It’s About Time
Rap music is dying. Or at least undergoing major surgery in an attempt to maintain viability.
My introduction to rap music was 1990 when my extremely racially and culturally diverse religious boarding school put on a talent show. The final act was a rap called “All God’s Children Got Soul.” Not surprisingly, it was led by two black boys whose parents had sent them to the school to escape inner-city L.A., but…
…the back-up dancers were a lanky middle-class white boy and a Thai immigrant girl. It topped off an amazing night that had unintentionally become a celebration of both what drew us together and what made us different. We all left the program high on the joys of creativity and genuine inclusiveness… one of my best memories of high school. How’s that for the best of rap?
Unfortunately, the late-80s, early-90s rap that we all celebrated that night is long gone. And as to its more recent incarnations… good riddance to bad rubbish.
[h/t Captain's Quarters]
Posted by FbL
On July 1st, 2007 under News.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from lex
Time: July 1, 2007, 4:31 pm
I’ve had this conversation so many times with my kids – music ought to be “art”, but what kind of art is it that celebrates violence, rape, misogyny, racism?
You cannot separate the music from the horror it celebrates, you cannot claim that ‘authenticity’ forgives experience. It is rude and vulgar, and I for one, will not miss it.
Comment from SJBill
Time: July 4, 2007, 7:44 pm
Fuzzy,
I hate the rap stuff — really — always have — especially the misogynystic aspects of the medium. I do not know how they get away with it.
Let’s see how “patriotic rap” plays out.
It’s been a long road since “since I fell for you”. Truly wish we’d return to that era. It’s be better off for our culture. And, it’d sell, from a business perspective.
Best, Ma’am-
-SJBill
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