Posted by DerekD at c-24-129-121-96.se.client2.attbi.com on December 10, 2003 at 00:05:24:
In Reply to: Is it just me... posted by Deltron on December 09, 2003 at 22:23:42:
The most racist guy 50 years ago couldn't have come up with the materialistic, misogynistic nature of contemporary african american culture. It's sick when you look at it. Fucking Gangsta Culture has a better ethos than what is going on today. What is the image you get on the average rap video? A group of ~8 Black Males with gobs of money in their hands, jewelry which would make Mr. T blush, and many many women about them wearing little to nothing, while the men tell them to "Get Low" or somesuch. In that specific instance, I get how it's about dancing, but it could so easily be translated into them telling the women of their place in the culture. On the fiscal side of things, what does a record contract go for these days? About a mil, let's say? Ok, take out taxes, and you're down to $500k. Now, let them buy their bling, their cars, and their cribs, and how about they help out all those fellas surrounding them in the process? then, let's have them MAINTAIN the bling, and the cars, and the cribs, and the friends, and what are they left with? Responsibility isn't what it's about. And what is the average female rapper telling the people? Just how faaaaantastic her pussy is! They're grown-up children, for the most part. Because of that, they're also more often than not flash-in-the-pan. You don't see any of the heavyweights of rap going around doing stuff like that, but the people who aspire to be them can sure as hell do so, and the music execs is always looking for the 'next big thing' which 95% of the time fizzles (sorry for the language, at least i didn't say fizzizzles) within 5 months of the album dropping. But since they are grown up children, they can get ahead (temporarily) in a grown-up's world, at the same time spreading a message that 'tweens' can attach to, which is really anything which is based in sex, as that is all that is new and unknown to them. If something is unknown to you, what would make you happiest to hear of it? That it's great, and you will have a fabulous time with it. That's what they want to hear, that's what they do hear, that's what they do, and the cycle goes on when they have their own little consumer of hip hop culture about 11 years later.