Is rap all that bad?
Aug. 27th, 2004 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaI paid for my absentmindedness today. I drove two hours back to Ft. Smith, then two hours back here to make it for the Activities Fair. Why did I randomly do that? Let’s just say a week ago, my dentist’s office at home called me up. They said they wanted to meet next week. I just said yeah, sure. As soon as I put the phone down, I just remembered school was starting. How could I let something like that slip? Trust me, I’m that absentminded, and I have plenty of witnesses to back up that fact.
Today, I’m going to do a special request for my scheming roommate Howard. In return, he promises to read the reason why I like anime (not just the fact that I do like anime). We share one virtue, which is being able to see both sides of an argument. So I will play devil’s advocate against myself on rap. You know, someone told me once that Howard was a funny guy. I asked that person why. That person said it was because Howard was a white boy who listened to rap.
Before you completely dismiss rap, think about why it’s successful. Let me suggest to you that rap is a reflection of society. Why do black and white kids buy rap? It’s not because of the random beats. No, it is because the lyrics speak out to them, about their state of life. You don’t believe me? Check Google for the amount of sales on rap labels. The results may astound you.
Case in point: a rap group known as 2LiveCrew. They became infamous for being arrested for performing their lyrics at a club. The lower courts upheld the arrest, but the federal court ruled in favor of the 2LiveCrew. The Supreme Court did not take the case, which meant they approved the federal court’s ruling and didn’t think it was worth their time.
Why did 2LiveCrew win? In America, we have a basic right called the freedom of speech. Wow, you can find it in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It must be important if it’s at the very beginning of the changes to one of America’s sacred documents. Plus, if people are willing to buy whatever they say, shouldn’t they be allowed to say whatever they want to say?
The disclaimer is that, yes, there are rap groups who are just people talking to music. They serve no purpose but to latch on to a phenomenon in the music industry. And why not? There’s millions to be made if you can do it right.
Sigh, I just can’t explain as much when I’m actually on the other side. Just how well can I argue against myself anyways(I’m for censorship, by the way)?
Today, I’m going to do a special request for my scheming roommate Howard. In return, he promises to read the reason why I like anime (not just the fact that I do like anime). We share one virtue, which is being able to see both sides of an argument. So I will play devil’s advocate against myself on rap. You know, someone told me once that Howard was a funny guy. I asked that person why. That person said it was because Howard was a white boy who listened to rap.
Before you completely dismiss rap, think about why it’s successful. Let me suggest to you that rap is a reflection of society. Why do black and white kids buy rap? It’s not because of the random beats. No, it is because the lyrics speak out to them, about their state of life. You don’t believe me? Check Google for the amount of sales on rap labels. The results may astound you.
Case in point: a rap group known as 2LiveCrew. They became infamous for being arrested for performing their lyrics at a club. The lower courts upheld the arrest, but the federal court ruled in favor of the 2LiveCrew. The Supreme Court did not take the case, which meant they approved the federal court’s ruling and didn’t think it was worth their time.
Why did 2LiveCrew win? In America, we have a basic right called the freedom of speech. Wow, you can find it in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It must be important if it’s at the very beginning of the changes to one of America’s sacred documents. Plus, if people are willing to buy whatever they say, shouldn’t they be allowed to say whatever they want to say?
The disclaimer is that, yes, there are rap groups who are just people talking to music. They serve no purpose but to latch on to a phenomenon in the music industry. And why not? There’s millions to be made if you can do it right.
Sigh, I just can’t explain as much when I’m actually on the other side. Just how well can I argue against myself anyways(I’m for censorship, by the way)?
