quoted 1 line It's not a race issue it's just a musical taste issue. There are great> It's not a race issue it's just a musical taste issue. There are great
black
quoted 1 line hip-hop artists, there are great white hip-hop artists. I have black> hip-hop artists, there are great white hip-hop artists. I have black
friends
quoted 3 lines with shit music taste, I have white friends with shit music taste. Hip-hop> with shit music taste, I have white friends with shit music taste. Hip-hop
> is such a global thing now I think anyone who's generally into the culture
> is qualified to to make comments on "what hip-hop needs" regardless of
race.
quoted 2 lines Just because someone is black doesn't mean they know what's best for> Just because someone is black doesn't mean they know what's best for
> hip-hop.
I agree that hip-hop is a huge, global thing, but I don't think that
translates to "race is now irrelevant." Are you in the UK, Jeff? Maybe we
see things differently through our respective culturally-colored lenses. I'm
definitely not saying that any black person will know hip-hop better than
any white person. But your words basically strike me as a
"level-playing-field" type of argument that imply that race is a non-issue
in hip-hop. I'll believe that when I hear as many black MCs as white MCs
saying that.
White people can be great MCs and hip-hop producers and participate in the
culture -- hell, one of the best hip-hop record stores in Baltimore is run
by a fifty-some year old white guy -- but to ignore the politics of race
that are inherent in hip-hop music is to do a disservice to the art. Hip-hop
is the creation of African-Americans and the social conditions surrounding
it's creation and an integral part of it. Just like jazz, blues, rock &
roll, hip-hop is a part of the African Diaspora, and to eliminate the
importance of race in hip-hop is to see it as just some beats and rhyming
words. To me, that's robbing the culture that has created it of their due.
quoted 2 lines I think odds are if people are into Anticon that these people at> I think odds are if people are into Anticon that these people at
> least have a basic knowledge of indie hip-hop to have arrived at Anticon.
I
quoted 2 lines mean we're not taking about the same sort of mentality/press exposure that> mean we're not taking about the same sort of mentality/press exposure that
> has white kids thinking Insane Clown Posse are the best hip-hop group
ever.
No, but because they've very effectively used the internet to market and
publicize themselves, Anticon has reached a lot of white kids who don't have
a basic knowledge of indie hip-hop. I think that's one of the many reasons
they've been so successful. I have no problem with it -- it's good business,
and I'm all about working to appeal to a broader and broader fanbase. But
that some of their fans don't disturb me with their grandiose perceptions of
Anticon's "advanced" hip-hop.
quoted 1 line And for what it's worth Quasimoto "The Unseen" is the best hip-hop record> And for what it's worth Quasimoto "The Unseen" is the best hip-hop record
of
quoted 2 lines the last while (well that and The Infesticons record we released but that> the last while (well that and The Infesticons record we released but that
> would just be seen as shameless plugging on my part...ooops)
I don't know if I'd say it's "the best" -- I think some of his rhymes and
delivery get a bit grating after a while -- but Madlib's production skills
are no doubt top-notch.
-rk
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