You forget that there's more to in Hip-Hop than all the gangsta and the bling-bling and the spinning rims. What about the rappers that are trying to say something positive and prfound like Outkast, Blackalicious, De La Soul, Q-tip, Common, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, etc.

There's taht kind of Hip-Hop that can enlighten and empower people, and then there's just the mainstream stuff that the "man" wants to impose on urban America to create negativity.

even hip hop stars like destiny's child continue to corrupt peoples' minds with thier song "soldier" .it's lyrics elude that all black women want are those street husslin-alcohol drinkin- drug sellin- thugs that hang around the corner-that dropped out o school- lookin like they gonna snacth ur jewellery when u pass- men and that initself is hjust ridiculos.

So you believe the images of black women, regardless if some women have decided that they will take on these images, is therefore ok and healthy? So its ok to criticize and analyze the images of black and hispanic men in these videos but not women? So they fact that most of the time the male artists, directors, etc. decide the treatment of the video and they decide the images of the women in the video, they get a pass because there are women who want to fill the role of the stripper, hoe, bitch? I'm not saying there is no responsiblity on the females part BUT to completely dismiss the negative images of women in videos is a little bit scary.


Interesting.

Krytonite said

Since when Destiny's Child was hip-hop?

There have always been negative images and stereotypes but they did not dominate everything like they do today. Not only has hip hop taken over the music scene but it also is movies, sitcoms, and television commercials. The ones making real money of this mess are white men in business suits. They have made these thug idiots their clowns and they are laughing their asses all the way to the bank.

I used to wonder why white people were not offended by it because some of it has a lot of anger towards white people. When you really think about it, a white racist would love this anger and would be happy that they are angry. They also love to see black people calling each other "nigger" and as far as changing the spelling to "nigga", they love this even more because it's supposed to make the word "acceptable". White racists are also loving these thug images and crime glamorized. And as far as the fools "keeping it real", the white racists are really loving that. They see it as "the niggers staying in their place" in a crime infested ghetto and not daring to venture out of it into their world.

There are black men in business suits that cannot catch a cab. What do you think these thug images are doing for that? It is setting progress back.

These idiots need to wake up because they are the white racists' "clown" and they are being made fools of, being conned and ripped off, and are basically a fucking joke. This reminds me of the old days of "black face" entertainment. It's rediculous.

It's a sad day when kids listen to music then go to school saying "Move, bitch, get out the way...".

Black girls watch the vids and just think they're nothing but hoes and baby machines. They need Prince to tell them they need Pussy Control. Gangsta rap makes black men feel like they need to live to prove their masculinity. That could mean impregnating as many women as possible or not allowing someone to say "yo mama" without catching a bullet in the face.

Everyone reading this thread needs to see Spike Lee's movie BAMBOOZLED. Rappers are just minstrels for everyone to laugh at. Look at Flava Flav on MTV.

This is why black people are so stagnant. The images young black kids see of other black people on TV is what they unconscious try to be. NBA stars and inmates.

In the ghetto, black men are more interested in souping up their Escalades than feeding their 4 kids and wife.

It's annoying how corporate it all is too. Everyone's got on a basketball jersey. Nelly's Air Force One video was just a Nike commercial. They can't go to any award ceremonies dressed like everyone else. JZ and P Diddy have sweatshops in South America.

Gangsta rap has so shaped the image of black men such that non-gangstas like me have no where to fit in. I'm not black enough for black people and I'm just a confusion to everyone else. And I'm not thug enough for the black girls either.

Gangsta rap undoes everything that Civil Rights leaders, feminists, progressives, environmentalists, and so many others have dedicated their lives for.

Fuck Tupac. Fuck Biggie. I'm glad they're dead.

I'm sick of it. So sick of it.
[Edited 3/26/05 23:39pm]
[Edited 3/26/05 23:47pm]

It's a sad day when kids listen to music then go to school saying "Move, bitch, get out the way...".

Black girls watch the vids and just think they're nothing but hoes and baby machines. They need Prince to tell them they need Pussy Control. Gangsta rap makes black men feel like they need to live to prove their masculinity. That could mean impregnating as many women as possible or not allowing someone to say "yo mama" without catching a bullet in the face.

Everyone reading this thread needs to see Spike Lee's movie BAMBOOZLED. Rappers are just minstrels for everyone to laugh at. Look at Flava Flav on MTV.

This is why black people are so stagnant. The images young black kids see of other black people on TV is what they unconscious try to be. NBA stars and inmates.

In the ghetto, black men are more interested in souping up their Escalades than feeding their 4 kids and wife.

It's annoying how corporate it all is too. Everyone's got on a basketball jersey. Nelly's Air Force One video was just a Nike commercial. They can't go to any award ceremonies dressed like everyone else. JZ and P Diddy have sweatshops in South America.

Gangsta rap has so shaped the image of black men such that non-gangstas like me have no where to fit in. I'm not black enough for black people and I'm just a confusion to everyone else. And I'm not thug enough for the black girls either.

Gangsta rap undoes everything that Civil Rights leaders, feminists, progressives, environmentalists, and so many others have dedicated their lives for.

Fuck Tupac. Fuck Biggie. I'm glad they're dead.

I'm sick of it. So sick of it.
[Edited 3/26/05 23:39pm]
[Edited 3/26/05 23:47pm]

All I can see is that the pervasive, mainstream music culture of today is about letting the coons keep cooning. And since they are willing participants in the cooning, no one can say a white executive has a gun to their head. I think back to seeing Damon Dash and Camron on the O'Reilly Factor. These creeps dodged every inclination that their music is poisonous to the listener. Instead they touted how their entrepeneurship is inspirational to our youth. Once again, no matter the cost at which the wealth is gained, having a bank account that rivals a successful white man's is all that matters. Camron tried to deflect accountability and put it on parents. AS IF he doesn't know the record company's research has guaranteed him profitability, being that he is marketed to youngsters who crave a hero, coming from single parent homes and overcrowded public schools with little to no attention given. That bastard is counting on it. As an African American, I am sickened by how this trash has conditioned our people and turned them into sullen, foul-mouthed, belligerent people. This music is a free pass to be the absolute worst you can be. There were people of color craving empowerment in the 60s too, but did Berry Gordy stoop to this? And for the person who wonders why there aren't complaints about rock, gee, is rock turning masses of people into blithering minstrel shows? White America wouldn't have it.

I hate Bill O'Reilly. One reason is because he gets complete idiots(like Camron and Damon Dash) to argue the opposing view.

In this case, they were the perfect guests. Who better to demonstrate music made by idiots for idiots? They were exposed as the greedy sellouts they are.

I agree mostly everything you said. I made a good point until you had to fuck it all up and say some dumb shit like the "fuck 2pac & Biggie. Im glad there dead" part. WTF?!?! There probably popular rappers who had managed to balance their music out. Especially 2pac. How can you just act like 2pac was just NO good at all?

He wasn't just some rapper talking about he was a thug to look tough. He was a thug a real reason.

"T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E." - The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody

"N.I.G.G.A." - Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Accomplished

You need to see "Tupac Resurrection". See how the media portrayed him negatively and made him look evil. And You obviously havent you heard "Keep Ya Head Up", "So Many Tears" "Brenda's Got A Baby", "Baby Dont Cry" or "White Man's World".

You talkin about these young girls need Prince to tell them they need Pussy Control. Shit, 2pac was telling them that in his music. Do I need to post up some of Pac's lyrics to help enlighten you?

But don't ever say "fuck 2pac". We need more rappers like Pac today.

OnionJuice said:

Agreed, but let's not forget Pac's thug behavior while at Death Row, he shoulda known better.

Biggie's gangsta image was contrived. Ready To Die made it seem like he was a killer....I just took it as music...but look what happened. I still believe it was a conspiracy.

First off, Gangsta Rap is a form of Hiphop, so there’s really no need to disassociate one from the other. I hope you understand many hip-hop artists have dealt with the issues you’ve mentioned; why that form of hip-hop is no longer successful is a conversation that probably merits a thread on the Politics and Religion forum.

Uhhhhh.....NO!!! Gangsta-rap is NOT a form of hip-hop. Because the original forms of hip-hop were sampled by gangsta-rappers, thus the association. But, you mean to tell me that Dougie Fresh and Al B. Sure were packin GATS and smokin fools.....I THINK NOT. Just another TRUE art form(Hip-hop to Gangsta) that has been re-worked and ALLOWED to exist/form by the money-hungry corporate MEDIA. It's this type of commercial hype that has ALL of our urban schools and children down a very dangerous path of destruction.

The future of black America lies before you

GANGSTA RAP & HIP HOP DO NOTHING GOOD FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY'

Gangsta rap does absolutely nothing good for the African American community or for the hispanic community either.it further criminalizes the black male by constanly referring to him as a "thug" or "gangsta" and this artform is responsible for setting the civil rights movement 1000 years back, by bringing the scorn and disdain once associated with the word "nigger" back into popular culture. the word is now glorifed in hip- hop and rap. rap protaganists argue that by changing the spelling to "nigga" it's now okay.that is complete bullshit!! the spelling of the word does nothing to change the pain & suffering the use of that word has caused many generations.
The image of black women is now also corrupted thanks to this lovely artform. women are constantly refferrd to as "Bitches" & "hoes" and shows black women in videos who do nothing but shake their "bootys" and dance solaciously in night clubs with cold hardened criminals. the issue of female rapppers standing up for women and respect for women holds absolutely no merit when u have female rappers such as "Lil Kim", "Foxxy Brown" ,"Missy Elliot" & "Rah Digga" who themselves refer to other women in their records as 'Bitches & Hoes' and sometimes evem refer to themselves in such ways.
The gangsta rapper of today is many things; a criminal, an auto car collector , a specialist at naming the finest drinks & Desingers , a specialist at saying how much money they make and most inportantly a PIMP now, more than ever, the image of a pimp glorified to such a large extent that songs are even dedicated to it; such bedtime classics as "P.I.M.P" , "Im A PimP" , "Bitch Please" and who could forget nelly's "Pimp Juice". rappers don't even realize it but they influenece many ppl with actions. young black boys who listen to their records hear of a glamaorous lifestyle with luxury cars, plenty bitches & weed, the finest drinks and clothes and aspirie to be like them. could u imagine the fate of many young boys with people like "50 cent" & "Snoop Dog" for role models ??? i shudder to think.
all in all the "rap game" does nothing productive except sell records, while corrupting the view of the african american people either as a "ghetto ho" or a "Gangsta" even hip hop stars like destiny's child continue to corrupt peoples' minds with thier song "soldier" .it's lyrics elude that all black women want are
those street husslin-alcohol drinkin- drug sellin- thugs that hang around the corner-that dropped out o school- lookin like they gonna snacth ur jewellery when u pass- men and that initself is hjust ridiculos. the social and economic reppercutions of these actions are felt as ripple effects throuht the enitire african american community and do nothing good to raise the morale or help the black man or woman in any way if anything they set them back 1000 steps

Rhondab said:

i'm not sayin its ok and healthy...i'm sayin it has nothing 2 do with the artform it self. ur right some blame does fall on the men who decide whats gonna go down in the vid BUT, and this is coming from a girl, but the women don't have to do it..its their choice to fill the slot of video ho...can u imagine what kind of video revolution would take place if all women just said no we wont be half naked in ur video...no we won't do this or that..it would be incredible

The future of black America lies before you

I have been telling folk this for years, but it seems that the majority of people are only interested in "fitting" in with society. Funny, because that used to be the opposite of what hip-hop stood for. The last thing we wanted to do was to fit-in with what the rest of the world was doing. But money is a cruel master. Why accept the terminology and ideology of this counterfeit "hip-hop" lifestyle? No pioneer of rap had ever envisioned hip-hop turning out this way. It's interesting to see how rich record label executives have taken over yet another form of black self-expression and have "pimped" its culture by using unintelligent artists to spearhead their propaganda. Making a lot of money does not make you an accomplished musician. It is the fruitage in which you bear as an artist that will identify you as to either being a positive or negative role model. Again, the visuals we see have eternal lasting images that hypnotize our youth into bad mannerism's. It is sad to see.

Rah-Digga shouldn't even be mentioned with any of them clowns.....

boriquateddy said:

Right on BT. Rah Digga is a dope MC. or FemCee. one of few females to outshine Lauryn Hill on her own song. "Cowboys"
[Edited 3/28/05 18:45pm]

Fuck Tupac. Fuck Biggie. I'm glad they're dead.
[Edited 3/27/05 14:09pm]

Despite the violent nature of some of the songs on his albums, Biggie didn't really portray the image of a gangsta in his videos; he portrayed the image of a player - Big Poppa. Even in the "Warning" video, he was just a rich man tryna protect his assets.