331 Search results for "hip hop culture"

We are living in that twenty-first century… Suicidal bombings, Dark Knight’s Joker, Kid Cudi and Kanye West black rose pop music display the new relationships to death. It was death that kept the powerless from doing whatever they pleased; think about “crime,” we approached it slowly, in fear of either real death—execution—or social death, getting […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzQmdTt5dPQ These days I’m feeling more and more like a bastard when I hear “hip hop,” because the Hip Hop that raised me was intellectually gangsta. Guess that explains the initial hunger that goes through me when I hear a song by Somali emcee, K’naan. His debut single, “TIA: This Is Africa,” directly disses the […]

Now these are certainly not the most misogynistic lyrics Hip Hop has to offer (ever heard the N.W.A. song “One Less Bitch”?), but damn, that shit is amazingly harsh. And what’s even more amazing is that “Big Pimpin” is unquestionably Jay-Z’s biggest hit, and arguably the best single he’s ever released.

In the 1994 movie DROP Squad, an underground militant organization spots Black Americans who have sold out, exploited or otherwise turned their backs on their race and then puts them through a rigorous D.R.O.P. (Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride). Every time I watch Bruford Jamison Jr. get dropped, I wonder who among us deserves to […]

Obama tries to recapture his youth vote Christopher Nelson, The Grio, October 15, 2010 It may be 2010 but President Obama is trying to do what both his predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, tried to do before him, which is get young voters to “Rock the Vote”. The phrase often used during the early […]

Lately, I’ve found it exceedingly difficult to blog.  To be sure, it’s not because I lack the desire to write and make you privy to my mental awesomeness each Monday morning, but rather because I’ve essentially checked out of the blogging world.  I wish I could blame it on my dissertation.  (It’s coming along.  Not […]

Sometimes, I make myself sick.  I waited for the LeBron James ESPN special, “The Decision,” like it was a Michael Jackson music video premiere.  (Remember the time?)  I sat in front of the television and waited for LBJ to moonwalk, spin, grab his crotch, and scream “Shamon,” at Jim Gray.  But, alas, that never happened.  […]

Oscar Grant case: No justice, no peace! Editorial Writer, Workers World, July 11, 2010 NAACP must keep pushing for change Doug Moore, STL Today, July 11, 2010 Summer camp keeping kids moving, learning Gary Stallard, The Lufkin Daily News, July 11, 2010 Teenage smoking rate no longer falling despite programs Letitia Stein, St. Petersburg Times, […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxjxrz-jVc&feature=related When the first video of Kat Stacks being slapped by Bow Wow’s male fans became viral on YouTube back in June, I was immediately angered by the physical act of violence and then equally angered by the misogynistic rhetorical of male honor and female “sexual” dishonor that legitimized the beating of Kat Stacks. However, […]

Instead of celebrating Independence Day weekend with American flags and the type of unconditional patriotism that I never really understood, I’m going take an opportunity to reflect on our country’s relationship with music and its cultural and racial geneology. Sunday afternoon I found myself at yet a second free concert at the Taste of Chicago: […]

Recovery finds Eminem cementing his status as a world class lyricist, and there are some tracks here that are definite hit singles, sure to return Slim Shady to the top of the charts. But most importantly, Recovery proves that Marshall Mathers still has something interesting and relevant to say.

Winehouse was touted as a world class vocalist, a supremely gifted songwriter, and a certified game-changer within the landscape of popular music. And then everything went wrong. Very wrong.