Oh I do address the parenting problem, no doubt. As a whole though, we need to address everything that could be a problem. I don't want to ban rap or anything like Bill O' Dipshit, I just think we need to proceed with caution.
I'm blaming a lot of shit for people being fuck ups these days. Faulty role models, faulty parents, faulty communities, etc. etc. The vast majority of rap buyers are suburban white kids, and suburban white kids also act like a bunch of dipshits these days. Remember the Icy Hot Stuntaz? I see kids like that all over the place, and it's fuckin ridiculous. I'm not saying they are going to become ANYTHING, I'm saying they are going to think the shit is all fun and games until they start getting handled by the streets. All of this shit did exist before rap, but here, let me prove a point real quick.
Bay Rap. Need I say more? How many kids were out there poppin' pills at the rate they do now? ESPECIALLY out here?? How many kids outside of the East Bay were gettin' hyphy and ghostriding before it popped up in rap music? That shit was UNHEARD of in San Jose, now you can see it everywhere. White kids, black kids, asian kids, whatever. My point is, music influences the streets whether we like it or not.
Columbine is on a different scale. Those kids felt they were being picked on and decided to do something about it. They were just idiots, and I never said rap music had shit to do with that incident.
You're absolutely right. Nobody has to be responsible. However, artists coming from bad areas with problems like these should know that it's nothing to glamorize, and they should actually be speaking against the shit that they hated growing up. You have rappers talking about how rough and fucked up it was growing up, then they turn around and talk about dope it is and how they ran shit in the name of a dollar.
WWF is marketed as entertainment, rap is marketed as true life shit given to you by the hardest cats on the block. 50 Cent's route to fame was being shot 9 times, shooting other people, and selling crack. It really went down, and he was marketed as some kind of street boss...who bragged about a lot of shit and even put other folks business in his music...because he's SO HOOD!
You're right here, as well. Labels need to stop that shit. Rappers have a choice though...they can call their own shots and be true artists, or they can be exploited and feed into the bullshit.
Rappers being REAL doesn't mean being a gangster. A REAL rapper is somebody who is true to themselves and those around him/her. If a cat was living the thug shit, and really doing it, and he spoke on it and glamorized it, he'd be stupid. I can't imagine somebody putting serious business on wax like that, feel me? So no, it's not really ok...and no REAL ASS DUDE with some intelligence would do that.
It doesn't HAVE to have a message, it just needs to not have the bullshit. Rap can be entertaining, rap can be serious...but rap really doesn't need the black eye and the super thug imagery that makes young folks think it's ok to be a jackass. I remember Eazy-E said something like rappers are reporters for the streets. They weren't here to glamorize it, they were here to tell you what they see, so other people know what's going down. That, in my opinion, is the right mind state for a rapper.
I'm blaming a lot of shit for people being fuck ups these days. Faulty role models, faulty parents, faulty communities, etc. etc. The vast majority of rap buyers are suburban white kids, and suburban white kids also act like a bunch of dipshits these days. Remember the Icy Hot Stuntaz? I see kids like that all over the place, and it's fuckin ridiculous. I'm not saying they are going to become ANYTHING, I'm saying they are going to think the shit is all fun and games until they start getting handled by the streets. All of this shit did exist before rap, but here, let me prove a point real quick.
Bay Rap. Need I say more? How many kids were out there poppin' pills at the rate they do now? ESPECIALLY out here?? How many kids outside of the East Bay were gettin' hyphy and ghostriding before it popped up in rap music? That shit was UNHEARD of in San Jose, now you can see it everywhere. White kids, black kids, asian kids, whatever. My point is, music influences the streets whether we like it or not.
Columbine is on a different scale. Those kids felt they were being picked on and decided to do something about it. They were just idiots, and I never said rap music had shit to do with that incident.
You're absolutely right. Nobody has to be responsible. However, artists coming from bad areas with problems like these should know that it's nothing to glamorize, and they should actually be speaking against the shit that they hated growing up. You have rappers talking about how rough and fucked up it was growing up, then they turn around and talk about dope it is and how they ran shit in the name of a dollar.
WWF is marketed as entertainment, rap is marketed as true life shit given to you by the hardest cats on the block. 50 Cent's route to fame was being shot 9 times, shooting other people, and selling crack. It really went down, and he was marketed as some kind of street boss...who bragged about a lot of shit and even put other folks business in his music...because he's SO HOOD!
You're right here, as well. Labels need to stop that shit. Rappers have a choice though...they can call their own shots and be true artists, or they can be exploited and feed into the bullshit.
Rappers being REAL doesn't mean being a gangster. A REAL rapper is somebody who is true to themselves and those around him/her. If a cat was living the thug shit, and really doing it, and he spoke on it and glamorized it, he'd be stupid. I can't imagine somebody putting serious business on wax like that, feel me? So no, it's not really ok...and no REAL ASS DUDE with some intelligence would do that.
It doesn't HAVE to have a message, it just needs to not have the bullshit. Rap can be entertaining, rap can be serious...but rap really doesn't need the black eye and the super thug imagery that makes young folks think it's ok to be a jackass. I remember Eazy-E said something like rappers are reporters for the streets. They weren't here to glamorize it, they were here to tell you what they see, so other people know what's going down. That, in my opinion, is the right mind state for a rapper.
