|
Reminds me of the late 80's when you had folks like Dr. Dre and LL Cool J with anti-drug messages in the music.. but in retrospect, it was all for show. I mean.. these guys can speak out against molly and lean in interviews all they want, but 13 year olds are not reading their interviews.. at least not the well-written ones in reputable publications. They are listening to the music.. the hits..
I mean, random rapper/producer #1 can appear in a campaign against violence against women, but if he has a guest verse on a Chris Brown song, is known to associate with cats who talk about smacking hoes around in their music, and has some pretty questionable lyrics in his own music (which don't necessarily promote violence or rape, but don't help the situation either), then how effective and how genuine is the campaign?
Also, the drugs aren't the problem as they were made and made available independently of any music industry, scene, or culture. It's how the drugs and other things are glorified, used as lyrical crutches through popular slang, and made trendy through repetition, oversimplification, and trivialization. Basically, the level of education and information is lacking. This runs parallel with the level of lyrical complexity the younger hip hop audience is able to process. I'm still not even convinced that Swimming Pools effectively got across the message that was originally intended. Even a grown man such as myself who knows what it means finds himself singing that chorus when I'm on my way to getting FADED.
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
