If you are currently paying attention to the ambiance of the Democratic Presidential chase, then you are aware of Obama’s recent troubles. Saying something to the affect that he ‘d Nuke foes in Pakistan and meet with Hostile leaders. This stuff has kind of put the man in hot water, but this isn’t what I’m aiming to talk about today. See apparently, Obama will be gracing the cover of the 14th anniversary issue of Vibe Magazine.
If I’m correct (and oh I do so very much believe I am) Vibe is the magazine that the legendary Quincy Jones started up. Focusing more on R&B and black living it also covers a good amount of Hip-Hop as well. Barack was asked to clarify a statement he made during the whole “Imus-gate” debacle that seems as though he shunned Hip-Hop. See he said he felt that Hip-Hop was degrading women, yada yada ya! Which is true, a bit general but true. Yet I couldn’t help but think isn’t Barrack the same guy whom in (I think I was reading The Source, but it was probably Vibe) a magazine interview mention how he thought all Hip-Hop wasn’t bad? That he dug some Common but was more of an old school R&B guy? Wasn’t this the man who met with Ludacris (the media’s most targeted rapper, right Bill)?
Well Barack was indeed still that very man. What he tells the new issue is that he wasn’t just singling out Hip-Hop but US as a whole people. Yet he didn’t leave rap in the clear stating:
“There’s no doubt that hip-hop culture moves our young people powerfully. And some of it is not just a reflection of reality, It also creates reality. I think that if all our kids see is a glorification of materialism and bling and casual sex and kids are never seeing themselves reflected as hitting the books and being responsible and delaying gratification, then they are getting an unrealistic picture of what the world is like”.
Now you can’t deny the truth that lies in this statement. Barack hit the nail directly on the head. While we can go on and on saying that rappers talk about “Reality” and what’s really going on, the truth is a large, LARGE majority doesn’t. There’s this saying that goes “You can speak things into your life”, I feel many rappers use this ideal knowing/unknowingly. In a since rappers (not all) are creating this false reality that feeble minds receive as truth. If you don’t believe me talk to some of these kids. When you keep saying something over and over again and others are saying it (not matter how false) a mind that’s still impressionable will believe it.
I’m no psychologist or anything so I’m a fall back on that for a minute. Fact of the matter is Obama spoke some ‘Trill’ stuff that we all know about but just don’t talk about. However unless, it’s a rapper that our favorite rapper has issues with or whatever.
Holla Back!
………i knew this was worth posting, that’s why I posted it here on nbs.com strickly hip hop section of the sight….. what obama comments does is, try and place hip hop culture into the real world and make it responsible for its actions, give it a conscious so to speak….. something I myself have been hated on for on this site, which explains the “I love penis” under my name whenever I post on strickly hip hop, put there by some asshole who has the power to do so, all because they believe hip hop is separate from reality, but like obama said…. hip hop creates its own reality, a bullshit one……
most rappers out there is fake and of course kids and other ppl out there follow what they see or here… but they should know in their heads right from wrong and sellin crack won’t last you when u 45
f*ck votin too and f*ck obama
i definitely agree with what he’s saying..but i’d never admit it true to a hip-hop hater lol..
www.geocities.com/race_articles/rushton_view_race.html
………….does the link above have any validity to it, it definitely would explain why niggas avoid articles like the one here on obama like a bad tooth ache……
What Obama said is absolutely true and I realized this years ago. It’s a shame that people have a problem admitting it. It’s even worse that several rappers putting out music will not admit it. I guess people don’t like to take any responsibility for their actions or their work if it risks admitting that it could have some negative aspects. The artists, their fans, and society in general needs to mature before things will get better. Peace.
losers!
How fucking stupid are you when you say:”Fuck voting”? why do you think youve got your asshole president in the first place? I´ll tell you the reason, its because of stupid fucking idiots like you who think its uncool to vote. If there was to come a paradigm shift in american mentality then maybe, just maybe you would have a responsible president..
Fuckin bum…
i think that when fans of hip hop heard that barack obama was speaking on hip hop in vibe, they all secretly hoped and expected him to say “yeah i’m down for the brotha-man, all hail hip hop!!!” but people dont realize that he’s a presidential candidate and he’s not going to outright support hip hop because of its controversial content. anyone with half a brain knows that consious people tend to like consious hip hop such as Common. i dont think the statements he has made or will make on hip hop should be his only criteria of judgment come elction time.
hip hop creates its own reality..very true. I myself am very into obammas run for presidency. I believe he is the only clear headed and open minded president up for election. He is all about the people and working towards bridging the gap, unlike all of his predecessors. The man is on top of his shit and i hope he gets elected to run for the democrats. OBAMA 08′ people!
I suppose he’s sayint the commercial rap industry should be balanced.
First off, was this proofread? Because it sure has a lot of typos.
Now, if I wanted to get a white man’s view on Hip-hop, I’d tune into The O’Reilly Factor. He isn’t saying anything remotely novel. Every kid in this country has the power to discern between reality and fiction. Just like movies, listening to Hip-hop should be up to listener’s discretion. Or better yet his/her parents’. Nobody forces rap music into the ears of the kids. They know what it’s about, and still most of them go out of their ways to get hold of it. He just basically generalized the whole genre as misleading music.
And MOST rappers do preach against these vague allegations. Maybe not as directly as he would like, but they do it nonetheless. You have the narrative rappers who depict events from a neutral point of view, an then go on and chip their little two cents. You have the seen-it-all-done-it-all rappers who unequivocally tell of their experiences and why we, the audience, wouldn’t want to go through the same. And then you have the few brazenly ignorant ones, who just ironically and sadly happen to be the most popular and are at the forefront of the setting. THEY are the ones people like Obama, rap critics and most white people see and then generalize off of.
My point? I say he does more homework before he speaks next time. The fact that he just gave some old cliched, whitewashed view on Hip-hop music isn’t earning him any brownie points as far as I’m concerned.
What homework does Obama have left to do? He gave a pretty well-rounded assessment of the current state of Hip-hop music. (Newsflash: Stating a generality doesn’t automatically make your opinion cliched.)
And I’m sure no one here enjoys EVERY damn song thats passed off as Hip-hop these days. Obama was just stating the same thing that anybody else with some rational judgment and an appreciation of ANY music with a message was thinking (and YOU KNOW your mom/pops doesn’t even give Hip-hop as much credit as Obama did).
A lot of the popular music “beatin’ up the block” these days is ringtone rap. OK. So, if you don’t like it, stop buying the shitty albums and catchy-ass ringtones, and encouraging MIMS & Co. with your monetary contributions. On the other hand, don’t look to rap music as your kid’s educational supplement or soundtrack to their commute. Most of the tracks are party music. Love em or hate em, Ying Yang Twinz are not supposed to be taken seriously. They make songs that you can get freaked to. Period.
If an “outsider” attacks shitty Hip-hop music, it is not always an attack on all Hip-hop music. It’s an attack on shitty music. And you should be ashamed of your damn self if you try to stick up for some tracks that embarrassed the sh*t out of you the first time you heard ‘em.
OBAMA ‘08, B*tches!