It’s tough not to critique both chapters, since commenting
on the way hip hop demeans women and the fact that no ones talks about the
positive messages given in the genre are both very appetizing subjects. But since I must choose one, I will go with
Chapter 10 – mostly since hip-hop demeaning women has been a recurring topic in
the book already. I haven’t really sided
with the defenders in most of my chapter critiques, since most of the arguments
for commercial hip-hop being the way it is are copouts.
I must say I love the quote Rose
uses by David Banner. Because it not
only outlines some problems with hip-hop’s critics, but it also outlines flaws
in news media. Rose once again gives a
great viewpoint from both sides of the argument – it is completely true that
people do not pay attention to the positive parts of hip-hop; that it “contributes
to a one-sided and already negative portrait of artists, fans, and others
associate with hip-hop.”
At the same time, though, part of
this is the artists’ own doing. Most hip-hop
artists contribute to their own infamy by using the negative images to gain
their own wealth. Like usual, the
argument being presented is somewhat correct, but is flawed. However, I’d rather speak of the argument
credibly for the time being.
I sympathize with the fact that
people don’t see the positive side of hip-hop, whether it be artists giving
back to their community or the literal sense that there are songs with positive
messages. This is because my mother can’t
stand to listen as soon as she hears a swear word. Kendrick Lamar recently released a fantastic,
thought-provoking album. In, “The Art of
Peer Pressure,’ he begins with, “sit down and listen to this true mothafuckin’
story by Kendrick Lamar on Rosecrans ya bitch.”
She instantly became flustered and said this is not music. Before she had even gotten through ten
seconds of the song, she wrote it off.
Now, I’m
sure that there’s a good amount of hip-hop critics out there that aren’t as conservative
as my mom. That is, they don’t view the
biggest problem about hip-hop being the use of harsh language. This especially must be true since there aren’t
as many people showing outrage with television programs or movies, in which the
same language is used just as often. As
I’ve said, Rose does expose those for and against this argument, but even given
the fact that it is flawed, I still agree with it.
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