What happened to rap and hip-hop? Just the other day I was driving around in my friend’s car when we heard a song on the radio. I thought it had a good sound but then I started listening to the lyrics, Bounce that ass till ya cant no mo' Make ya ass touch the flo' Like ya legs are broke Take that big ol' booty girl and scrub the ground You can do it up and down Or round n round Besides being funny–“like ya legs are broke”? Nothing sexier than that!—these are some incredibly derogatory lyrics. Just imagine if the lyrics went something like, Pick them grapes till ya can’t no mo’ Keeping yo’ face on the flo’ Till ya back is broke Take them brown arms and pick the ground You be doing this till the sun comes down, All year long, round and round My flow might blow, but the point is, I don’t think we would stand for a song that was overtly racist. Yet, we don’t mind how sexist a song is as long as it has a good beat. Is that fine by everybody? Who cares what the message is, just let me be able to dance with it? Well, how about if you could dance to a song that had a better message, in fact, ever listen to “The Message” by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five (it is currently on my profile)? Sounds good and it actually has a message. “White Lines” is another great choice. Here is an excerpt from “The Message” A child was born, with no state of mind Blind to the ways of mankind God is smiling on you but he’s frowning too Cause only God knows what you go through You grow in the ghetto, living second rate And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate The places you play and where you stay Looks like one great big alley way You’ll admire all the number book takers Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens And you wanna grow up to be just like them Smugglers, scrambles, burglars, gamblers Pickpockets, peddlers and even pan-handlers Not only does it sound good, but it’s talking about the reality of living in a ghetto. It helps explain why rap and hip-hop may have taken the turn it has, You’ll admire all the number book takers Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens And you wanna grow up to be just like them If you lived in a ghetto in the “land of milk and honey” where we strive to possess as much crap as we can, it makes sense that you would look up to these people who seem to hold power and wealth and even prestige. We have to stop buying and listening to this kind of music. In the land of milk and honey every dollar is like a vote. If you buy, or if you go to a club that plays this kind of music, you are promoting it! This kind of music keeps women down by objectifying women and making them think and act a certain way. It also affects men who become troubled by successful women because it goes against their understanding of male/female relations. Of course we could all say, “well it hasn’t affected me” or “it hasn’t affected so and so.” And to that, I say bull shit! Look at the way Hillary Clinton is viewed, if she shows emotions, she is too emotional—typical woman. If she doesn’t show any emotions, she is a hard-ass bitch who needs to get layed (maybe not specifically Hillary, but women in power). How many females do you know with doctorates? How many of them are in the sciences? How many 100 pound women do you know who think they need to lose weight? And this is just the sexist effects of this music. What about the materialism this music promotes? Come on, how many people didn’t go out and waste 300 dollars on an I-phone? WTF for? How many cars do you see rolling down the street with rims? How many shoes do you own? Do you need them all? I’m picking on one particular medium and one particular genre of music and I know that there are more venues for this kind of stuff; I also know this argument is old, but it is something that I encounter everyday so it is something I felt I had to comment on.