Posted on 05/11/2011 7:43:09 AM PDT by kristinn
Conservatives including Fox News host Sean Hannity and former Alaska Republican governor Sarah Palin were critical of the White House for inviting the rapper Common to perform at the White House on Wednesday.
"Common is a pretty peaceful loving poet. A poet’s job is to say things people think, even if you don’t like it. That’s their job," said Def Jams Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons," when I interviewed him on Tuesday about his recent meeting with Donald Trump.
Mr. Simmons defended not only Common but other rappers in the music community, like Snoop Doggy Dog. The hip hop mogul noted he sent rappers from his Def Poetry Jam to the White House during the last Bush administration saying, "They didn’t say nothing when I sent the Def Poetry Jam during George Bush’s administration." He added, "There’s nothing that Common could say that was more critical of the U.S. government than all the poets of my Broadway show. It won a Tony."
"Every rapper that’s famous is less gangster, less homophobic, less racist, and less sexist than Sean Hannity. I like him [Hannity], but that’s what I’m saying about the rappers I know," said Mr. Simmons. "Snoop Dog is less sexist than [Hannity]. Snoop Dog is less racist than him. Snoop Dog is less homophobic than him and Snoop Dog is a lot less gangster than him. So Sean Hannity has to handle his own business. He’s got his own issues." Mr. Simmons said.
He added, "All that is are songs that talk about police brutality in a kind of poetic way and say mean things. They promote dialogue. Poets always create controversy by saying what people think.They’re less sexist. They’re less homophobic. They’re less racist and they’re certainly less gangster than Sean Hannity...all of them rappers. (SNIP)"
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Now there's a mental image!
"I want you to talk! I want you to scream!"
"Play some Rap "music."
The first lady invited a group of Detroit high school students, they are attending.
This really is a disgusting message to be giving young people struggling in a tough environment.
I guess I’ve come to accept no class/low class from this whitehouse and am not surprised a bit. I do wonder if they realize that everytime they pull a stunt like this that they lose more and more white support and that whites still are the majority of voters in this country?
“If you go to a rap concert, most of the concertgoers are white.”
Yes, absolutely. That’s because most Americans are white. Hip-hop couldn’t be the dominant pop music genre without them.
People make too much out of racial divides. Or, rather, they don’t get the divides correct. Because obviously race matters, culturally and otherwise, but that doesn’t mean rap speaks to the black experience, exclusively or even especially. It’s definitely not popular because it reflects the audience’s experiences back at them. Most of the audience would never set foot on the other side of the tracks in their own town, let alone think about thinking about drving through Compton in an armored car. Nor does it mean when the racist version of Sean Hannity (which may be Sean Hannity himself, who knows?) decries rap he is letting slip his anti-black animus. Because racists can be racist and like rap. It’s exceedingly easy, often easier than not being racist and liking rap. Also, they can dislike rap for purely moral, aesthetic, political, etc. reasons.
By way of comparison, HBO has this obsession with race in its sports documentaries, as apparently the only way to ground athletics in a social/economic/political/cultural context is to inquire into its relationship with that particular class of interest groups. One specific movie dealt with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and their respective constituencies. Blacks were for Lakers, you see, and whites for Celtics. Examples abounded in anecdotes concerning what sort of sneakers were acceptable on certain streetcorners, and in news footage from pimply Boston youths about how great it is that the best player in a black sport is a white dude like him.
Amid the hyperbole, a sole voice of reason rang out by clarifying that whereas 80% of the national viewing audience was white, somewhat less than 80% were Celtic fans. A little more than 20% rooted for the Lakers. Which is, well, duh! Don’t know how long that could’ve been overlooked. If it makes HBO feel better, I’ll stipulate that every single white Lakers fan was nevertheless proud that Larry Bird was one of them.
...Later that day, with Lee and Abrams accompanying him, Broadus [Snoop Doggy Dogg]was driving his Jeep past a park when he encountered Woldemariam again. Accounts of the encounter would differ, but there was no dispute over the fact that Lee [Snoop's bodyguard] shot and mortally wounded Woldemariam. Police found Woldemariam's bloody corpse in a nearby carport. Murder charges were filed against Broadus, Lee, and Abrams, all of whom had disappeared into hiding. While Broadus's attorney negotiated the terms of a surrender and bail, the rap star appeared at a televised music awards ceremony on September 2 and shouted his innocence to a cheering audience. He turned himself in later that night.
The killing occurred as Broadus's alter ego, Snoop Doggy Dogg, was becoming the most popular rap star in America. His debut album, Doggystyle, released several months after the shooting incident, sold over five million copies. One of its songs, "Murder Was the Charge" was promoted heavily by his record label in a video that featured Snoop as a man who kills someone in self-defense, but is convicted of murder. The notoriety of Snoop Dogg's impending trial
Read more: Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial: 1995-96 - A Rising Rap Star - Woldemariam, Broadus, Shooting, Gang, Murder, and Lee http://law.jrank.org/pages/3692/Snoop-Doggy-Dogg-Trial-1995-96-Rising-Rap-Star.html#ixzz1M4S1ApYC
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