Hip Hop Vs. America: Raise Your Children Stupid!
Check this clip out from BET’s Hip Hop Vs. America segment. Nelly and T.I. represent right. I really think some old folks don’t understand hip hop, the hip hop generation is the smartest generation ever. Hip hop is the only music that teaches its listeners. Do you really think listening to Jay-Z will make you sell drugs? No, if you are from that environment you may, but listening to any of the successful rappers has inspired myself and others like me to better ourselves. I don’t think I would have become such a business minded person had I grown up listening to dance, rock or country music. No, hip hop breads hustlers.
Hip hop listeners have had their “back to the wall” and know what its like to “struggle”, granted everyone’s struggle may not be the same, but some how some way we all are inspired by this rap music. I think a lot of parents are just not raising their children properly and are not teaching them to be business minded, for the simple fact they themselves are not business minded. The majority of people have ingrained in themselves with the “worker” mentality. They have conditioned themselves that they only way to survive is to have a stable job and go to school. When the majority of extremely successful people quit their day job and dropped out of school to pursue their passion.
Following your passion, regardless of what it is, is what hip hop teaches. You dumb parents fail to realize this and instill in your children the “slave” mentality that only teaches to “survive” rather than thrive. Hip hop has inspired me and many others like me to follow our passions. Do you think following your passion means selling drugs? Hardly, hip hop has given hindsight to the masses showing them that selling drugs will eventually lead you down the wrong path. Hip hop teaches its listeners to be “street smart” and to pursue their dreams, something you dumb parents should have been doing.
Hip Hop is teaching it’s listeners what? Have you actually listened to the lyrics of the top 10 artists who rhyme and what they have to say? It “was” an avenue that allowed for thought processes to be explored. It no longer is viable for that, not if you want to have a top selling album (Kanye West excluded). When Nelly said that the young listeners should be concerned with education, that would be a good fact if it was what this generation wished to attain.
Hip hop is teaching it’s listeners about business, about dance, about fashion, about marketing, about being a success -coming from nothing and making something.
I listen to all rap, I am the ultimate hip hop head. But I think you are judging one song on an artist’s whole body of work. Where I will guarantee that every artist has one song you can take an inspirational message away from or understand an artist within the context of their music.
Having a top selling album is all about making good music that the entire world can say that’s a good song. Kanye has sold 3 times platinum on his last 2 albums and his most recent will likely follow suit.
You really shouldn’t be concerned with education for the hell of it, meaning you shouldn’t go to school if you don’t want to. If your passions don’t require school to fulfill then to go would be a waste of time. But at the bare minimum most kids should be graduating high school, unless they have already started a business that they are passionate about. It really comes down to the parents who are the idiots and pass the same stupid way of thinking on to their kids.
Why aren’t those of African descent more successful than of other visible minorities? They were amongst the first immigrants to arrive in North America albeit through the slave trade and have ample duration and opportunities to live prosperously. It seems minorities arriving from the 70’s (Italians), 80’s (Asians), 90’s (South-East Asians) and early 00’s (Eastern Europeans) are all doing better, what gives?
“Either you’re slingin’ crack-rock, or you’ve got a wicked jump-shot.”
I watched parts of this discussion on www.globalgrind.com. I feel that this mini-series was needed in order to spark awareness on the issue and create change. I think that the discussion should be expanded and include more participants on the panel and involve other topics affecting the Hip Hop community. The rappers shouldn’t be the ones blamed for the world’s problems, they are simply reporting on their lifestyle and experiences.
hip -hop is dead stop it