s bound to face problems that musical genres that came out of bumfuck-nowhere don’t face. Those names you mentioned were (for the most part) fairly young black males that spent a lot of time in extremely urban environments, many of whom were wrapped up in shady business before they made it big as musicians; some of whom even continued that shady behavior once they were well known musicians. This is sadly a part of urban life, whether hip hop is around or not. Plus, think about how many inner city kids' lives have been helped by hip hop culture? When the b-boys and b-girls are refining their skills in a dance studio, they're learning an art, expressing themselves, and most of all - not roaming the streets. When a young lyricist is honing his vocabulary skills in order to improve his rhymes, he’s expanding his mind. A freestyle battle is nonviolent, but schoolyard beatdowns are not.

If you want statistics, they’re not hard to find. The majority of homicides and suicides by gun violence occur in urban areas, although the rate of violence has actually been declining in the United States since the peak of the violence in the 80’s-90’s for the most part. Yet, hip hop is only continuing to grow and reach new parts of the country and the world. I see a negative correlation.

Education is the way to stop this trend of blaming hip hop, at least in my eyes. It’s also not only about educating people about what hip hop really is (newsflash: it’s more than just rap music**). It’s about instilling values in the youth, and teaching them the skills necessary for success in their futures so that they don’t feel the need to turn to drug dealing and illegal activities to make money to survive. It’s about fighting against the forces that are weakening our economy and crippling our job market, so that the children of today will still have job opportunities in the future. And I do my part, whether or not I speak about it in my blogs. I didn't think I needed to mention it to maintain my credibility. Perhaps I was wrong. But to effectively educate people, you have to care about doing so. I care. And I’d like to think I’m not alone in this.

 

 

 

*Props to A.H.L.O.T. for sparking some constructive discussion about quality music, by the way. It’s always nice to see.

**So please people, stop claiming "hip hop" is so evil. It's ok to think rap is evil - hell, I can even see some justification for why people think that way, but hip hop as a whole? All that it entails and stands for? Not evil.


The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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