ARE RAPPER'S BEING PORTRAYED AS MODERN DAY DRUG DEALERS?
A narrator in a documentary made an accurate point when discussing the reigns of drug kingpins Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes. He said, “The powers that be would rather see you getting high on heroin than to see you getting high on the teachings of Malcolm X.”
So, the broader point here is that an attack on a community is every bit as psychological as it is physical. If your oppressor controls your thinking and gets you to destroy yourself, then you are going to do the hard work for them. Even worse, those in power are more likely to use operatives within your community to get the job done, positioning them as the ultimate scapegoats for negative consequences of their own devious behavior. Thus, the war on drugs became a triple whammy for the black community: We became the addicts, we were hit by the violence and we were the ones who went to prison for what went down. That’s one reason that I believe that reparations are needed.
Rappers, to some extent, have become modern day drug dealers. Grabbing young, hungry kids out of the ghetto who are willing to sign damn near anything to pay the bills, multi-billion dollar corporations provide them with financial incentives to expose a very toxic, insidious message to the African American community. The message presented on the radio for black men is very simple: Stay high and drunk as much as possible, you should sleep with everything that moves, going to prison is something to be proud of, kill other black men if necessary, waste all of your money without saving or investing it, and remain uneducated and ignorant.
Of the messages that black youth receive from hip hop music, almost none of them position that young person to live an empowered and fulfilled existence. Rather, they are messages that teach a young person to kill themselves before they even begin to realize an ounce of their potential.
As a result, many of the worst hip hop artists have positioned themselves as the delivery boys of psychological poison, destroying millions of black minds in the process. Like the old men who were sent to kill Jesus as a newborn baby, they drop into the black community like assassins seeking to murder the potential of any young black male who might grow up to become the next Malcolm X. Our current urban media social machine is not one that is designed to produce doctors, lawyers and professors. We are, unfortunately, much more likely to produce “Niggas in Paris.”
This is not to say that we should reject hip hop or even reject the men who produce it. But it is absolutely essential that we all be educated about the impact of these artistic platforms and remain encouraged to seek a higher standard. The power of hip hop was designed to build, not meant to destroy, and most true fans of hip-hop know that.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by kiki on -
Um! maybe some rappers want too be hard because they need street credit from the hood and gansters so they can buy there music. So they can get alot money, cars, jewerly, women. I do not believe every rapper is hard i do believe most or some are pretend too be hard for acceptance from the hood.. You know! I am from the ghetto.. but i guess people still buy the music.. I think that few rappers were exposed.. People still respect them.. I guess it is what it is.
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Permalink Reply by thabo vincent maruma on -
most rapperz are just talkin about things and they are not actually doin them,while on da other hand some are doing them which is why most of them end up in prison.
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Permalink Reply by Raisingdastakes on -
EITHER WAY IT IS CORRUPTING OUR YOUTH AND MOST OF THEM ARE NOT "AWARE" THAT THIS GUYS DO NOT OWN THE CARS AND JEWELRY IN THE VIDEOS..THEY ARE ON LOAN OR RENTED..SO WHY RAP ABOUT THINGS YOU HAVE NOT TO BOOST YOUR SELLS AND DANG NEAR THROW OUR YOUTH OFF TRACK?
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Permalink Reply by MZ TEFLON on -
I AGREE 100% LADY BOSS! THOSE OF US WHO HAVE REALLY LIVED THIS LIFE SINCE CHILDHOOD THAT ARE TRYING TO TELL OUR STORIES OF OUR ACTUAL STRUGGLE; IT SEEMS LIKE WE DON'T STAND A CHANCE. IT PISSES ME OFF CAUSE I WANT TO TELL THE STORY OF MY STRUGGLE AND MOVE ON. I AM NOW ON A MORE POSITIVE EPISODE OF MY LIFE BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ALL THE SHIT I BEEN THROUGH. RAPPERS FEEL LIKE THEY CAN BUY STREET CRED AND THROW ON THIS IMAGE TO SELL RECORDS BUT I'M NOT BUYING IT. REAL RECOGNIZE REAL AND I SEE RIGHT THRU THE BULLSHIT BEING THAT I HAVE REALLY BEEN SHOOTING DICE ON STREET CORNERS SINCE I WAS IN MY TEENS AND LIVING THE LIFE THAT THEY RAP ABOUT. I WON'T GO INTO TOO MANY DETAILS BUT I'VE SEEN A LOT AND I'VE BEEN A LOT OF PLACES THAT THESE CELEBRITIES CRY WHEN THEY GO THERE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T HANDLE IT. SMH MUCH LUV, MZ TEFLON
Raisingdastakes said:EITHER WAY IT IS CORRUPTING OUR YOUTH AND MOST OF THEM ARE NOT "AWARE" THAT THIS GUYS DO NOT OWN THE CARS AND JEWELRY IN THE VIDEOS..THEY ARE ON LOAN OR RENTED..SO WHY RAP ABOUT THINGS YOU HAVE NOT TO BOOST YOUR SELLS AND DANG NEAR THROW OUR YOUTH OFF TRACK?
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Permalink Reply by reginald shipman on -
It is important to keep in mind that the people who fund these situations have no allegiance (or should they have) to a community. their allegiance is to their shareholders 1st and there customers 2nd. If there was a huge demand for very positive rap then show them by backing it with your money. Be brave enough to invest your cash and become the competition for these lenders to the music industry. I guarentee you that they are going to back whichever situation brings them the most cash quickly (ie: the Cosby Show made NBC cash, a lot of it and they backed it). Currently Cash Money make the Universal Music Group a lot of case (not hyped sales, real consistant sales). Nikki Minaj, Drake Lil Wayne are brands that currently guarentee consistant shelf space and sales. Positive rappers have to have the ability to also have demand pull to maintains in the game. So download that new single by a positive artist (it's only a $1,00 or less to download) and show these companies there is a demand for this music in there market. They will support what's supporting their bottomline.
Currently I ran across a christian rapper named StreetEvangilist "The Price" and I was very impressed with his work (really it's good). It's up to customers who want positive music to show that there is a demand. They will invest in what's working. #LetYourDollarsSpeakTheLoudest
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Permalink Reply by Raisingdastakes on
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THAT IS SO TRUE AND I AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY ARE OUR ARTIST ALWAYS "PORTRAYED" AND "SOLD" LIKE THIS..YOU DON'T SEE ALL OF THESE "MARKETING" SKILLS IN OTHER CULTURES? WHY DO ACCEPT WE THIS? I MEAN WHAT HAPPENED TO HIP HOP?
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Permalink Reply by Gideon Scarbrough on -
@Raisingdastakes.....An Intelligently designed Genocide Plan! many rappers never realize they are employees of the Master Designers. New age plantation! Shh, be quite-back to work, here come Massa!
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Permalink Reply by Raisingdastakes on
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@ GIDEON TRUE MY BROTHER'S
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Permalink Reply by Gideon Scarbrough on
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@ Mr. Shipman, Right on Bro. You're on to sum-tin!
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Aris on -
they need to do better as role models.....trying to make dumb stuff like cool.......
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Permalink Reply by reginald shipman on
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You know it amazes me that a culture as strong and as rich as black america really believes that a few weird little men can come up with a master plan to destroy a community. Granted there will always be segments of people who have bad ideas and if you spend your day chasing a boogyman, well you're just giving fools to much power.
Sometimes you just have to do and learn from your mistakes. No one who has wealth or priviledge gives up their high ground. We are a bright and strong culture that just need to understand entrepreneurship and stay focused on being right instead of trying to look right. A fool only has power if you give it to them. If we create our own understanding of business then we create a better tommorrow for your children. People have to live with their choices. Like the music business if you treat it like a game, well you might get played. if you treat it like a business then you adjust to the good and the bad. It takes two to play in a fools game.
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