The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

These types of comments just make me want to scream!!! The last time I checked the we all had the power to turn of our radios and change the station on our televisions. As a woman I do not feel disrespected or demoralized by rap music. As far as these females no one forces them to dance in front of the camera. No one forces them to be doused in liquor and paraded around like cattle. The females that these men are talking about are hoes and sluts and gold diggers. Have you been outside of a concert watching the woman throw themselves at these young men? I am so tired of rappers be held to a standard that we don’t hold the rest of the community to. Rap is merely a reflection of what is going on in many urban areas. The females don’t want the guy with the bus pass and the 4.0 GPA. They want the ballers with the gold grills and the nice cars that have no future outside the hood.

Essence magazine’s recent series on the same subject was somewhat dissapointing to me as well because they too took the route that it was the industry’s fault that the world of hip-hop had evolved into what we see today. The main graphic of the article in Essence shows a white man (the “system”) encouraging a young black man to dangle a black woman like a puppet on a stage (my wife has the issue of that magazine laying around somewhere).

Sure, the industry does share some of the blame, but like you suggest, nobody is MAKING us disrespect ourselves.

Much of hip-hop has gone down the toliet IMO–unlike the early days where it was truly street poetry.

ITS ALL OUR FAULTS. HIP HOP FOR GIVING IN TO CORPORATE STRUCTURE,PARENTS FOR NOT DOING ENOUGH, AND TV FOR NOT HAVING ENOUGH BALANCE

I believe hip hop has died. Certain songs I hear on the radio, I think to myself “you gotta be kidding me”. However it is what selling these days. I call it the “one-hit” era. The music is what is wrong with the kids, they listen to songs saying “gettin some…” so bluntly, they think it is cool. That is why so many of the youth are getting HIV. I live in a city where there are a couple of high schools that have a 50% HIV rate. Look who they have as role models though, these so-called hip hop artists. These artists, since they are in public eye and the kids will listen to them, have the power to change the music. But once you talk money, morals are out the door. So sad, so so so sad.

“But once you talk money, morals are out the door.”

give me a break. You are talking about young black men usually from the hood. Former drug dealers and pimps. What morality. The morality lies in them no longer being on the streets. That is the problem in this country. No one talks about personal responsibility. These kids follow these rappers because they can. When white folks didn’t like Kanye West saying “… white girl…” in the song Gold digger that statement was off the radio. White people tend to press the issues on things. If we tell Channel one and clear channel that we don’t want this crap on our airways and we use our mouths for something other than just eating chicken then maybe we would get somewhere. My nephews and niece are not allowed to listen most rap. If they are in the car with you they will tell you. Please my parents don’t want me to hear that type of music. It is the parents responsibility to listen to what your children are listening to watch what they are watching and act accordingly.

Art dictates life not the other way around.