So the Duke rape case gets dismissed. I could have told you the whole thing was fake from the beginning. I mean, the underlying assumption that was running throughout all the accusations was that guys who go to Duke like girls…
Apparently Puffy has this Bad Boys of Comedy tour or show or something. If that’s supposed to be comedy, then what was Making Da Band?
By now everyone’s heard about Imus, his firing and his racist remarks. And you’ve probably also heard the argument, “Well, rappers can get away with saying the word ‘bitch’ all the time. Why can’t Imus?” I’m not going to play the role of sticking up for hip-hop against mainstream media, because a lot of times when you do that you become so blind in your argument that you’ll miss some of the important points coming from the people who came up on swing music, because sometimes their points do make sense. The key word is “sometimes.”
In this case, all you can really say is that it’s typical and predictable that hip-hop would be brought into this mix because, well, a lot of foul things that happen get traced back to hip-hop, like the dude who helped his 5 year-old brother toke up. Rap told you to get your kid brother high, right? And I bet the police know what music Sean Bell liked to listen to, even if it wasn’t rap. And I’m sure Imus was bumping Biggie and Ludacris and anyone else who drops misogynistic lines right before he went on to call the Rutgers women’s basketball team what he did.
The bottom line is, Imus called a specific group of black women “nappy-headed hos.” You just don’t do that. Have you ever heard Luda drop the b-bomb on Oprah? What Imus said was also not surprising because it’s not the first racist thing he’s said. But that’s okay because he’s bringing in the money. As soon as his advertisers started pulling out like advanced birth-control methods, NBC bounced on dude. What’s really too bad is that they initially suspended him until they realized he would lose them some money over the whole issue. And if no one said anything about the remarks, I’m sure he’d still be on the air getting fat checks from NBC.
People like Meredith Vieira, the New York Post and Jim Rome need to stop bringing rappers into the fold on this issue. They don’t understand hip-hop, so of course they can’t develop a complete and knowledgeable opinion on the matter. And they can talk about all the false bravado rappers display and their misogynistic views towards women, but how many of the mainstream media have ever tried to really understand this thing called hip-hop? Hell, the mainstream media is one of the reasons hip-hop needed to be created in the first place and it’s one of the main reasons why it’s a global business now.
Not to rehash an argument that has probably been used a million times, but how many kids run around dropping b-bombs and n-bombs because they heard it in a song? There’s definitely enough who are easily influenced by that, but there’s a good number of kids who know the difference between fantasy and reality and that in reality, you don’t talk like that. If hip-hop was 100% clean or there was no hip-hop, the ones who can’t separate the fantasy from reality would just find another vehicle to act inappropriately. And if you’re over the age of 12 and you running around calling women “hos,” you’re doing that because you want to. You’re not doing that because you heard Luda say it. If you are, you’re incredibly stupid and should start practicing for unemployment. And if you’re under the age of 12 and you’re doing that and you learned it from a song, then it’s your parents’ fault for not paying better attention to what you’re listening to. Is that idealistic? Hell yes. Is it realistic that kids always know better and that all parents pay attention? Of course not. But should something other than hip-hop be looked at whenever a public figure acts like an ass? Of course.
I guess rap made Kramer do it too.
The bottom line in this whole situation is that the mainstream media doesn’t understand some of the nuances in hip-hop, and more importantly, the artists, writers and fans in hip-hop don’t always understand everything that takes place in hip-hop. Honestly, where else would you find a group of people who say dropping b-bombs and n-bombs is not only acceptable but expected? And sometimes artists drop b-bombs and h-bombs to be funny, but if you don’t listen to hip-hop on a regular basis, how are you going to know that? Meredith Vieira probably wouldn’t get that. If you take everything in hip-hop literally, then you’d either be dead, in jail, bedridden with a million STD’s or hiding under your bed. So can you really make an argument for hip-hop using the word and it being acceptable and Imus not? Of course you can. Does it make it right? Who knows.
The baseball season has finally started and it’s good to see there’s already some controversy in the air. Props to Hank Aaron for saying he’s not a fan of Barry Bonds. And why should he be? Hank Aaron is like the kid who beat Street Fighter in the arcade without a stack of quarters. Meanwhile Barry Bonds is like the fat high school kid with a stack of quarters and Slurpee who keeps losing and keeps hitting “continue” while a line of 10 year-olds is forming behind him.
How disappointed are you to learn that Young Jeezy and his USDA group aren’t going to be using a bunch of white girls for their street team? It doesn’t take much to get into the marketing side of this business, does it? I’m pretty sure Imus would have something to say about that.
Props to Arnelle Simpson for joining the fight with the Oje to prevent the rights to his book If I Did It from being auctioned off. I don’t know the Simpsons personally, but we saw what happened when they see something they don’t like. Memo to whoever’s considering auctioning the book – you don’t want If I Did It Part 2 to be about you.
Apparently Jacko’s valuables are being auctioned off as well. Who wouldn’t want a bunch of used gloves that are mysteriously missing its pair, some Spiderman underwear and the collector’s edition boxed set of Home Alone? Now you know what to do with your tax return.
Cam may be getting the trophy for best album title with his upcoming album Courtesy Curtis. Great title, idol, that’s not vital, if I bought the CD I’d drop it off the Eiffel…Cam and his crew always push everything to the limit. They were probably the kids in the back of the class flicking some kid’s ears until he flips out. Of all the things you could call your album, why title it off a lame track you made to 50? That whole “Currrtisss” thing was cool for about five minutes, but then again that’s five minutes longer than how long the coolness lasted with the pink and purple movement.
The turtlenecks up at MTV must be loving that 3-6 Mafia reality show Adventures in HollyHood. I haven’t seen the show and I really have no plans to, but based off the trailer, it looks like they’re doing everything they possibly can to promote every negative black stereotype out there. But you can’t really fight that with them, because you tell them how bad they look and they’ll just say, “We’re just being us. This is how 3-6 Mafia gets down.” Props to MTV for taking what VH1 has been trying to do and turning it up times ten.
And no matter how far along you make it in the educational system, there’s really no excuse for pissing on a neighbor’s lawn and then spelling “toilet” “t-o-l-l…uhhhh.” What’s worse, the fact that dude was never toilet-trained or the fact that the dude can’t spell a 3rd-grade word? Maybe we should all be on the first train out to HollyHood.
And as long as we’re talking about literacy, Fantasia recently had to come out and clear up rumors that she was illiterate by saying she wasn’t a “strong reader.” Any time that you have to tell people you know how to read, that’s not really a great look for you. What do you have to do to give people doubts that you couldn’t read? Regardless of whether you can read or not, if you ever have to clear up rumors about knowing how to read, you’re not doing something right.
Lil’ Kim is dropping her book sometime in the future. Can’t wait to read that. I’m sure Fantasia feels the same way.
Condolences to Poison Pen for Jennifer Hudson’s alleged upcoming engagement. I guess he’ll have to settle for Kelly Clarkson or that skank from New Jersey. Word is the soon-to-be Mr. Hudson is just waiting for the “right moment” to pop the question. What does that mean? That the clock is ticking for Pen to find J.Hud and play “Brooklyn Party” and “I’m Fucking You Up” before it’s too late.
Lil’ Flip’s album may not be that entertaining, but the press releases surrounding his latest project are. One press release claims the rapper “sells well” and later claims that the “highly anticipated” album I Need Mine is a “commercial smash.” Right.
Then the “Freestyle King” dropped a message to all his fans. Here it is, unedited: “Whadup, its yo boy Flip Gates. Make sure you pick up my album; not 1 copy, not 2 copies, but 3 copies. I came hard on this one, this is my best work ever. It’s a straight CLASSIC, I promise you. And let me know what your favorite songs are and give me some feedback! Clover Geeeeeeeeez.”
How badly does Flip want to know what we think about the album when he’s already convinced himself that he “came hard on this one” and that it’s a straight “CLASSIC”? There’s a difference between “classic” and “CLASSIC” and Flip definitely took it to the caps. Unless “CLASSIC” is code for “COASTER,” I’m not sure if Flip should really be sending out anymore messages. Maybe his management will want to hide the keyboards and stock up on more Lucky Charms.
Then again, I can’t really lie. I’ve been working on my email blast for this column telling everyone how it’s “TIGHT” and how I really “went all out,” but that would be played out I guess. Besides, aren’t you supposed to do all that without bragging about it?
05/13 - 
All
the News 
Home
HHG
on Myspace
