In this coming week's edition of the Michigan FrontPage, we are featuring an interview with the rapper Young Dro. So that I don't spoil the experience for you I will say that the man really needs artist development and media training. And to be fair, it's not just him.
Many of the artists that currently dominate our radio stations and television screens are just plain ignorant, for lack of a better word. Not only have many of them exhibited the fact that they can barely read, they also spew debaucherous drivel to our young people in the lyrics of their music, and they have no grasp on the English language.
Obviously, it is understood that slang is the universal language of self expression amongst young our young people, but it needs to be understood by them that there is a time and a place to speak in that manner. These record labels need to go back to the days of old when artists were groomed to be able to function in the media, and speak intelligently about who they were as artists and the image that they are supposed to portray.
If you are selling yourself as a gangsta rapper, a pimp and hustler, then when a reporter sticks a microphone in your face and asks you why your lyrics degrade women and promote drug usage, ideally, you need to be able to address that question with some semblance of of intelligence. If that's your message, then don't get shy and embarrassed about it when someone calls you on what comes out of your mouth. Know your product, know yourself and what it is that you stand for. If a question from a stranger makes you feel that you need to sugarcoat your response, then maybe you need to rethink the image you are selling.
Ignorance is not cute. Learn when and where to be about business and when and where to be about foolery; especially if you are in the public eye. Like it or not, you are a role model for the simple fact that somebody's kids is looking up to you. Blacks are already often looked upon as less than in White society when it comes to competing, we don't need to give them anymore fuel for the fire.
So artists, at the very least study your craft, examine yourself and read a few books to help you get a firm grasp on the English language so that eventually you can take your foot out of your mouth. Otherwise, don't look to blame the media when you come out looking like an idiot. After all, we can't print it if you don't say it.
Look for the Young Dro interview in this week's digital edition of the FrontPage which drops this Wednesday at www.frontpageconnect.com.
www.black-smithenterprises.com
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Hot Ghetto Mess!
There was recently a video posted on YouTube where 6 women in Oakland, CA walked into a beauty salon and began to beat the brakes off of a woman who was servicing a client. Two of the six women mercilessly beat this woman while one woman video taped it and the other three stood and watched.
Video link: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6858547
Now, what would compel 6 grown women to gang up on one person in this manner? And to add insult to injury, this was a group of Black women. As if we don't already have enough negative stigma to deal with.
As I watched the video, I couldn't help be feel disgusted and embarrassed that whoever taped the assault thought it would be cool to post it online like a badge of honor. Grown-ups should be able to find more constructive ways of dealing with their problems than violence. The shear savagery in which this woman was beaten sent chills down my spine.
I mean, at one point one of the assailants grabbed the victim by the hair and began to kick her in the face. I don't know what the woman did to set the mob off, but I'm sure that whatever it was it could have been settled in a more civilized manner.
Seriously people, what is this world coming to? These women should be ashamed of themselves and they should definitely be punished for their actions because if you can take the time to video tape yourself committing a crime and then post it online, then obviously there is no remorse.
Much prayer is needed, folks. Just look around you. The world becomes more and more violent and desensitized everyday. Read Revelations and strive to understand it. There's a blessing in the pages.
www.black-smithenterprises.com
Video link: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6858547
Now, what would compel 6 grown women to gang up on one person in this manner? And to add insult to injury, this was a group of Black women. As if we don't already have enough negative stigma to deal with.
As I watched the video, I couldn't help be feel disgusted and embarrassed that whoever taped the assault thought it would be cool to post it online like a badge of honor. Grown-ups should be able to find more constructive ways of dealing with their problems than violence. The shear savagery in which this woman was beaten sent chills down my spine.
I mean, at one point one of the assailants grabbed the victim by the hair and began to kick her in the face. I don't know what the woman did to set the mob off, but I'm sure that whatever it was it could have been settled in a more civilized manner.
Seriously people, what is this world coming to? These women should be ashamed of themselves and they should definitely be punished for their actions because if you can take the time to video tape yourself committing a crime and then post it online, then obviously there is no remorse.
Much prayer is needed, folks. Just look around you. The world becomes more and more violent and desensitized everyday. Read Revelations and strive to understand it. There's a blessing in the pages.
www.black-smithenterprises.com
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