Working beyond the rap culture

J oanne Martin sat across from me yesterday morning at the Great Blacks In Wax Museum.

[AARON RICHARDSON]

THERES CHRISTIAN HIPHOP ARTISTS WITH POSITIVE MESSAGES THAT NEED TO BE CIRCULATED TO THE YOUTH,THEY JUST NEED SPONSERS. BOTTOM LINE WE NEED TO BRING CHRISTIAN HIPHOP TO BALTIMORE WE NEED IT THE YOUTH NEED IT JESUS IS THE ANSWER

[African-MadBoy]

we have all kinds of religious groups,not everyone believes that jesus is son of god

[Mick]

I despise rap and all that it stands for. It is the most ignorant expression of art I have ever seen. Thugs get on stage with baggy pants hanging down their butts while they MUST hold the microphone with the end with the wire up in the air, if the mike isn't held right then its not cool. Into te mike they don't sing because of them have never heard of a thing called a melody, but they hack and spit out ramblings over and over again to thumping war drum. I am only 25 and and see that this is nothing but a money maker for those who pray on the most ignorant in society, a lost and hopeless group who search so desperately for an identity. The sad ting is this is only the best they can do. StepinFetchit had a better excuse than rappers. As far a Blacks in Wax Museum goes it seems that the neighborhood is beginning to change and hopefully they can carry out the plan to expand the museum.

[double B]

I don't think there has ever been a style of music to ever do so much harm to society as Rap.

That is if you even can call it music which I don't.

[Africa1]

bump

[Big A]

AARON RICHARDSON wrote:

THERES CHRISTIAN HIPHOP ARTISTS WITH POSITIVE MESSAGES THAT NEED TO BE CIRCULATED TO THE YOUTH,THEY JUST NEED SPONSERS. BOTTOM LINE WE NEED TO BRING CHRISTIAN HIPHOP TO BALTIMORE WE NEED IT THE YOUTH NEED IT JESUS IS THE ANSWER

Here's some Christian Rap?

http://www.myspace.com/bigathewordman

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp...

[NYC via MD]

First off I would like to acknowledge you all are in titled to your view point. I am a firm believer respecting everyone even those you greatly disagree with.
With that said, HIP-HOP music has been a consistent vehicle for young men and women of color and poor whites as well aka Eminem to be able to rise above their hardships and make a promising life for them and their families.
You don't like rap fine, I hate the music that is put out in the form of rap today. However, I love and embrace the culture of HIP-HOP. For those of you who say HIP-HOP and rap is the same, I respectfully disagree.
Hip-Hop is positive like the STOP THE VIOLENCE MOVEMENT.
Rap is about gangstarism.

[Citiboy]

don't listien to rap but HIP-HOP, and pop!

[Africa1]

NYC via MD wrote:

First off I would like to acknowledge you all are in titled to your view point. I am a firm believer respecting everyone even those you greatly disagree with.
With that said, HIP-HOP music has been a consistent vehicle for young men and women of color and poor whites as well aka Eminem to be able to rise above their hardships and make a promising life for them and their families.
You don't like rap fine, I hate the music that is put out in the form of rap today. However, I love and embrace the culture of HIP-HOP. For those of you who say HIP-HOP and rap is the same, I respectfully disagree.
Hip-Hop is positive like the STOP THE VIOLENCE MOVEMENT.
Rap is about gangstarism.

No No Gansta Rap is not hip hop.. I hated when people lump them up. Gansta rap must die.

[illusioned]

People need to learn the distinction between Gangsta rap and regular rap. YES, there is a difference. Turn off MTV and you'll see. Comercialised, a.k.a. gangasta will cease being 'popular' if people stopped promoting it and listening to it. This is a societal problem, not a 'rap' problem. There is filth in all music, but it's up to people if they want to listen to it or not.

Hopefully, Gangsta rap will DIE and people will begin to realise that these talentless idiots who call themselves 'rappers' are such.

(and maybe then rappers like Lupe Fiasco will get more exposure).

[Number1Queen]

ditto

[Africa1]

illusioned wrote:

People need to learn the distinction between Gangsta rap and regular rap. YES, there is a difference. Turn off MTV and you'll see. Comercialised, a.k.a. gangasta will cease being 'popular' if people stopped promoting it and listening to it. This is a societal problem, not a 'rap' problem. There is filth in all music, but it's up to people if they want to listen to it or not.
Hopefully, Gangsta rap will DIE and people will begin to realise that these talentless idiots who call themselves 'rappers' are such.
(and maybe then rappers like Lupe Fiasco will get more exposure).

This is so true.

[NYC via MD]

How many of you remember "Self Destruction"? There was nothing negative about the artists or the message of that song. True Hip-HOP heads have ALWAYS understood their role as it related to helping America understand the plot of the poor but more importantly helping the poor understand the light of life.

[TodaysDrum]

Thanks foir this great article about the pioneers in black wax museums.

[Kidd]

People, please educate yourselves about rap music and hip hop culture in general. First of all, stop believing the hype that you hear in the media. Everything about rap music and hip hop culture is not negative. In fact, it is mostly positive. What started out as a fad in the seventies, has be come a cultural phenomenon that has led to young black men and women becoming highly successful entrepreneures i.e. Jay-Z, Sean Combs, Russell Simmons, Percy Miller, Chris Bridges, the late Jason Mizell, and the list goes on. It also shows the youth that they too can become business owners and that they don't have to feed in the fallacies of the "American Dream"

Secondly, rap music is just a reflection of what is going on in society. For example what existed first, gansta rap or gangsters. If you don't know, gangsters. Gangsters date all the way back to the early 1900's and the black gangs, i.e. crips and bloods started in the 60's . Gangsta rap didn't come about until Ice-T did the song Colors which was about what was already happening. If you want to end gangsta rap, then step up to the plate and become active in your community and help put an end to gang banging. Otherwise, stop using rap music as a scapegoat.

Thirdly, to those who say nothing positive comes out of rap music, you are just as ignorant as the rappers you accuse. How many you have heard of the Hip Hop Action network or the Ludacris Foundation or Daddy's House? How many of you know about all the activism that Russell Simmons is involved in? These are just a few of the ways that the rap industry gives back. The problem is not the the hip hop culture, it's the media's portrayal of it and the stupidity of the American public to believe everything that they see and hear on radio and t.v. There are some bad apples in the industry just like in any other industry, but as a whole, hip hop is alot more positive than negative. Please get educated more you make wild accusations with no foundation to them.

[Africa1]

Kidd wrote:

People, please educate yourselves about rap music and hip hop culture in general. First of all, stop believing the hype that you hear in the media. Everything about rap music and hip hop culture is not negative. In fact, it is mostly positive. What started out as a fad in the seventies, has be come a cultural phenomenon that has led to young black men and women becoming highly successful entrepreneures i.e. Jay-Z, Sean Combs, Russell Simmons, Percy Miller, Chris Bridges, the late Jason Mizell, and the list goes on. It also shows the youth that they too can become business owners and that they don't have to feed in the fallacies of the "American Dream"
Secondly, rap music is just a reflection of what is going on in society. For example what existed first, gansta rap or gangsters. If you don't know, gangsters. Gangsters date all the way back to the early 1900's and the black gangs, i.e. crips and bloods started in the 60's . Gangsta rap didn't come about until Ice-T did the song Colors which was about what was already happening. If you want to end gangsta rap, then step up to the plate and become active in your community and help put an end to gang banging. Otherwise, stop using rap music as a scapegoat.
Thirdly, to those who say nothing positive comes out of rap music, you are just as ignorant as the rappers you accuse. How many you have heard of the Hip Hop Action network or the Ludacris Foundation or Daddy's House? How many of you know about all the activism that Russell Simmons is involved in? These are just a few of the ways that the rap industry gives back. The problem is not the the hip hop culture, it's the media's portrayal of it and the stupidity of the American public to believe everything that they see and hear on radio and t.v. There are some bad apples in the industry just like in any other industry, but as a whole, hip hop is alot more positive than negative. Please get educated more you make wild accusations with no foundation to them.

Making money doesn't mean positive. While Jay Z and Puff Daddy are changing their ways. Remember the late 90's? They were extremity negative influences on black culture.

[keli]

Africa1 wrote:

<quoted text>
No No Gansta Rap is not hip hop.. I hated when people lump them up. Gansta rap must die.

i agree. ganster rap needs to be eliminated. people need to stop listening to it. i used to listen to rap( i'm apart of the tupac era) but now rap isn't about anything. these men have become muli-millionaires off of disrespecting black women. and they are not all to blame, the black women who are willing to do any and everything, it's disgusting. but try to talk to them about maybe changing their message, they get angry. they say that we are not talking about all women, but this is what the world is judging us off of, the media. anytime you hear someone say something negative about black people, they refer to the videos, and the media.

[Kidd]

Did anyone actually pay attention. These guys didn't get successful promoting violence, especially not P. Diddy. In Jay-Z's case, he rapped about things he saw that actually were happening in the streets. For example, my first memory of living in the 21st and greenmount neighborhood in E. B-More was seeing someone get shot over a craps game. I was six years old. That was 25 years ago which was long before I ever heard anyone rap about it. I have plenty more memories and stories like that which I can tell in vivid detail and they all happened before gangster rap or any of the rappers that get unfairly accused of causing these problems.

In the case of Puffy, he rapped about partying and clubbing in the 90's. But my point is this, I remember seeing people get shot and sell drugs in the late 80's/early 90's long before anyone ever focused on that lifestyle in rap music. How many people have ever heard of Rayful Edmonds. I think you would all agree that his lifestyle came long before 2-Pac. Biggie, Jay-Z, NAS, The Lox, DMX or any of those guys ever rapped about it. The thing that people have to realize is that music doesn't drive our culture, our culture drives the music. Think about all of the different time periods in history, and then listen to the music from that time. You will find more often than not that the music was usually a reflection of what was happening culturally at that time...just like some of rap music today.

[Kidd]

Africa1 wrote:

<quoted text>
Making money doesn't mean positive. While Jay Z and Puff Daddy are changing their ways. Remember the late 90's? They were extremity negative influences on black culture.

I never said that making money means positive. But showing kids that you can be from a bad neighborhood and grow up to become a successful businessman is positive. No one ever talks about that. Remember, Jay-Z and Puffy are characters/personas, Sean Carter and Sean Combs are the actual people. I don't think either one was a negative influence. The reason I say that is this: How many young black men do you see starting their own clothing lines or distributing their own music or trying other business ventures simply because they saw these men become successful at it and realized that business is a realistic option for them? Most people who hustle, gang bang, and so on don't do it because they heard it in a rap song. I know first hand because most of my friends growing up did it. I also worked in juvenile justice centers and group homes. In talking to these people, not one ever said they did it because they heard someone rap about it. In most cases, they were either misguided or they felt it was their best option to make a living. It had nothing to do with any type of music. If fact, it still doesn't. How many kids out here do you meet who seem ignorant but then you meet their parents and understand where the kids got it from? If you want to blame the ills of our society on something, blame the weak adults that don't step up and teach the kids right from wrong or that don't discipline the kids when they need it. That's the true problem, not rap, music videos, video games or any of the other things that we use as scapegoats for our shortcomings as an adult society.

[keli]

no matter what you say, these men need to take responsiblity for the image that they present in their videos. Jay-Z did start out for the most part disrespecting women. and look at rap has become. whenever someone says something negative about black people, they always have the videos to bring up. these guys won't stop making videos like this. i don't even watch videos anymore, it's about nothing but sex. most of these guys rap now about disrespecting women, selling drugs, and killing people. there are a few out there who don't do that, but not many. we all know rap started out as a positive, but look at what it's become. and the young black people are buying into that lie.