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Originally Posted by memphisskin
I agree. As a fan I want the focus to be on Sean Taylor, but the fact is that this did not occur in a vacuum. Think about it, today's generation is more familiar with Jay-Z than Jesse Jackson, more well versed in the words of Mystikal than Martin Luther King, why? Why is the smart guy ostracized and the drug dealer idolized? This phenomena is not limited to the black community, but like with most things it is totally exaggerated in the black community.
I have sometimes thought Jason Whitlock was crazy, but this article seemed to be spot on to me. I'm 36, so I grew up listening to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, came of age on Rakim, made aware by Public Enemy and danced and rapped along with NWA. But what rappers can't do is pretend that they don't have influence, that what they do doesn't influence a whole generation of youth who look up to them. Music is the soundtrack of our lives, and to think that soundtrack doesn't influence our everyday mood is not realistic.
The Black KKK, I didn't take that to be hip hop, but rather a reference to the Black on Black crime that has become rampant in America, and without uproar there is acceptance.
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Memphis, I'm 39 & listened to all those that you mentioned & still love them. I used to stick up for NWA et al, buying the line that "it's real" & "we didn't create it." But the difference between them & G. Flash is that the latter described the streets, e.g. "The Message," and "New York,New York", while NWA & gangster rappers really promoted a lifestyle, bragging about how "hard" they are, carrying guns & calling women any disrespectful name that's in style.
Those was nothing romantic about the streets when Flash & Curtis Mayfield for that matter, were writing songs. In fact they criticized the lifestyle & conveyed how bad it really is.
I think you've accurately summed up Whitlock's stance in your last paragraph.