Eric Olsen brought my attention to his entry about the history of hip hop at MSNBC. It was written in anticipation of the upcoming Grammy Awards.
Rap music and the so-called "hip-hop lifestyle" have become integral to American popular culture, as even a cursory look at movies, television, radio, or a simple stroll through a CD store, reveal.
Rappers appear across the cultural landscape: Will Smith, Ice Cube, and Queen Latifah are among Hollywood's most prominent black actors. A cozy Lil' Kim cooed for the Gap in Christmas TV commercials, Snoop Dogg pitches AOL, McDonald?s "I'm lovin' it" campaign jingles to the rhythms of hip-hop, and heavyweight brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Budweiser, Nike, Reebok, Lincoln/Mercury and Cover Girl have all availed themselves of hip-hop personalities or incorporated the lifestyle into their marketing strategies. Top 40 radio is now dominated by rap and hip-hop. Terms like "bling bling," "dis" and Snoop's "izzle" lingo are now ubiquitous. Rap hits are pumped over the sound systems of virtually every professional sport team.
Since 1999, rap and hip-hop sales have been second only to rock in the U.S., in 2002 rising to 13.8 percent of all records sold, a total of†more†than†84 million recordings. 50 Cent?s thuggish, monochromatic "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" was Billboard's top album for 2003, and his "In Da Club," Sean Paul's "Get Busy," and pop-R&B singer Beyonce's "Crazy In Love," with prominent raps by Jay-Z, were three of the four top singles for the year.
I never expected rap to be as successful as it has become. I guess I'm old-fashioned. Pipes, as in voices that can break glass, will always impress me more than clever rhymes. The inanity of the lyrics, which often focus on hallucinogens, 'hos' and homicide, leaves something to be desired, too. The other aspect of hip hop culture that has left me ambivalent is its ongoing relationship with violence. Yes, the reputation is overstated, but there is a core of truth to it. For example, the assumption that a rapper and his main man had killed a young lawyer in Maryland was ridiculous.
Prosecutor's murder reveals flip side of Internet
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Article comments
1 - Docent Shark
Diva,
You're really going out on a limb there! Equating hip-hop with violence? Who would have thought of that?!
And the segue into that original thinking---to string together a series of copied and pasted press releases!!!
BRILLIANT! MASTERFUL!
Bet you're on the leader board next month! [winky-wink]
XXOO,
Docent ("hey, I'm a critic") Shark
PS: ummm, you're not... Katie Couric, are ya?
2 - Docent Shark
Oh, and EXTRA POINTS for including a gigantic, meaningless, slow-loading jpg!
um, Diva, have you been acquainted with Docent Shark's Universal Law #3?
*"The World is OVERDESIGNED and UNDEREDITED."
*see "Architects Design for Hell
3 - Eric Olsen
Dude, too harsh on the Diva - thanks for the quotes! I think the overwheling success of Outkast moving in a very eccentric and non-gansta direction may open up the doors for more such things. My guess is that things haven't been "cleaned up" until now is that the powers haven't wanted to alienate the core young audience in search of a broader one.
4 - Docent Shark
Eric,
Harsh but right. That's me.
And Diva's smart enough to know the difference between writing and typing.
So my standards are high: Things could be worse.
xxoo
Sharko
5 - Mark Saleski
And Diva's smart enough to know the difference between writing and typing.
...anything you say, mr. capote.
6 - Eric Olsen
Fine, but there are different kinds of stories, and one of the most common is always going to be quoting heavily from elsewhere and commenting upon it, which is what she has done here. We have to judge like with like.
7 - Shark
re. "...one of the most common is always going to be quoting heavily from elsewhere and commenting upon it, which is what she has done..."
My bad. I'm new around here.
*If that's the case, I'll be cutting and pasting and commenting like a chihuahua on crack!
)))spraying WD-40 on his keyboard(((
Leaderboard Immortality, HERE I COME!
*just kiddin'
jeez.
PS: Mark, re. Capote: I could never get that drunk.
8 - Mark Saleski
Mark, re. Capote: I could never get that drunk
me neither, though he was pretty funny in the movie Murder By Death.
i was refering to his comment about Kerouac's On The Road.
9 - shaun
the one problem that i find with this article is that you clump all hip-hop together. There is the "bad" side to many types of music from rock to rap to punk, and some others. there are many amazing rappers who have completely different subjects.
The reason all you hear on the radio "bling bling" and songs about killing is because that is what sells. It is kinda pathetic, but it is reality, and as long as there are poeple to listen to it theie lyrics are not going to change.
P.S. Here is a list of some rappers that have REAL meaning in their lyrics.
Blackstar
anticon
atmosphere
sage francis
blackilicious
and there are more
10 - Shark
Mark: "i was refering to his comment about Kerouac's On The Road."
KAPLOW!!!
Intellectual/Literary reference Warning!!!!
A big huggie-wug for Marky Mark!
11 - Shark
Re:
"a list of some rappers that have REAL meaning in their lyrics.
Blackstar
anticon
atmosphere
sage francis
blackilicious"
Yeah, Dammit, BUT CAN THEY SING???
Best,
Docent ("with a voice that can break glass") Shark
12 - shaun
They are not singers they are rappers, it these guys sang, it would be called R&B. Like maxwell, d'angelo, erika badu, and others
13 - Mark Saleski
Intellectual/Literary reference Warning!!!!
yea....and if you could see me sittin' here with my pipe, slippers & smoking jacket, you'd be jealous.
;-)
14 - Mac Diva
Press releases? I could have sworn both of the pieces cited came from news sites. In fact, one of them is part of the Baltimore Sun's ongoing coverage of Luna's mysterious murder. Poor newspaper. It has been reduced to a shill for hip hop by the devastingly deep Docent. (Wait a minute. Wouldn't a deep person recognize news stories even if he didn't click on the links? I retract 'deep.') Deep thinkers do not embarrass themselves by showing they don't know the difference between a press release and an article.
Anyone interested in more in depth personal opinion about hip hop can read the link to Mac-a-ro-nies cited in this entry, which is a longer analytical piece. Read it there or at other blogs that linked to it. I don't regurgitate in full everything referenced. That is what links are supposed to cover.
Shaun, I am saying there is a pathological aspect to the behavior of some in the hip hop community that taints the form. I am not saying everyone in hip hop is a participant. Some of the negative image is deserved. Some of it is not.
If I liked Docent, I would suggest we pass the hat to buy him a dictionary and a high speed Internet connection. But, I don't like Docent. I think a lame brain like that deserves to remain clueless and on dial-up.
A note on graphics for newbies: They don't load to Blogcritics' Movable Type interface the same way they load to Blogger's. (Actually, when I post to other Blogger weblogs there can be differences based on how the owner has set her formatting, too.) I usually go into the BC entry and change the graphic to look better after it posts. (Preview is not a good guide.) If you post here, you may need to do the same. If you are a reader, cut us some slack.
15 - Mac Diva
And, Eric, stand up for yourself. Docent had no right to dis' your feature story as a effin' press release.
16 - Shark
Diva,
Struck a nerve..?
Shark's Universal Rule #7:
"These days, ALL NEWS IS MARKETING AND ALL MARKETING IS NEWS."
Regardless, my original point still stands: you posted two "article" excerpts and little else... except....
"...I am saying there is a pathological aspect to the behavior of some in the hip hop community that taints the form."
Talk about deep! You musta blown a few synapse connections workin' out that one.
PS: Diva, the original hip-hop (pre-Sony/corporate appropriation/mass marketing) was based on glorifying pathological behavior.
Anyway, thanks for sharing.
17 - Lamebrain
AND THEN THERE'S THIS:
"Deep thinkers do not embarrass themselves by showing they don't know the difference between a press release and an article."
---followed by---
"Eric, stand up for yourself. Docent had no right to dis' your feature story as a effin' press release."
Manipulative Much?
Talk about embarrassing yourself.
You've got me beat there: I haven't resorted to calling my professional writer friends to come to my aid.
18 - Mac Diva
I am going to cease hostilities, Docent. First, because I found your point about the photo useful. (Notice it is gone.) I've been spending too much time trying to force fit graphics into formats I have no control over. Besides, the Amazon ads add color to the page, already. Second, because you are all over that smug arse Freeper, David Flanagan. Anyone who peeps his game gets props from me.
19 - Al Barger
Stop the presses, banner headline:
MAC DIVA CEASES HOSTILITY!!!
Who'd a thunk it?
20 - fwbull@earthlink.net
Diva,
I accept.
Tis a rare thing you've done.
For that, props backatcha.
(Besides, I've always believed that the enemy of my enemy is the confusing Arab cliche.)
...or sumthin' like that.
_insert smiley peace-loving face here_
21 - Eric Olsen
I hereby state unequivocally that my feature article was not a press release - I made it up myself.