Attention Hip-Hop! Your Chickens Have Come Home to Roost!

April 13, 2007 by
Filed under: Music Reviews 

Well, it was good while it lasted.

We came, we saw, we partied, we laughed, we called a lotta women out their names… I’ll always cherish how amazingly fluid and smooth “beeoch!” rolls off the tongue at the end of most any of your favorite rapper’s title LP. Well, time to pack up your belongings and take the fast train to reality because for us(hip hop heads, young Black folks, African Americans, etc.) to think it’s ok to refer to women in such demeaning ways is gone. How can anyone in this day and age hope for TRUE racial equality while tolerating the disgusting amount of misogyny in mainstream hip hop? In your mind, attempt to conceive Malcolm X rolling down the streat with his wife Betty Shabazz at his side bumping “Nasty Bitch” full bore through his Alpines. As ridiculous as that may seem, many of us twenty-somethings-plus have lived in that oxymoron for well over 20 years now. Think about how that illegitimizes the valiance and honor of every single slave that ever dared to stand against the injustice they faced EVERY SINGLE DAY.


But, this whole thing isn’t just limited to how we treat women though; it speaks more blazingly to the self-loathing that eats at the fiber of Black America. It’s completely unacceptable that we call each other n#ggers, n%ggas, b#tches, hoes, and whatever other derogatory term we can imagine in the spirit of love and caring. Not only is that a ridiculous thought, it’s a more ridiculous excuse. Also, it’s COMPLETELY unacceptable to think that we refer to our children in this same manner and laugh when they respond in turn to each other or back at us. And, it’s outright APPALLING to be surprised when our children suffer so mightily in a societal playing field more uneven than Don King’s top. Let’s think about it. If a child is surrounded by people that curse and call each other derogatory terms, how can that child be expected to be anything other than what those people think of themselves? I understand and realize there are extraneous factors that have NOTHING to do with hip hop culture that are limiting young African-American children but raising children in a verbally abusive environment ain’t exactly helping.

None of this excuses Don Imus or any person of non-African decent who uses n#gger, n*gga, or nappy-headed hoes. Rather it be in public OR in private, racial slurs are offensive and there should be consequences when they are used. Any punitive actions taken by CBS were of little consequence. Don Imus was hired to do what he did and he pushed the wrong envelope at the wrong time. He’s had similar occurences with no repercussions before. Still, this blood on the dance floor belongs to hip-hop because even though rap music didn’t invent any of those terms it served up a lot of them on a bling-encrusted platter and made it acceptable for all to mock and mimic the new Black minstrelsy.

So go ahead. Celebrate today’s victory of Don Imus’ firing with some cognac, your favorite Al Sharpton poster, and any Too Short CD. Tomorrow, take a step toward self-preservation. Take a look in the mirror and promise yourself to grow daily towards being a little bit better than the racists who smile every time they hear a rap song call a woman a “b#tch”.

 

Tags:

Comments

6 Comments on Attention Hip-Hop! Your Chickens Have Come Home to Roost!

  1. Joel on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 12:00 am

    2. No more excuses. No more, “if that’s what she is, then that’s what I’m going to call her.” It’s all about expectations. What do they expect of themselves? What standard are they living up to? It’s time for an examination and time for people to be taken to task. If it takes Oprah and Bill Cosby then so be it. If you’re going to use such language, you need to be able to defend it intelligently. Ignorance must go!

  2. Villager on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 3:51 am

    3. …it is good to see the post-Imus discussion taking place throughout the blogosphere.

    peace, Villager

  3. Joel on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 7:13 pm

    4. You know, much of hip-hop defends this type of language within it as simply “calling it as they see it.” I love hip-hop but the problem with a defense like this is that it strips away responsibility. I don’t think every rapper out there should be a “conscious” (sp?) rapper, but if you’re getting paid millions upon millions, don’t you feel some responsibility to be balanced in your art and not poison the airwaves so much? You can’t blame hip-hop for all of society’s (particularily black society’s) ills but shouldn’t some blame be place when it perpetuates the ills? Calling as you see it is one thing but what about using your voice for a greater good?

    Of course this all comes down to economics. Many artists today will quickly tell you they are entrepreneuers first before they are artists. An entrepreneuer seeks to fill the demand of his target market before anything else. The sad thing is that there is so much demand out there for degrading music.

    How do you squelch demand? You provide alternatives or you fix the problem that creates the demand. The long term solution is to fix the problem. The demand is there because people want to listen to something that reflects their reality. Their realities need to be addressed. That’s another blog topic in itself.

  4. Joel on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 7:25 pm

    5. Here’s a good question: Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Relate it to hip-hop music and culture.

  5. theo.johnson on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 8:47 pm

    6. Good question. Hip-hop used to be the voice of the community. I’m not sure what most of it is now. I think there needs to be a push to get more conscious rappers on the radio. But I agree, someone must be requesting their music.

  6. darrell.holmes on Sat, 14th Apr 2007 11:12 pm

    7. This debate kind of reminds me of the “stay in school v. enter the draft” debate that athletes go through. Sure, they could be role models, stay in school, and enjoy the journey. The path being analogous with a rapper that “keeps it real” and makes good music for the sake of good music. Then there’s always the draw to get paid and become a professional entertainer. The problem there always seems to be the corruption and wild lifestyle that comes with the $$.

    That sounds like another blog to me.

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!