Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 14:17:52 -0600 (CST)
From: raiseup@swbell.net (OverTiME)
To: raiseup@swbell.net
Subject: Re: Black Culture and Gangsta Rap
Newsgroups: rec.music.hiphop, alt.rap, alt.music.gangsta.rap, soc.culture.african.american, alt.music.soul
Organization: 3rdCoast Magazine. Puttin in Down fo the SOUTH.

In article <6dksik$rap$1@netnews.upenn.edu>, anissel@mail2.sas.upenn.edu
(angela) wrote:

> I have found that there are two types of gangsta rappers in the world.
> Those that *know* that being Black is about way more than gang-banging
> and do it because that's what they think White kids wanna hear (and
> judging by record sales...seems like for the most part, they do)

all g-rap aint about gang-bangin.

Most of the g-rappers i listen to DONT MAKE music fo a white audience.
Its the GETO context that folks relate to.

How can a person born ∓mp; RAi$ED in the GETO make music that they think
white kidz want to hear?

They dont hang around any white people.
Werent RAi$ED around any.

And since you *know*...

whut is being BLACK all about?

And how do YOU *know* and some people dont

???

You are *practicing* whut Lynch instilled hundreds of years ago.
United We Stand Divided We Fall.
SEE the Knowledge.
Its not a secret code.
7X3=3D21
Or is it?

I dont speak in riddles...maybe parables though. ;-)

NOBODY knows becuz Black culture was created from SLAVERY.
Prior to slavery We werent Black people.

We were Zulus, Yoruba, Iwo, Asante, etc.
Just like Europeans were Italian, Portuguese, French, English, etc.

Different cultures with DIFFERENT languages, customs, etc.

> and
> those who are *completely* ignorant and think that *is* Black Life.

That's whut they must teach you at the those white colleges.
Elitism is a divisive tactic.

The 'Ivy' League.

Thats why golf has been exclusively white for so many years.
Tiger Woods is the *FIRST* Black person to EVER play at the Woodlands
Country Club in Houston.
Its been there damn near 100 years.

You think that's be COINCIDENCE?

It cost like $20,000 just to JOIN.
That's a way to EXCLUDE people.
Texas had an all white primary until the '50s.
These same Good Ol' Boyz been here since the days of John Calhoun, Sam
Houston, ∓mp; Steven F. Austin.

You wont hear about that though.
Or bout Bill Pickett the father of modern-day cowboyz wuz a BLACKMAN.
Or that 50-percent of thje cowboys in the old-west were Blackpeople.
The bulk of homesteaders were freed SLAVES.

Why would you say they are *completely* ignorant?
Whut about the people who live in the GETO 4REAL whilst all yall
college-level intellectuals debate this shit?

There are ALOT of Blackfolks who are NOT in college.

This is part of The PROBLEM.
They aint even planning on it becuz they live near the poverty-level.
Children WORK to help pay the family BILLS not to have extra spending
change fo hip-hop records.

Nobody in the GETO worries about who the BEST mc is...
They talkinbout who's shit is hittin' NOW.

So the entire Thought Process is different.

I live in REALITY baby!!
If me ∓mp; you got together in REAL life i wouldnt be talkin a thang
bout hip-hop.
Might have sum playin in the background or in the slab.
;-)

Imma HUSTLA 4REAL.
I just came up on readin ∓mp; writing
when i had sum TiME on my hands to catch my wisdom up to my intellect.

I already got the Body covered.
How many of yall rmhh nerds could do 100 push-ups at one time?
Run a 5-minute mile?
If you aint hatin then this dont apply to you.

That's REALITY and that's whut g-rap is bout.
Not just 'verbal-calastenics' Flash.
The Mind ∓mp; Body are Connected.
You say thangz based on whut yo physical being interacts with.

It is a question of morals.

G-rap is physical ∓mp; emotional becuz it doesnt just reflect hip-hop skills
or corny punchlines it reflects sum people's TRUE FEELINGS.
It is the oral representation of THE STRUGGLE.

> I think of Ice Cube and his "Nation of Islam" metamorphosis. Nobody was
> checking for positive rhymes!

People liked the rhymes...Cube changed his production.
Cube lost the GETO on the 'Wicked' shit wit those long-hairz.
Not too many folks overstood his message.

> He would say in interviews how much he's
> learned about Black history - no one cared. Every kid wants to be a
> gangsta - Pacino, Van Damme.

Naw...people kinda tripped when Cube rebuked the Nation which sorta left
him directionless fo a time period.

That's why i cut fo Master P.
He represents a REAL portion of Black people ∓mp; culture in the South.
Erebody already overstands that its a PARODY.
Try to get the POINT.

> Fortunately for a lot of White kids, at
> least they know about academic White folks, lots of Black kids cling to
> the gangstas cause it makes them cool

Lots of Black kidz cling to the gangstaz kuz its far mo niggaz in the pen
than in college 4REAL and they are their FATHERS.
I keep try'n to tell yall this is whut the Million Man March wuz fo.

Plus college is almost a given fo most middleclass white people.

It is a struggle fo most middleclass Blackfolks to afford.
I personally know plenty of people who caint really afford to goto college
becuz REALITY gets your money spent in otha ways.
And there's far fewer BlackMen than Blackwomen in college.

'I had a hero and it aint Uncle Sam...
Its Big Dave... in Birmingham!!' --Ghetto Mafia

Wants and needz are a mufucka.
Didnt KRS say this?

A college education does make a DIFFERENCE.
College isnt just intellectual is also a SOCIAL/COMMUNAL environment.
Sorta like hip-hop.

> - until they drop out and gotta
> get a job or something.

Again i say i know plenty of Blackfolks where having a JOB is a requirement=
=2E
Blackfolks in the South believe in Production beats Consumption.

> It's not just about breaking the cycle of poverty. It's about breaking
> the cycle of ignorance.

But whut about all the non-ignorant folk who live decent hard-working
lives who under current socio-economic conditions will *NEVER* be able to
get out of the trappingz of the GETO?

You have to REALize the c-o-nspiracy DOES exist.
Its built into the political process becuz the SAME racist whites who
controlled government THEN control it in the living/breathing PRESENT.

> I can tell you songs like "You Must Learn" had a
> great influence on me, so I can imagine what influence G-rap has on some
> kids.

See you dont overstand that the purpose of g-rap is to teach by being able
to RELATE.
The listeners ALREADY overstand the MESSAGE before it wuz delivered.
Its validity ∓mp; re-assurance of your surroundings.

G-rap wont let you forget where you AT.
And can focus where you are GOING based on whut othaz have done befo you.

>I am not saying ban it, but I would just like to see a way to make
> sure these kids are exposed to other aspects of their culture.

G-rap is music directly from the STREET.
It is the REAL underground.
If you let them ban g-rap...they'll be banning all hip-hop next.
You caint let otha folkz set Our precedence.

> angieee (these are just my feelings and thoughts, not saying they are
> law. being of mixed heritage, I have had to spend a lot of time sorting
> out issues of race...)
>
> --More--(98%)
>
> --
> http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~anissel
> "I grab hot dorks!" - Steve Jackson ---> Whut a nerd;-)

Dont take this personal angieee i still love you baby!!

I just gotta speak own it as a REAL BlackMan.
Puttin a lil SOUL it.

Stay UP!!

OverTiME
--Editor, 3rdCoast Magazine
Live ∓mp; Direct from Planet TEXAS

Down South.

Southern Livin'-Shit 2 LIVE by

'...Ya HEARD me Homie!!
FUCK try'n to cater to the dumb-dumbs--They call you niggaz
And niggaz STILL forgettin where they COME FROM'
--Scarface, from the song, 'The GETO'

Please send all Peace, Love, ∓mp; Soul to: raiseup@swbell.net
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Please send all HATE to: graggledeeznutz@babu.edu

4REAL.(tm)

__________

The People We Are
Copyright 1995 Earl Dunovant

We are men.
We have the strengths of men; we have the weaknesses of men.
We have the needs and desires of men --
a way to live, a way to be respected, a way to grow,
a place to retire to when we need rest.

We are women.
We have the strengths of women; we have the weaknesses of women.
We have the needs and desires of women --
a foundation of tradition for our roots,
the space provided by freedom to grow according to our nature and the
light of knowledge to reach the heights We are capable of.

We are the children of Africa, the last tribe. We know no tribe but
Ourselves.
We respond to the rhythms of the heart of Africa.
its pulse is in Our stride, Our speech, Our music.
We have the Power of Our ancestors, but the ways of
Power known to them are no longer known to Us.
We are a wandering tribe.
We search for ways of Power,
We search for the way Home --
a Home we've NEVA seen but will recognize at once.

Older than this country, Our tribe allowed the WORLD to be what it is tod=
ay.
Builders of nations, We were shaped in turn by the nation.
Seeking nothing save that which is Ours by RIGHT of Our efforts and those
of Our ancestors,
We want no more than others. . . yet want it MORE, for We were DENIED for
so long.

The memory of a people is longer than the memory of any man.
And tradition vies with history as a shaping force.
Some still feel they are not entitled to the best;
some still serve another (angrily or happily);
some still feel the lash.

But some SPEAK WISDOM against all odds.
Some warm the Heart of the WORLD with
the beauty inherent in Our Soul.
Some are Builders. Some are teachers.
And some have given their LIVES so that We could have Ours.

Remember. We survived the Middle Passage.
Remember. We grew against all odds.
Remember. The pain of Slavery.
Remember. The sacrifice for freedom.
Remember. The possibilities of Unity.

And go forward.
There is nothing beyond Our reach.
---------------------------------------------
Earl Dunovant
dunovant@worldnet.att.net

And that's how We break bread Down South.
3rdCoast/Dirty South--Whutchutalkinbout???

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