enough of what they are rapping what they saw and the type of enviroment they came up in and i for one can relate to alot of it because ive seen it you mean to tell me i should watch the hills and enjoy that when really in all i cant reach out to them i cant relate so people are going to listen and watch things that relate to them and like it or not most not all but most black people are from the hood and are exposed to what some of the rappers are talking about. and if hip hop was white we wouldnt be having this discussion lindsey lohan can be drunk and have cocaine on her but thats cool give her rehab but michael vick fights dogs and hes looking at jail time now you tell me wheres the border line

I am a single hispanic female parent raising 5 girls. My daughters all like hip hop and I let them watch some of the videos. Hip Hops not to blame for what our kids do out in the streets. It starts at home. If you educate your kids on the things they shouldn't do and if they do it let them know the  consequences for there actions I am sure they will think twice.  I too listen to 50 cents, TI, Nelly and others, I do not find there music offensive. I find it very educating. Now, I can speak the language the kids now a days speak.  I can relate to my daughters friends and be on the same level as them.  I didn't know what dubbs were, nor the fraze throw some D's on it! Now , I do.... America is just looking for an excuse to point the finger on our black americans.... It is not fair at all. My daughters listen to this music, and still have good grades. They saw the new 50 cent video about making money, I asked,"What does that mean?" My 13 year old answered, " Mom in this world if you want to make money and you can't sing the only way your going to make money is by getting an education and going to college so you can be some body wealthy." So, see hip-hop also has it's positive points...   

My first taste of Hip Hop was TLC and Immature back in 92. So i grew up in the Naughty By Nature era. I think what Hip Hop is missing is balance thats all. Hip Hop is not dead. I started listening to Nas when he dropped It Was Written, If I Ruled The World w/ L Boogie. He is my favorite rapper, but as of now im disappointed. But it is funny to see all the people who just started to listen to him and think what he says is credible. Im unbias, so whether thats my N***a im going to tell it like how it is. People nowadays think Nas is the Hip Hop police like what he says is right. Their has always been commercial rap. Biggie and Pac were classified as gangsta rap, but they were commercial. They were the ones that brought the masses to the genre. I know some people who never knew anything about the music, but they could recite a BIG or Pac song. So when Nas says the South or 50 cent (commercial artist) are killing Hip Hop who is he to talk. People never actually wonder why I Am and Nastradamus were disasters or got bad reviews (to critics atleast, i "HAD" all his cds except for Streets Disciple n Hip Hop Is Dead). Its because Nas tried the commercial route. He was in the video w/ Mr. Pony himself, Destinys Child, Puffy, Lil Jon, and I know everyone remembers the Nastradamus video. So for him and other like him to critize artist now for doing what he himself failed at is wrong. I dont listen to 50 cent, but i dont hate the dude, hes quite intelligent, i like how he conducts himself during interviews. But the first opportunity Nas got, he ran w/ it. Example, signing w/ Jay. Everyone knows ol boy is a snake, even Jazz-O speaking out now about him. I even heard Nas and his "WIFE" are getting a reality show on MTV. How commercial is that, everyone does that nowadays. Everyone wants to blame the south for the destruction of Hip Hop, but if that was the case, Nas would have never did a song w/ Lil Jon, Jadakiss wouldnt have been in that Remix w/ o boy. Their have been many artist from the south that actually contributed or had messages behind their lyrics. Scarface, Outkast, Master P, Slikk The Shocker, Cash Money, Project Pat, Three 6, Bun B, Pimp C. Cash Money was the last original group to come out, and like someone said before, originality used to be a big part of Hip Hop. Another problem is that you have alot of New Jacks that havent been listening to genre long enough to critique it, but yet they put their input in. These are the same people that listen to some underground dude and try to compare him to Tupac or BIG and slander Pac's/BIG's name. Its funny to me to see people, especially the white boys who just found out about Canibus, or Cassidy (been a fan since Larseny), or Kool G Rap, LOX, Nas, AZ etc, and think that they caught a gold mine, or struck oil. All of sudden they think they are fit to critique Hip Hop. These were the same people who used to think Ja Rule or Eminem was the greatest rapper of all time. Some of the rappers people just started to listen to, ive been listening to them for years. Soon i started to listening to Nas in 96, then came Mobb Deep, because i was so obbessed w/ Nas at the time i listened to anyone that was in his camp. They say the younger you are, the more impressionable, so how is it that I have been listening to the artist that people just started to give credit for years at a young age and i have graduated HS, in my second year of college studying Fine Arts/Computer Graphics, never been arrested, i actually got my first traffic ticket today ( i was late for an oppointment plus i wanted that Keyshia C./Jill S. album). But these new jacks get influenced so quick. That makes the whole.... Hip Hop is bad not valid. I grew up in the 90s where even Will Smith was critized for killilng Hip Hop, ive went through my phase of underground/gangsta rap, commercial. Everyone wants to jump on this bandwagon saying Hip Hop is dead but never have a vaild point, example: Everyones says 50cent, the south (disrespectful by the way), Dipset is killing Hip Hop. NY killed hip hop, they took the backseat and watched it happen, they are the ones that arent pumping out albums like their counterparts. Thats why Foxy B got dropped from Def Jam, because she to busy getting into trouble w/ the law and not focused on her career. I dont even consider myself a Hip Hop head anymore ( even though i really am, but i distance myself from it cause alot of the people arent on the level or can understand where we are coming from). Like some old dude said, anyone who hasnt been listening to Hip Hop for 14yrs or more stfu. (18 or older i can understand your views) anyone younger deal w/ whats going on w/ your era or generation. Like i said my first taste of Hip Hop was TLC and Immature (R&B) never left it, and thats what i stick with right now. And im born and raised in Mt. Vernon NY, so you know when the South took over i was at a lost for words. But it was all good, I just listen to the artists in my generation n the ones today that still make iight music. If you agree thanks, if you dont a nice rebuttal would be nice, nothing to derogratory, we're all brothas n sistahs. Sorry if this was long, but i can talk about this subject for days. ______________________________________________ SHOUT OUT 2: Aaliyah, Monica, Brandy, Tboz, Left Eye, TLC, Immature (First Hip Hop I messed along wit TLC), Chinky, MJB, Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Out of Eden, Total, Blaque, Xscape, 702, SWV, Playa, Ginuwine, Usher, Sammie, Donell Jones,Brian McKnight, Carl Thomas, D Angelo, Tony Sunshine, Case,Avant, Jahiem, Tyrese, Ruff Endz, Guy, Soul For Real, Mint Condition, R Kelly, Jagged Edge, Jon B, Blackstreet, Dru Hill, Next, 112, Jodeci, Keith Sweat, Mya, Lil Mo, Destinys Child (w/Latavia n LeToya, Farrah), City High, Monifah, Allure, Kut Klose, Zhane N 2 Artist Trying 2 Bring It Back 2 The Mecca: Keyshia Cole, Lyfe Jennings, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Trey Songz, Ne Yo, Fantasia, Mario, Tank *54* BANDWAGON *6*Z, N FAKE *** FANS!!!!!!!!! Its funny how everyone loves Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli nowadays. I wonder why.......Oh i know, DAVE CHAPELLE.

This shouldnt even be a issue. My daughters and I watch all types of videos, but it is understood that what we see, hear, and the images are not how we as black women will act. We are educated and realize its for entertainment. If that is how some people want to act, that is there choice. If I think some images of hip-hop are way out there, then that is not acceptable to view or hear. It starts with education and communication.

Hey, let me let in on a little secret. No matter who you are or what you listen there is ALWAYS going to be a piece of hip hop in it. Just like you said they have the Freedom of Speech. Who are we to say to them what they should and should not say. If you don't want to hear it then that is all on you. We are so quick to say that hip hop is destroying our kids minds. Well I am here to tell you that we all need to wake up and smell the coffee. We as parents sometimes (in alot of cases all the time) do not take responsibilty for what are children are doing, saying, watching, or listening too. So the next best thing some do is blame others for their mistakes. If people really just take the time out to listen to the words and not just the beat alot of the hip hop music has a story behind it. Yes there are some that have not been through anything and portray that they are from the streets when they are not but you can tell that they are fake. We live in a new time and era now different from when the Jackson 5 and the Temptations were doing their thing. But all in all if we think about these rappers are not doing nothing but sampling  from the older music that some of us loved and still enjoy. We all just need to chill out and stop over analyzing everything that we hear from music. Think about it... SOME of us like to say that the BLACKS are the ones acting a damn fool when they hear hip hop and start acting out what the songs say and running amuck but what about the influence it has on the WHITE children. We all fail to realize that it is not just blacks but whites as well that does stupid things because they think that nothing can happen to them. Tupac I think was a good man who by no means hid what he had done but at the same time letting people know that because I did it doesn't mean that it is for everyone else. We all have to learn to be leaders and not followers because that does get you in a world of trouble.

I agree with you so much and people do not understand that. But they are so ready to judge ALL BLACK WOMEN by what they see some of them do in videos. To all who do not have a clue "Don't judge us by what you see or hear, find out about us first then make your decision".

ME PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT PEOPLE THRIVE TO BE RAPPERS, FOR ONE ITS AWAY OUT OF THE HOOD. FOR TWO: LOOK AT MOST OF THE RAPPERS IN THE GAME, THEY ARE MALES, AND THEY HAVE TO PUT ON THAT IMAGE, BECAUSE THE MORE A MAN LOOKS LIKE A THUG, THE MORE WOMEN HE WOULD HAVE. SO IT'S REALLY NOT THE RAP GAME IT'S THAT EVERYBODY TRYING TO BE GANGSTA'S THESE DAYS TO IMPRESS THE LADIES. THERE ARE NO WOMEN IN THE HOOD THAT IS LOOKING FOR A POTENTIAL DOCTOR, OR LAWYER, THAT SO HAPPENS TO BE WORKING AT A FAST FOOD RESTURANT TRYING TO PUT HIMSELF THROUGH COLLEGE. WOMEN ARE AMAZED BY WHAT A MAN CAN DO FOR HER AT THIS POINT IN TIME. THEY WOULD RATHER HAVE A THUG, OR A DOPE DEALER, NOT REALIZING THAT IN A COUPLE OF YEARS THAT THAT PERSON MY BE LOCKED UP, OR IN JAIL.

i totally agree, raise your kids, dont expect others to do it. Ive been listening to Hip Hop for 15yrs and i consider myself a nice, considerate human being, working his way through college. Hip Hop has had nothing but a positive affect on me. Hip Hop isnt dead, its just turning a new page, shedding the old skin. I agree some of the stuff now are over the top, but let it run its course. I bet when The SugarHill Gang, GrandMaster Flash and furious five, etc. heard people like DMX, etc. they where shocked at how Hip Hop evolved. Hip Hop the way alot of you remember ran its course and now is fading away. Hip Hop that i remember from the early 90s to late (even though it was also critized from becoming to violent) ran its course and is fading away. Let this era and generation do what they gotta do, at the most, half of it is snapping your fingers, dancing.....dancing never hurt anybody, dont like it, change it. Thats all you have to do.

• What do you think about violent lyrics, degrading words and images in Hip-Hop?

I think the very phrasing of that question speaks volumes about the unfair associations of societal ills with hip hop specifically. I think hip hop has the same relationship to violence and sexual imagery that network television does, in that some of what is output for mass consumption will have more of an edge than most, but it shouldn't be viewed as the only indication of what hip hop has to offer. I agree that some rappers do go overboard tryin to sell us their gangsta *cough*Cassidy*cough* but more often than not the lyrics aren't that violent. A bigger problem would be the fact that every rapper on the radio claims to have sold dope at one time in their life, which is troublesome in the sense that so much other information is ommited. As albums are released, you can hear on one song a rapper talk about his life in the 'trap', and on the very next song rap how rich he is now. The crime in that circumstance is the ommission of what it really took to become as rich as you are. Otherwise, you let hip hop's more impressionable listeners draw their own conclusions which unfortunately are sometimes rooted in idiocy. If you rap about the traphouse because its 'real' and you rap about your current success because you 'want to show kids they  can make it out too', then don't leave out the good stuff. Tell them how. Make a song about investing and making wise financial decisions, because if you are as rich as you say you are, thats real to you too. Maybe more real now than any amount of time you spent with rocks in your pocket.

•  What does contemporary Hip-Hop mean and what  kind of message does this portray about Black America?

Hip hop says nothing about black america, but says a great deal about consumerism. You can take any product or any lifestyle and ascribe its attributes to hip hop culture and someone will buy it, or buy into it. That is the power of hip hop, and unfortunatley, the power of consumerism. Black America needs to learn to discern its actual identity from the ideals of hip hop as presented by the corporations that control it. Peace.http://www.myspace.com/ashimisthenatural

I HONESTLY DONT SEE A PROBLEM WITH HIP-HOP, THE ARTIST SPEAKS OUT IN THEIR OWN WAY ABOUT THE CRIME AND VIOLENCE IN THE GHETTO. YES IT CAN HAVE A STRONG AFFECT ON THE COMMUNITY BUT SO DOES TV, AT ANY MOMENT U CAN TURN ON THE TV AND SEE VIOLENCE, SEX AND DRUGS BUT I DONT SEE ANYONE TRYING TO SHUT DOWN THE NETWORKS OR THE TV SHOWS BECAUSE THEY KNOW ITS ALL FICTION, AND THEY CAN CONTROL IT. DONT ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN TO WATCH THE VIDEOS IF U DONT LIKE WHAT U SEE. DONT ALLOW THEM TO BUY THE RECORDS OR DOWNLOAD THE SONGS. BE A PARENT, STEP UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN CHILDREN INSTEAD OF TRYING TO POND THEIR BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS ON ARTISTS AND THEIR MUSIC. ITS A VERY BIG GAP BETWEEN BEING A ROLE MODEL AND BEING A PARENT! I WISH PEOPLE LIKE SHARPTON AND OTHER SPEAKERS REALLY WAKE UP AND PAY ATTETION. IF YOU HAVE RAPPERS COMING OUT SAYING THAT WHAT THEY SAY IN THEIR SONGS IS A REFLECTION OF WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH IN THE HOOD, THEN DONT YOU THINK SOMEONE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITIES. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM FIRST. THEN BRANCH OUT. THE PROBLEM OF DRUGS AND VIOLENCE AND SEX HAVE BEEN AROUND IN THE GHETTO LONG BEFORE ANY OF THESE RAPPERS EVER STARTED SPEAKING ON IT. AND ITS STILL GOING ON, BUT NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT. SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW RAPPERS AND SPEAKERS ARGUING OVER THE SITUATION IS GONNA M,AKE IT ANY BETTER. ITS NOT IT ONLY ADD FUEL TO PEOPLE EGOS. DONT SPEAK ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT, START MAKING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS BETTER. IT HAS TO START IN HOMES THEN BRANCH OUT.

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I was very inclined to reply to this subject. As i was watching the show, I wanted to just chime in. I agree with what a lot of people were saying, that it all starts at home. If you install the right values in your child, nothing can defer that individual. I grew up in an all white neighborhood, and my highschool had very limited black students. I didnt' get into trouble growing up and I got pretty good grades. I was a "normal" white girl. However, HIP-HOP grabbed me and wouldnt let me go. I didnt grow up around any of the things that they were talking about, but i LOVED it. I personally prefer to here the gangster rap. I like the most vulgar rap you can find, but I also like when they are giving a message. I like TI, TRICK DADDY, NELLY, so on and so forth. But, no matter what I heard, I never had an "urge" to do any of those things. I also know that the things the artists are saying dont necessarily reflect the way they feel. Some is for a message, and some is just for show. Just like a clothing designer. They might make suites, pants, shirts....but they might also make club clothes and thongs. The styles arent necessarily what THEY would wear or what THEY would approve their child wearing, but they know it will SELL! What people have to realize is that America is the land of the free. If you arent allowed to have freedom of speech anywhere you go (including in songs) then you cant call this America. I have heard the most vulgar country, pop, and rock songs!! Some of them even being worse than any hip hop song. I dont think hip-hop should ever be singled out to say that they are being any worse than any other genre. And about what Nelly was sayin, that girl was dead wrong watchin uncut videos in the middle of the night. Thats not his fault....thats that girls HOME values. Parents need to let their kids know that just because you hear or see it on tv, doesnt mean you should believe or do it. If you dont know the difference between right and wrong, and youre just doing something because you SAW it....than you need to be institutionalized because you arent going to function in normal society!! Get your hair and nails done, get your SH*T together!!

First of all Hip-Hop can not be blamed for society messing up. We as a society choose what we listen to and if a person chooses Hip-Hop then why label Hip-Hop as thuggish. People choose the life they live and if they choose to live like a gangsta then society should help the individual and not blame the music industries because of the drugs, guns, sex, and whatever else. The music industry is for entertainment only, not to use in reality. Tupac and Biggie are prime examples of the situation. However, if a person really listened at Tupac's lyrics that would have heard him rapping of death. Tupac knew he was about to to die he just did not know when. 50cents, The Game, Jezzy, Lil Boosie was raised in the streets that is all the know is how to get their hustle on, so how can society blame the artitsts. Yes, there are some lyrics that are degrading but if you know you are not one, then why should you get mad. All i am saying is that artists rap about how they lived and what they know, who can fought them for what society children are doing.

STOP THE STUPID TESTING IF YOU ARE NOT SICK!

 

 

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/Articles/000,013.htm

Whenever AIDS was discussed in the public sphere, it was the gay community that repeatedly came under fire for endangering the entire nation:

If homosexuals are not stopped, they will in time infect the entire nation, and America will be destroyed. — Rev. Greg Dixon, Moral Majority spokesman.34

Everyone detected with AIDS should be tattooed in the upper forearm, to protect common-needle users, and on the buttocks, to prevent the victimization of other homosexuals. — William F. Buckley, Jr.35

I think we should do what the Bible says and cut their throats. — Rev. Walter Alexander, First Baptist Church, Reno36

Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Ca) was one of the most strident anti-gay voices in Congress. He hired Paul Cameron as his AIDS adviser, who was an early advocate of quarantining AIDS patients.37 Rep. Dannemeyer repeatedly demanded that Surgeon General C. Everett Koop begin mandatory testing of all gay men for AIDS and their names entered into a national database. Dr. Koop refused, believing that it would drive the disease underground and keep people from seeking treatment. At one point, Rep. Dannemeyer telephoned the Surgeon General and demanded to know why he refused to begin mandatory testing and reporting. Dr. Koop recounted that phone call, in which he told Rep. Dannemeyer:

“I told you, that’s not within the power of the Surgeon General, but for reasons I’ve also explained over and over, I wouldn’t do it if I could. But suppose just for the sake of argument, I could and did. Suppose I called you next week and said I now knew who every seropositive [HIV-positive] person was in the whole United States. What would you do?”

After a long pause, Dannemeyer, as I recall, replied, “Wipe them off the face of  the earth!”38