The Debate rages on...
The B/H/N debate over the content of HipHop still rages on in the US and now TI and 50 Cent have given their penneth worth...
TI:
TI has got some very valid points and it's good to hear an artist speaking so very candidly about it - especially as a father - but Tichina Arnold's (aka Chris' Mum on Everybody Hates Chris) face at the end of TI's speech is priceless...
50 - less eloquent but funnier:
Where do you sit now? Have either of these artists changed where you stood on the issue before?
Comments
Post your commentAs 50 said, its amazing how hiphop constantly is made a scapegoat. Its music. Entertainment. A form of art. Scorsese wins an Oscar for The Departed and people are mad at a few 'hoes' and 'niggas'? Come on now.
Um.. maybe I'm missing the point but I'd like to say 50's girl at the end of the video is hot! Lol
I think 50 and T.I. had both very valid comments towards the subject and think they delivered there speech well with a strong impact.
Oh yeah new album 'Curtis' June 26th! Lol Also loved 50's comments towards Master P! Classic!
FREEDOM OF SPEECH ?
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ?
Everyone speaks from what they've been through and everyone is FREE to do and say what they like (even though there's consequences) ,but that's the only way someone can LEARN or TEACH something.
We all live in the same world but have different REALITIES.So if B/H/N lives in thiers ,they're going to talk about it and there's nothing wrong to talk about it ,but when it comes to children then you've got to be carefull if you want to raise them the RIGHT way then again MY right way probably isn't yours...
FREEDOM !!
This is a ridiculous debate over the use of words people, not just musicians choose to use in their daily lives. If someone uses any word between freinds, the intention is obviously a pleasent one, if used with aggression, any word is offensive. It is the intent, not the dictionary definition where the meaning lies, but unfortunatley the less intelligent among us cannot grasp this.
All of the previous posts before this one are perfect examples of what's wrong with society and black (coloured if you will) folks in general...too accepting...too complacent...to "blah" about what we portray as a part of our daily lives and how we define ourselves. The incorrect use of simple terms by Jammedheat such as "there" (and it should be "their") give us yet an inkling into the depths of ignorance that rob and misrepresent those of us trying to keep the proverbial boot straps up...how about that for FREEDOM of speech?
Spike meant what he said..."WAKE UPPPPPP!!!!!"
Now ask 50, T.I. and all the other lugnuts what that means ... I betcha 50 they won't...
be well
The comparision of film vs hip hop music is a common defence argument used by rappers but it is ill-thought out. The film industry portrays a varied reflection of society as a whole.Yes you have violent movies but you also have comedy, romance, science-fiction,documentaries, auto-biographies etc. the list is endless. The point is the film industry has a varied product which gives it a balanced overview.It doesnt just focus on violence bad aspects of life.Your own dvd collections bear witness to this.
Modern hip hop however rarely goes beyond gangsters,guns,drugs,pimps and ho's.If a rapper is inspired enough to go beyond this brief they will be marginalised. Common is a socially conscientious rapper - of his last 3 albums the best he managed was 2 golds. the rest of rappers sales in his genre salewise are'nt worth mentioning (besides Talib Kweli)
Freedom of speech and self expression are the cornerstones of Hip hop but hip hop has lost its capability to exploit all the issues that affect people. We talk about hip hop's golden age 1988-1994. There was swearing then but the same hip hop that had NWA had Biz markie, Big Daddy Kane , 3rd Base, LL Cool J,EPMD, Heavy D and the Boyz, Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, Mc Lyte , Queen Latifah, Public Enemy, KRS One,Beastie Boys, Ice T, Latifah,Hammer,Too Short,Tribe called Quest, Wrecks n Effect, Salt N Pepa. You had even had the "God" Rakim -he was regarded as hard and He hardly swore!! Thats just a snap shot of that era and you can see why its regarded as Golden but the point is all of this was regarded as legitimate hip hop and it was all successful. They spoke on a variety of issues -there was a balance and one did not swear just for the sake of it
Now hip hop just focuses on the same topics with rappers feeling like if they are not being derogatory they are not keeping it "real" which why is hip hop is being criticised.Some way, along the way the rappers,record labels, executives and producers have lost their way.
I have to call nonsense on that post. Just because conscious Hiphop isnt selling, doesnt mean it dont exist. There is as much variety in Hiphop in terms of subject matter as there is in films. From De La talking about women should be comfortable with their figures, to Phonte talking about the daily grind of working in a retail store. From the Pharcyde detailing their schoolboy crushes on their teacher, to Pac pouring his heart out to his mother. Lets not forget Lif, Paris, Camp Lo, Edan, El-P, Lewis Parker, Budden, Blu, MF Doom etc. The breadth that Hiphop has to offer is astounding.
Sure you HEAR mostly the ignorant ish on the radiowaves and MTV/Channel U, but 95% of the Hiphop I listen to doesnt contain any of the sort. It isnt our fault that mainstream America and the corporations dont buy and promote these other emcees.
Look listen and learn what 50 & Ti had to say about what your govenment plays it's tax payers for fools with so stop pointing your anger at people you know had their story to tell. Each will tell their own different so you do your best to teach your child how to make it better for their turn. One Love to the Man dem continue you story telling kings
50 and TI claim to be representing the place from where they come. I'm not about to claim there are no such places. But is all this necessary?
TI blames the parents of mislead children which is reasonable to a point but this diminishes his own responsibility as a role model, he can do better with his influence. He knows that a softer image would would not go down with his fan base I'm sure.
Does he believe that every time a child is led into prostitution, drug addiction or gun crime that the parents will know whats going on?
50 points to the film industry for an example of something far worse than his indiscriminate use of degrading language and tales of a violent life. This really is an age old defense. If they do it why cant we is the general message. This is so lame. Cocooned in his own self indulgence, he fails to see that his own actions are contributing to the stereotypes which remain in the rest of the worlds media.
The Racist will chuckle deep in their guts when they see these stereotypes, which promote fear of the black man, being sold to the masses.
We only need to check 'Candy shop' to see the problem with 50's metaphors.
Candy shop - in short form - basically says, Suck this, I'll by you some nice gear. What a pretty picture to send out to his main audience, millions of teenagers worldwide.
The content of the lyrics is so shallow it hurts. Hip Hop is music for spreading messages of positivity and it's now being overshadowed by Rap music which lacks diversity and direction.
Just one last thing to say...
PUBLIC ENEMY, KRS ONE, ROOTS MANUVA, EDAN, COMMON, EMANON, SAGE FRANCIS, GANG STARR, TRIBE CALLED QUEST, JURASSIC 5, THE ROOTS, DEAD PREZ, JUNGLE BROTHERS, QUEEN LATIFA, DAVEY D and many more all represent Hip Hop in its purest form. Get educated people, there's a whole world of culture out there and its passing you by!