Keep up the great work on your blog. Best wishes WaltDe

My take on this conversation is that I really don't care for I'm in love with a stripper or laffy Taffy or lean wit it rock wit it. At the same time this kind of garbage is being pumped by radio in which I'm sorry to admit this is dictating what these half-assed hip hop fans are listening to these days and loving it too. Now as for myself I really don't like alot of these tracks and I tend to really bump satelite radio hard than your regular FM station because there's more of a variety there. If you want concious raps then you Talib, Mos, Common, Roots being played there at the same time with Papoose, Graph, and etc. There's alternatives out there that we just have to tap to it because FM radio as a whole is destroying Hip Hop

Hip hop Artist need to focus on Unity,just like I said earlier not cars,money and Jewelery because most minorities are less fortunate and dont have what most artist rap about therefore they rob,steal,kill,and sell drugs to get it.Thats why I choose Rasta or better yet Rasta
choose me!

Hip hop Artist need to focus on Unity,just like I said earlier not cars,money and Jewelery because most minorities are less fortunate and dont have what most artist rap about therefore they rob,steal,kill,and sell drugs to get it.Thats why I choose Rasta or better yet Rasta
choose me!

Hip hop Artist need to focus on Unity,just like I said earlier not cars,money and Jewelery because most minorities are less fortunate and dont have what most artist rap about therefore they rob,steal,kill,and sell drugs to get it.Thats why I choose Rasta or better yet Rasta
choose me!

D, Although I see where you're coming from, I have to disagree. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Black music. What you're witnessing now are the offspring of some of the late 80's and early 90's rap. Remeber "Me So Horny" by the 2 Live Crew? That rap hook is much worse than "I'm In Love With A Stripper." And how about LL's "Big Ol' Butt" song in '89? My mother thought the world was ending when she heard me listening to that. And one of my favorite rappers is Slick Rick, and he did a song titled "Treat Her Like A Prostitute." If you want some "fresh air" then you still got Jay, Common, and Kanye. Then you have Jill Scott, Res, Mary J., Alicia Keys, and India Arie. We can't let some wack radio playlists and wack program directors sway us from good music by blasting us with that "Stripper" song and others like it. The challenge is for us to support music with substance and/or music that doesn't poison our youth.

I can't seem to get myself worked up over that song or the lyrics in any of todays music because "It's Just Music!" I remember growing up in the 70s and seeing my grandparents freak out over some of the music my aunts and uncles listened to. Granted, the lyrics weren't anything like the ones of today but then again neither was the world.

Sorry I agree with D 100% Some of the most popular rap music is nothing but a modern day DAGGONE MINSTREL SHOW!!! and I am sickened by it.

Respectively I am amazed at some of the comments I have read here. Some of you all cannot possibly be serious???? Someone points out and obvious destructive aspect of hip hop and it is met with well why don't you do this or that before you worry about the music, have mercy I have heard it all. Sadly gone are the days of Chuck D, KRS ONE, D-NICE, X-CLAN, ETC positive music where young people were proud to be black now the younger generation is proud to be pimps, hoes, and materialistic idiots, tell me i'm wrong........?

Thank goodness for MOS DEF, TALIB KWELI, COMMON, ETC WHO I KEEP IN HEAVY ROTATION

D, The World has gone MAD...remember the artist Blowfly, or the Candy Licker. Their music was only played in the joints for grown ups. Our black stations polay that garbage for the streets but the white pop stations do not play it. "The world has Gone MAD and we Black people have too!"

That previous post was meant for Mike vice Rasta Boi

Rasta Boi, this is not a personal attack, however your comments show a lack of concern or even responsibility with your community to make comments like yours. Brah, when a Hip Hop Icon like D-Nice has issues with today's music, it does NOT come from someone who has not lived Hip Hop music. I don't understand how you can just say basically "it's everywhere, therefore I must accept it". That is what D-Nice, BDP and company spoke about in the Self-Destruction video of old. You cannot speak of "financial wealth" and "good" in the same breath. One does NOT equate the other. You must not have any children either to post those comments. I grew up a child of Hip Hop and saw the changes from 1970-2006 from Hip Hop to rap and I must say that everyone who "lives Hip Hop" (like KRS-One says), not just the music artists and moguls, influence and shape Hip Hop. So no, it is not acceptable to just say that pimps, etc, are in our neighborhoods, and not do anything about it. We must all ask ourselves, what have I done to change my community today. If the answer is nothing, then you are part of the blame for your community. In the military, we say you are either a part of the problem or the solution...you decide and act accordingly.

hey D, yeah it really makes me so mad and sad. I'm a mom of 3 boy's age's 9-12 and i heared my 12 year old singing that hook one day and at that very moment i had to school him on strippers and that whole lifestyle.It's like the music is beating us parents to the punch we have to discuss serious issues with our children before we are even ready to..our kids are exposed to too much at an earlier age. If they are not singing about strippers they are singing about three somes, girl on girl, homosexuality going down .it's just getting out of hand. I don't care how much i limit that exposer they still hear that shi.... especially at school and them little as... mp3 players on the school bus wherever...
lily

One of the most genius minds in the world had to be that of Willie Lynch. I wish I had been born one week before this guy was and had been able to snuff his flame out a week before he was able to unleash his still proven method of madness upon the black race. PLEASE no-one view this as celebration of this man, but a mind that could create such a long lasting effective plan (in effect even as you read this)has to border genius. His theory has even infultrated HipHop when spend so much time pitted against each other we don't have enough time to embrass the benefits of our Hip Hop success. We need to take it spend more time on the positive aspects of it (HipHop) and nuture that. Yet the older black generations critique HipHop and discredit its good merits.. unless the powers tha be sanction it as good. There's just so much to touch on HipHOP and its people a simple blogg couldn't scratch the surface. D-Nice I Hope you take the oppurtunity to dive in to it !!!! You and so many other HipHoppers from our generation are qoute unqoute "HIPHOP ALL GROWN UP !" the perfect title.

Peace Guess Stevens

D!! I'm in Love With a Stripper ?!!? What's happening to HipHop is... you being as as on hands as you are realize Hip-Hop is not what was listened to in the eighties and some of the nineties. Jive isn't ran by you friends so the music that is dictated and aired is not that of their choice overall. Hip hop is business now a days marketing planning merchandising etc. What you hear now is shock radio. The Black community still says what is hot although we aren't the major consumers of hiphop. Yet will still decide in some ways whats poppin, they still follow the Hoods lead. It's so hard to impress our people when it comes to our own creativity that shock music is the new way of getting any response from the black hiphop community. Your a parent now so you don't want you daughter hearing this stuff, just under twenty years ago the parents then didn't want to hear you and Kris beefing with the QB crew. I look forward to possibly having a forum to sit down with the generations of Hip Hop such as yourself and other cats and have this conversation in full. Contact me @ my Email to build on it.

Peace Guess Stevens

I think the artist these days are focused more on dancing,jewelery,cars ,and materialistic stuff
that life has to offer instead of helping the people who was once in the same situation they was in tring to be heard I know because in an independant artist tring to heard myself.I think the artist today need to focus more on bringing blacks together as a whole ( That means the Elders and the youth,the crips and the bloods,the rich and the poor,All of the African Race.Check me out on cdbaby.com RASTA BOI"
A;so on American Idol Underground!

I have mixed feelings about Hip-Hop. I feel like hip-hop shouldn't paint a picture of who we are as black people or as an individuals. It's just poetry that's painting a picture of what's really hapening in our neighborhood. Ask yourself this, when you walk outside your house on daily basis do you verbally attack those drug dealers standing on the corners in your neighborhood? I'll bet you drive by everyday and turn a blind eye. Do you vocally express the violence that's acted out in the action movies you let your kids watch? Just think about that. Violence is in every aspect of entertainment. Rap music is no different from grand theft auto your kid plays on his playstation. Rap is just another form of it. I have a 17 year old son who loves hip-hop just like me but he has a 3.7 gpa and is college bound. it's up to the parents to teach there kids the difference between reality and entertainment. he knows the harsh reality of being "HOOD" and he wants no part of it even though some rappers glorify it. Rappers are not his role models, I am. That's the way it should be in every home. There is a lot of good that hip-hop has brought to our your generation. It has made a lot of our young black people millionaires. Something they probably would have never accomplished without rap music. So with all things there is good and there is bad. But the truth is there is bitches, hookers, prostitutes, pimps, gangbangers, murderers, drug dealers, in our community. So if we fix the problem there first, then maybe a lot of these rapstars wouldn't have these type of stories and experiences to rap about. So work on your home first before you start trying to clean-up a whole culture. As a matter of fact It's Hard Out there for a pimp? Oscar. So that form of music can't be that bad maybe it's your parenting.

It's not just BLACK music that's being distorted by the media - it's our culture (ALL of African descent - African-American/Caribbean/Latino/etc.) that is CONSTANTLY under attack by the media. Thank God for the Underground success stories and artists who continue to be true to the ART form and NOT to the TOP dollar ( hear sounds of the auction block in the background = SOLD to the HIGHEST bidder).

Thanks D-Nice & other True Artists with integrity for staying true to YOURself and know that The Creator is working through us ALL. I simply pray for our lost 'sheep' who have sold themselves for this earthly bling that will rot soon anyway.

Shop with me! Purchase my album from cd baby or rate my songs on American idol underground just type Rasta Boi' in Artist search!

I agree with you 100%. Black music does not have to be violent, overly sexual or glorifying crime & drug use to be "real" or to send a message. What you see in the popular music of today perpetuates negative stereotypes of Blacks, and fosters all the worst behaviors in our children.
I find strength in Black music that in positive and unique--even as Blacks have suffered or endured hardships. The spirituals our ancestors sung while working the fields often contained hidden messages to help runaway slaves, to instill hope, or to maintain a connection their African homeland. The Blues is music unique to Black America--and yes the music can be gritty, and even provactive but it does not degrade Blacks or desensitize us to feeling. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of creativity, political movement and free expression. Blacks from urban areas who were struggling--who lived in a racist society--found a way, through the Renaissance, to have their voices heard.
The music of today does not have to be so negative! Enough is enough. I thank you D-Nice for bringing up this subject & challenging people to think about what the music says, and how are children are listening.

D,
I truly undersatnd your concerns on the direction of black music these days, but I think that it's all relative. Each generation tries to find it's own voice, and that's what we are seeing today in fashion, music and slang.

The true problem is the breakdown of the FAMILY structure and society itself. Maybe if we can get those areas back on track, our children will understand that there is more to life than rims, champange and bling.

Keith Miles
1st generation Hip Hop fan !!

I was so crazy about D-Nice during middle school.I just love this website. It has made me reflect back on my school days with a wiser perspective on the differences of music today versus yesterday and its afect on children.

And to the person that made comment about " I'd bet all of these rappers and singers that make this type of music have at least one child. Do they actually condone this music for their kids ot listen to?" I've geard and read interviews where at least two male rappers that outright degrade women have indivually stated double standard information regarding their kids. One was asked about what kind of music his daughter listens to he proudly said she was into Brittany Spears. The other was asked what type of girl would you expect your son to bring home. He said a smart one with a good education and has something going for herself, but if she was a dipiction of the kind that is in his videos (to sum it up), he said his son couldn't bring her home. Obviously they feel it's ok to poison other children's minds with the fantasy of life is only about cash, money cars, and women.

Derrick Please put the Radio Blog Old School Mix back on your site...thats the stuff I listen to at work. What's on the radio today is 90% garbage!

Take a look at how many people have responded to your posting! That alone tells me that you are right. Why is it that Black music is predominantly about selling sex and making as much money as possible with no regard to kids. I'd bet all of these rappers and singers that make this type of music have at least one child. Do they actually condone this music for their kids ot listen to? Sad.

The majority of urban radio sucks nowadays. It's a sad state of affairs when most of these kids marry in the future and their grandchildren ask them what songs was playing when grandpa met grandma back in the day, and all they can think of to tell them is Grillz.

It saddens me that in a few years time my two young sons will refer to a song for the information they should "ONLY" get from me regarding sex. I try to protect them at all costs by not playing adult music around them in my home or car. I wait until I am alone and then take it to an adult level. But, I also know I can't control what they hear from the other children in school.

WOW D-
Kudos to you for speaking the truth as we know it!! Music is just not the same as it used to be. Can you beleive that we sound just like our parents & grandparents saying these things? It just so happens to be true. When will we stop appeasing the so called music execs & start respecting our culture, our future & our children, not to mention our women? As a mother of a 6 year old young man, I ask when will things change?

Peace D-

I agree 1000 percent with everyone here.

There is no love for the music anymore. Like mostly everyone here- I'm from the era of great music; Rhythm & Beats and Microphone Controllaz, and music is my life too. You wanna talk about TIMEWARP...I can't listen to the radio too long.
Thank the good Lord for satillite radio.

Videos...I'll pass. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at anybody...but most of the trash that's on does not intrigue me. I really try. I really try hard to listen..you know, give it a chance. I just can't. The images, the messages, it's endless. We have to do something..
I'm down. Cuz enough is enough.

Peace.

I first ran into that song as a featured artist on AIM. I was very disappointed in the bearing that is being imposed on what is good. Crap is going through the filter at an alarming rate. Children are being hit by things that there used to be a parental sheild for. While I know as a people our music can't die, but it is getting dumbed down.

Hey Mr.Jones you know I had to get in on this topic....I don't want to sound like I've given up on the children today but nothing these days suprise me. Like two months ago I was walking in the mall behind these two girls(no older than 14)and they were in a conversation that blew my mind. One was saying how she was about to have sex with this boy and he asked her to go down on him. Then she went on to say that she told him "no she only does that to her boyfriend". So now I'm like, following them because I just couldn't believe my ears or my eyes, I mean, they were babies. So now I'm thinking not only is she giving orals at that age, but she's having sex with more than one guy. I think 40% of the blame falls on society because #1 these kids are forced to know more than they should just to survive and #2 the government is forcing the parents to work 2 or more jobs just to make ends meat which means less quality time spent with these kids and the parents have no clue as to what they're doing in these streets thus the end result, which is teen pregnancies, STD's, gang bangers, drug dealers, etc. I mean it's maddening! These kids have no morals or respect for life..theirs or yours. We as adults need to remember it takes a village to raise a child. And yes I know, easier said than done. But please everyone...just be patient and keep praying and we can do this!!!!!!!! One love! Thanks for reading :-)

Forever Always
Cyn-City 06'

True indeed, but this just goes to show you the corporate influences, lack of respect, sensitivity, and creativity in the game right now! There are way too many "Yes men and women," who suck d*** and lick a** to try to scale the ladder, while the culture suffers at the hands of those who don't live it, and don't care! Money is the bottom line, and it's clearly visible from all the "Monkey See, Monkey Do" activity going on (especially here in NYC!) It's sickening! I remember when it was NY who was the global trend-setter in Hip-Hop (ie. style, language, art, music, dance, culture, even attitude and flair). WHERE IS THE LOVE AND RESPECT FOR TRUE HIP-HOP CULTURE?

I totally feel where your coming from. It's playing out just like Common said in "I Used to Love Her." I mean dirty and suggestive lyrics have always been around, but it was the way it was done. Those were the records that would only be found on the album, you had to sneak and listen to them, and use your imagination. Now they are pushing these joints as singles, adding a few beeps, and making a video, which gives these young kids the visuals to reenact what they've seen and heard. Not to mention where is the creativity and the vision. I thought we were past all this pimp and hoe shit. To me this whole music shit is going down hill. I can't even stand to listen to regular radio for more than a few minutes. My girlfriends laugh at me because all I do is listen to Backspin (on sirius) and I'm obsessed with collecting old school hip hop cds. I guess I'm stuck in a time worp, but I'm just trying to hold on to that feeling I had when I first fell in love with it. I hope this trend fades and some new artist that have studied the art and culutre make their mark ASAP.

D-Nice,

What's good in cyber-space , I was with Scott, T-Black and you at club Cain this Tues. To speak on this music biz , nothing will change until the decision makers change it . I have a daughter that is Three , she knows how to emulate sexual moves in a video . What scares me is not that she's able to emulate what she sees , but that nobody is watching her and correcting it at home . Unfortunatly , I'm in Brooklyn and she lives down south , with her mother. We , the elders , should get back to educating our children to whats going on . We have to lead by EXAMPLE , its the only way to get them to follow . Have a safe trip . BORN

Yo Dee! where are becoming our parents?! LOL I have been asking for a commentary on this for a while! I have one thing to say K-R-S one! That cat taught me things on a hip-hop level that these kids need now a days. I grew up a few mins. from Chuck Dee and Flav so we had the leather medillions with Africa on it. We need to find a way to pump more positive images into these kids heads. But most people on the web site have hit the nail on the head. We cannot let BET-10 live and Mtv be our baby-sitters. You have to be involved. My 12 yr old, at the time, 14 now took my Rakim cd from my collection. I was heated... Why? because as fly as he was, Rakim had cursing on it. Not much but too much for him.I was happy on the inside that he would choose such a classy cd to rock but that was overkill for him in my opinion. So now when he see's these cats coming with garbage like the ying-yang clowns he turns it off because he's been schooled on what's music and what's not. We need to pay attention to this for real. Peace Dee

Rhythm and Bullshit?: The Slow Decline of R&B, Part One

Does the soulless sound of contemporary R&B really have its roots in a controversial Harvard study from 1972, an alleged blueprint for the corporate theft of black culture's heritage? Or was it all Clive Davis's idea? The first of a three-part examination of how R&B became big business on the way to becoming irrelevant. 

by Mark Anthony Neal

Yeah, I'm nostalgic: When Mary J. Blige first uttered the opening lines to "You Remind Me," it was about making sure that hip-hop remembered that R&B came from the same streets where crackheads roamed and the same tenement vestibules where drama went down on the regular. But as I listen to Mario's "Let Me Love You" for the 727th time, it is perhaps easy to suggest that R&B has lost its Soul, or that Clear Channel, Radio One (luv ya, Cathy!), AOL-Time Warner and Viacom -- a neo-plantation cabal if ever there was one -- ripped its heart out. Hip-hop may have sold out, but at least it has sold out on its own terms. R&B, on the other hand, has sold out on somebody else's, on a pop-chart paper chase. Truth be told, U(r)sher was nothing more than a soon-past-his-peak R&B singer before John Smith laced him with some crunk junk; Ray J could have sang the hook on "Yeah" and topped the pop charts. And now, 10 million units later, we want to act like Mr. Raymond is the second coming of Michael Jackson? I ain't willing to grant him the second coming of Bobby Brown. And it is not like we even knew Mr. Legend (in his own mind) and Ms. Queen of Crunk n' B were in the room, until some hip-hop act sanctioned their presence. But what ails contemporary R&B is not just a matter of the commercial success of John Legend -- and Amerie and Ciara and Mario. The current state of R&B comes not from a sudden decline, but a process more than 30 years in the making.

This story begins in 1972, when a few enterprising master's students at the Harvard Business School prepared a study, commissioned by one of Columbia's execs, detailing how the Columbia Records Group could better integrate the then largely independent black music industry into the mix. The now infamous Harvard Report -- officially known as "A Study of the Soul Music Environment" -- has often been referred to as a sinister blueprint aimed at arming a litany of "culture bandits" with the theoretical tools to return black culture to a neo-colonial state. There's no denying that this is exactly the situation we're staring at now, but it has nothing to do with the Harvard Report. What those MBA students articulated was a no-brainer marketing plan, informed by the commercial success of Motown and the cynical (though not mistaken) view that the Civil Rights "revolution" likely had more to do with the realities that black folk had disposable income and white folk consumed a hell of a lot of black popular culture than anything to do with real structural change in American society. In response to those expecting more sinister designs in the Harvard Report, David Sanjek rhetorically chimes, "why did [Columbia] feel the need to document what they should have already known?" (Rhythm and Business, 62). What Sanjek suggests is that eventually somebody in the music industry would have come up with their own version of the Harvard Report -- say, Clive Davis, who incidentally was a president at Columbia at the time that the report was commissioned. The point is, with or without the Harvard Report, the takeover was well underway.

The rest of Part 1, 2, 3 and the epilogue can be found here:

http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/050603-randb.shtml

Very true.. using sex or violence to boost a song's success is bad, unless it's done in a very thought-provoking manor. If a track is played on the radio 24/7, it should be injecting us with knowledge, not ignorance.

My sentiments exactly, as parent myself of beautiful daughter I totally agree with you as well as the others who have responded to this entry.

I’m originally from the south although I’ve been living in NY for several years now .My roots are in N.C. and as a southerner I have to say I am ashamed of some the hip-hop music that evolved from this region.

Having been exposed as a child/teenager in the 80’s and 90’s to sexually explicit songs spun on most southern radio stations and during high school dances and recreational center functions that are geared to youth. (At that time Luke was the only southerner artist besides the Ghetto Boyz getting air play in NY) Ironically “Doo Doo brown” is one of the most least explicit compared to songs I heard in my youth.

I can honestly say based on my personal observation the exposure given to these songs then had a major impact on the extremely high teen pregnancy rate in southern schools during my time. Promoting “booty dancing” which lead to sexually frustrated little boys and girls in the back seat of someone’s car. Which then leads to young moms and dads providing us with more “WTF moments” unfortunately, go figure.

Although it starts at home “it takes village” we have sit in on some practices, chaperone some dances, Screen some DJ’s at these teen functions, and voice our opinions loudly and frequently as it relates to the future of our youth and instill “conscious rap” back into the minds of our future Hip-hop artist.

Welcome back D!
Looking forward to the next topic! Chris is on your heels! LOL

HIP HOP IS NOT A KID SPORT ANYMORE. WHEN YOU WERE DOING IT, AS WELL AS MYSELF. YOU COULD'NT BE OVER 21. NOW YOU CAN'T BE YOUNGER THE 30.
YOUR RIGHT, WE NEED TO FEED OUR CHILDREN OLD SCHOOL.
BUT ALSO LET THEM SEE NEW SCHOOL,SO THEY KNOW WHAT NOT APPROPRIATE.

PEACE

I completely AGREE...That Song "I'm in Luv Wit a Stripper" is RIDICULOUS.
I am amazed of the songs that are played on the radio just from the chorus alone. Everything is so Sexual or Violent. I have a seven year old Son and it is hard to keep him sheltered from that crap, but I will do my Best!!! It is very important that we as Parents teach our children to become Decent Respectful Men and Women.

Good Music is like a Good Home Cook Meal....They are both very soothing for the Soul...We All Need It!!

And we shouldn't think otherwise like we can do without either.

P.S. I just have to add this...one specific thing we can do is keep our old music playing in the household so that our young people can learn where a lot of the new artists SAMPLE or simply COPY from. And as much as I can't stand most Disney artists, we have to tolerate the little bubble gum artists that are packaged & marketed for kids so that they don't have to hear songs like...that one song I heard recently talkin bout what sex is like with somebody...damn, what happened to subtlety? When a song or viagra commercial comes on the radio and it makes a parent get embarrassed and blush, it's time to change the dial or pop in a kiddie CD and bear with it.

I was wondering when we'd hear back from you...missed gettin emails from ya, but Chris has been holdin' it down. I saw you on VHI soul yesterday on the Paper Thin video...coincidence that you have that on your top 10 this week.

Anywho...as for the state of Black Music...I don't even want to write an essay right now, but I mean, this whole sex, drugs and violence in our American culture is taking it's toll on us. It goes too deep for me.

IN MY EYES
The bottom line is we have to educate people about MEDIA LITERACY and that will address a broad range of issues...because we will not get rid of these influences overnight, but we can teach our children CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS and they will be armed to deal with the ridiculous images and stereotypes that are constantly perpetuated via videos, movies, music, advertisements, etc...check out website www.medialit.org.

There is no glamour in it, but we have to buckle down and raise this next generation with more sense than what we were raised with. Our parents had to deal with a lot, but we have to compete with this technology which makes it all the more urgent. We can't accept the way things are in society as the "norm" when we have the power to SET our own "norms".

Yo, D.:

Once again I see we're on the same page. As a proud parent myself (most of the time), I am disappointed in the lyrics our kids listen to. But what do we do? I'll tell you - take the time to give them a little 'hip-hop history.' I'll give a short example: my 12-year old son is really into 50 cent. He always seems to recite some of the lines from his songs, especially since he and some of his classmates have seen 'G-R-O-D-T.' In this case, he seems to glorify the street hustle and how he made his money. I don't really have a problem with that. When he doesn't take the time to understand what those lyrics are saying, I do have a problem with that. I find that telling him to listen to what's being said instead of just bobbin' his head with the beat makes a difference. Ask the kids the question of what do they think those lyrics mean? Then tell them about how Whodini made sense when they made songs like 'Friends' or GrandMaster Flash's 'The Message.' Let them know how it identifies with everyday life and it's message instead of glorifying sex and violence. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. Peace!

Nice! First I would like to say that I'm glade that your back on your journal that I come to every two-days to read!......And I know you are becoming busy in your ventures but PLEASE! dont forget the journal....Now let's get to the problem at hand. I said it before and I'm going to say it again "PARENTS HAVE TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THERE CHILDREN DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES" because if they are not. There will be more than just a WTF, it would be "WHO THE HELL TOLD YOU TO TEACH MY KID THIS?". The second part of this is HIP HOP! Like you Nice! I'm first generation Hip Hop, meaning you've seen the 80's,90's and 2000's that is 30 years and rap has been stagnet with no direction for 7 to 8 years. Let end this right quick and come back with part three later. lol...the prime years of rap when kids and adults could listen was from 86 to about 93....WHY BECAUSE WHEN YOU WENT TO BUY TAPE...YES I SAID A TAPE...YOU PICK UP FROM ARTIST LIKE DANA,SLICK R,G-RAP,P-E,EPMD,LARGE PRO,UMC'S,STETS,JB'S,NWA,YZ,SWEET-T,LYTE,3RD BASS,POOR RIGHTOUS TEACHERS,L.O.N.S. The list goes on the point I'm tring to make is that you had to get it all not just 2 or 3 artist....part 3 soon....................Ra-sool

As I look at your hot picks on the front of your page....I see Beyonce's new song check on it is number 1. Now that song is prime example of a grown woman making music for teens and they take it and apply it to their lives. Beyonce gets paid to dress and pump her a** and gains respect. Our children and culture, loose self respect, dignity and money when they make the purchase. I'm not hating on Beyonce, but kids only do what they see other people do. And because most parents allow the television and the internet to baby sit their kids, children are taking on the ways of their babysitter.

Yo D,
Man I agree....I have been wondering this very thing for a long time now. I am a white male who was influenced by hip-hop back in the day and by back I mean when cat's like you were rapping for fun.....to make people forget about life and trouble for a while. I always tell the young kids at my church who are into hip-hop about the old skool and how much better it was back then...and it was. I don't understand what happened to the art, it's all about sex....that's not what hip-hop is or was. Hip-hop used to be a story about life for the youth in the inner city and it gave cats like this white boy here an idea of what it was like to be there.It was about having a good time, dancin, encouraging kids to stay away from trouble and it taught consequences of bad decisions.....Hey D what ever happened to rappers like KRS-ONE who would go to school after school teachin kids knowledge and telling them about gangs and drugs.....Self Destruction was in my opinion a prophetic word when it came out and now 10 plus years later we see the outcome of refusing to listen.Hip-Hop is not pure any more...it's commercial and that is sad.....it's also too bad that rappers today don't give respect and honor to those who came before them....because if it wasn't for Boogie Down....Run-DMC, Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh,Big Daddy Kane, Poor Righteous Teachers, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five these cat's today wouldn't have the right's to the million dollar homes and "bling". I have been buying up all the old skool rap CDs I can come across. Why? To show this generation what rap is....what rhymin was....and what it should be. Honestly, who could come off like KRS-ONE?? Who could rap like Big Daddy? Who brought positive messages and warnings like Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five? Who is the voice of hip-hop today???
It's NOT 50, It's NOT Em, It's NOT T.I.
I've gone off long enough....thanks for helping cats like me to remember those who made hip-hop.
I mean when kids today don't know who Rick Ruben is......that is a sad thing. When they have never heard of you or Biz Markee, or other greats like Special Ed they need to do their history and find out where the roots of the Hip-Hop tree are.
Late
ya boy Jay

Peace D,
You are the one who actually holds the key. Playing a major role in the "Self-Destruction" project, and being in the position you're in today, you have the power to change what's hot in popular culture. If we could take Africa off of shirts and put it in the hearts of these brothas that are wearing the shirts in videos,hip-hop may see a resurrection.(I'm not pointing any fingers, but we know that some brothas, while promoting Africa's legacy, have "Africa's Legacy" butt-naked in their videos and photo shoots.)Please channel your inner hip-hop and turn this thang around. After being lonely,locked up, and a rider/sole survivor, Akon brought us a pot of gold, so there's hope. Peace

And once again, your character confirmed... The saddest thing to me is that some
would have us believe that this is our culture. They would look at me, stare with
big eyes, bold even, and tell me this is the culture. They
would stare with big eyes, bold and boastful, and tell us, especially us who are
young, that this is our legacy. This is what we have to look up
to, what we've been given to pass on. This can't be life, there's got to be more...
There is. There's you. There's me.
There's us. Peace & thanks.

I'm 34, a dad of a 18 month year old and I'd like to say that this current wave of music is my fault. It started with some of my favorite songs like Juicy (Mtume), O.P.P. (Naughty By Nature) and Gangsta Bitch (Apache).

I told my parents "these songs are good!" I told them they were old and they didn't know what they were talking about. I told them that they couldn't stop the music because of freedom of speech. We should be allowed to sing and rap about anything we want to - no matter who it offends. I defended rappers who said they weren't role models. I defended gangster rap. I bought NWA. I bought Too Short. I bought Black Sheep. I bought Luke. I bought D-Nice (Pimp Of The Year). So essentially, I'm the reason this crap is allowed to exist.

FAST FORWARD TO 2006...and now we have "I'm In Love With A Stripper".

My bad.

Working in urban high schools I see the impact of this new "music" all the time. In the clothes, in the language, in the attitude and achievement ... or lack thereof. I see it in the way they treat themselves and each other; the lost division between adults and children and the gap between true childhood and the life they're living. So much of it is contrived - this thug mentality the kids imitate while they live in nice homes and nice neighborhoods - this absolutely tells you that what they see on television and hear on the radio is what they're going to try to emulate. I can't be mad - I did the same thing when I came up listening to EPMD, Public Enemy, and the entire Native Tongue family, but what is being churned out these days is laughable and pathetic and ... most important of all ... destructive. "To the windows, to the walls?" Come on, now. How do these "artists" even GET a deal?!?!

I'm very encouraged by the comments because I just thought that this was a feminist discourse or something. I've been thinking about it for a while but my breaking point (aka wtf moment) was last week they played Put it in Your Mouth on the radio with the words scratched out. I don't think that they even played that mess on the radio when it was new. Rap/Hip-Hop is way way lopsided right now, totally out of balance. I mean coming from a generation who listened to BDP the notion of Kanye West being a conscious rapper is crazy. Sure growing up in the 80s we had NWA but we had Public Enemy and De la Soul that you could see and hear on radio and BET/MTV we had options. The kids today don't have those same options -- its just bitches hoes niggas thugs all day long. Plus we had long songs (Marvin, Barry, Curtis) as our old school these kids have freak me baby and 12 play. To us its cool but without the balance its scary. Its the first time I believe in our history where this is almost no social consciousness in our (black) music in art and its sad because its not like we dont need it. Hopefully because there seems to be real dissent about whats going on with real folks who love the art form there will be a change.

DEE-P.S. MAN I HOPE N PRAY THATS ITS TRUE THE GOD "PREMIER"IS DOING NAS'S WHOLE ALBUM....

DEE- THX, THOUGHT I WAS JUST SHOWING MY AGE BUT HIP HOP HAS BECOME W.A.C.K.-NOTHING TURNS MY HEAD ANYMORE,WE USED TO ARGUE OVER WHO WAS NICE...RAKIM OR KANE,BDP OR JUICE...LATER BIGGIE,JAY Z OR NAS...NOW WHOEVER IS LIKED BY THE MASSES IS WHO WE ALL LIKE(OR SHIT BE FORCED TO LISTEN TO OVER N OVER ALL DAY ON POWER OR HOT)...THERE WAS ALWAYS EDGE OR VIOLENCE IN HIP HOP BUT A MSG WAS THERE AT TIMES...WE'VE ALLOWED OURSELVES N OUR KIDS TO BECOME NUMB TO IGNORANCE....PEACE N THANK YOU FOR THE KNOWLEDGE!!!

What's happening to the culture is a direct reflection of what's happening in our society: the emergence of corporate culture and its hold on the people and the arts.

When corporate culture emerged holding the reigns of music--in this particular case hip-hop--the energy and focus behind it became money-oriented. Not to say that hip-hop hasn't had a love affair with material goods but it's always been an element of, not the sole focus.

Sure we've had controversial elements in hip-hop--e.g. NWA, P.E.--but again, the energy was different. There was more diversity in radio programming; we heard ALL genres of hip-hop, not one particular kind meant to represent all that our culture has to offer. I do believe everyone has a place at the table and honestly have no problem with ?bling?, colorful words and the superficiality that purveys some songs but I do when it's ALL that we are offered. Of course, there are other issues involved, payola being a major issue in programming today, but the responsibility also lies with us.

At the end of the day, there's the concept of supply and demand. Sure, if all we hear is one particular kind of hip hop, it makes it hard to "find" what else is out there but it's out there and we shouldn't rely solely on labels to quell our thirst for music. If we want more, then we have to ask for more, and the only way corporate heads listen is through the almighty dollar. We flap our gums about not liking the current state of affairs yet continue to support and run out and cop/download the latest. Is that not confirmation for the labels and all involved that it's what we want? What we desire? What we feel is a true representation of us? How many people are running out and supporting Little Brother? I think I hear crickets?yet a lot of heads certainly know Juelz and his homage to cat calling, no matter how fun the track may be.

Yes, we depend on marketing and promotion to inform us about the latest but at the end of the day, when did hip-hop become a culture where we looked outside of ourselves to find sustenance? We?ve always been the purveyors of culture yet somehow we?ve managed to forget our history, our culture and handed it over for someone else to maintain and represent the myriad of diversity that it us.

Sound familiar?

D,
I concur and must say that our music has always been reflective of who we are as a people. Marvin Gaye "What's Going On" (Civil Rights & Vietnam) or even "Self Destruction". The problem is that in 06 artist nor Black people take responsibility for the music or acts that represent who we are. The solution if I may offer one is for those of us who know better to teach one another and the children that we are more than thugs, whores and strippers.

East, West, North, South we create and define who WE are and who we want to be.

I agree 1000000% percent. I to am a father. It's a battle with satan trying to help our children keep their innocence. Yesterday I was driving down Van Damn avenue on my way to the city. I looked up and saw a billboard with a naked couple laying in bed. There should be a law against that. It's like I need to raise my kids in a box.
I make music also (sing/rap). Iwant my kids to hear my music to curses exit my verses. I bet any amount on myself, any time$$$. Trisuhen@aol.com

"If we are wack Hip Hop will be wack.....".Mos Def
I've been preaching for a decade. We must put our love and soul power back into our music. PEace and respect, Ernie Paniccioli

i totally agree with you D. i forbid my son to peep even the slightest bit of mtv and bet. in fact i have taken them off my cable all together for that very reason (and i see the little girls in my son's kindergarten class trying to do those dance moves! it's horrible!). i'm a artist myself, i write, sing and perform soul music as do a lot of my friends. i truly feel that the best music is not being showcased. my ipod is filled with mostly my indie artists from the neighborhood and im good with that but what can we do for the kids? I'm doing my best to create positive music and will be putting my record out this year independently...as of now, that's what i can do...what can you all do?
...disturbed, jeni fujita

It's funny that people don't seem to hear or see what's going on until they have a "WTF" moment, I read this music executive comments regarding music which disrespects women,he said his children are not allowed to listen to the music he is paid to promote, Now I ask you...how crazy is that. That just tells you how people can reason away insanity.

But who could be mad at this group - the way has been paved by the likes of 50 cents and cameron
(just to name a few).If this group sell enough units, I'm sure they will make the cover of XXL or Source,their sales will give them enough clout to perform on an award show or sit on the couch at BET surrounded by young impressionable girls. Then,you as a parent have to explain to your child why she can't download the song or why she can't date the 50 replica who lives down the hall.
What a lot of us don't see is the other side; teenage prostitution, teenage mental and physical abuse or that teenager who has contracted HIV. These times are very serious especially for communites of color.

We have to enhance and re-enforce the positive and address all levels of the negative, it's really that serious. We have to be responsible for our youth, thank you for reminding me that as a woman I must be part of that process everyday.

I have been 100% disgusted by what's going on in urban music in the mainstream. The thing is - i'm not anti "negative" or "positive" music, i just feel ART should be honest and inventive no matter how offensive it may be. The urban mainstream seems to have lost that. Luckily I live in a country, where i can choose what i would like to listen too. In otherwords, support true artists. Bullshit can resonate without an audience. We should all make an effort to support TRUE artistry . . .

There is something seriously wrong with Black music today. There seems to be a degeneracy in the music. Artist do not want to dig deeply within themselves to write about things that really matter. You would think that Katrina would've served as an inspiration to express the social injustices that are occuring in this day in age. People do not want to wake up! They want to continue about their daily empty lives. We are living in a sad state or affairs!

My sentiments exactly!!...Sometimes I think am I the only person (orig-hip-hop-luva) feeling the deterioration that's taking place on the urban music scene. Epesically being a hip-hop generation parent myself. Who monitors what my kids watch and listen to. How low can we go!

I hear you man. My god daughter (9 yrs old) was given a popular "thug/gangster" rappers CD by her Moms. I stepped to her moms like WTF, she's 9!? Moms replied "It's the CLEAN version". I was speechless.

I know how you feel, especially with the cheerleading. I have three neices who all cheer and I can't bring myself to attend their competitions or support their fundraisers because I have issues with how cheerleading has evolved from what it was when I was in high school (grad. 1993).

I also heard that "I'm in love with a stripper" song, or at least some of it and was dumbfounded that something so uninspired and tacky actually made its way to the radio. I rarely listen to the radio these days (unless it's National Public Radio) because I don't want my two-year old son learning "Laffy Taffy", or "Gettin Some Head". I must be getting old! I found myself on eBay the other day shopping for some of the Old School Hip-Hop I used to listen to (Special Ed "Legal"). There are a few artists I'm feeling these days (Kanye West, Camp Lo-where are they?, T.I. to name a few), but some of the "mainstream" music leaves a lot to be desired.

Derrick, I'm feeling you on your recent comments.

I moved to Tampa from NY about 4 years ago (after being in NYC all my life) and that song "I'm in Love with a Stripper" is mediocre compared to some of the other stuff you can hear on any given "southern" radio station. I don't know how many times I've had to say "Oh Hell No!" to some of this crap. Don't you just love the song "Laffy Taffy"?

No matter how hard I try (and I must admit I haven't really tried that hard), I can't get with this southern music. I miss East Coast music like a mutha.

I love what you're doing and hopefully when I visit NYC next week, you'll be djing at a spot I can get to.