I would argue that in alot of ways Public Enemy was the beginnings oF Gangsta Rap (All the controversy in the late 80s for... I don't remember the name of the tune, but I think it WAS Cop Killa). Public Enemy revolutionized rap and all the gangsta rappers that came after them (N.W.A. and their ilk) took a great deal from Public Enemy.
Chuck D and Flava Flav may not have been the worst or the worst and I won't suggest they are, but they opened up the door for those who became it.
I don't have anything against all rappers, nor rap/hip-hop/r&b as a style, but the message inside of it. I don't know how the rap I do hear in supermarkets and stores and restaurants compares to what's "mainstream", but I DO know that I was sittin in Subway just this weekend listening to some sort of New Top 40 station and the song Kristen and I sat and listened to was all "Bitchez" and "Hoz" and "We in the club are gonna get Sex". Blah.
My post barely touched the surface of the music scene. I failed to mention alot of things (including the birth of Electronica, Ska, the return of Latin Dance, the return of Swing) I'd probably need an entire LJ devoted to it to honestly do it right, but I feel my point that "White" and "Black" music have diverged rather far from each other despite having the same basic roots is not unfair.
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Date: 2004-08-31 06:32 am (UTC)Public Enemy revolutionized rap and all the gangsta rappers that came after them (N.W.A. and their ilk) took a great deal from Public Enemy.
Chuck D and Flava Flav may not have been the worst or the worst and I won't suggest they are, but they opened up the door for those who became it.
I don't have anything against all rappers, nor rap/hip-hop/r&b as a style, but the message inside of it. I don't know how the rap I do hear in supermarkets and stores and restaurants compares to what's "mainstream", but I DO know that I was sittin in Subway just this weekend listening to some sort of New Top 40 station and the song Kristen and I sat and listened to was all "Bitchez" and "Hoz" and "We in the club are gonna get Sex".
Blah.
My post barely touched the surface of the music scene. I failed to mention alot of things (including the birth of Electronica, Ska, the return of Latin Dance, the return of Swing)
I'd probably need an entire LJ devoted to it to honestly do it right, but I feel my point that "White" and "Black" music have diverged rather far from each other despite having the same basic roots is not unfair.