Xzibit Defends Rap Lyrics, Hip-Hop Stigmas

Thanks for telling it like it is. Fight. For. Us !!

"if white people sell guns, it's all good. Black rapper says 'gun,' and the government declares a congressional hearing." - chris rock

"its just what goes on in the hood" it's just what goes on in the hood" well xzibit.... So is righteousness. The problem with these rappers are... They used to report what goes on in the hood... Good and bad. Like a neighborhood cnn. Then offer a solution of some sort to get us out of the poverty and racism and all the police brutality situations. Homelesness etc. Nowadays they are all just capitalizing off of the wickedness and drug infested crime ridden delimas going on in the hood. They find the most grimiest neighborhood... Pull up in thier expensive cars.... Shoot a music video in from of it... With the wardobe of a thug looking character posse.... Then go back to thier plush homes and gated communities and talk about keeping it real. When the truth is.. Half of these guys never hugged the block. Don't know what it's like to live out of styrofoam plates filled with chinese food an halal chicken and quarter juices and slang white all day. Or get into beef at a mall or park or movie theatre.... Then ride around all night looking to smoke somebody or rob somebody. Or have one on ones with some cat who tested you... But yet you wanna keep sayiing this is what we do in the hood, son. This is what goes on in the hood. When the last time you was even there without an entourage an a camera crew. Niggas need to stop using the hood as a marketing tool and backdrop for your half of fag rapping ass. And say what's really real__ you wish you could of been that but i'm not.. So i'll just rap about the li

Xzbit put in the simplest form, hip hop is being used as a way of promoting the urban youth lifestyle and revealing the atrocities that occur on day to day basis similiar to what occurs in places like iraq which blows the hood out with up to 50 to 75 people dying everyday.

Although i feel that x's recen albums have been lack luster of lyrics, he has always been a reliable source of political thought proviking statments.

I guess what rappers select as topics wouldnt be all that bad if they would change it up sometimes. He used arnold as an example.....but arnold in the movies and arnold in everyday life looks kinda different to me. One has on camoflauge and a vest etc. Or dressed like the terminator or something, but then you see him in a suit talking like he has some sense, or you dont see him at all. But with rappers..they dont change too much from album to real life. Only thing changes is like sair says....they just go back to their mansions. But you never hear of someone like arnold getting caught with a chopper, or stabbing slyvester stalone or something. Its kinda crazy. It doesnt matter too much to me, because in the end i look at it all as entertainment....i turn it on and turn it off. Some ppl just need to learn how to think for themselves......

Xzibit in my opinion is no different than any other "rapper" in that he must defend his lifestyle in attempts to justify the senseless ignorance "rappers" package and sell. Rap is the new crack. Its all a hustle. All a flip. Let's be real with ourselves. Xzibit down to 50 cent know that glorification of sex, murder and drugs works, point blank period. None of the "thug" rappers will take on the responsibility to confess that what they say in their rhymes truly inspires and motivates the minds of the urban youth who grow up in the ghettos that they represent. The truth is, while arnold swarznegger can play a ficticious hollywood role killing people in a mash up of blood and gore, there is a loud difference between cinema and real life portrayal. These "rappers" who talk slick and glorify what they are "so called" about , however exxagerated, really come from living the life of a gangster. Some of these guys actually have caught bodies and hustled hard. So its not even comparable to speak of violence in movies in relation to "rap" music. Arnold isnt really a militant war hero fighting alien beings and reaking havoc and devastation. He is an actor. The adult as well as the teenager who has seen his movies can realistically differentiate between reality and fantasy. Its not the same way in music. Music is supposed to be from the artist's heart. The "rapper" that talks about what he will do to you and all the drugs and ice and cars is supposed to be selling you a geniune article. We like to assume th

"it's a shame / brothers in the rap game / only for the money & the fame? paparrazi" - xzibit.

^^look like xzibit should heed his own lyrics huh

Word to mother forreal

I agree with x. People have their own minds though. If you cant tell the difference between good and bad and real or fake and you think you have to live your life off of what some rapp cat says your a tiphead anyway. This sh*t does happen in the hood. Some rappers have never seen it and some have. Why dont fans listen to all the negativity and make it positive? because the dont have minds of their own and they depend on other peoples lives or made up stories to dictate how the live. I am from brownsville (bk) and i never sold drugs or shot people but i have seen it and i chose to take another route. Because i have my own mind. Not because a rapper told me not to take that route.

What about the positive? i know zilch about hood life,but no place is perfectly evil(except hell,maybe). The youngsters put on the radio and are exposed to violence and sex, as if it's not bad enough on the tv.they don't have the sufficient wisdom to distinguish between moral and immoral. I once heard lloyd banks say in one track ("i'm so fly") that he "ain't scared of nobody but jesus" ,which makes me wonder how many of these cats compromise their true selves for cash.just a thought.later.

I’m from kenya, africa and i’ve been listening to hip hop ever since i was a little kid. Through out my life i have seen every form of violence from police brutality and violent robberies to people killing each other in the streets. Prostitution and drugs are also a part of life in the cities around here. What i have observed is that the lyrics in hip hop are just but an echo of what is going on in the mainstream society. Most people who don’t know much about africa might think that hip hop is all american. Over here we identify with hip hop so much since it is a vocalised motion picture talking about what we see in the society and what we live every day. We listen to american hip hop and also have our own hip hop acts here who do their thing in swahili. The lyrical content in hip hop does not in anyway have negative influence. I’ll it does is create consciousness to those who do not fear the truth. I could be the most violent man on earth since i’ve been bred in a violent neighbourhood and have been keen to hip hop from childhood to date. Am 24 years old now, and if you met me you will discover a very peaceful young black male with a university degree trying to make the world a better place.

It's sad when someone has to defend hip-hop on such a regular basis that they grow weary of it. How can we live in a society that uses a genre of music as a scapegoat for, robberies, shootings, and other crimes. It's not hip-hop that is promoting these activities, it's these activities that affect hip-hop. An mc just delivers his own interpretation of their surroundings, so if he is surrounded by pimps, fiends, and o.g.'s hes gonna rap about hoe's, crack, and poppin off. The east will rize again ~$ho~

As i read some of the posts on this page it has become evident that so many of us live in denial. For those who are delusional in belieiving there is no connection between the violent lyrics and the activity that goes on in the hood, i truly feel sorry for you and your young ones if you have kids. While it is not the rapper's responsibility to raise your children, there is still a sense of responsibility needed on the rapper's behalf because the reality is, kids are star struck. Kids will emulate what they see. Rap lyrics glorify violence and drugs. Kids listen to the lyrics while boppin to the beat. Needless to say they enjoy what they are hearing. Subliminally these lyrics get into the minds of the youth and they take on the persona of that rapper or that rappers lyrics because it will make them apart of something popular. We all know that kids will follow trends and do whats popular. This is nothing new in the world of hip hop culture. While "hip hop" can be subgenred into "rap", "rap" isnt neccessarily "hip-hop". I tell it like it is because i too mc. I do not and will never consider myself a rapper. Rap is the music industry. I mc for the love of lyrics and the hip hop culture. I may never make a dime from the rhymes i write and/or record but im alright with that b/c i know that my soul is worth more than a bentley coup and a diamond necklace. Not to mention i will not compromise my integrity and that of the positive black images that i try to uphold. I think too many of us are in denial an

It depends on the person and how susceptible they are to being influenced by pop culture. I think a rapper like 50 cent glorifies it, while other rappers, such as nas or scarface or tupac will tell all sides to the story. I think glorifying violence is wrong and nobody who really lives it thinks it's glorious, but i think somebody with a concious take on the matter not only deserves the right, but they need to be heard, so that society as a whole can be made aware and so hopefully others won't follow in their footsteps and make the same mistakes they did.

I call bullsh*t. All these n*ggaz say the same thing when it comes to defending their asinine lyrics. "the hood aint all bad, aint all good." with these type of responses its of no surprise that rappers keep getting questioned. Think a little deeper and change some of your content and than white supremacist society will truely engage ur ideas. For example camron and dame dash went on the racist classict o'riley factor a few months back and made complete fools of themselves and the rap nation, being passed off ass hip hop. The majority of pop-rap-crap lyrics do not reflect society or they would include topic ranging from the media to wars in darfur to the water problems facing second and third world nations to the positivity found when communities come together and resist oppression such as the zapatistas in chiapas, mexico. But than again people could listen to mos def, mr. Lif, aloe blacc, murs or the roots to here the many angles and perspectives that occur in the world or continue to pose the stupid mans idea that popular art has to be entertaining and not so serious. F*ck off and get real. Art whether music film or paint can challenge as well as be insightful tool towards knowledge as well as be enjoyed. So all in all... Bullsh*t. Most rap is not a reflection of society; it's a refelction of hegemonic-capitalistic manipulated and facilitated black fantasy. Co-sign with saair and kalliope4eva

Just because brothers and sisters are killing in the streets, stripping, just showing a lack of respect for life, and each other...most of all themselves doesnt mean that we werent kings and queens. Still are, but we just have a identity crisis. And just because there is all sorts of evil in the world going on at all times coming from all sorts of directions and characters doesnt mean that their is no god. I believe that he is in all of us....all of us. I also believe that it is a percentage of ppl that "choose" to ignore whut is in their hearts. Some would rather listen to the hate,lust, fear, envy etc that is in their hearts over god. And we all have that in us too....but some of us choose to ignore it....it being the hate etc. Things that ive seen just in the past year would make a person question if their is a god, but i believe he is with me at all times. And he wakes me up to see lessons that he puts in front of my eyes everyday and he protected me when i couldnt protect myself being a kid caught in drive bys when i believe i should have been hit. And i listened when that fast money was right in my reach. Others heard the same message, but chose not to listen.

But i do offer an apology because if a cat would have came on this site named "moonshine king of the monkeys" i would have laughed and just proceeded with my usual convo......but when i saw your name....i heard him again....telling me to speak my mynd...lol. Ohhh, yeah your right on the money with your statement too. Holla.

Xzibit nows his stuff..and n*ggaz need to respect him.....he's like ras kass to me..in terms of the west greatest mcs..

I read in this book once that said you should dislike the act and not the person b/c a person can change the way the act but they can't change who they actually are per se... That being said, as i have said on other post, i love jay, 50, x and the rest of'em but i think they shurk the effect they're lyrics have on kids consciousness... I'm not talking about full grown adults who can (or should be able to) tell the difference... I'm talking about the shorties who are coming up and think all this shyt these cats spit is real... People are quick to say that responsiblity falls on the parents but a lot of these rappers know what it's like to have no parental guidance... You can't poison fields that you hope to one day harvest from... Young minds are fertile ground... Kids use there imaginations and mcs are very good at influencing them on how......

F*ck white people man! rasist madakers.

Pimp my ridddeeeeee sorrry just had 2 say it bbbaaaaaaaaaallllllliiiiiiinnnnnnnn!!!!! !!!

What up

You see, this is why people look at hip hop all crazy! arnold isnt going around saying "yo im the terminator! im a cyborg, im keeping it real imma cold hard killa!" you see how rediculous is that? there is a difference between storytelling from a fiction point of view and a factual perspective. Emcees who are telling people that this is real and they arent living it are just feeding the idea that hip hop isnt legitamate. White people arent stupid, they know for the most part this stuff isnt "real"... Well, besides the 13 and under crowd who still think wrestling is real too! hhahahaha, but yeah thats just my few words

Word!

I agree with x......think about this: ...if hip hop wasn't around or it dies, there will still be violence.

I believe part of what the article is saying is true. Because society has built in the mind of a young black man that this is how we relate to hip hop. Hip hop itself never changed because it was society that changed it to begin with.

I think that the society of all black and white should be heard and listened to aswell as there opinion and they should be aloud aswell to sing hip hop

Heya every 1 i think dat xzibit is right and i luv pimp ma ridexxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Heya every 1 i think dat xzibit is right and i luv pimp ma ridexxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh my god pimp my ride is the best!!!!!!! and xzibit has wicked music!!!!!

This is right because i feel as if rappers have the freedom to rap about their society and if the society was different than the rap songs would be.

This is right because i feel as if rappers have the freedom to rap about their society and if the society was different than the rap songs would be.

Hip-hop is corperate now. Those days of rakim, krs one, chuck d are long gone. Thiers no such thing as talent anymore. It's based on who knows who, and who's willing to sell thier souls for it. Anyone can be a star in the industry ask bobby, "don't worry be happy" guy. The industry made him a household name. It was promoted until you loved it. The industry makes you or breaks you. They want you to sell your soul. Many famous fake gangsta thug rappers have dont it. Did you ever wonder why certain rappers make it.

Do we have a right to free speech and exspression???....answer me that!

If hip-hop wasn't around the violence will still be souranding us, i listen to hip hop, but not the one that 50 c sings or others, i listen chritian hip hop and the massage is really positive you get something positive from it, its not about fantasy, envy, vanity, im not against white, black spainsh. All of them sing hip-hop. Man!!! you know whats good and whats bad, god gave each of us 5 senses, we all have faculties, to distinguish. And if you want to find what example of real live read the bible, what all the rappers are doing with their faker hip-hop its takin the money away from you , takin you to the hell with them, they don't event know what they sing,,,,,,and of course we have the right of free speech and expression,,,but going back to those days, when jesus came down thats all the people say we have the free of speech, but dont forget that one day we gonna be judge, what benefit does it have, if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul? what can man give in exchange for his soul? (matthew 16:26)

Rap music represents the voice of the inner city

I agree with xzibit, people are just trying to take down something they don't know about. Rappers are just telling what is going on

Bitches

I thizz on all ya haters, hip hop iz real.................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ......Bia'ches!

Suck my tip Bia'ches

Hip hop will never die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahah

Omg u freaks gta lyf

He is rihgt the always let the white man win