Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan


I see little artistic value in most of it. Rap has gotten to where it lacks originality. It uses sampled music from past musical "greats"

Actually it doesn't. "Some" does, but most of it doesn't. The rap producers who I appreciate do not "sample" old songs, they compose every single piece of the "beat." I think you are just referring to "mainstream rap" that you hear on MTV or your local "hip-hop" radio station. Most of you obviously don't know what you're talking about when it comes to rap music, so why even speak on it?

It would be great if people just stopped being so incredibly sensitive, making a huge issue about everything. Honestly.

(I'm not referring to the OP, just in general. Everyone seems to have such a thin skin nowadays).

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
I see little artistic value in most of it. Rap has gotten to where it lacks originality. It uses sampled music from past musical "greats", and then applies very, very poor English that is very loosely associated in the form of metaphor for "lyrics".

Tell me. You're in Texas, right? Can you explain to me why "y'all gunna" is acceptable, but "you's finna" isn't? I encountered this all over the place in the south when I was in school: "Them there pollytishuns shun't be lettinem teach no dang EE-boniks in them schools. Ain't proper english, y'all know whud ah mean?"

As for the artistic value of rap... Really? You think your prefrred genre of music is any different? Fact is, 80% of all music made is crap, and radio only selects songs from that particular pool. There is lots of damn good rap out there, but you're not going to find it on a radio station any more than you're going to find good country, good rock, or even good classical.

Growing up i listened to a wide range of music from metal, to opera, to classical, to rap. Rap used to be good back when you had folks like Public Enemy using it to promote social awareness. Now it is musical pornography.

Again, this is different how? We've got green Day singing about masturbation and drug use, Metallica singing about suicide and going to hell, even the Stones telling us about their ravenous sexual appetites. You can't listen to modern music, and only go all Tipper Gore on one genre.

My kids are not allowed to listen to it. Not because I am prudish, but because i want them to develop thought processes that see sex as a background function of existence, not the reason for existence. If my kids are unable to interact with women in their daily lives without sexual urges and undertones, then i have done them a HUGE disservice as the person who was tasked with providing them leadership and guidance.

Well, guess you better keep the radio and TV off for a good long while man Or, alternately, you could let them listen, and still teach them your own values. Trust me when it comes to an argument between Puff Daddy and Actual Daddy, Actual Daddy will win.

of course your kids are guaranteed to figure out their sexual lives completely independently from anything you try. But, that's never stopped a parent before.

[edit on 4-6-2009 by TheWalkingFox]

FFS, people are just too semsitive.

I'm the first one to protest about the hypocrisy and double standards surrounding racism and blacks etc.

But get real, this is just a crap song!

And if people didn't know, not all the world's slaves have been black.
Slavery has existed in nearly every single society since we first came out of the trees.

I'm not trying to trivialise or condone slavery, it is a truly horrific practice and one which should be opposed at all costs.

But come on.....this is just a very crap song!!

The slave thing is not that upsetting, I have heard the saying used for a very long time. What is very bad is the way these guys make the drug game seem ever so normal. I have lost too many family members to the streets and prison and for whatever reason they think this is all normal!

You would think they would try to encourage kids and young adults toward school and education. They glorify the "game" but seem pretty silent about the large numbers of people whose lives are ruined by prison. Then again, I guess it is all about the money to these people. Shame really.

Originally posted by Diplomat

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan


I see little artistic value in most of it. Rap has gotten to where it lacks originality. It uses sampled music from past musical "greats"

Actually it doesn't. "Some" does, but most of it doesn't. The rap producers who I appreciate do not "sample" old songs, they compose every single piece of the "beat." I think you are just referring to "mainstream rap" that you hear on MTV or your local "hip-hop" radio station. Most of you obviously don't know what you're talking about when it comes to rap music, so why even speak on it?

Well...there is not only mainstream music (which, honestly, has become musical pornography, as i mentioned earlier), but there is also some less mainstream stuff like what comes out of Houston (chopped and screwed). That is another facet of rap that thrives on the talents of other musicians.

Of course, there is always that element that remains mostly "underground" with the populace. The "indy" music, which is what i believe you refer to. I listen to some of that kind of stuff (Del the Funky Homosapien, for example).

However, the context of this conversation is a song by Lil Wayne. Apply the context of the conversation to each post here so you will understand what was being said.

Within the context of this thread, I would say that each and every poster on this forum "knows what they are talking about" and their input is as valid as anyone else's.

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox

Tell me. You're in Texas, right? Can you explain to me why "y'all gunna" is acceptable, but "you's finna" isn't? I encountered this all over the place in the south when I was in school: "Them there pollytishuns shun't be lettinem teach no dang EE-boniks in them schools. Ain't proper english, y'all know whud ah mean?"

I am a call center manager. In my business, being able to speak clearly using proper English is a requirement. "Ya'll gunna" is coached on in the same way as any other mispronunciation of English. I will say that folks who are more into the rap culture do VERY poorly in customer service, as they make poor representatives for the companies they work for. Note that i am not discussing black people here. It is any race that is immersed in the "hip hop culture".

When i refer to poor English above, however, let me elucidate:

I was interviewing this hispanic kid for a position as an agent in my bilingual queue. He showed up in some nice jeans, but he was sagging and his underwear was showing. He had a nice polo on, and a matching hat (worn sideways). His mother worked for me and was an excellent employee, so my expectations were high for him. He failed.

A sample response: I asked him if he had transportation to get to and from work reliably, and he replied with, "Yeah, well...I sometimes gotta go scoop up my homies around 3 so they old ladies won't be trippin' about shorties bein' left at school".

This kid thought that the above sentence was appropriate to use in a job interview. THAT is the poor English i refer to. The overuse of slang which makes it hard for the average person to understand what is being said.

As for the artistic value of rap... Really? You think your prefrred genre of music is any different? Fact is, 80% of all music made is crap, and radio only selects songs from that particular pool. There is lots of damn good rap out there, but you're not going to find it on a radio station any more than you're going to find good country, good rock, or even good classical.

I don't find much artistic value in composing songs about having sex on each and every song on an album.

When 2 Live Crew did it, it was a humorous diversion. NWA did it, but not every single song, and much of their music discussed their daily lives. Crude, yet artistically viable.

With Lil Wayne, it is all about "Money, Clothes, and Ho's". That is much of what we hear on the radio.

As previous posters have mentioned, music by folks like Wu Tang or Del is good stuff. But that is completely overshadowed over the last 5 years by stuff like Lil Wayne and Yin Yang Twins.

Again, this is different how? We've got green Day singing about masturbation and drug use, Metallica singing about suicide and going to hell, even the Stones telling us about their ravenous sexual appetites. You can't listen to modern music, and only go all Tipper Gore on one genre.



Metallica sang 1 song about suicide (Fade to Black), based on a friend of the band. It was a song about a dark moment in their life.

I don't listen to Green Day...it is "pseudo-punk" and spits on the legacy of good punk bands like The Dead Kennedy's and Black Flag.

But the point here is, many of the bands you describe sing about things OTHER than sex. They are not 1 trick pony's.

Well, guess you better keep the radio and TV off for a good long while man Or, alternately, you could let them listen, and still teach them your own values. Trust me when it comes to an argument between Puff Daddy and Actual Daddy, Actual Daddy will win.

of course your kids are guaranteed to figure out their sexual lives completely independently from anything you try. But, that's never stopped a parent before.

[edit on 4-6-2009 by TheWalkingFox]

And that is the problem. Musical Pornography is allowed in mainstream use, all the while we (as a nation) decry teen pregnancy rates. The town i live in has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state of Texas. It is a real problem here.

How many parents do you think even know what the term "skeet, skeet, skeet" means? Yet it is played, unedited, on the radio. Is it not unnerving to you to hear a 7 year old singing lyrics like that to songs on the radio?

Lil' wayne is a joke. He is not hip hop.



Lil' wayne is to hip hop what Nickleback is to rock and roll. Hope he says something stupid and gets clipped.

Not all Slaves were Black ...

The term Slave is derived from Slav, who categorically belong to eastern Europeans that were enslaved by the Vikings.

Jews were enslaved by the ancient Egyptians and also by the Nazis.

Just to broaden your perspective a bit...

Originally posted by nh_ee


Not all Slaves were Black ...

The term Slave is derived from Slav, who categorically belong to eastern Europeans that were enslaved by the Vikings.

Jews were enslaved by the ancient Egyptians and also by the Nazis.

Just to broaden your perspective a bit...

thats true, in fact at the early period of American history a vast majority of the slaves were actually European in origin, often times simply orphans "kidnapped" off the streets of London and shipped over as "indentured servants"

however these indentured servants often times were treated EXACTLY like slaves and many of them NEVER gained any semblance of freedom or decency

Around the American Revolution, these white slaves had begun freeing themselves and around this time slaves from Africa became far more common throughout several areas

When the first White House was built, there were many African slaves who toiled on it

But there were also WHITE slaves as well, who had to labor ALONGSIDE the Black slaves...

Its all quite interesting what really happened...there were White slaves in America quite recently
However they usually go by the name "indentured servant" although often times there is little difference

Black man makes racist comment, its white folk's fault.

White man makes racist comment, its white folk's fault.

That is the funniest song I have ever heard in my life. Now I have a new way to describe taking care of my business. This had to be written by Dave Chapelle.

New day new day....then I whip it like Kunta-kin-tee...
I wonder if when they are done it calls itself Toby

I take a brick... Karate chop it like a Sensai.

These guys must be hurting a bit after they are done.

Thanks for the laughs. I am going to download that song ASAP and blast it from my car everywhere I go for the next month.

And for those of you lacking a sense of humor the song wasnt about beating a woman.. it was about whipping something else like a slave.


[edit on 6/4/2009 by justsomeboreddude]