I was listening to a sports call-in show Friday in which the host was taking on Imus' critics, arguing that "nappy-headed" was a descriptive phrase that is not race-specific. Okay, I guess that could be technically true, but it made me wonder... so I checked out the team photos for the Rutgers team.
Paul mentioned several times that what Imus said was no worse and maybe not as bad as some of what the black rappers have said in their so-called music and have even received rewards for it. I read recently that Imus's critics, including the illustrious Sharpton, now are saying they will go after these guys, too. Several leading black pundits along with Bill Cosby have spoken out against the prediliction for blacks to use inflamatory language against their own, particularly against black women. So, if Sharpton and his gang do what they say, maybe some good will come out of this.
If we are going to start firing people and taking away their livelihoods for saying certain words we ought to at least define which words you can't say and be consistent in applying punishment for those who say them.
I'd like to suggest our list of banned words include "Sharpton", "Rosie", "DannieLynn", and "Myspace".
In all seriousness, we should mark our calendars one year from now and wait to see if anything in the hip hop industry will have changed as a result of this scandal.
I am going to go out on a limb and predict that nothing will have changed.
Legendary hip hop producer Russell Simmons had this to say about the Don Imus scandal and how some are making comparisons with language used by rap artists:
"Hip-hop is a worldwide cultural phenomena that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers women's basketball team was in no way connected to hip-hop culture. ... Don Imus is not a hip-hop artist or a poet. Hip-hop artists rap about what they see, hear and feel around them, their experience of the world. Like the artists throughout history, their messages are a mirror of what is right and wrong with society. Sometimes their observations or the way in which they choose to express their art may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression. Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop."
"Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop." This sentence says it all, especially the last phrase. The improvement of relationships, equality and understanding are all meaningless. What really matters is the "positive growth of hip-hop", which can only be interpreted as more and getting worse. So keep pushing that rock uphill, rap and hiphop are going to be pushing against us.
You can't always control how others will seek to define you but you can control how you define yourself.
As the dominant artistic voice in the African American community, hip hop has an opportunity to elevate the self-definition of a generation of young black men and women.
Simmons, however, seems more interested in the advancement of hip hop than the betterment of his community. Obviously, bettering your community isn't as profitable.
Which means he sings from the same hymnal as Sharpton and Jackson; they make no money and get no TV air time if race relations go well. As long as they can keep their people thinking less of themselves, they still have the potential for profits and fame. Hmmmm, interesting titles: The Profits of the African American Community, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton!!
Comments
None of them are "nappy-headed". What a maroon.
I'd like to suggest our list of banned words include "Sharpton", "Rosie", "DannieLynn", and "Myspace".
In all seriousness, we should mark our calendars one year from now and wait to see if anything in the hip hop industry will have changed as a result of this scandal.
I am going to go out on a limb and predict that nothing will have changed.
Legendary hip hop producer Russell Simmons had this to say about the Don Imus scandal and how some are making comparisons with language used by rap artists:
"Hip-hop is a worldwide cultural phenomena that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers women's basketball team was in no way connected to hip-hop culture. ... Don Imus is not a hip-hop artist or a poet. Hip-hop artists rap about what they see, hear and feel around them, their experience of the world. Like the artists throughout history, their messages are a mirror of what is right and wrong with society. Sometimes their observations or the way in which they choose to express their art may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression. Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop."
This sentence says it all, especially the last phrase. The improvement of relationships, equality and understanding are all meaningless. What really matters is the "positive growth of hip-hop", which can only be interpreted as more and getting worse. So keep pushing that rock uphill, rap and hiphop are going to be pushing against us.
"Keep on pushing that rock,
gonnaaaaaa Keep on pushing that rock,
Keep on pushing that rock,
Uphill, my friend. Uphill.
As the dominant artistic voice in the African American community, hip hop has an opportunity to elevate the self-definition of a generation of young black men and women.
Simmons, however, seems more interested in the advancement of hip hop than the betterment of his community. Obviously, bettering your community isn't as profitable.
The Profits of the African American Community, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton!!