I swear this isn’t based on anything except the column I’m writing for this week.
When I was a youngster, disco was king. Lots of people hated disco out here in the suburbs; in later years, I realized that at least some of the dislike was based in racism, conscious or otherwise.
So…
How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same source?
I’ll be over here behind the bulletproof glass if you need me.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ADDENDUM:
My perception of racism being behind dislike of disco or hiphop is based on observations and comments I’ve heard. Just that.
This perception by those feeling hostile to them that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.
I didn’t say it was logical, valid, or reasonable. Prejudices rarely are.
PLEASE stop trying to convince me I’m wrong about that perception. I’m not. I’ve seen it, heard it. Period.
My question here is pretty simple: do you see it too? And do you see it as being pervasive, less than pervasive, or what?
Clear?
Dark Matter 
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 9:49 am
Yup.
I didn’t like finals that year because I thought the poetry was fairly bad and boring in itself. I thought a lot of the criticism of it went somewhere else completely.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:22 am
Oh yeah, though, to answer your original question directly:
It has SOMETHING to do with it, I think.
No I don’t have a single statistic to support that, but I think moments of the discussions after the 2003 NPS Finals online came in direct alignment with this question.
(Bear in mind, the work on that stage was exceedingly NOT hip-hop-influenced work. It was just black stuff. LOTS of black stuff.)
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 9th, 2004 at 5:17 am
I love hip-hop and I love poetry.
But I can’t stand much hip-hop-influenced poetry.
I’m black, too.
Those are my credentials for what follows.
Much of this type of work comes of as failed rap: stuff they couldn’t make beats for, or didn’t want to bother trying to make rhyme for the purposes of traditional music-making. At the same time, there is the “Blues Argument”, which goes something like “all of the blues sound the same”, which we know isn’t true, but is a tough sell to make to someone who isn’t into the blues and only catches it in casual snatches.
Trying to find the good, persuasive, intellectual, envelope-pushing, quality hip-hop-influenced poetry that does exists is a lot like a black guy in Compton trying to find a good cop: if it looks like a cop, walks like a cop and talks liek a cop, I’m not going to find out the hard way if he’s a good cop or not. I’ll assume the worst and keep myself intact. I approach much of this type of work the same way.
And let’s be fair, here: some art isn’t for some people to begin with, at a motivation-of-the-artist level. Some artists don’t care to engage certain audiences or people, and this is their right. So if the people who trumpet this style of expression actually want to attract, engage and retain people who aren’t hip-hop heads or come from other sides of the fence where poetry is concerned, then they need to present it, their ideas and themselves in a way that opens that door as well.
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 8:08 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm… I believe that not only was disco non-racist, but also that Eminem is non-African American. I also believe that you were never a part of the disco scene, and that you only wish you were so that you could have worn polyester. I also believe that Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in Rhode Island with a pet gerbil. I also believe in a thing called love….
Sorry for giving you a hard time…. 😉
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
First off, thank you…
for recalling that “disco” had a long history before white folks got their mitts on it. It was that music I was referring to, NOT so much the crap the Bee Gees and such did.
I think the rest of your post is right on, too…
But a point: the reactions here tell me something about how close to a nerve this touches.
I’m done with it. Some things are pointless to pursue.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 5:08 pm
whoa!
oh, isaac hayes, manu dibango, sly and the family stone, donna summer and the O’Jays. how i loved you all. even though i was four years old, i was bobbing my head and rockin’ my shoulders like a pro.
so let’s talk about how disco became far more mainstream in ’77 thanks to Saturday Night Fever and the Bee-Gees. isn’t it interesting how it reached its commercial peak once it was performed by white men? just like a John Hughes flick – all it takes is one brave soul to start clapping for the nerd before everyone else joins in.
hip-hop poetry, in my opinion, is disco in reverse – infiltrating the poetry community that has, for centuries only acknowledged its white scholars. did i ever hear about neruda, clifton or lorca in high school? hell no. but i read wordsworth and whitman, that’s for damn sure! no wonder i didn’t try poetry until i was twenty-four!
oscar’s comment touches something that’s always bothered me.
most poetry venues i’ve been to, on the east and west coast, have always had a “set style” of poetry that is welcomed.
at Da Poetry Lounge (L.A.), it was predominantly hip-hop. at the Ugly Mugg (Orange County), it was the “quite white.” I performed at both venues regularly. guess which one embraced me first? but then guess which one, after a few stubborn tries, embraced me like some jolly sweet uncle at a family picnic?
when i first went to the Lounge, i was the “bathroom break” poet for sure. or the “i better go and return that missed cellphone call” poet. but i refused to back down from the idea that what I had to say was fucking universal. and eventually, i was accepted. Rachel Kann and Rives did the same there as well, both making the finals there numerous times, as well as the actual team.
I remember when Sekou came to the Blue Cafe, a predominantly white venue. when he hit the stage, i’m sure people thought “oh boy, here we go, s’more hip-hop poetry bullshit” but he stuck it out. he rhymed, but he had smart lines, told a great story and he rocked the stage like a young MC, captivating the audience. he was entertaining and it couldn’t be denied. the judges didn’t start out wanting to like it, but quickly changed their minds.
so the question “How much do you think the dislike of hip-hop poetry comes from the same [racist] source?” is a toughie, for me because this:
Just like how I turn the station the second a Britney Spears or Kenny G. song hits the radio, there are going to be people who will automatically decide they don’t want to hear something the second a poet takes the mic and starts off with “raise ya hands in the a-yer.” and it won’t be out of racism, but because you can usually tell a whack ass cookie-cutter poem by the first four or five lines.
of course there will be some people who tune out the black poet, the female poet, the white poet, the goth poet based solely on appearances. to say otherwise would be a nice hot bowl of denial.
but i don’t hate on Britney for being a woman, or white. I don’t hate Kenny G. for having terrible hair, being white or a man. Shit, I don’t even hate them. just their art. but even then, i’m still hoping that’ll change. a year or two ago, BS put out a song “Slave 4 U” that had some dope ass beats. I listened to it whenever it came on!
i think so many poems sound the same because too many venues lock in to a specific type, allowing absolutely no room for creative expansion. denying a any genre of poetry is a disservice to the paying audience, but i think that has far more to do with elitism than racism.
hell, i won’t even attend erotic readings when they’re available because they’re just so fucking BAD. but that doesn’t mean i don’t like sex or people who have sex.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:39 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmmm…I can tell you with utter certainty that it was not uncommon for people to equate “disco” with “non-white” in the mid 1970s. Period.
I was there.
And I am specifically NOT saying that Eminem is a “black artist”. I am saying that rap is essentially, at heart, an African-American sourced-expression.
Why is this so difficult?
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:36 pm
Re: Huh?
Hmmm…. I’ve heard rock-n-roll called “N” music (it’s okay to say the word), but never disco. I think of disco and think of stupid white guys in horrid clothes, sorry. disco died because it was shallow and became associated with drugs, kinda like techno. Eminem is not a black rap artist, nor does talking about killing your girlfriend made his music a “black expression.”
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:27 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Absolutely.
And I spin around this in circles.
I very often really dislike it.
But a good poem is a good poem.
Another element there, particularly if you’re looking at it from a performance perspective — how much of it is jealousy… This is probably where I suffer.
that style, does in fact, perform very well. And you _can_ cover content with speed and rhythm and still move an audience…
just an alternate thought.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
there are some good lines in hiphop, but thats rare.
there is some validity to the artform but there are some folks that hide behind it and never progress.
and there is some non hiphop work that is complete and utter crap, yet people love it.
i understand where you are going with this discussion.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
See, that’s the thing.
I hear plenty of good metaphor and imagery in hiphop. It requires alevel of technique I don’t have.
But I find a lot of people who simply dismiss it…and who fawn over non-hiphop work that is terrible.
That’s the thing I’m pointing at.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply anything derogatory with that description, Liam. Just being descriptive. Like anything else, there’s effective use of it and non-effective use of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Thank you.
Honestly, I’m not sure here. I do know racism is frequently in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden. Which makes it none the less real, and far harder to deal with.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:37 pm
hip-hop
I liked disco. Perhaps there was a racist aspect to not liking disco. What I remember of the people who disliked disco was, they tended to be old hippies who decried the loss of their beloved sixties’ music. Plus, disco seemed to promote a more materialistic lifestyle – coke versus pot, dressing up versus tuning out.
As for hip-hop, it tends to be misogynist and that’s why *I* don’t like it. If it’s PC for me to like it to prove I’m not racist, well, I don’t know about that. I like some hip-hop. The non-misogynist forms of it.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Re: Pardon my ignorance
absolutely. And all of us who wake up and decide not to continue in the mentality are tasked with purging our brains with a lifetime’s collection of garbage associations — many of which we’re not even aware of until we bang into them.
Think about the neighborhoods you lock your doors in as you pass through. Why do you lock your doors? should you anyway?
Why is the NBA predominantly african american? Why is the NHL not. What’s the deal with the beastie boys anyway, and why is eminem more “interesting”. Is your lawyer jewish? Am I a drunk because i’m irish, or just an irish drunk?
It’s not a simple as simply deciding “i don’t want to be a racist/sexist/insert-ist-here”.
You also need to identify the behaviors and activiely work on them. you have to admit you have them, regardless of how you want to be, and abscond from them.
But then again, _should_ you lock your doors.
Shrug.
The “white-boy” snark, was really just snarkyness — all i meant was offering to an audience something they don’t want.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:55 am
it bites both ways
you can perform “hip-hop poetry” in venues that highlight that genre and experiment a lot with your form, message and delivery and be praised for just getting your work out there while that same venue will dismiss a “poet” that is working through the narrative
then when said “poet” goes back to their home-base, they will be praised for being a “serious poet”
this of course, comes from living in nyc where you have different venues for different genres of poetry
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
I don’t believe that racism is built into anyone’s character. Everyone is confronted with it at some point in their lives and has a choice as to whether or not to continue in that mentality.
What exactly is “white-boy” poetry?
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:31 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
*pinches you*.
*pinches you because you’re funny*
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:30 am
Re: on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
Bling bling
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:25 am
on disco, Eminem, hip-hop poetry, and racism.
I, too, have heard those folks who would mutter (forget mutter, how about outright holler) that “disco sucks”. And I think you’re right, Tony, because I remember some of the folks who said that sort of thing and to my mind they were NOT that open-minded or culturally curious, we’ll say. Being an ABBA fan, I might not be the best person to sound off on this aspect of the conversation, I realize (a little full-disclosure there).
I have to confess that “hip-hop” poetry, or, poetry that has elements to it that seem to come from hip-hop music, doesn’t often move me. But for me it’s usually because I don’t hear a lot of creativity or diversity. But let me qualify and say that the percetage of “hip-hop” poetry that I hear’s quite small compared to the other sorts of poetry that I DO hear, and hear often.
It’s probably true that racism has a hand in this. Recently at my reading we had a poet speak on the mike about how she didn’t want her son to be “getting involved” with rap music, which she called “barbed-wire music”. But a couple of elements texturize this example I’m bringing up, however:
1. She herself was a woman of color
2. Her angle against rap music, as I perceived it from her poem on this topic, was a Christian one (i.e., rap music is “bad” because “bad” people produce and listen to it as opposed to producing and listening to music that “lifts up God” or what-have-you).
Now, I’m certainly no fan of MOST rap music I hear nowadays, but I don’t share her *vantage point of dislike* for the majority of what I’m hearing.
I sure wish I knew what the truth was here. I didn’t understand what you meant by a part of your addendum to this question, though, Tony: you said,
“This perception by those feeling hostile to [disco or hiphop] that these art forms were/are associated with non-white cultural expressions is simply that: a perception.” With this, are you saying that hiphop music/poetry IN FACT has no association (or perhaps, better, *connection*) with non-white cultural expression, or are you declaring that said statement is a non-proven perception? I just want to make sure I got what you’re saying here.
I’ll say that SOMETIMES I see racism behind a particular dislike for a particular hip-hop poem, but not always. Sometimes, in fact, a hip hop poem is simply bad. Or full of tired, cliched images and phrasings.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:22 am
Re: it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
Which is actually kind of a good point. I see the “you don’t like it, so you must not understand what i’m saying card” pulled right along side the ” you don’t like it cause you’re a racist” card often enough.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:19 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Just an idle thought. Look at your own description of it.
“rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff.”
It’s not a particularly encouraging description. Sounds rather boring actually, and that’s often the way that I find it.
Not that there isn’t artistry in playing words like musical notes, but it’s not wordcraft, it’s something else.
What i get annoyed at is the substitution of speed and rhythm for content.
Someone else mentioned elitism.
I’m probably more prone to that then racism, though a certain amount of racism is built into _all_ peoples character.
I’ll give you the counter example, the wonderfully politcally correct “urban word” readings. Ever notice how dismally your white-boy poetry bombs there?
Different audiences are looking for different things.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:07 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
And the question is, how much of it has to do with racism?
I can’t say for sure, but I certainly can’t rule it out.
I think a lot of it is simply due to an elitist mentality that says that such stuff is not “real poetry.”
But if I were to think outside the box, I would imagine that the same folks who find that such cipherish rhymes cheapen poetry also look at its Af-Am practitioners and believe that they are setting their race back down a few notches. Of course, this uses a racist assumption that Africans were down to begin with. But one should always keep in mind that societal racism is just as much subliminal as overt.
Thinking out loud.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:06 am
it’s not the understanding part i have a problem with…it’s just boring to watch live. the only non hip hop show i have fallen asleep at was the Black Crowes (pre Robinson/Hudson marriage). they were a huge disappointment.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 11:02 am
it’s not racism if it sounds like crap
personally speaking, there have been long periods of time in my life (30 years long) when i listened exclusively to jazz and blues and not white jazz and blues. i don’t like hip hop because musically it is inane bullshit and it flat out insults and annoys my senses.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:59 am
Nope. By chance, I was writing the column already. Your poem inspired me to think about it differently, and to seek other opinions.
For the record, I don’t have any problem understanding most hip-hop.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:56 am
with the exception of Sage, i’ve fallen asleep at two out of the three hip hop shows ive been too (one of which was Atmosphere-another group which hangs tight with Sage, also white). i think, personally, my dislike for hip-hop, the main stream stuff, it’s just blah. i mean its just a bunch of guys yelling shit that no one really understands because people just wanna dance.
oh and i do hate the hip-hop style that seems to have infected slam poetry. what happened to technique? good metaphors? imagery?
did my poem inspire this question?
thanks
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:55 am
Re: Huh?
All ages — more younger than older. Older folks called ALL rock and roll jungle music.
And Country and white people — exactly. Charley Pride doesn’t change the dynamic.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:41 am
Re: Pardon my ignorance
Hey Rich —
Good question. I think I’m speaking of the type of rhymed-couplet, stretched-rhythmic, heavy on the wordplay stuff that you ehar so often in slams. The type of stuff heard in ciphers, for instance.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:38 am
Pardon my ignorance
What exactly do we mean by hip-hop poetry? I’m not sure I understand the distinction, if there is one.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:32 am
Re: Huh?
Around here, it was frequently referred to as “n___r music”.
“Disco sucks” was a refrain you heard everywhere.
The fact that there were white disco artists doesn’t change the fact that there were many folks who saw it as non-white music, just as Eminem doesn’t take away from the fact that rap is perceived, and treated, as an essentially black expression.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:25 am
Re: Huh?
Actually, there were a whole lotta white disco artists…. KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. (Don’t make me break out my K-tel records to prove yo ass wrong!)and there were a WHOLE LOTTA white folk snortin’ coke and boogieing the night away at Studio 54. I still don’t get the connotations that disco is associated with racism…. (?????)
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:16 am
Re: Huh?
Most of the performers were non-white. The Bee Gees, etc, were anomalies.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 10:15 am
Huh?
OK, I’ll bite. What is the connection between disco – the most famous icon of which remains the caucasion John Travolta – and racism? I grew up in the suburbs during the disco craze, and can’t remember many people disliking disco, let alone for racist reasons.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:58 am
Re: in the slam community…
That would have been my estimation, too.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
Well, lots of commercial anything sucks like a hoover. Lots of non-commercial stuff, too.
But I’m actually thinking more of hip-hop poetry, versus the radio/musically based stuff to make a distinction.
I think that the cliches we hear so often in that form of poetry are no more or less wearisome than any other cliches; yet somehow, they seem to attract more oppropbrium.
It just reminds me of “disco sucks” or “turn off that jungle music.”
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:56 am
in the slam community…
i’d say at least 50%. Conservatively speaking.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.
September 8th, 2004 at 9:51 am
Well, you’ve got two forces at play: one is, certainly, racism. The other is that a lot of commercial hip-hop sucks like a hoover.
I like a lot of hip-hop, but I liked rap better when it was actually threatening and not so much mere posturing.
OK, I’ll cop to kind of liking some of the commercial crap, too. But only when I’m in the right mood.