Is hip-hop bad for black America?

[jono]

I've heard of Thomas Chatterton Williams and I must say he's not the worst black man I've ever heard criticize hip-hop (john mcwhorter or maybe shelby steele is) so I won't attack him, besides I skimmed it and didn't really ingest what he had to say.

Michael Eric Dyson said in one of his books and he put it very well that hip-hop is just like every other music blacks created, its hated and considered the bane of society..until the next thing comes along. If you've ever read Baldwin in one of his stories he talks about the culture of Jazz musicians, it should be noted that Jazz musicians were notorious for philandering and doing heroin, all the old Blues people hated it and wanted it to go away. It happens everytime, this is no different.

So what you're saying is... because people have cried wolf before about black music.... there is no wolf -- meaning that no black music-based subculture could be bad for blacks?

What makes rap music different from all other forms of music supposedly associated with everything wrong with the world?

You didn't answer the question.

Nobody is saying hip hop is associated with everything wrong in the world.

Every case where a music-based subculture is alleged to be a factor in social ills deserves to be considered on its own. They should not be dismissed out of hand because of previous false alarms.

What "social ills" were are discussing here?

 

[blackrain]

I read this article when it came out and the writer has a clear lack of hip hop knowledge

 

[blackrain]

if you want to truly denounce these messages to children

Denounce it all

Not just the things where black males are the face of it

Yes jay-Z said big pimpin

But mainstream media embraces a woman who's famous for a sex tape, and conceived a child before the ink of her divorce dried, and that's before you get to her starring in a show that glorifies women as catty bitches whose main concern is clothes, mani's, pedi's, and whining

But no

Jay Z saying he likes to fuck different bitches as a young man is clearly the problem when comes to negative messages to women and men

When will y'all stop letting white media troll you

I mentioned to someone that's why I can't stand those Love & Hip Hop shows because I don't want to see a show full of women acting like that and was told I was "hating" and "it's just entertainment"...funny how people, not you people in general, pick and choose when to apply that statement about how those shows depict women

 

[blacktux]

Well that shit they push in the mainstream that is being branded and accepted as hip hop is definitely not good for black people.

The artform itself was one of the greatest things black people ever had as it gave them a means to express themselves and relate to their brothers and sisters struggles.

 

[Well Got Dam]

mayne im tired of niggas giving me their wack ass rap demo's when im at the gas station, talking about $5 for their bullshit...........nigga that $5 going toward filling up my tank.............nigga's aint have no real dreams or aspirations

 

[Crude_]

I don't necessarily think hip hop in itself is bad for the Black community but the message a lot of it promotes isn't a good one.

Im an avid listener of hip hop but I'd be lying if I said the majority of it didn't promote a message of mysogyny, violence, illegal hustling, and a host of other negative behavior.

I look at it as no different than watching an movie it's just entertainment.

A lot of niggaz out there promoting a positive message but a lot of those niggaz don't get radio play.

Hip hop is just entertainment for most such as myself but there are some young and impressionable minds that pattern their lives after some of these artists.

That's were a lot of old heads need to come drop some knowledge on these young heads.

The majority of this current generation of rap niggaz aren't about that street shit themselves these youngsters need to realize this shit is just a hustle for rappers, recording companies, and executives to make money.

Shit is about a quarter real and 3 quarters entertainment.

 

[LUClEN]

Anything can be bad for black america, even hop scotch.

 

[Copper]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

 

[Crude_]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

White folks do hold us back and fuck us over a lot but most of us have no further to look than the mirror to see the root of the majority our problems.

 

[LUClEN]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

White folks do hold us back and fuck us over a lot but most of us have no further to look than the mirror to see the root of the majority our problems.

Yes and no.

Let's not pretend like white people, who have the most control over society, have not relegated black america to urban wastelands filled with drugs, guns and poverty. How can one expect to flourish in that kind of environment? Of course the individual takes some blame, but to expect a result contrary to what all of the variables are known to produce is just pure lunacy. Gives white people a means to shrug off their end of the blame.

 

The user and all related content has been deleted.

 

[Real Lady2]

I don't kne about the list but nicki isn't from the streets. Nicki is a middle classes girl who went down years ago so she came out a slut. She's a mockery of lil Kim. Nicki is some type of Foster child who lived different places. I hate to say she used newyork. Nicki was in the south panhandling for money telling ppl she is homeless and she said she was abused

She's the type that do anything for money because she went down in the gutta she wasn't on the level iam on right now. She was way worse condition. That's why i never got jealous of fame.

She told everyone her sad story to get money. Buy she's not a ghetto girl. She winded up in the ghetto. She said she ranned away because her family was abusive

Some people say she's from Foster care. She didn't grow up hiphop she adapted

 

[Crude_]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

White folks do hold us back and fuck us over a lot but most of us have no further to look than the mirror to see the root of the majority our problems.

Yes and no.

Let's not pretend like white people, who have the most control over society, have not relegated black america to urban wastelands filled with drugs, guns and poverty. How can one expect to flourish in that kind of environment? Of course the individual takes some blame, but to expect a result contrary to what all of the variables are known to produce is just pure lunacy. Gives white people a means to shrug off their end of the blame.

True White folks could do more for our communities.

We got to start doing more for ourselves though.

A lot of middle class Blacks making just as much money as middle class White folks nowadays.

True enough there aren't to many if any Blacks that are running Fortune 500 companies but that doesn't mean we can't rebuild our communities.

Fuck waiting on White folks.

We can build our own homes and we can open up our own businesses in our own communities.

I see a damn liquor store run by Middle Easterners on just about every corner around my way I go to the White community across town I don't see that shit.

Those folks ain't doing shit but supplying area demand in my opinion.

Poising our communities with that bullshit while getting fat on the Black dollar but both giving a shit about the Black plight.

I agree old White conservatives make shit a lot harder on folks that look like me and you under cover ass bigots but way to many niggaz use that as an excuse for Black folks not doing better.

A lot of Black folks need to take responsiblility for their actions and quit acting like Whites have more control over them they have over themselves.

Its at least twice as hard for Blacks to get and do certain shit as Whites but it isnt impossible therefore shouldn't be used as an excuse.

I look at old school Blacks from the Civil Rights Movement and such and they did nothing but over come odds while dealing with all type of shit from White folks.

Current generation Black folks come up with every excuse in the book for their circumstances EXCEPT taking responsibility for themselves and their actions shit is pathetic imo and one of the primary reasons we arent where we are supposed to be as a race right now.

 

[LUClEN]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

White folks do hold us back and fuck us over a lot but most of us have no further to look than the mirror to see the root of the majority our problems.

Yes and no.

Let's not pretend like white people, who have the most control over society, have not relegated black america to urban wastelands filled with drugs, guns and poverty. How can one expect to flourish in that kind of environment? Of course the individual takes some blame, but to expect a result contrary to what all of the variables are known to produce is just pure lunacy. Gives white people a means to shrug off their end of the blame.

True White folks could do more for our communities.

We got to start doing more for ourselves though.

A lot of middle class Blacks making just as much money as middle class White folks nowadays.

True enough there aren't to many if any Blacks that are running Fortune 500 companies but that doesn't mean we can't rebuild our communities.

Fuck waiting on White folks.

We can build our own homes and we can open up our own businesses in our own communities.

I see a damn liquor store run by Middle Easterners on just about every corner around my way I go to the White community across town I don't see that shit.

Those folks ain't doing shit but supplying area demand in my opinion.

Poising our communities with that bullshit while getting fat on the Black dollar but both giving a shit about the Black plight.

I agree old White conservatives make shit a lot harder on folks that look like me and you under cover ass bigots but way to many niggaz use that as an excuse for Black folks not doing better.

A lot of Black folks need to take responsiblility for their actions and quit acting like Whites have more control over them they have over themselves.

Its at least twice as hard for Blacks to get and do certain shit as Whites but it isnt impossible therefore shouldn't be used as an excuse.

I look at old school Blacks from the Civil Rights Movement and such and they did nothing but over come odds while dealing with all type of shit from White folks.

Current generation Black folks come up with every excuse in the book for their circumstances EXCEPT taking responsibility for themselves and their actions shit is pathetic imo and one of the primary reasons we arent where we are supposed to be as a race right now.

I agree. The victim mentality is not good for progress and only ends up hurting success.

Media, by and large, is white owned. Even BET, which is marketed directly to Black America. This gives white people enormous control over how Black Americans are socialized, at least as far as media exposure is concerned. From what I can see, white capitalists in control of the media have no intentions of presenting their Black audiences with uplifting material and promoting positive ideals to the general Black population. I don't think I am being too cynical to boldly say that they are intentionally doing the exact fucking opposite, and absolutely loving it.

Personal responsibility is a must - even when there are others to blame. But I refuse to lose sight of the fact that White capitalists are intentionally working against Black America, and the rest of the lower class too for that matter.

 

[Bawse D.Lox]

Nope, black america is bad 4 hiphop.

Ppl support the shit y'all are complaining about.

Nobody is being forced to support "negativity", ppl willingly do it.

 

[LUClEN]

People adhere to what they are exposed to. If it is all they know they will fear anything different, regardless of how much better it will be for their survival and prosperity.

There are psychologists who theorize that the cut off for most of a human's conditioning is around 12 years old. By 12 years old they believe a person is basically made - they will for the most part be whatever their experiences from that point will dictate.

Obviously they are not being forced, but I personally feel the traffickers of mental poisons are as much to blame as the consumers. Supply is not necessary solely because there is demand.

 

[Ioniz3dSPIRITZ]

1.) Mainstream rap perpetuates the stereotypes a lot of other races have about us. Even without rap, we'd still be vilified nonetheless.

2.) Rap is dangerous when people take it literal. Which is what I see way too many of my peers doing. In a sense it has become a determining factor in how many individuals live their lives.

Overall, rap hasn't really been beneficial to blacks in America. It has provided an outlet for young black people to rise out of their environment and focus their attention on something less destructive. However how beneficial is this as a whole if they're simply perpetuating negativity among their own people. Rap could be a lot more beneficial if is was widely used as a means to educate and wake people up. And I don't mean the occasional "conscious" song we get from time to time.

Hip/hop or rap started out as a product of the environment but now it's starting to shape environments...and not for the good.

 

[blacktux]

yes, for many broken homes it turns into the only role model in the home.

thefalse reality that is rampant in hip hop is what many try to uphold.

and ultimately succumb too.

keeping up with the jones' will have you broke.

The first sentence of this post.

 

[Real Lady2]

Blacks need yo realize living in the projects was middle-class. That term means not poor not rich. People in the projects are not poor but they are not rich. Also rich is when you comfortable and living fulfilled

 

[Copper]

as bad as rap can get white people will always be worse for black america

White folks do hold us back and fuck us over a lot but most of us have no further to look than the mirror to see the root of the majority our problems.

The root of that root is the white man