Thursday, March 18, 2004
Why do male hip hop bloggers never discuss sexism?
One year later, the mess in Iraq is worse than ever. (New York Times)
Failed foreign policy isn't the only thing Blair learned from his "mentor" Dubya: British government pledges higher spending for defense, medical research without major tax increases. (San Fransisco Chronicle)
Conservatives are running the insulting talking point that the election result in Spain was a vote for Al-Qaeda or at least for politicians advocating appeasement polices with respect to terrorists. For an alternative (and more rational) take on this issue, read "Why the Socialists Won" from Calpundit and The Progress Report here.
Yesterday (scroll down a little), I asked the question: "Have we reached the point where hip hop culture has to finally looks at itself in the mirror and really examine the effect it's having on our children?" in response to a Thulani Davis article in the Village Voice on hip hop and its relationship to sexuality and feminism. Lizelle of Paper Thin Philosophies asks: "is hip hop so incredibly male-centric for me to believe that there is no space to speak about these issues, most especially on our self-published blogs?" So why do I not "step up" and devote more space on this site to these issues? As you probably already realize from reading the single line comments I make about most issues on this site on a daily basis, I'm not much for deep debate or thought.
In addition though, I think the principle theme expressed in the song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" (from the Broadway puppet musical Avenue Q) probably applies as an explanation as to why I and other male bloggers don't feel the need to become more invested in discussing or combating the problems of sexism, feminism or patriarchal social systems etc. not just in hip hop but in society in general. Can you view yourself as not being racist if, even if you don't express racist thoughts, you participate in, and maybe even benefit from, an institutionally racist society without criticizing it or working towards changing it? Similarly, most people don't view themselves as being sexist even if, like me, they listen to music that routinely epxresses sexist or anti-women points of view and enjoy watching videos that objectify women even while decrying their banality or lack of creativity. And am I sexist if I plain don't like the music of thoughtful female artists like Jean Grae or Bahamadia but cop singles from Eve, Foxy Brown, Trina or Lil Kim in a minute 'cos I know they'll get the party people moving?
For more on this, J-Smooth tries to spark the debate here or feel free to leave comments below.
A very fly bicycle: the Schwinn Sting-Ray
Courtesy: New York Times
Related:
- From trendcentral: Schwinn is jumping back on the bandwagon by re-introducing a popular bike from the ’60s and ’70s, the Sting-Ray. They formed a partnership with Orange County Choppers to design a new version, which has more of a motorcycle style.
Big Ced's new music industry blog/website: The Industry Cosign.
Mobb Deep and... Nelly?! (RapNewsDirect)
BTW: I finally figured out (thanks to some discussion on hiphopmusic.com) that the Mobb Deep track that first used the sample that Kanye used twice in current songs for Twista and his collbao with Jin is "Nothing Like Home (feat. Littles)" from their Infamy album. Apparently the sample is from a song titled "Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams from his 1978 album Spark of Love (ABC). (The-Breaks.com)
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Failed foreign policy isn't the only thing Blair learned from his "mentor" Dubya: British government pledges higher spending for defense, medical research without major tax increases. (San Fransisco Chronicle)
Conservatives are running the insulting talking point that the election result in Spain was a vote for Al-Qaeda or at least for politicians advocating appeasement polices with respect to terrorists. For an alternative (and more rational) take on this issue, read "Why the Socialists Won" from Calpundit and The Progress Report here.
Yesterday (scroll down a little), I asked the question: "Have we reached the point where hip hop culture has to finally looks at itself in the mirror and really examine the effect it's having on our children?" in response to a Thulani Davis article in the Village Voice on hip hop and its relationship to sexuality and feminism. Lizelle of Paper Thin Philosophies asks: "is hip hop so incredibly male-centric for me to believe that there is no space to speak about these issues, most especially on our self-published blogs?" So why do I not "step up" and devote more space on this site to these issues? As you probably already realize from reading the single line comments I make about most issues on this site on a daily basis, I'm not much for deep debate or thought.
In addition though, I think the principle theme expressed in the song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" (from the Broadway puppet musical Avenue Q) probably applies as an explanation as to why I and other male bloggers don't feel the need to become more invested in discussing or combating the problems of sexism, feminism or patriarchal social systems etc. not just in hip hop but in society in general. Can you view yourself as not being racist if, even if you don't express racist thoughts, you participate in, and maybe even benefit from, an institutionally racist society without criticizing it or working towards changing it? Similarly, most people don't view themselves as being sexist even if, like me, they listen to music that routinely epxresses sexist or anti-women points of view and enjoy watching videos that objectify women even while decrying their banality or lack of creativity. And am I sexist if I plain don't like the music of thoughtful female artists like Jean Grae or Bahamadia but cop singles from Eve, Foxy Brown, Trina or Lil Kim in a minute 'cos I know they'll get the party people moving?
For more on this, J-Smooth tries to spark the debate here or feel free to leave comments below.
A very fly bicycle: the Schwinn Sting-Ray
Courtesy: New York Times
Related:
- From trendcentral: Schwinn is jumping back on the bandwagon by re-introducing a popular bike from the ’60s and ’70s, the Sting-Ray. They formed a partnership with Orange County Choppers to design a new version, which has more of a motorcycle style.
Big Ced's new music industry blog/website: The Industry Cosign.
Mobb Deep and... Nelly?! (RapNewsDirect)
BTW: I finally figured out (thanks to some discussion on hiphopmusic.com) that the Mobb Deep track that first used the sample that Kanye used twice in current songs for Twista and his collbao with Jin is "Nothing Like Home (feat. Littles)" from their Infamy album. Apparently the sample is from a song titled "Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams from his 1978 album Spark of Love (ABC). (The-Breaks.com)
