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Name: Olivia

Comment: ***Clapping***

Name: B00TANEB00TUS

Comment: ...WOW!...I could feel the emotion in that post Mo...Here, have a cup of java...That was definately one of your best...Good-azz job....It's good reading this from someone who worked in the industry...

Name: HarrisThomas

Comment: MO, thank you very much, cyberovation . . . . . despite your eloquent defense of Ms. Keys, there will be comments on this board that support a gansta rap artist's right to say it how the artist sees or feels it [is it really the gangsta rap artist's voice or the music industry's?] . . . . . despite your apt illustration that Michael Jackson had to "de-ethnic" his lyrics for "They Don't Care About Us", nobody who defends gangsta rap will get the point that gangsta rap denigrates everything it touches, except, maybe the money that the music industry was getting overwhelmingly from YT suburban youth

Name: McNasty

Comment: In his defense of Alicia I commend him - in expounding on what she said for clearer understanding - kudos.

Name: PRDC

Comment: Well said.......

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Harris...let them come on in here and try. The short answer is that this isn't a 'free speech' issue...it's a common sense issue. Common sense understands that just because one 'can' doesn't mean one 'should.' And in truth...the facts that there is an actual limit (in terms of anti-Semitism) as to what rappers can say and yet no limit in terms of anti-African-Americanism should be an irrefutable clue too. I know...preaching to the choir.

Name: blackdragon

Comment: Mo'Kelly, you've done it again. Good job, man.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: Fk outta here. The dumb azz said that gangsta rap was created as a ploy [by yt people] for blacks to kill each other. We never miss an opportunity to ridicule any person who blames the "yt man" for our shyt. Understandably, the pro-alicia crowd will defend it. No sense trying to under the guise of analyzing what she "meant" to say. She explained what she "meant" and it still didn't make sense. O'Kelly, even after reading your article, there is not much in it that opens the "conspiracy" angle. In fact, many of the "blind eye" facts re: record execs are the same ones used as defense by hip-hop artists and they are quickly knocked down as inconsequential by those who already object to it. It's one thing to say that the music industry profits off of negativity. That's a honest discussion. It's another thing to say that yt people created gangsta rap. That's just silly. Common sense is demonstrated by most people's response when 50 attacks them...muted silence. You choose to write an article about him which in turn gives this silly squabble more legs than it deserves. I do understand, it's all in a days work.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: 'Herbs...' Please research the name "Jerry Heller" and then get back to me. That's all that needs to be said. Afterwards, I'll accept your apology.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: But since you'd rather wallow in ignorance...he's the FATHER of Gangsta Rap. Founded Ruthless Records and put N.W.A. together. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Heller And by the way...he's White/Jewish. I'll just go ahead and say it now. Mo'Kelly accepts your apology on behalf of Alicia Keys too....

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Let 'Herbs be a lesson to young people. Never let emotion and personal dislike for a writer get in the way of objective facts and reason. The facts aren't on your side 'Herbs. You'll never admit it, but they just aren't. A white man created N.W.A. the record label in which they would continue, brokered their deals and was in business with the ADL, profiting off of NWA so the ADL would back off. The facts are simply not on your side. But it's up to you to be willing to learn the history of the music business for yourself. I LIVED this. You're just now reading about it and catching up. I've WORKED with Suge...you've just read about him. There's nothing YOU can tell me about this business...though try you will.

Name: cdnyc

Comment: MoKelly: Great, thought-provoking post. My friend and I have been discussing for a while how you NEVER, EVER see white women degraded by their men in white videos. Yet black musicians, rappers do it freely without ANY consequence. And we said that the "powers that be" in the music industry allow black women to be degraded and the "artists"(i use that term VERY loosely) go along with it because, let's just tell the truth, THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY!!! It will cost them to stand up and speak out about the injustices in the business. Again, great post.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: O'Kelly, of course you "would" be the only person (in a country of 300mil) to have ever heard of Jerry Heller. So, I understand your desire to insult the intelligence of your readers by suggesting their ignorance. I have heard of the name Jerry Heller and don't need to click on self-editing wikepedia as a resource. I also know he managed several acts and the only one I remember is average white band cuz it's one of my fav groups. Knowing his name and his role in managing NWA says absolutely nothing about how "yt people" invented gangsta rap as a way for black people to kill each other...the susbtance of Alicia's claim . You criticizing Curtis' speech does not back up her claim. You working w/Suge doesn't change that. Most important, if YOU continued to work w/people who created a genre of music as a means for black people to kill each other, then that doesn't create a very good impression for "the young people." As I said, her dumb azz made a dumb azz statement..plain and simple.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: Once I read the first word of this article I couldn't stop feeding the brain. Just because 50 Cent has Millions, some want to idolize his ignorance.

Name: TGen

Comment: I pretty much speed-read the article, but I think I got enough to give you Kudos MoKelly. Good job. Indeed Curtis Jackson's picture should be found by "ignorance" in the dictionary. And I'm not sure if you touched on this or not, but what struck me about his comments was that his response had NOTHING to do with Keys' azzertion! lol He CLEARLY didn't understand what she said and took her words as an affront to his beloved violence "music." Idiot! I don't even know if I agree with what Alicia said, but Curtis' response just redefines why people need to stay in school, lol--definitely missing some comprehension skills. P.S. I don't think talking about how ignant Curtis' statement was should be considered a defense of Alicia's. In fact, I think they were talking about apples and oranges.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: Gangsta Rap is today's modern day Minstrel show's. You're headed for self-destuction. Aiming to be a Thug is not a goal.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: Self-Destruction.

Name: kwrob

Comment: Just this past Sunday my pastor talked about a documentary coming out that was shot by one of the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. In this documentary, he exposes the 1% of the wealthy in this country who control 40% of the nation. He also talks about the tools that are used to basically create genocide (liquor stores, drugs, guns, etc.) he didn't mention music, but I'm sure some of it (namely gangsta rap) is also used as one of those tools.

Name: TGen

Comment: Kwrob, I don't doubt what you say at all. I've long thought "the man" had a big hand in the gradual destruction of our rich culture. I just wish some Black folks (namely in the "music" industry) would stop giving them ammunition. They can't use you if you don't allow them to...

Name: kwrob

Comment: Gangsta rap may not have been created by yt people. In fact, yt people have nothing to do with the creation of rap music period. But, and it's a very big BUT, yt people do have a lot to do with the mass production, shipment, and distribution of said gangsta rap. The only reason it is a problem for those yt people is because their kids are alos listening to it. If their kids didn't like it so much, it wouldn't raise one hair on their head.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: I really do miss A Tribe Called Quest....now we have blind 50 Cent.

Name: cookyd

Comment: Excellent post!!! Thank You.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: It wasn't a dumb azz statement 'Herbs...maybe simplistic and underdeveloped, but it had merit. It just needed to be expressed in a more thorough manner. Parallel: Conspiracy Theory - The govt. shot Dr. King. Reasonable discussion - The FBI due to their cointel surveillance knew that King had been targeted and an %*$assin was looming "Conscious complicity" - Allowing it to happen, if not in part helping it.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: And also 'Herbs...We ALL did things in our 20s that we wouldn't do today...including the places in which we worked. The difference is, I know better today. You obviously still don't, because you're hell-bent on defending indefensible music.

Name: Southernbelle

Comment: Agreed Mo'Kelly. I gave Alicia her props when the story first aired. I wish she would have stood by her statements. I don't believe yt folks created gangsta rap. IMO, the industry caught wind of artists like NWA and etc. as they spoke of the misfortunes in their communities and decided to turn what was suppose to be a tool for enlightenment into the negative music we have today. There are countless artists that have been outspoken about wanting to create more positive music but were told they couldn't get record deals with that type of music. Ludacris is one of them. When Tupac was rapping about "Brenda's got a baby" his cd's didn't sell. When he signed to Death Row he became # one on the charts. Just this week yahoo news posted the most overrated rap artists and Will Smith made the list and "Mr Super soak them hoes" Soulja Boy was nowhere on the list. I'm like WTF?!?! While the man may not have created gangsta rap he damn sure is responsible for perpetuating it. Peace.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: I'm fuming here off the ridiculous comments made here!!! First of all, let me say that I really like Alicia Keys. I like her as a positive role model for young girls that you can actually have some meat on your bones and still be considered beautiful, I like her music and I like it that she does charity work. BUT I gotta go w/musb on this one. "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist." is a DUMB AZZED statement. F*ck outta here. Nobody had to convince black people to kill each other. The crips and the bloods have been around since the 70s at least. "Gangsta Rap" started in the late 80s / early 90s. Please explain how the music said to black people - "You just heard my song. Now go kill Jamal down the street". Pu-lease. Black people didn't ever need any sugguestion to kill each other. In DC black men were killing each other right and left in the drug wars here in the mid to late 80s BEFORE "gangsta rap" even was considered a term. Next thing - nobody has ever put a gun to the head of a rapper and said, "You sing about killing Tyrone around the way or I'm going to blow your brains out". No. That NEVER happened. EVEN IF white people started giving recording contracts to idiotic black people if they sang about violence, misogyny, etc. The idiotic rappers COULD HAVE SAID "NO"!!! But they didn't. They CHOSE to say that crap. Nobody forced them, (well, except Suge Night, allegedly). Next thing - somebody on here just wrote that white people never had videos or songs that degrade white women - huh??? Let me say Motley Crue - where they actually had women ON STRIPPER POLES, Van Halen - Hot for Teacher where women strut around 3/4 naked in the video, and Guns&Roses - the very name of the group proves my point!!! And how about all the other big-haired bad singing rock groups who brag about all the groupies they bang, all the drugs they take and all the money they spend in their songs and in interviews. And all of this happened in the 80s!!! I haven't even mentioned all of the debauchery of the Rolling Stones, and all of the "free love" mess of the late 60s/70s where things were just out of control. So PLEASE don't go there and actually say that white people aren't misogynistic in their music/lifestyles/videos. As for her comment - it was stupid and ignorant of the situation. Nobody has forced Snoop, Dr. Dre, Tupac, Biggie to rap about how "hood" they are/were. So please stop trying to defend an ignorant comment. There is no defense for it except to say, "My bad. I need to go back and read a history book/magazine before I speak on a time when I was a small child or not even born yet." Y'all need to go 'head with that!!!

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: And let me finish by saying that I absolutely despise gangsta rap BUT her statement is still stupid.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Here's the home run. The history of Gangsta' Rap music is NO DIFFERENT from the history of drugs in this country. Yes, it is sold by African-Americans...but 70% of all drug users are White and is funded by corporations and countries that are clearly non-African American. It's perpetuated and promoted by forces beyond that of African-Americans...with the exception of individuals like Frank Lucas. Yes, African-Americans are the "primary" reason for the 'creation' of gangsta rap, but more than 70% of "users/listeners" are not. Also, the perpetuation and promotion is solely at the discretion of the entertainment complex, which conveniently also disallows such filth disrespecting other races. Thank you, good night...Mo'Kelly has left the building (for now.)

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: Some juat don't get it. The powerful forces with Money didn't invent "gangsta Rap" but they knew how to market the image around the world and make a huge profit. They send their kid's to Yale while Easy E dies from Aid's.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Black folks didn't "invent" crack either...your point is loud and clear soulmusic101...we're in agreement. And we all know about the "legendary" career of crack in our communities too.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: I have personally observed young, white Ppl that glorify Gandsta Rap but they can always outgrow their phase and climb up the ladder.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Here's another piece to chew on...No Limit Records, Rap-A-Lot and four other hip-hop labels were started and continued for quite some time with drug money. See the crack/Gangsta Rap parallel...see how it continues to play itself out?

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: MO, I hear you about how Crack was introduced into Oakland and the ghetto's of Los Angeles. Stay high and watch all your dreams go up in smoke. Even Huey Lewis (one of the Founder's of The Black Panther's) was duped into smoking Crack and giving up.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: lol...Brothers and Sisters...Huey P. Newton not Huey Lewis. Huey Lewis was the Pop Artist from the 80's that did the track "The Heart Of Rock and Roll".

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: It wasn't a dumb statement for YOU. Fortunately, YOU don't get to decide on what I consider dumb/smart. There are many worthwhile discussions that we can have. Some are immediately shut down because of it's "simplistic, underdeveloped, less thorough expression." See Oprah hip-hop debacle masquerading as a show. Yes we do learn better as we grow older. That's the beautiful part of life. That does not change your contribution especially after you've profited from it. Maybe Curtis will do like you and "learn a lesson." He's not there yet just as you weren't when you were receiving such a financial incentive. Defending hip-hop? Is that what I've done? I could have sworn that I said nothing positive OR negative about hip-hop AT ALL. My comments have been about the conspiracy theorist, dumb azz Alicia Keys who blamed the "man" for creating music so that we can kill ourselves. Southern/Soul, we can have a convo about how modern industries profit off of sexism, violence, misogyny etc. all day long. That is far different from a genre being "created by yt folk so we can kill each other." That's what she said. *kissing queenie on the cybercheek*

Name: katgrrrl

Comment: 'kay Fiddy, we get it. You're writing about your experiences. But you have NEW experiences now. I'm sure ya ain't still runnin' the streets the way ya did before the fame, fortune n' VitaWater. If ya are, you're stuck on stupid. And why CAN'T you relate to classical? If ya don't LIKE it, that's one thing, but to say you don't relate to it or as you put it, "that don't relate to me," then IMHO, you ARE stuck on stupid for placing limits upon yourself and not even tryna broaden your horizons. (I'm fully aware that 50 ain't comin' anywhere near this board. Just had to vent.)

Name: katgrrrl

Comment: Soulmusic: Thank you for putting that hilarious image of Huey Lewis runnin' with the Panthers in my head!

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: MorrisOKelly...now you are starting to touch on ConIntelPro. Back in the 1960' s The FBI spied on prominent black leaders like Malcolm X and MLK. Helped intoduce Crack and an abundance of Gun's into the major urban area's. Today the CIA and NSA is spying on every American.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: katgrrrl....lol

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: katgrrrl...Whyton Marsalis is a Genius when it comes to Classical Music.

Name: Renegade

Comment: Great post Mo. Unfortunately, you will not be capable of convincing some folks in the folly of their thinking. Curtis is a joke! I said it before that the majority of black folks need to be labotimized and reprogrammed in order to wash all the s*hit out of our skulls. Our community lacks self love and has a f*ucked up way of thinking.

Name: SweetieDarlin

Comment: Sorry but Alicia Keys statement did not make a lot of sense, she also indicated that Tupac and Biggie were silenced because of their potential to become great leaders. Now while I usually liked Tupac and Biggie and they were eloquent writers, did the white man know more than anyone else their potential maybe after they grew out of the gangsta stage of life---if not they were not killed to silence a great leader. I think Alicia wanted to show she was 'down' for the cause and couldn't quite put it into words. She may have meant well but as some posters have pointed out the original statement and the subsequent 'explanation' didn't bear out. Curtis is Curtis and he enjoys saying things to keep his name in print, no more no less and it doesn't matter how he does it. Yes Jerry Heller and many executives like him pushed gangsta rap but it was up to us to realize it was just entertainment and in a lot of cases a fantasy of a writer and not decide to act it out (sometimes in spite of what we were taught at home.) The real conversation is how we can be 'above the influence' and stop always blaming other people for our misfortunes, yes whites have made in absolutely difficult in America but all the blame is not on them.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: MO...to back up your arguement look at the power of MTV (Viacom)...those Images went around the world and back during the 90's.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: SweetieDarlin...did you miss Mo's valid arguement that most of the hardcore gangsta rap is/was consumed by white ppl from the suburb's? Al Jolson meet 50 Cent/Eminem. Check out some books by a music expert named Nelson George.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >soulmusic - if you watched MTV in the 80s as I did, (because I was happy I finally had cable! LOL) ALL you saw was rock videos w/3/4 nekked white women dancing around in the videos. You didn't even see black people on there except Prince w/his "Little Red Corvette" and MJ w/his "Beat It" and "Billy Jean". And those images of white women being exploited went around the world, too. So your point is???...

Name: katgrrrl

Comment: Thanks Soul! There's also Bobby (Don't Worry, Be Happy) McFerrin.

Name: kwrob

Comment: Now I don't think Tupac was killed by the gov't, unless Suge Knight was an agent of the gov't (I think he was behind both Tupac and Biggie). But a potential great leader was killed in Tupac. He was a product of two Black Panther members afterall. At least his legacy is doing great work in the community because of the work of his mother Afeni.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >Soulmusic - yeah, much of the audience is wannabe thug white boys in the 'burbs but so what? Still nobody is forcing these rappers to get on the mic and prove how ridiculous they are. And, as for all the talk of drugs being pushed in our communities. Well, my brother was asked to sell drugs in the late 80s as his friends were doing. They were making mad money, driving nice cars, wearing the big dog collar sized gold chains, wearing the fresh clothes but HE SAID NO - just like any of these street corner pharmacists could've done. But again, they didn't. They exercized their choice to sell drugs and go into a life of crime. And don't tell me "they had no choice" because they did have a choice.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >kwrob - yeah. Suge Knight an agent. "My name is Knight, Suge Knight" holding his martini and wearing a tux at a dinner party with the amb%*$ador of a country and an evil henchman across the room...James Bond style...

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: queeniebunz...yes, MTV was a avenue for White Pop/Rock artist during it's early conception. You saw an occasionial person of color video from Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue) until Epic/Sony forced MTV to play MJ. And than later Yo MTV Raps (late 80/early 90's) became an instant viewer favorite for the kid's from the suburbs to pretend they were down with the hood and using the word "N" as a term of endearment.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: queeniebunz..nobody is forcing them but the lure of fast money wins everytime for the foolish. Surely you know this?

Name: TGen

Comment: Lol, I think there is a lot of misunderstanding here. I didn't read her clarification, but what I gathered from Alicia Key's original statement was not that there was no such thing as violent or offensive rap, but that the CONCEPT of "gangsta" rap was one that was pushed and promoted by "others." I don't think she would defend the offensive rap or even claim that the rappers had no culpability in it, just that the whole "beefed-up west coast/east beef" was something driven by "others" for whatever reason (social or financial). In other words, just because some are idiots and create crappy "music" doesn't mean that some "higher-ups" are not inching to promote further degradation of Black culture. The whole "just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone is not out to get me" argument. Apples and oranges people, apples and oranges...

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >Soulmusic - I still don't get your point. You keep bringing stuff up but you seem to refuse to address the plain truth that these rappers have always had a choice not to spew violence, etc. I grew up listening to songs like "Self Destruction". I listened to Kurtis Blow, Sugar Hill Gang, Rob B%*$, Digital Underground, Tribe, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, The Leaders of the New School (Busta's group), Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, Young MC, Tone Loc, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and even the Ghetto Boys singing about the pitfalls of crime in "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me". I grew up listening to Kid & Play, Salt-n-Pepper, Father MC, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee ("Wild Wild West"), MC Hammer, MC Lyte, Eric B. and Rakim, EPMD, and Big Daddy Kane. And see, this could've continued had these idiot gangsta rappers not come on the scene w/their mess. All of these groups mentioned above had recording contracts. And many of them wrote rap songs about not killing each other. And, LL and Kool Moe Dee had a rap war/rivalry going on WITH WORDS. Does anybody remember "To Da Break of Dawn" and "How Ya Like Me Now"? They were dogging each other out and it was hilarious and it was completely non-violent. So don't tell me that black rappers couldn't say "no" to rapping about mess. For years they DID say no to it and THEY GOT RECORDING CONTRACTS!

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >Soulmusic - you prove my long time point that gangsta rappers are utter, total and complete sell outs in our community. People call blacks who enter the corporate world sell outs. And perhaps they are if they make business decisions that are detrimental to our community. But so are these self-proclaimed gangsta rappers. They put the almighty dollar above their community. Gangsta rap is all about CHOOSING the money over your community and nothing about some conspiracy to make black people degrade themselves and kill each other. And as I keep saying it WAS THEIR CHOICE. If I understand what you and others seem to be implying, black people are dumb sheep who will do what white people say? Nah. They went for self at the expense of their community and now we see the result - a modern day ghetto fabulous minstrel show.

Name: soulmusic101

Comment: queeniebunz..you just don't get it...peace.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: Sweetie..thanks for giving us more to chew on. You're right, "Another of her theories: That the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing." Soooo...let's do a thorough analysis of that one. Per Alicia: The yt man also created the fued 'tween these negroes in an effort to stop "another great black leader from existing." I'm sure that's also a defensible comment too from Alicia supporters and the rest who hate hip-hop. Fact is, most articles on Curtis Jackson usually are active ones. I've chosen to basically ignore his comments and focus on what they were in response to. They were in response to dumb azz saying that the yt man created it so that we can kill each other. She now believes that Biggie (Used to lick the clits a lot, but lickin clits had to stop/cause ya'll don't know how to act when the tongue goes down below.../sex gettin rougher when it come to the nut bester, puzzy crusher, black nasty muthafkr) Smalls was killed by the gov't to stop a great leader who present such positivity. Yeah Alicia says he was killed cuz of his potential greatness. Tgen, how do you misunderstand that?

Name: Southernbelle

Comment: @ TGen, I believe you are the most accurate in interpeting what Alicia meant to say. Thanks.

Name: Southernbelle

Comment: I must agree that I'm totally lost on her Biggie/Tupac statement, next black leader?, WTF. Those two were in no comparison to Washington/Duboise. IMO, she really should have recanted that statement.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Queenie...I think you're getting caught on the idea that the music industry was "consciously trying" to kill Black people. I don't think anyone is saying that there was this "Star Chamber" committee plotting the demise of Black people. What I'm saying (and others) is that there is a separate standard of tolerance for the obliteration of Black people versus the obliteration of others. There is something to be said for the discussion that the music industry is NOT a laissez faire "anything goes" capitalist machine. They have "standards" just not in regards to Black people. And THAT is where the debate lies. There shouldn't be any debate as to the negative effects of such negative images and music on our people. And if we agree that the negative messages and music have negatively impacted our people, then we should be able to also agree that the corporate structure is culpable. My piece was to demonstrate that there is a conscious and CONCERTED effort to promote Black self-hatred, as opposed to any other negativity. So there's culpability there. If it were a matter of the music industry being open to ALL forms of self-hatred, then they are indiscriminate in their money-grubbing. But history has shown that CLEARLY they aren't. ONLY Black-self-hatred is allowed. THAT is the issue to be discussed. Let's not oversimplify this into "The Man."

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: ORIGINAL STUPID COMMENT: The bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing." RESPONDING CLARIFICATION: "It was just an over-sensationalized situation," she told Seacrest. "We don't know who killed Biggie and Pac. But I do feel like had more communication been done between the two men, that result would have not happened." INITIAL COMMENT: Alicia described a gov't conspiracy designed to "convince black people to kill each other." RESPONDING CLARIFICATION: The term 'gangsta rap' was so over-sloganized during that time," she said, "and in so many ways everyday people as well as the government could have really done so much more to obliterate and eradicate the things that were going on in the community at that time that forced the artists to discuss and talk so strongly what they saw- what they lived with every day." WTF does that have to do w/her original comment. That IS the clarification and talking about what she meant..when she clarified what she meant doesn't change it and still proves her a dumb azz.

Name: TGen

Comment: Musdherbs, sorry. Curtis Jackson did NOT respond to Alicia's statement. He very stupidly put words in her mouth. His response: I don't like people who don't like me. If you don't like the content that I write because of my experiences; I am being who I am when I am writing it. I fall into that 'label' as far as you considering artists creating 'Gangsta music,' we fall into that." Now what the HECK did that have to do with what she said? lol I didn't hear her make ANY judgement on his kind of rap, none. If anything, she was defending rappers of his ilk. Scratch that, she was defending Tupac and Biggie, rappers she believed offered that "it" that people look for in leaders. In her mind (rightly or wrongly) she must have thought that some of the purveyors of Black culture (read "others") also saw that quality in Tupac and Biggie and for fear of an uprising or some kind of positive social movement (once the two grew the hell up to use their talents for more pressing social issues), decided to perpetuate that silly "coast beef" as a means of undermining their potential. I hope that makes sense...

Name: HarrisThomas

Comment: amazingly, this discussion thread is much like the blind men describing a elephant based on the part of the animal that they were "feeling" . . . . . MO wants us to step back, get the larger picture and frame the discussion from that perspective . . . . . in the essay, MO azzerts "Conversely, the music industry has never allowed…yes, allowed the subjugation and debasement of any singular ethnic group, with the exception of African-Americans." . . . . . MO supports this azzertion vividly with Michael Jackson lyrics: so why ain't nobody dealing with this bigger picture concept from the essay? . . . . . I don't know about conspiracy, I only know that the world knows AAs by America's MSM images including music videos . . . . . . remember the Katrina picture of white people labeled as wading water while looking for food even though AAs doing the same thing were labeled as looting? isn't that partly what MO is talking about in defense of Ms. Keys? . . . . . . this is about more than gangsta rap

Name: yunvme

Comment: All one needed to see was Alicia being interviewed on the Today Show yesterday. While all the AK fanatics were high fivin each other talking about how she shut him down (the interviewer), I just laughed at her. For those that didnt see it, she basically (trying to look all serious) told Matt that she already responded to her gangsta rap comments, and wanted to focus on the good things she does. She even had an attitude about it. Now dont get me wrong she is entitled to her attitudes. But girl please (I refrained from saying b*tch please). She strikes me as one of those people that try to sound so deep and dont even know what they are talking about. We may get what her "intentions" were. But her words were incorrect. Instead of Mo and others trying to debate her ACTUAL words, they want to talk about everything else. We are not disputing that our govt is fvcked up. We are disputing her facts as she presented them. So I dont need someone speaking for her, or trying to make HER points clear. That is what she needs to do. When asked to do that she showed her immaturity by getting all defensive. That let me know more about her than these last 5 years of her videos/songs and TV interviews. She aint that bright.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: TGen/Harris...right on the money. Perspective is in order here.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: I'll take Alicia Keys supposed "lack of brightness" to 50 Cent's any day of the week. I'd rather have Alicia Keys on the today show "representing Black folk" than 50 Cent. There's no comparison between these two, be it their statements, their composure or their love for Black people. NONE.

Name: Gurlfrand

Comment: me too, MOK.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: Tgen...if you really want to be "objective" you can very easily say that when Alicia said that "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist," Curtis (as a creator of said music) responded in the way that he did. Do you care to explain what he meant to say? Does anyone care to explain what he meant to say? No you don't. Instead of clarifying his words..you simply call him stupid for putting words in HER mouth when many of you have done just that re: Alicia...put words in her mouth that she didn't say. I posted what she said AND her subsequent apples and oranges clarifications. Harris, sorry the title of the article is "50 Cent, Alicia Keys is Right...Fool." The article does nothing to back up her being right that gangsta rap was created to "convince black people to kill each other" and neither does any of the responses. Instead it suggests that she was "right" to say that "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other.'" It is what it is and the facts remain in print.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: "I think you're getting caught on the idea that the music industry was "consciously trying" to kill Black people. I don't think anyone is saying that there was this "Star Chamber" committee plotting the demise of Black people." This is what you said, MoKelly. But then you go on to say that "My piece was to demonstrate that there is a conscious and CONCERTED effort to promote Black self-hatred, as opposed to any other negativity. So there's culpability there. If it were a matter of the music industry being open to ALL forms of self-hatred, then they are indiscriminate in their money-grubbing." It can't be both. You say there is no "star chamber" but then you say there is. That is what "conscious and concerted effort" means. It means somebody sat down and said, "Let's encourage black people to disrespect themselves and to kill each other." Someon mentioned MJackon and someone else mentioned Ice T and how in both cases they had to retract a line in a song or in Ice T's case, an entire song. What all of you are missing is that the record producers allowed the song and that line to be produced. It was the public who complained. The record producers said, "That's cool. Let's go with those lyrics/that song" or neither would even be produced. That said, how can you say that they are "out to get black people" by allowing us to degrade ourselves??? What they really seem to be doing is saying, "Hmmm. If we let these stupid black people talk about junk, white and black kids will buy it like hot cakes. Let's make some money off it." It's ALL ABOUT MONEY. It has nothing to do with a "conscious and CONCERTED effort to promote Black self-hatred.", as opposed to any other negativity. Record producers ARE indiscriminate in their money-grubbing. They couldn't care less who degrades who as long as they are putting money in the bank. Why are y'all blind to that? I can use Elvis as an example of their money grubbing. Elvis came out with his pelvis shaking dance style and the public cried out that it was wrong and he should be banned. And then the lil teen girls and young women ate it up so at first they censored him but when the records were selling off the shelves, they said "F*ck that censorship. Keep moving your hips, Elvis and sell us some records!" People of that time period blame Elvis for all the sexual stuff that came about in music in the 60s because they say he "started it". Whether he did or not, all the record producers knew was that he was making them mad money so they didn't care about the moral decay of America. They cared about their bank accounts filling up. You see my point. IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY...

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Herbs...you sound like Sean Hannity now who argues that poverty has nothing to do with crime and the percentage of incarceration of African Americans. This is not a linear progression. There are other variables to be considered. The bottom line is that Keys' statement is not lacking merit altogether. You want to talk just the "conspiracy theory" angle when clearly this is more than just your oversimplification. You sound like Sean Hannity now.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: They couldn't care less who degrades who as long as they are putting money in the bank. Why are y'all blind to that? I can use Elvis as an example of their money grubbing. Elvis came out with his pelvis shaking dance style and the public cried out that it was wrong and he should be banned. And then the lil teen girls and young women ate it up so at first they censored him but when the records were selling off the shelves, they said "F*ck that censorship. Keep moving your hips, Elvis and sell us some records!" People of that time period blame Elvis for all the sexual stuff that came about in music in the 60s because they say he "started it". Whether he did or not, all the record producers knew was that he was making them mad money so they didn't care about the moral decay of America. They cared about their bank accounts filling up. You see my point. IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY... ____ Queenie...I agree, it IS about money. But like dominoes, not ALL money is good money and NO money will be made at the expense of Jews and THAT's where your point is contradicted. ____

Name: MzTee

Comment: SweetieDarlin...thank you. As much as I like Alicia Keys as a person and artist, even I thought her statements were off base. I said to myself "WTF is she talking about? And, why is she even commenting on Gangsta rap" It reminded me of folks who want to appear more knowledgeable than they actually are.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: But they DID allow that line to be in MJackson's song. They let it be in there, MoKelly. "They" being the record execs. Why are you missing that? They also allowed "Cop Killer" to be made. They also allowed Cypress Hill to produce a song called "Pigs" that the police disliked and complained about. The record producers approved these songs and only when the police unions complained did they take the song off Ice T's cd and Jewish groups complained about MJack's song did they make the changes. I agree with that statement about good money and bad money. BUT to the record producers it is ALL good money because they get to spend it. The idiot rappers are the ones who allow themselves and their community to get exploited. The rappers are the ones who make the songs and do the concerts but walk away bankrupt sometimes because they signed bad contracts. The rappers are the ones who allowed themselves to be pimped by the producers. And I would dare say that to the rappers in question here, that to them it's all good money, too because they are the ones spending it. These rappers don't care about the consequences of their music on the greater black community. All they know is they can put 20s on their new cars and buy big chains from Jacob the Jeweler and get a platinum grill put it their mouths. They're sitting lovely in their own eyes. They don't feel exploited or they would say no to it. To them, all money is good money. Can you see that? And they will tell you that ain't nobody controlling them.

Name: amethyst

Name: katgrrrl

Comment: Amethyst: Great post.

Name: amethyst

Comment: queeniebunz - You raise good points about white groups who exploited women in their videos and as groupies. I don't like to see any women or any race exploited or presented in a negative light, so one side isn't any less guilty than the other. However, I don't think the rock bands' behavior has had the same effect on the white community as hip-hop and rap have on the Black community. There isn't an epidemic of young white men being killed by their counterparts, being imprisoned and using drugs. You're right that the Bloods and Crips have been around since the 60's and 70's, and there were gangs and gangsters in other major cities. But these ills are pervasive all over the country now, touching Black communities everywhere, urban and suburban, city and country. I agree with Mo that white America wouldn't let rock music impact its communities at this level. The Rolling Stones and Motley Crue have been successful and there are some white folks who are devoted fans. But they don't constitute a large portion of the white community, and many of them watch the videos and act a fool at the concert on Saturday, then go to work on Monday and act like they have some sense. Someone else mentioned that the white kids who pump rap music grow out of it. I'll add that they become the managers and supervisors at the jobs where Black folks go to apply for jobs. And they deal with Black people based on the negative rap stereotypes and images that remain in their minds. I agree with you that no one has forced gangsta rappers to make this kind of music and videos. They choose to profit from it rather than use their experiences and lyrics to improve their communities and mentor young people.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Queenie...factually you are incorrect. Artists go make their music and then turn in their CDs with a lyric sheet. It's not until that time that a record company gets any say in what ultimately gets to the street and in stores.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Artists like MJ have complete autonomy...up until it's time to sell and distribute the record, then the parent company has the right to refuse to sell it...which it did. I assure you, we (Black folk) have put more heat on record companies to change the content of these records than Jews. Our cries fell on deaf ears. Part of that is because we don't control any of the channels of distribution. That's the first lesson taught to me by Dick Griffey. As long as we as artists don't control distribution, these imprint labels mean nothing. We can create it, but had no say as to what stores it would be sold or at what bulk quantity. Same parallel for movie industry and why "our" movies only get in a low amount of theaters. We don't have any power over distribution. Insert another drug comparison here __________.

Name: HarrisThomas

Comment: musb, that phrasing "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other.'" really is not arguable because Keys badly worded what is indeed a fact: impressionable, young, wannabe gangstas with no positive socialization skills and exposures believe what they see in the videos and copy it . . . . . meanwhile, down in South America, which country is banning presentation of The Simpsons and why?: The Simpsons encourage negative socialization skills among easily impressed youth in the same manner that gangsta rap images and lyrics encourage negativity

Name: NYCsoul

Comment: MOK: When you spoke about the lack of control of the distribution of records/CDS, it brought back to mind the report that was done in the 70s by the majors like CBS, MCA and others. Clive Davis was one of those people who put together the report. The report was about how the majors wanted to prevent any independent companies like Motown from happening again. And they succeed because none of these rap labels or music labels are independently owned or distributed anymore. They are all at the mercy of the majors. Think back when the late C. Delores Tucker bumrush the Warner Brothers shareholders into listening to some of the music that their company was promoting at the time. This was the time when interscope and death row was popping. I'm sure you know most of this stuff but I don't think folks understand that it's not only about money. This country was built on race and sex and has proven to be profitable, particularly, by using US. We are the most creative people in the world and everyone knows this. Ask the parents of KeKe Palmer from 'Akeleah and the Bee', who signed a contract with Atlantic only to be told that she could not be promoted unless she was more like 'Lil Kim' in terms of lyrical content. Mind you this young girl is only 14 years old! Her CD has been shelved by the record company until her parents 'comply' with the wishes of the executives to 'sex up' her image.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Yes NYCSoul...you understand the "bigger picture." Or that it's ok to have innocent young white girls as artists, but when 15 year old Beyonce and company come out...they have to be "sexy jailbait." Go back to Destiny's Child's first album...they were children...not adults, and "forced" to be sexy. The ish is deep.

Name: HarrisThomas

Comment: NYCsoul, I offer earnest prayer that the parents of KeKe Palmer care more about their daughter than they care about making money off of their daughter

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >amethyst - First of all, I like your screen name - very cool. Now, in regards to your comments about our music having an effect on our community, well, you are correct in what you say that whites don't let negativity in music affect them as much as blacks seem to. But it did become somewhat of an issue years ago when parents accused acid rock music of causing the listeners to become satan worshippers or to use drugs or to commit suicide. Nothing really became of it when parents actually sued, though. I think 1st Amendment rights were brought up. Can't remember all of it, though. Not sure if you remember that but I do remember the lawsuits. That aside, you are correct in saying that the majority of whites do not let all of that move them to crime. I am going to go back to parenting on this one, though. If a parent is so lacking in supervision and conversation on these issues that the media is raising his/her children then that is not the media's fault. It is the parent's fault. And, I wonder if polled how many kids would say that the music made them do things. I know when I taught high school and we discussed this very issue the kids assured me that they could listen to the music and differentiate between it and reality. I tend to believe them. Our children are not stupid. They aren't. With or without this music, the people who are going to commit crimes will do it. As I said, ask anybody who grew up in the DC area in the mid to late 80s BEFORE this music took hold and they would have to tell you that the music had nothing to do with Rayful Edmond, with people getting shot/stabbed for their Jordans, and with the amount of drugs being bought and sold. I has a childhood friend shot and killed in a drug deal gone wrong right in front of DEA officers in College Park MD. Tracey got killed before this music took hold, not after. I had another turn up floating in the Potomac. Bobby got killed in 1988 - before the gangsta rap phenom. So PLEASE don't tell me that the people responsible for my friends murders listened to rap music that encouraged them to kill my friends. I won't believe you. My point is this - you can say that our kids are lil idiots and that rap is influencing them to do wrong. Or, you can correctly say that rap music is reflecting this lawless attitude some of our youth have today and capitalizing on it.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: First I am defending hip-hop (which is factually incorrect). Now I'm sounding like Sean Hannity. Well if it's a size 9.5..I'll wear that shoe. I've repeatedly posted what SHE said AND what SHE clarified. Your article headlined that she was right. I find your (et. al) responses somewhat amusing. The dialogue you claim to want is part of the EXACT dialogue the rappers wanted when appearing on Oprah. They wanted to broaden the discussion not just to the rapper's responsibilities in putting out the music. But also, show that there are other variables to be considered...how the industry is fully supportive of the negativity in hip-hop. Oprah didn't want to hear it. The panel didn't want to hear it. Most of the subsequent discussion w/in black america were from those who didn't want to hear it. Now that Alicia says some stupid shyt which had nothing to do w/we are talking about here (other variables), it's somehow relevant? PUHLEEZE! Hell, Helen Keller could see that. You, in your exposition, have done absolutely nothing to back up her gov't consp claims. Nothing, zip, nada! Instead you want to focus on the intelligence of a person who had a problem w/what she said. I didn't write the title "50 Cent, Alicia was right, fool." Those were ur words sir. The same yt people who allow "girls gone wild" Pts. 1-20 are the same group that turns a blind eye to some of the horrors in hip-hop. Harris, let's be honest. If ANY PANELIST on Oprah had suggested that 'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other," they would've been called everything worse than the "minstrels/clowns" they were referred to on that stage. Fk outta here! That is clearly seen in the non-analysis of 50's expected dumb response to a dumb comment. BTW, How do u badly word that hip-hop beef was fueled "by the government and the media to stop another great black leader from existing."

Name: musbdherbs

Name: NYCsoul

Comment: Mo & HarrisThomas> Keke's parents were the ones who put out a press release, pleaing for help from the public to put pressure on Atlantic. Keke's parents out and out refuse to cooperate but they do not have the money to buy out Keke's contract. Now what I'm about to say is gonna be controversial but anyone who signs a music contract for the first time is at the mercy of the record company. They dictate how you should look and what image you should present. Should Keke's parents read the fine print before signing the contract? Yes. However, there is a long standing belief within the industry that the image of Black females need to be 'sexy' or 'sexed up' regardless of age. I don't know if anyone remembers Babara Mason's song 'Yes I'm Ready' from the mid 60s. She was only 15 when she recorded. Granted the lyrical content was tame in comparsion to today but the fact that the image of black girls are always 'mature' or 'ready' beyond their years is something that's a hold over from slavery. As you said Mo, white girls are NEVER portrayed like that.

Name: amethyst

Comment: queeniebunz - You have gotten to the root of the problem: inadequate parenting. The reason negative rap and videos can impact children is that some parents are letting BET, MTV, and Playstation babysit their children instead of spending quality time with them. Also, the crack infestation of the 90's caused many parents to be emotionally and physically absent from their children. Kids who aren't loved and nurtured turn to gangs and TV to get their identities and affection. Your conversations with the high school students about the videos and music not affecting their behavior has some validity. Still, I believe that they do impact our youth. What goes into your ears permeates your mind and spirit. Kids from all walks of life are accepting and adopting the images on TV and in videos. Young guys are hitting girls, calling them B's and H's, having random sex with various people, and the girls are accepting of this, some even feel it's normal. The girls dress like they are about to work a pole or stand on a corner, and give oral sex in school because the words and pictures in their brains and spirits tell them their value is determined by how sexy a man deems them to be. I don't believe in over-shielding children from reality, but parents need to buffer some of the stuff their kids see and hear and talk about it with them.

Name: amethyst

Comment: queeniebunz - P.S., thanks for the compliment on the screen name. :)

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: WHAT???!!! White girls are never portrayed like what? Sex objects? Then Britney Spears in her naughty school girl ensemble complete w/thigh highs didn't happen when she was 15. And Christina A didn't do a song called "Dirty" 1/2 nekked where her entire video consisted of her humping and hunchin' on people. And Jessica Simpson didn't do a video rubbing her tits on a car while washing it...and I'm not even going to mention Paris Hilton and her sex tape and how she shot to further stardom once people saw her bangin some dude on a video. And let's take it further back to Madonna. She sold sex more than she sold music. She had a book called "Sex" for goodness sake that she sold 1 million copies of for $50 a book and it SOLD OUT. I remember because I worked in a bookstore at the time. And that was some nasty kinky stuff in there, folks! Y'all are kidding me. In your effort to be so "us vs. them" some of y'all are really out there or you don't watch tv. Sex sells across the board - no exceptions. It's that way no matter what color a girl is...I have to say bravo to Palmer's parents for sticking to their guns but as someone else said, shame on ya for not having a lawyer help in the negotiations if they didn't.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Jessica Simpson...wasn't a minor, neither was Christina A. And truth be told, the Britney Spears "persona" was driven by her mother and family because they wanted to get away from her "Mickey Mouse club" image. I would debate you on the motivation between Spears and Destiny's Child and which one was more in "control" of their image early on. Remember, Matthew and Tina Knowles were almost bankrupt trying to get Destiny's Child off the ground, a huge issue in their eventual separation. They had zero leverage. Britney was already a commodity in the sense of visibility and notoriety.

Name: queeniebunz

Comment: >MoKelly - I know there's a lot of disagreeing going on here but tell the truth - you like it that we are commenting, don't ya!? ;)

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Amethyst... "The reason negative rap and videos can impact children is that some parents are letting BET, MTV, and Playstation babysit their children instead of spending quality time with them. Also, the crack infestation of the 90's caused many parents to be emotionally and physically absent from their children." __________________ You do know that BET and MTV are extensions of the music industry right? They are visual radio stations. Record companies had to pay them to have their videos aired like they paid to have their records played on the radio. I'm not sure which side of this debate you come out on...but that above statement seems to be more a vote for corporate culpability.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Queenie...sho you right! "he Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse." Ain't NOTHING wrong with disagreement...as there are hundreds who are just reading, listening and lurking...but are better informed either way. You and I have a level of rapport and respect for one another, so it's not personal. But the discussion is of absolute importance.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: Queenie..you are on FIRE today w/the comparisons. Undesrtandably, these images bother us more because they look like us. But, let's not try and act as if yt people are prim and proper. Doing such means that we are buying into the same "yt purity" argument that we often...argue against. No, they do shyt too.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Just FYI...Britney was 18 when her first album, "Baby One More Time" was released. Beyonce was 16.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: I must've missed the beyonce/brittany comparisons. Not sure if I get it.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: To Herbs/Queen/Amethyst... The one key distinction that hasn't been mentioned is BALANCE. There's BALANCE on MTV, but not BET...yet both are owned by Viacom. Conscious complicity. There's BALANCE in terms of the movies in which White folks are depicted, but we're still largely hookers, hos and gangbangers. I love Keishia Knight-Pulliam and am glad she's acting...but did we really need a PRESS RELEASE to announce that she's playing a HOOKER in Tyler Perry's upcoming movie (do a Google search, you'll find it). I'm not saying White folks ish doesn't stink...I'm just saying they have private bathrooms and all too often we're on display in outhouses...

Name: NYCsoul

Comment: queeniebunz> Granted, I'm not a tv watcher per se but I do make it a point to keep abreast at what is going on. The fact of the matter is that whether we like it or not, it is a matter of us or them. They set the rules, not us. Britney, Christina, Paris, Jessica and Madonna are not 'teenyboppers'. I am speaking of the fact that young black girls are always portrayed in this manner because of the general belief that they are 'hot in the crotch'. Read the responses anytime there is a story about R. Kelly and how people on this board defend the fact that these young girls were 'f%*$ %*$'. Whether you want to admit it or not, we have internalized alot of the stereotypes about us and the mainstream America has no problem continually perpertuating them and they use the media and music to do this. When white women/girls are portrayed in a sexy manner, they can redeem themselves (Madonna is a an example of this); black girls/women cannot. It is just more than everything being 'money driven', it also about controlling and manipulating the images about a group of people that have been long disenfranchised this country. I'm taking a Pop culture class and it is fascinating about how images are shaped and controlled and in particular, how Blacks have continually been presented in ways that we do not pay attention. How is that alot of positive rap has gone by the wayside in the last 15 years and has been overtaken by gangsta rap? That is not a mere coincedence.....

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: 'Herbs... We were talking about how Beyonce/Destiny's Child were sexed up as jailbait...underage when they came on the scene. The argument being that Black women have to be sexual objects to sell. Not true for LeAnn Rhimes and she was 14 when she came on the scene. Not true for the Ashley/Mary Kate Olsen either.

Name: NYCsoul

Comment: musd> No one said that yts were prim and proper. That's not the implication that I'm making at all. We know they do the same things as we do. The point I'm trying to make that there is no balance when Black images are displayed about us. With yts, you know there are ALL kinds of people but its not the same with Blacks. The way black women and black men are portrayed in the media is not done by accident. As I stated before, race and sex is what this country was built on and continues to make money for those who have become wealthy from it.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: sexed up as jailbait? I'm not in the industry and since this was over 10 years ago, I may remember absolutely wrong. No wait, I do remember. I got the damn album cover. Maybe my male youth at the time prevented me from seeing them as sexed up. Hell, my old azz still looking at them now like yum. Maybe that's your point.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: 'Herbs...exactly. Do the math.

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: NYC..I agree w/that. The problem is more "in our face" now because of the numbers..which are out of balance. You will NEVER hear me generalize the entire hip-hop industry as being foul. There's room for everything. There was room for Rick James. There was room for Marvin Gaye. There's room for them. But, I believe that WE (the consumer) have to accept responsibility for our role. Most times, we do not. I do not like all hip-hop. But, I accept that when I'm partying at a club, I will "get low" w/whoever the "shorty" is. Catch me at Liv in DC on Saturday after some herbs and libations..'ligion is lost....lol

Name: justafu

Comment: I'll be so dayum glad when this thing called HIP HOP that we black people created is dead & gone so I won't have to keep hearing this crap about how bad it is for our community! From now on please do not CREATE anymore entertainment mediums that will supposedly eventually debase our community worse than the plague!

Name: SweetieDarlin

Comment: Thank you Musb> We do have to take responsibility for what we chose to listen to and there does need to be balance. Actually everyone's posts were very interesting good convo.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: 'Herbs...It's not that you 'get low' you're an adult. It's just that far too many of our children know how to get low before the age of ten. In terms of Marvin Gaye...he had his own balance. He sang "Let's Get it On" but also sang "What's Going On." And when he sang songs like Sexual Healing, it wasn't openly disrespectful to women either...

Name: musbdherbs

Comment: SD...fa sho. Hell I felt guilty for listening to the explicit version of Akon's hit "I wanna love you" or whatever it is. O'kelly..I work w/these kids most weekends. I know how much of a problem it is. That still goes back to parental guidance. I got low when I was a child. But, I had a mother's voice still in the back of my head when I decided to go to far...and I did. Rick James talked about a freak he wouldn't bring home to mama. My grandmother thought/thinks he was the devil reincarnate. My mother, on the other hand, loved him and Millie Jackson's nasty azz too. Point is sex sells...it's just become more popular as time went on and we turned a blind eye because "we" were being entertained at that time.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: You're right 'Herbs...when there is sufficient guidance (which includes protecting young people from adult images) we can "turn our alright." But I think we're all in agreement when we look around and we see babies raising babies and questionable parents raising questionable children that the foundation is just not being laid for them to be responsible adults.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: "turn OUT alright" I meant.

Name: cassie811

Comment: Okay this was just a great, funny article MO. Great point and hopefully Curtis will take a moment to have someone read it to him.

Name: recognizelife

Comment: Excellent job Mo...

Name: kmariag

Comment: Hooked on phonics worked for me! Perhaps it will work for Curtis-"I-sho-am-ignant"-Jackson as well..

Name: Exmun

Comment: Mo' this was your best work yet. All I have to say is "right on" and damn.

Name: MorrisOKelly

Comment: Thank you Exmun... It's curious, because I really DIDN'T want to write about this. I thought for a good day or so and went back and forth. I wasn't sure I could offer something new in terms of my dislike for the business of 50 Cent or how stupid he sounds in the press. But then after a lot of thought, prayer and meditation, I decided to come at it from a "music business" perspective. I don't by any means think this was my "best" or even in the top 10. I actually thought my other pieces on 50 Cent (as referenced at the bottom of the column) were better. But I am pleased that people are reading, responding and really taking a moment to ponder this issue a bit more than what they might have. It's deeper than 50 dissing Alicia...it's a continuation of the pattern of misogyny by hip-hop artists and given that she never even mentioned him; he was out of line and needed to be checked. I understand Alicia can't "go there" with him and she shouldn't...publicly at least. But I can...

Name: Fantastic49

Comment: Sad, but true Mo...thanks for speaking out about it....

Name: Shazza

Comment: I know I'm late to the party but when MTV was showing mostly rock videos-half naked women, etc.-didn't Tipper Gore and the PMRC come to the rescue of their white children? They had hearings and everything on the content of rock music. So the bands chilled out and rap took over with the degrading images. Where's the PMRC now? And it's not only gangster rap that's pushed aside conscious rap, what about this dumb, what I call 'stripper rap' that's taken over? I think I've heard 'Laffy Taffy' much more than I ever heard Lupe Fiasco!

Name: eurwebfan

Comment: kwrob - I believe more poor and middle class whites are realizing that they also have been pimped by wealthy white men. Bush won/stole the second election by distracting people with a moral, ethical, and racial agenda. Three years later, these folks have lost their jobs because their employers moved overseas or merged; lost their houses because the financial hook-up they thought they had was based on shaky shenanigans; lost 4,000+ spouses, siblings and children in a war; and can't drive their SUV's to the fundamental church retreat because gas is over $4.00/gallon. The conservative, moral blinders are falling off and they realize that Blacks, Latinos, and gays are not the cause of their predictaments: wealthy white men are. And they are no more welcome to the club than Blacks, Latinos, and gays. Only the Bushes and Cheneys in this country have succeeded in the past 8 years. That's why some people are willing to consider Obama, who represents a radical change and a fresh persona from the old guard of Bushes and Clintons. Yeah right, Obama ain't even worth a %*$! to us, Obama another NWO Scum just like the bushits and cuntons, Obama wants a NAU to destroy our soverignty, not to mention take away our guns and it's funded this immortal, illegal war over 25 times, more than any other politician combined and he wants more war with pakistan and Iran, that is not a candidate for change, that is more of the same, don't be fooled VOTE RON PAUL and as for 5-0, he's a murderous untalented piece of trashy %*$!, he never care about our people nor anymore but himself and his stupid %*$ crew. Makes me sick that america is %*$!ed up.

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