In the wake of the Imus affair, MSNBC is airing an all-day discussion on the theme "What's OK to say?" Poet Maya Angelou appeared at 11:05 AM EDT, and in the course of her interview with MSNBC's Peter Alexander, had this exchange:Posted on 04/13/2007 8:52:36 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
In the wake of the Imus affair, MSNBC is airing an all-day discussion on the theme "What's OK to say?" Poet Maya Angelou appeared at 11:05 AM EDT, and in the course of her interview with MSNBC's Peter Alexander, had this exchange:
ALEXANDER: Dr. Angelou, you're an author and an artist. I guess the question is, is there a need for more censorship of our media and of our arts, are you comfortable with that? And if that happens, when does it end? What is OK to say?
ANGELOU: Exactly. I agree with that. I think the society decides upon the censorship. Each person censors himself or herself. Do you think, if any of these hip-hoppers, if they said about Mrs. Bush what they say about black women, do you think they would be given a microphone? Do you really think so? So we have to censor ourselves. And then, the society makes that decision.
View video here.
Leave it to Angelou, she who read a poem [YouTube here] at Bill Clinton's first inauguration, to drag partisan politics into it. What we do know is that Don Imus lost his microphone for saying those kind of things about the Rutgers basketball players. Could hip-hoppers say them about Laura Bush? I don't know, but just looking at Michelle Malkin's recent cataloging of rap lyrics, I see that George Bush is fair game [see lyrics from Unk].I'll venture the name of one woman who would almost certainly be off limits: Ms. Angelou herself. What do you think: could rappers rap Mrs. Bush and keep their gigs?
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
If she'd only read that one at the inauguration.
ps -- nice pup on your freepage!
She reminds me of that ESPN commercial where the guy’s talking out his rear-end. All these racists sound like that.
“She’s saying that white culture would not tolerate an “artist” calling Laura Bush a “ho”...therefore they would not be given a microphone, i.e. the market would speak...we would censor ourselves.”
I believe that is what she is saying. I heard a woman say on radio today that she had spoken with Sharpton this AM and that he wants to target media companies that promote and produce rap music. Aparently Sharpton believes rappers are encouraged by music moguls to use the H, B and N word in the lyrics. I’d not heard that before...
You're taking my comment a little too seriously. I was making a joke. The point being that I think her "poetry" sucks.
I watched this live...she is a total f-cking loon. I am sick of the Oprah and Bill Clinton hand picked celebs. Bush’s name, Cheney’s name, their daughters and their entire family are constantly fair game to rappers and rockers who call it “expression”.
>> Andrew Dice Clay is a better “poet” than Maya. <<
Yes, but read the lyrics posted of any rap album and you’ll appreciate Maya much better. :^D
Frankly, the scary thing about Eminem (and even, dare I mention him, Kanye West) is how much better they are then 99.999% of all the hitmaking rappers. I actually remember when rap was all about clever lyrics. The closest thing to the rap that was popular in my grade school (c. 1980) is - would you believe it - “Who’s Line is it Anyway?”
As repulsive as his misogyny might be, Eminem is at least clever and talented enough to fit all these lines of very varied lengths slip firmly into a rhythm:
(I edited out one verse, which had vulgarities; there was no point just editing the verse, since the vulgarities were the essence of the verse. I’m not approve of what he does with the talent; I’m only saying he does it well.)
I’ve created a monstah,
cuz nobody wants tah
See Marshall no more they want Shady;
I’m chopped livah
Well if you want Shady, then this is what I’ll give yah
A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that will jumpstart my heart quicker
Then a shock when I get shocked at the hospital by the Dr. when I’m not cooperating
When I’m rocking the table while he’s operating
You waited this long to stop debating
Cuz I’m back, I’m on the rag and ovulating
I know you got a job Ms. Cheney, but your husbands heart problems complicating
So the FCC won’t let me be
Or let me be me so let me see
They tried to shut me down on MTV
But it feels so empty without me
Now this looks like a job for me
So everybody just follow me
Cuz we need a little controversy,
Cuz it feels so empty without me
I said this looks like a job for me
So everybody just follow me
Cuz we need a little controversy,
Cuz it feels so empty without me
Verse 2:
Little hellions, kids feeling rebellious
Embarrassed, their parents still listen to Elvis
They start feeling like prison is helpless,
Til someone comes along on a mission and yells “bitch”
A visionary, vision is scary, could start a revolution,
Pollutin’ the air waves a rebel
So let me just revel and bask,
In the fact that I got everyone kissing my ass
And it’s a disaster such a catastrophe
For you to see so damn much of my ass you ask for me?
Well I’m back (*Batman Noise*) fix your bent antennah
Tune it in and then I’m gonna entah
Into the front of your skin like a splinter
The center of attention back for the winter
I’m interesting,
the best thing since wrestling
Infesting
in your kids ears and nesting
Testing
“Attention Please”
Feel the tension soon as someone mentions me
Here’s my 10 cents my 2 cents is free
A nuisance, who sent, you sent for me?
Chorus 2x
Verse 3:
A tisk-it a task-it,
I go tit for tat wit’
anybody who’s talking this $h!+ that $h!+
Chris Kirkpatrick,
you can get your ass kicked
Worse than them little Limp Bizkit bastards,
And Moby,
you can get stomped by Obie,
You 36 year old bald headed fag blow me
You don’t know me,
you’re too old
Let go, it’s over, nobody listens to techno
Now lets go,
just give me the signal
I will be there with a whole list full of new insults
I’ve been dope, suspenseful with a pencil
Ever since Prince turned himself into a symbol
But sometimes the shit just seems,
Everybody only wants to discuss me
So this means I’m disgusting,
But its just me
I’m just obscene
Though I’m not the first king of controversy
I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley,
To do Black Music so selfishly
And use it to get myself wealthy (Hey)
There’s a concept that works for me
20 million other white rappers emerge
But no matter how many fish in the sea
It’ll be so empty without me
“She’s the female Chauncey Gardiner.”
Excellent. And so true.
We live in an age of affectation, pretense, phoniness and contrivance.
And she ugly too.
Ugly as Helen Thomas.
I have never understood why Angelou was regarded by anyone. I always thought she was a joke and still do.
Gee, I hope the p.c. though police don't come after me. Can I say that Angelou's poetry sucks, or is that a hate-crime? Is it hate-speech? Who knows? After all, she is black (can I say "black", or is that hate-speech too?), and I am white. No wait, I'm sure I must be a lousy, evil, no good, racist, white, blue-eyed devil cracker (I KNOW I can say that :-)
No, I understood it was a joke; I just thought I’d take the opportunity to make the point: a lot of liberals seem to think that spending a lot of energy on a topic of expertise makes one an expert.
For another (reverse) instance, Noam Chomsky was a very accomplished and important researcher in the field of linguistics*, but when it comes to political science, he’s just another hack.
(* a field of questionable validity, but he still was brilliant within it.)
It was awful. I would expect better from middle school students. I still remember the line “Good morning.” It should have read “Good mourning.”
Little Boy Blue
He needed the money....OH!
Yes, Maya, unfortunately I think they would be given a microphone and allowed to use it all they wanted.
These "hip-hoppers" should not be saying "what they say about black women", and their supporters should not tolerate it.
No, I do not think that government agencies should censor them, but I do think that their supporters should refuse to patronize them and that decent people--such as you and I--should voice our disapproval and encourage others not to support them.
The assumption inherent in your question--that "if any of these hip-hippers...said about Mrs. Bush what they say about black women", they would not "be given a microphone"--is ridiculous and absurd--and unworthy of you. You are smart enough to know better, and, if you don't, it's because you simply don't want to.
Exactly. Look at the furor over David Geffen calling her and Bill "practiced liars".
Rappers can certainly rap about killing cops and get away with it.
The media routinely ruins people and hides behind the first amendment. It is high time they are held accountable, as they can’t be sued.
Apparently Ms. Angelou doesn’t spend much time on sites like DUmmies.
Much worse than that has been said about Laura Bush on just that one lefty site - not strictly speaking hip-hop but there are probably many more hip-hop fans on DUmmies than there are on FR for example.
Snoop only has himself to blame for attracting”hos”.He brags and brags about all the things he has and then womders why he is a gold-digger magnet.
He attracts exactly the type of women he desreves.
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