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Originally Posted by Gilda
Good for him!
I also found the "breaking down barriers" comment interesting, as that doesn't jibe with my admittedly limited perception of rap, which often seems to me to be about erecting barriers between street culture and the police, the middle class, white culture, etc.
I'm not, however, going to wade through all of the foul language, relatively uninteresting music sampling, misogyny, and difficult to understand lyrics to correct it. Perhaps it is the poetry of the streets, but there are just too many barriers for me to be able to access it.
Gilda
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What is so sad about the world of hip-hop is that the public's perception is totally mangled.
The media is primarily at fault for this, due to their nature of primarily focusing on sensationalism [*shakes fist at Bill O'Reilly, amongst others] as well as sex, bling-bling, and violence [shakes fist at MTV and the Big 5 record labels].
The underground world of hip-hop is a bit divided into different idealogies. There's a group which attempts to emulate the mainstream world - in which some of them reach the mainstream, and thus continues the cycle of the crap hip-hop.
However, there's the other group, which indentifies itself with tolerance, social equality and justice.
Mos Def [one of the more well known and respected rapper in hip-hop] demostrates the other world of hip-hop in the song 'Fear Not Of Man'
Code:
If you can hear me ladies and gentlemen
then I'm very happy that you came here..
Ooh-ooooooooooohhhh, ooh-ooooooooooooooohh-WHEEEEE!!!
That was for Brooklyn..
Ha ha, we get it everytime
You got me on? Ohh
Shout out to all of my crew, East-West, North-South
All the continent, Europe, all abroad international
Bring it in, bring it in, bring it in, bring it in
It's a lot of things goin on y'all
21st century is comin
20th century almost done
A lot of things have changed
A lot of things have not, mainly us
We gon' get it together right? I believe that
Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
"Yo Mos, what's gettin ready to happen with Hip-Hop?"
(Where do you think Hip-Hop is goin?)
I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop?
Whatever's happening with us"
If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople
We +are+ Hip-Hop
Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop
So Hip-Hop is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is goin
ask yourself.. where am I goin? How am I doin?
Til you get a clear idea
So.. if Hip-Hop is about the people
and the.. Hip-Hop won't get better until the people get better
then how do people get better? (Hmmmm...)
Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable caause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable
And whether or not you, recognize that value is one thing
You got a lot of socities and governments
tryin to be God, wishin that they were God
They wanna create satellites and cameras everywhere
and make you think they got the all-seein eye
Eh.. I guess The Last Poets wasn't, too far off
when they said that certain people got a God Complex
I believe it's true
I don't get phased out by none of that, none of that
helicopters, the TV screens, the newscasters, the..
satellite dishes.. they just, wishin
They can't really never do that
When they tell me to fear they law
When they tell me to try to
have some fear in my heart behind the things that they do
This is what I think in my mind
And this is what I say to them
And this is what I'm sayin, to you check it
All over the world hearts pound with the rhythm
Fear not of men because men must die
Mind over matter and soul before flesh
Angels for the pain keep a record in time
which is passin and runnin like a caravan freighter
The world is overrun with the wealthy and the wicked
But God is sufficient in disposin of affairs
Gunmen and stockholders try to merit my fear
But God is sufficient over plans they prepared
Mos Def in the flesh, where you at, right here
on this place called Earth, holdin down my square
Bout to do it for y'all, and y'all at the fair
So just bounce, come on bounce
B-b-bounce b-bounce b-bounce-bounce
And just..
.. just step two three
Just step two three and
step two..
two three and..
One two three and four
One two three and four
Once again
All over the world hearts pound with the rhythm
Fear not of men because men must die
Mind over matter and soul before flesh
Angels for the pain keep a record in time
which is passin and runnin like a caravan freighter
The world is overrun with the wealthy and the wicked
But God is sufficient in disposin of affairs
Gunmen and stockholders try to merit your fear
But God is sufficient over plans they prepared
Mos Def in the flesh, where you at, right here
on this place called Earth, holdin down my square
Bout to represent in your whole atmosphere
Bout to represent in your whole atmosphere
to your atmosphere, to your atmosphere
Oh-ooooooohhhhhhhhhh!
That was for you - and Brooklyn too!
Kanye West happened to be one of the few who crossed into the mainstream, with success, and still raps with a social conscience in mind. On his previous album, College Dropout, he even collaborated with less 'refined' rappers including Jay-Z and Ludacris; as well as ones from his echelon - Mos Def and Common.
I applaud and admire him as a music artist and hopes he continues on his journey and look forward to hearing his next album coming on Aug. 30th.
Catcha back on the flipside,
will.
PS - I encourage the discussion of the conotations to the word 'gay'; but I suggest that another thread should be created for it, so we don't divulge too much from the original topic, of Kanye West.