Somehow this is all Pharell's Fault

[Hades]

They never left but you cant deny that we see less and less of them. Back when i first got into rap it was mostly positive vibes. Then came the emergence of groups like NWA, Onyx, 50 Cent, DMX mostly rapping about violent street tales. Those were just a few big names but the numbers of those types of artists were astronomical in comparison tothe few good vibe or conscious artists.We may not agree with what was said in the interview but let's not give a damn song more meaning than it deserves.

Also, go look at the thread about the interview and find my post in there. It was the 3rd or 4th post in the first page.

"Less and less"? I don't agree. If you are taking the stance of "positive vibes" a healthy majority of songs are not positive. A song doesn't have to be about the "violent street tales" to be negative. Like I said earlier, the effort to make sure that only certain messages in hip hop are widely exposed is undeniable. You know all the usual suspects and the constant inclusion of songs with the word "nikka" etc.

The "positive" artists aren't gone by a long shot but their exposure will be nil in comparison to Nicki Minaj, Drake, Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Jay-Z etc. Hell, Beyonce isn't a bastion of positive music either and she is a star for young black girls with music videos showing her as a damn near White/ Latina skinned woman. Non positive encompasses a lot of media to me and I understand your point about this one song not meaning more than it does. That's the thing. It's this one song that people point to as "good on the radio" with the rest of the scheduled programming continuing on the assembly line.

There's so much more that I think and feel goes into it but @ScoopNScore 's premise isn't a silly one by any stretch.

 

[intruder]

"Less and less"? I don't agree. If you are taking the stance of "positive vibes" a healthy majority of songs are not positive. A song doesn't have to be about the "violent street tales" to be negative. Like I said earlier, the effort to make sure that only certain messages in hip hop are widely exposed is undeniable. You know all the usual suspects and the constant inclusion of songs with the word "nikka" etc.

The "positive" artists aren't gone by a long shot but their exposure will be nil in comparison to Nicki Minaj, Drake, Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Jay-Z etc. Hell, Beyonce isn't a bastion of positive music either and she is a star for young black girls with music videos showing her as a damn near White/ Latina skinned woman. Non positive encompasses a lot of media to me and I understand your point about this one song not meaning more than it does. That's the thing. It's this one song that people point to as "good on the radio" with the rest of the scheduled programming continuing on the assembly line.

There's so much more that I think and feel goes into it but @ScoopNScore 's premise isn't a silly one by any stretch.

I see your point but you are missing mine

Music, just like your food, needs a good balance of various kinds. I'm not gonna tell you i wanna hear some happy go lucky sh!t every time i turn on my ipod. Yu need variety. I need music about love and happiness and joy but i also need that about consciousness and sorrow and even some that discusses violence. Thats why you have playlists. Again, a song can talk about violence and not be negative. My problem has always been with those that CELEBRATE it. Rappers bragging about robbing people and killing people.

But part of the problem is the CONSUMER (you and I). If we keep encouraging the dumbt shyt by buying it or buying into it, the artists who's just trying to make a living to feed his kids has no choice but to feed the pig/consumer what it wants.

Just think of all the artists that were cool and down in the 90 and then all the sudden felt they needed to be "hard" just to sell a record.

And spare me the argument of that's what the market was flooded with and we had no choice. You always have a choice and even then consume with moderation, at least. I'm in my mid 30s and never done drugs (including weed). It's not that i was never exposed to it. I just chose not to.

 

[Rawtid]

"Happy" is NOT a hip hop song, so why make the comparison?

 

[Hades]

I see your point but you are missing mine

Music, just like your food, needs a good balance of various kinds. I'm not gonna tell you i wanna hear some happy go lucky sh!t every time i turn on my ipod. Yu need variety. I need music about love and happiness and joy but i also need that about consciousness and sorrow and even some that discusses violence. Thats why you have playlists. Again, a song can talk about violence and not be negative. My problem has always been with those that CELEBRATE it. Rappers bragging about robbing people and killing people.

But part of the problem is the CONSUMER (you and I). If we keep encouraging the dumbt shyt by buying it or buying into it, the artists who's just trying to make a living to feed his kids has no choice but to feed the pig/consumer what it wants.

Just think of all the artists that were cool and down in the 90 and then all the sudden felt they needed to be "hard" just to sell a record.

And spare me the argument of that's what the market was flooded with and we had no choice. You always have a choice and even then consume with moderation, at least. I'm in my mid 30s and never done drugs (including weed). It's not that i was never exposed to it. I just chose not to.

The concept of balance is a farce. No matter the content of a song, you listen to it because you like it. You would never conceive of putting a song that you think "sucks" into your playlist in the name of "balance". You listen to song after song of ones that you like regardless of content and or a positive or negative message. Same thing with food. You're not going to eat something you don't like after something you do because of balance's sake.

Who is to blame in all honesty? The person who made the song about robbing and or killing someone or the person who listens, likes it and buys it? I agree with your points regarding that but that ventures into the "violent video game" territory and is somewhat murky.

I will say that choice is something that people must not think they have. I think people just like trash but don't want to admit it and own up to it. They just want to be part of the crowd. Some examples are how "everyone" all of a sudden likes lyrics because of Kendrick Lamar. The online support groups for ASAP and TDE etc. People ride trends heavy. I'll never forget how much my sister loved Ludacris but now it's all about 2 Chainz. She'd probably say "who" if I mentioned Ludacris.

Consumerism has changed so much it's not even funny. People one this very forum whose tagline is "Sports, Hip-Hop & Piff" make it a point to download everything under the sun. Or at least try. The incessant begging for links and even threads created just to pirate material is hilarious. These are the "heads" while the people who like what's on the radio find their way to iTunes and Amazon and shows to put money in those artists' pockets. If you ask me, they are making their choice and it's loud and clear.

 

[KinksandCoils]

Pharrel has been on the c00n train since day one. His happy song is to reel in cacs.

 

[BrothaZay]

So you want us to go back to songs about "robbing n!ggas" where black on black violence is encouraged and celebrated, huh?

How do you know they not talkn about robbin rich white people?

 

[Tommy Knocks]

That's why I listen to drill music. I don't trust none of you nikkas. I keep a small circle.

 

[intruder]

How do you know they not talkn about robbin rich white people?

So you mean when DMX says "run up on 'em strapped/Bust off caps in 4 n!ggas/Layed low for about a month then killed 2 more n!ggas/Now i'm ready to chill/ But you still want me to kill" he's really talking about little rich white dudes who somehow found their way into the hood??

 

[Dada]

I get the humor of the thread but I'll just add my take on the general Pharrell/Bieber/Whoever subject:

Spoiler: My take

He's just been hypnotized by that b.s. He thinks because certain people treat HIM a certain way or (he thinks) think of him as transcending being Black, that things have changed fundamentally for everyone else. In fact, if he doesn't play his cards right with them, ..things will not have changed with how they treat him for long, either. Greater men and women have succumb to this. You can be a decent person and treat everyone with dignity without some type of exchange of identity and self. We have a tendency..Black people, to become embarrassingly grateful towards White people who treat us akin to human beings, instead of feeling like it's what they should be doing anyway. We see this with some people with White friends, Oh you don't hate Black people? You can call me this, you can say this, do that,...all boundaries are removed. Blackness is a currency for us. For a while, my closest friend was an Asian dude (being more recent, I've had many friends of different races). I'd never think, "We're friends now. So let me start shedding my Blackness or separating myself from my people (that new Black term IS divisive), let him use the n word" or the opposite, expect him to be less Asian and cross the line as far as appropriating his cultural heritage. If you can't associate/befriend/interact with people of different races without grabbing your ankles, you need to befriend yourself for a while.

 

[Dig]

So you mean when DMX says "run up on 'em strapped/Bust off caps in 4 n!ggas/Layed low for about a month then killed 2 more n!ggas/Now i'm ready to chill/ But you still want me to kill" he's really talking about little rich white dudes who somehow found their way into the hood??

Some artist do encourage robbing different races though.. " Find a chinese neighborhood cuz they don believe in bank accounts"

 

[ChatGPT-5]

You people act like crabs.

 

[intruder]

A few artist do encourage robbing different races though.. " Find a chinese neighborhood cuz they don believe in bank accounts"

Fixed

The point remains, doggy. It's still music encouraging and celebrating the WRONG things. I'm not saying it shouldnt exist at all. Trust me i have my share Wu-Tang and Onyx albums too. But I fear that not all of us have the presence of mind to understand that #1it's just entertainment and #2 you need balance.

I know a lot of mofos who have nothing but hardcore "gangsta" rap in their music collections. Dont get me wrong, you like what you like. But sometimes you must make an effort to expand your horizons and see what else is out there while still enjoying what you like. I havent deleted my music collection from that era. But then again i was more of a conscious rap lover (KRS-One, MosDef, The Roots, De La Soul). But i find that listening to too much of the hardcore sh!t can sometimes affect your mood for some people.

Thus why i welcome the softer hiphop tracks that tend to go mainstream these days. Hiphop needed some positive energy even while maintaining it's hardcore stance.

 

[Dig]

Fixed

The point remains, doggy. It's still music encouraging and celebrating the WRONG things. I'm not saying it shouldnt exist at all. Trust me i have my share Wu-Tang and Onyx albums too. But I fear that not allof us have the presence of mind to understand that #1it's just entertainment and #2 you need balance.

O I feel u breh. Just was giving an alternate example. I agree on the entertainment and balance points though. My nephew favorite rapper is boosie and he doesn't see the entertainment as just that and as a result has acted out a lot of the stuff dude rap about. Not condemning the artist at all though. My nephew is a dumbass.

 

[BrothaZay]

So you mean when DMX says "run up on 'em strapped/Bust off caps in 4 n!ggas/Layed low for about a month then killed 2 more n!ggas/Now i'm ready to chill/ But you still want me to kill" he's really talking about little rich white dudes who somehow found their way into the hood??

Just because someone is black doesn't make them my brother or friend.

 

[intruder]

O I feel u breh. Just was giving an alternate example. I agree on the entertainment and balance points though. My nephew favorite rapper is boosie and he doesn't see the entertainment as just that and as a result has acted out a lot of the stuff dude rap about. Not condemning the artist at all though. My nephew is a dumbass.

Trust me when i was younger i used to hear older folks talk and criticize hiphop and I used to tell them music doesnt affect me and they shouldnt blame music for their sh!tty kids getting in trouble with the law. But i realize they were right TO SOME DEGREE . I know this cat that used to listen to nothing but hardcore rap. His whole mentality on life was scary. Until he reached 17 and his mom banned him from listening to rap in the house. I couldnt believe it but i saw the young man just transform for the better. He became more positive and his whole personality and life changed.

Not saying thats the case for everyone. But things that you constantly listen to tend to affect you more than you think. It didnt for me. I listenned to a lot of crazy joints and like i said ive never done drugs or robbed anyone. But to some, the music can make it seem cool enought to the point where they actually act out.