Black Hip-Hop artist speaks out against industry racism (cost, high school, education)

[Gtownoe]

Originally Posted by kidkaos2

I've heard tons of rap songs about selling drugs and gangbanging. I've seen rap artists dress like stereotypical thugs. I've seen rap videos glorifying gang life. So your point seems pretty off to me. It really doesn't seem like a misrepresentation of hip hop and rap culture to me. The artists themselves are portraying the culture and themselves that way. It isn't prejudice by white owned media.

What environment did you grow up in?

[itshim]

Originally Posted by Chimuelojones

It's systematic racism when artist have no other alternatives. If an artist goes along and plays the game...kinda hard to go back and blame some of the players.

there are many forms of alternative methods for an artist to get his music out...There are black owned music companies, black moguls that could back good young artists. not to mention the internet.

Im no music historian nor a hip-hop expert, but seems to me, hip-hop started from the people, up from the streets.

That's true but that's not the entire story. Hip Hop in the streets early on did not idealize drug dealers, and gang bangers--alot of those artists came maybe a decade later. Before though, they were mostly "street" party artists (poor kids with turn tables, beatboxing, breaking and graf art). That was in the early 80s. Fast forward to the early 90s and there's tons of drug references, murder references, emulation of gang and prison life.

But back in the day, when groups like NWA came out, they were called gangster rappers (shock artists to some extent)...and those rappers proudly proclaimed their lives as "real" and spread ALOT of fantasy and misinterpretation about the ghettos.

[dsjj251]

Originally Posted by A&M_Indie_08

Yeah, was listening to Van Halen and Bon Jovi the other day and MAN, I wish they would stop talking about baby moms, knocking up chickenheads, beating up fools, repping the hood, shooting cops and other stuff Same thing when I was listening to Guns and Roses Led Zeppelin and Def Leppard

Yeah

proof you stereotype rappers, also proof you dont listen to Jay Z or kanye West.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

I know BET is owned by Viacom, my post said it was founded by a black man. The images seen on BET aren't much different than what it was before Viacom.

BET today is completely different than BET in the 90s though.

There is no equivalent to Video Soul on BET today
There is no equivalent to Teen Summit on BET today
There is no equivalent to Rap City on BET today
There is no equivalent to BET Nightly News on BET today
There is no equivalent to Midnight Love on BET today
There is no equivalent to Planet Groove on BET today
There is no equivalent to Caribbean Rhythms on BET today
There is no equivalent to Comic View on BET today
They shows sitcoms like ROC, 227, Goodtimes, etc. Those wouldn't have the time of day on BET today

When viacom took over back in the early 2000s, they basically made the station out of a black version of MTV by bringing on shows like 106 and park which exactly like TRL. They brought in a show like Hits from the Streets which was just like the Tom Green Show. They didn't show stupid reality tv shows like College Hill on BET in the 90s. Rap City was far more authentic when they went to various scenes on the road in various cities and showcased the talent there before they went into the bassment in 1999. I won't even touch on the greatness that was Sherry Carter and Donnie Simpson on Video Soul. Best show on that network probably ever. BET today is just simply unwatchable.

[Factsplease]

I was discussing this recently. Songs about violence agains cops have been taken off of albums before they're released, but they never remove the songs about violence against other Blacks or gangs. That says a lot.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Factsplease

I was discussing this recently. Songs about violence agains cops have been taken off of albums before they're released, but they never remove the songs about violence against other Blacks or gangs. That says a lot.

To me, it says some people don't care if Blacks get killed.

[tim6624]

Whites aren't the execs, the execs are Jews, for the most part.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Spade

BET today is completely different than BET in the 90s though.

There is no equivalent to Video Soul on BET today
There is no equivalent to Teen Summit on BET today
There is no equivalent to Rap City on BET today
There is no equivalent to BET Nightly News on BET today
There is no equivalent to Midnight Love on BET today
There is no equivalent to Planet Groove on BET today
There is no equivalent to Caribbean Rhythms on BET today
There is no equivalent to Comic View on BET today
They shows sitcoms like ROC, 227, Goodtimes, etc. Those wouldn't have the time of day on BET today

When viacom took over back in the early 2000s, they basically made the station out of a black version of MTV by bringing on shows like 106 and park which exactly like TRL. They brought in a show like Hits from the Streets which was just like the Tom Green Show. They didn't show stupid reality tv shows like College Hill on BET in the 90s. Rap City was far more authentic when they went to various scenes on the road in various cities and showcased the talent there before they went into the bassment in 1999. I won't even touch on the greatness that was Sherry Carter and Donnie Simpson on Video Soul. Best show on that network probably ever. BET today is just simply unwatchable.

My father remembers when BET was good. And then he noticed in the 2000s it went bad. He would watch a televangelist broadcast(probably T.D. Jakes) in the morning, and then suddenly there was a crazy rap video that came on right after. We stopped watching BET after that, and started watching TVOne. Right now I don't get cable or satellite, so I don't watch either. However, I will agree that Viacom basically ruined the channel. Viacom did the same thing to Nickelodeon. Anything Viacom touches, it turns to dust. Big conglomerates like that tend to destroy what was good about what it originally bought.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

My father remembers when BET was good. And then he noticed in the 2000s it went bad. He would watch a televangelist broadcast(probably T.D. Jakes) in the morning, and then suddenly there was a crazy rap video that came on right after. We stopped watching BET after that, and started watching TVOne. Right now I don't get cable or satellite, so I don't watch either. However, I will agree that Viacom basically ruined the channel. Viacom did the same thing to Nickelodeon. Anything Viacom touches, it turns to dust. Big conglomerates like that tend to destroy what was good about what it originally bought.

Yeah that's another topic but what they they did to Nickelodeon is criminal. I'll be 30 this year so I was at the perfect age when that and BET was at its height. Hip Hop was much better as a genre in the 90s which in turn made Rap City much better on BET and it was watchable.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

My father remembers when BET was good. And then he noticed in the 2000s it went bad. He would watch a televangelist broadcast(probably T.D. Jakes) in the morning, and then suddenly there was a crazy rap video that came on right after. We stopped watching BET after that, and started watching TVOne. Right now I don't get cable or satellite, so I don't watch either. However, I will agree that Viacom basically ruined the channel. Viacom did the same thing to Nickelodeon. Anything Viacom touches, it turns to dust. Big conglomerates like that tend to destroy what was good about what it originally bought.

So true.

Rap videos with naked girls and flashy money in them started with 2 Live Crew. Soon after a whole lot of rappers only made videos like that and BET showed them, BUT overall the programming was pretty diverse so it balanced out. Not only were all kinds of rappers showcased (so you could see Mos Def and the Fugees and Common and other "positive" rappers) but there were shows dedicated to gospel, R&B, reggae, etc. There were shows for oldies too. And Teen Summit was one of the best shows for youth ever made IMO, it tackled serious subjects with just the right touch while stressing education and achievement.

All that ended a while back, and BET is now a channel for 24 hour ratchetness. I think it's trying to start coming back lately, but it may be too late.

Everything he's saying about the industry and its media is true. There is a box and performers are not allowed to step out of it. It's sad and its been that way for a long long time. Not all the gatekeepers perpetuating this situation are white however.