Posted by oohah:

Posted by Marv:

[b]Posted by oohah: Most of my examples are notthat recent because I started tuning out a lot of the pop culture 5-8 years ago.

oohah



oohah

duran

duran

New Keyboard is killingmememe

oohah

Posted by eViL:

Posted by oohah:

Posted by eViL:

You know what sucks about protesting a musical artist? The attention will inevitably increase their record sales.

Instead of protesting musical artists, a guy like Jay-Z, who runs a record label, should put up a full-on marketing effort promoting an artist with dope beats and conscious lyrics that promote positivity and unity in the community -- good music with a good message. Robert Johnson, the owner of BET, should drop exploitative videos and music from his programming.

This is just a start, but a move like this will force the hand of White execs who are currently profiting from some of the negatively influential hip hop artists out there...

Am I being naive to think this can help?

The gatekeepers have to make that decision. When NWA made Gangsta Rap huge, conscious rap was done for. There are still artists that want to do that stuff, but the records companies want to promote and promulgate what is hot. They don't have any agenda but money.

And that is why Tribe could never make it today, and why you have regular kids posing as pimps and gangsters and so many running into trouble because they feel they have to back it up.

Gangsta rap will end when people get tired of buying it, but the record companies and the other gatekeepers will never do it out of responsible behavior.

oohah

Well my point wasn't so much about ending gangsta rap as it was about Black people in prominent positions promoting an alternative and positive form of hip-hop. You mention A Tribe Called Quest. They're a great example. They wrote music that sold without all the negativity. Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, Little Brother -- all of these artists, and others, have produced some bangin' tracks. But they are just not getting the support they deserve.

I believe that the masses sometimes just sit there and get spoonfed by the media. Well, why can't we start spoonfeeding them some healthy, positive vibes. It's not like these cats are uncool. They aren't rhyming about trigonometry. They have dope beats, dope flows -- what else do you want? Not to mention, most importantly they can send a positive message.

Evil you made great points but the problem is ....

"While rap has been in essence pop music for years, and most rap consumers are white, some worry that the black community is suffering from hip-hop — from the way America perceives blacks to the attitudes and images being adopted by black youth.

But the rapper David Banner derides the growing criticism as blacks joining America's attack on young black men who are only reflecting the crushing problems within their communities. Besides, he says, that's the kind of music America wants to hear.

"Look at the music that gets us popular — 'Like a Pimp,'," says Banner, naming his hit."

Richard Pyror said that after he stopped using the N word he lost alot of his white audience. I think that point needs to be seriously analyze in this country as well. I don't want to come off like an episode of Boondocks but there seems to be a strange correlation. I have people tell me that they like Chris Rock but they don't like his show that comes on CW about his family as a youth that has positive values.

Posted by bitty41:

Okay at what point does "Freedom of Speech" fall under Government regulation? Really Don Imus is almost incidental in all of this because the brunt of the pressure is going to be brought on the corporate bosses. If Imus owned his the radio show and had his own sponsors that supported his views than at that point all we can do is turn off the radio. But a major company like NBC, CBS, they are the ones that should be held responsible for this sort of nonesense. Because I've listened to Evil Star on Hot 97 (which btw I absolutely hate that station now) and he was really over the top. I remember one time I was either in college or high school at the time and I was in the car with my father and Evil Star came on all I could do was cringe as my father had a look of complete disgust.

Posted by islesfan:

Why is the word "Nappy" considered to be a racist word?

It's in Webster's dictionary as an adjective meaning kinky, as in hair.

I honestly never considered that word to be racist, I've heard it on tv and in movies before and not in a context that was demeaning or racist.

As far as the word "hoes", I understand that it's misogynistic and offensive to women but is that racist as well?

Posted by BlueSeats:

kinky haired whores,
ni**er whores
nappy headed ho's

All pretty much carry the same derogatory message. There's no way to look at it as him not making a racist/sexist comment. To my ears his chosen phrase sounded the most "comedic" but his victims obviously feel otherwise, and that's what counts. He might as well have used the N word, as the effect was the same.

Similarly, if they were an Asian team of girls would it matter if he called them chink whores, gook whores, or slanty eyed ho's?

Posted by islesfan:

How often have you heard people say "Ho's" in the media?

HBO aired a documentary called "Pimp's Up, Ho's Down". Where was the uproar? Why were they allowed to air it?

In Boyz in the Hood, Ice Cube throws that word around at the party in the beginning of the film. Where were the woman's rights groups to protest?

Again, I don't give a damn about Imus and I thought he needed to be punished for his offensive misogynistic remarks but I didn't think they were as bad as people are making them out to be and I think he got railroaded by some opportunistic people looking to further their own agendas.

What he said was offensive but is it worse than anything you've heard or seen on shows like the Chappelle show or heard in some mainstream music? The song "Promiscuous Girl", whats that song about?