i called him out as a reactionary & said this was a bullshit attack.

for those of us who claim love or respect for hip hop, why are we so slow to criticize?

you know, the violence question is a hard one. since we are blamed for so much & are accused of being the most violent folks around these days (usually by the most violent people history has ever produced), it becomes very difficult to take it one. even if we don't agree with the analysis that gets thrown at us, where are our own? do we (young, hip-hop loving people) try to broaden the understanding of what it means to be violent? do we dig deep into just how culture effects us individually or as a people? how many of us say that nina simone's music is inspiring or that donny hathaway is healing, but the minute people talk about shooting in music we act like it has no effect. it's weird & *ahem* dishonest. i know my comaprisons might come off as a little flimsy here, but you get what i'm saying.

nina & donny's music disappeared for the same reason we now got 50 platnumizing. culture is one of the best forms of warfare out there. i just think it would be a shame if we don't examine it more closely.