Thursday, May 03, 2007
What Does It Take? (Pt. 2)
Peace and blessings,
It appears that as a result of theChristian Defense Coalition putting pressure on civil rights leaders, and the controversy that has surrounded hip-hop lyrics in the midst of the Imus incident, folks are taking action. On the music side, Russell Simmons is now urging companies to censor some of the artists' lyrics, a bold move given the issue of free speech and expression that characterizes all forms of music and all artistic expression. On the business side, Rev. Al Sharpton plans on purchasing stock in Time Warner and Universal Music Group, so that he can attend the board meetings and advocate for the censorship of offensive and degrading lyrics.
Although these moves are a long time coming, I am glad that serious, concrete steps are being taken in the right direction. While we may applaud these steps, however, we must be careful as to not become complacent such that we think that by these and similar moves, the problem will be "solved." When I look at this issue in its entirety, I see a three-pronged problem that requires and three-pronged solution. Two of the three aspects appear to be addressed in the above examples. Russell and Sharpton's moves address both the artist (via personal responsibility) and corporate (business) aspects of the problem and solution. What area these moves do not appear to address (at least explicitly), is the issue of women (and young girls') choices to be participate in these videos, recite the very lyrics that degrade them, and purchase the music. A while ago I was told that the majority of consumers of mainstream hip hop are white people and women. When I thought about it, that made sense. I know from personal experience as a hip-hop fan that if I wanted an album, I could find it somewhere (bootleggers, internet) for free and probably before the official release date. For real hip-hop heads, there really was not a need to purchase an album unless you really wanted to support them, because you could find it for free (this was until they started cracking down on bootleggers and illegal file sharing). Before moving on, let me clarify that I am not supporting bootlegging or illegal file sharing, but I am simply talking about what I used to do in the past when I really wanted an album.
Ok, back to the topic at hand. The point I am trying to make is that unless we (males, females, old, young, as a community) address the factors that influence womens' choices to participate in these videos and allow themselves to be degraded in these videos, then our efforts to limit arists' offensive lyrics will only be partially implemented and successful. I'm not saying that women shouldn't be in any videos, because there are videos that present women in a respectable, "degrading-free" light. What I am saying, however, is that we cannot only address the corporate heads and artists without addressing, supporting, respecting, and caring our women as well. Moreover, it is difficulty for women who oppose these offensive and degrading lyrics to state a legitimate claim when their fellow sistas are willfully participating in the very videos the women are trying to denounce. A problem affecting the whole community requires a community-wide solution. Plain and simple.
"Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." (Luke 11:17, NKJ AMP)
Now is the time for all of us to address this issue at many different levels. Not to point fingers, but to form a fist and knock out this problem once and for all. Check out thiswebsite clearinghouse for grassroots efforts to combat misogyny in music for more information and to get involved.
It appears that as a result of the
Although these moves are a long time coming, I am glad that serious, concrete steps are being taken in the right direction. While we may applaud these steps, however, we must be careful as to not become complacent such that we think that by these and similar moves, the problem will be "solved." When I look at this issue in its entirety, I see a three-pronged problem that requires and three-pronged solution. Two of the three aspects appear to be addressed in the above examples. Russell and Sharpton's moves address both the artist (via personal responsibility) and corporate (business) aspects of the problem and solution. What area these moves do not appear to address (at least explicitly), is the issue of women (and young girls') choices to be participate in these videos, recite the very lyrics that degrade them, and purchase the music. A while ago I was told that the majority of consumers of mainstream hip hop are white people and women. When I thought about it, that made sense. I know from personal experience as a hip-hop fan that if I wanted an album, I could find it somewhere (bootleggers, internet) for free and probably before the official release date. For real hip-hop heads, there really was not a need to purchase an album unless you really wanted to support them, because you could find it for free (this was until they started cracking down on bootleggers and illegal file sharing). Before moving on, let me clarify that I am not supporting bootlegging or illegal file sharing, but I am simply talking about what I used to do in the past when I really wanted an album.
Ok, back to the topic at hand. The point I am trying to make is that unless we (males, females, old, young, as a community) address the factors that influence womens' choices to participate in these videos and allow themselves to be degraded in these videos, then our efforts to limit arists' offensive lyrics will only be partially implemented and successful. I'm not saying that women shouldn't be in any videos, because there are videos that present women in a respectable, "degrading-free" light. What I am saying, however, is that we cannot only address the corporate heads and artists without addressing, supporting, respecting, and caring our women as well. Moreover, it is difficulty for women who oppose these offensive and degrading lyrics to state a legitimate claim when their fellow sistas are willfully participating in the very videos the women are trying to denounce. A problem affecting the whole community requires a community-wide solution. Plain and simple.
"Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." (Luke 11:17, NKJ AMP)
Now is the time for all of us to address this issue at many different levels. Not to point fingers, but to form a fist and knock out this problem once and for all. Check out this
Labels: artist, choices, controversy, degrading lyrics, Don Imus, hip-hop, Luke, mainstream, media, videos, women
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Access (not) Granted Pt. 2
Peace and blessings,
I last left off with the lessons learned and the implications from the seminar I attended on hip-hop and Christianity. Before I move on, I want to emphaisze that the focus of the seminar was to discuss 1) How we as Christians can become more aware of and use hip-hop culture to expose our youth ( I say "our" to indicate that we must take back our youth!) to Christ. The summer of my sophomore year, a friend of mine introduced me to many Christian hip-hop artists, among them being Cross Movement, KJ-52, Sev-Statik, and Grits. From then, I was hooked. They provided me with a springboard into another dimension of hip-hop music and culture that I was previously closed off from. In the past, when I would hear of the term "Christian rapper," I would automatically assume that their lyrical content and skill would be lacking in relation to the secular artists who I listened to. And although, like with anything there are people who are more talented than others, I have found that from the Christian artists that I constantly keep in rotation (most of which are included on the "hip-hop" section of the website), having a relationship with Christ does not stifle artistic expression, creativity, or breadth (the ability to address mutliple issues and experiences). On the contrary, a relationship with Christ stimulates and enhances these things! And as I reflect on this notion it makes perfect sense. Since God is the creator of all this good, of which gifts. talents, and skills are included, it makes sense these things would be exponentially improved if they are used in a way that gives credit and glory to God, the source and creator of these gifts, talents, and skills. Which brings me to my last point...
As I have become more engulfed in Christian hip-hop, and learning more and more how within the broader hip-hop culture, God is raising up biblically-sound, Christ-filled, and lyrically gifted MCs who are out to reach the youth and the lost, the resistance to this movement is become more and more evident as well. In my opinion, the lack of visibility and access many Christain MCs have faced and are currently facing can be illustrated by the following hypothetical situation. Imagine a child who, for whatever reason, is intentionally starved. Once the child is to the point where he or she is really hungry, they are only given bad-tasting food. Now, the fact that they eat this food demonstartes that they were hungry, but simply eating the food in no way suggests that the food itself was good to them or for them. However, because the child was starving and that was the only food available to them, they got their grub on for real. Further, and more devastating, is that because we often form perceptions of others and their behaviors based on a superficial analysis of that person, the child's eating of the food is perceived as meaning that 1) the child likes the food and 2) the food must be good. It's the same with the current hip-hop scene. Many youth and people who are going through difficult times or do not have a relationship with God are looking for some kind of guidance or "blueprint" for how to navigate life. In other words, they are hungry, to the point where they may be starving. To these individuals (as it was to me during early adolescence), mainstream hip-hop (e.g. the same 8 songs that get played on every major radio station, each with catchy, hypnotic hooks and touch on the similar themes of sex, violence, crime, and materialism) becomes their bad-tasting food. Because this appears to be the only food gaining mainstream visibility, they are quick to consume and eat because they are not aware of a quality, healthy alternative. Therefore, although listeners may call in to these stations and request these songs, I argue that they are not FREELY choosing to hear these songs in a way that attests to the song's quality. To freely choose something, one must also have a somewhat comparable alternative to validate one's choice. For instance, In order for a child to choose to do their homework, he or she must weigh that choice against a comparable alternative, such as not doing their homework and hanging with friends. Until these major radio stations and other media outlets present the public with comparable alternatives, the public will never have a FREE choice when it comes to which music they want represented in the mainstream. And we all know that the opposite of freedom is slavery, but let's not get into that right now, lol. Now i'm not saying that hip-hop should not address issues of sex, crime, violence, drugs, or whatever. These are all aspects of people's life experiences, so i think they should be addressed within hip-hop culture. However, my beef is not with WHAT is being addressed, but HOW it is being addressed. For instance, many mainstream hip-hop artists address these issues and the negative affects they have on people, but fail to mention how people can overcome these and other vices. Further, the argument that artists are ONLY speaking their reality and would have more positive, uplifting lyrics if that was their experience does not hold hold weight for two reasons. One, I know that many if not all of these artists are aware of God, and know of his power. As Shabach, one of my favorite Christian MC's puts it:
"I pray for secular rappers with dope music/who have that Godly intuition but they don't use it!"
-From the song "Speak to me" off of the album, "From Sin to Shabach: The Rebirth"(album info in the "hip-hop" section)
Second, because of hip-hop's influence, artists must realize that millions and millions of people look up to them from throughout the world, and thus they are obligated to steer the youth and others they influence in a more positive direction. As I conclude, I would like to ask those who read this to pray that God continues to add more avenues for Christian hip-hop to gain access to the masses. Although I'm a humble dude, I am overly confident, actually 150% certain that if the youth and the lost were aware of positive, quality Christian hip-hop and were thus able to choose between the bad-tasting food and the food that helps us (by directing us towards a relationship with Christ) transform our earthly lives and solidifies our spiritual lives, I know they will choose the latter. This is an issue that I felt God has laid on my heart for a while, and thus I will continue to address this issue in the future. I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts on this, so please speekonit...
I last left off with the lessons learned and the implications from the seminar I attended on hip-hop and Christianity. Before I move on, I want to emphaisze that the focus of the seminar was to discuss 1) How we as Christians can become more aware of and use hip-hop culture to expose our youth ( I say "our" to indicate that we must take back our youth!) to Christ. The summer of my sophomore year, a friend of mine introduced me to many Christian hip-hop artists, among them being Cross Movement, KJ-52, Sev-Statik, and Grits. From then, I was hooked. They provided me with a springboard into another dimension of hip-hop music and culture that I was previously closed off from. In the past, when I would hear of the term "Christian rapper," I would automatically assume that their lyrical content and skill would be lacking in relation to the secular artists who I listened to. And although, like with anything there are people who are more talented than others, I have found that from the Christian artists that I constantly keep in rotation (most of which are included on the "hip-hop" section of the website), having a relationship with Christ does not stifle artistic expression, creativity, or breadth (the ability to address mutliple issues and experiences). On the contrary, a relationship with Christ stimulates and enhances these things! And as I reflect on this notion it makes perfect sense. Since God is the creator of all this good, of which gifts. talents, and skills are included, it makes sense these things would be exponentially improved if they are used in a way that gives credit and glory to God, the source and creator of these gifts, talents, and skills. Which brings me to my last point...
As I have become more engulfed in Christian hip-hop, and learning more and more how within the broader hip-hop culture, God is raising up biblically-sound, Christ-filled, and lyrically gifted MCs who are out to reach the youth and the lost, the resistance to this movement is become more and more evident as well. In my opinion, the lack of visibility and access many Christain MCs have faced and are currently facing can be illustrated by the following hypothetical situation. Imagine a child who, for whatever reason, is intentionally starved. Once the child is to the point where he or she is really hungry, they are only given bad-tasting food. Now, the fact that they eat this food demonstartes that they were hungry, but simply eating the food in no way suggests that the food itself was good to them or for them. However, because the child was starving and that was the only food available to them, they got their grub on for real. Further, and more devastating, is that because we often form perceptions of others and their behaviors based on a superficial analysis of that person, the child's eating of the food is perceived as meaning that 1) the child likes the food and 2) the food must be good. It's the same with the current hip-hop scene. Many youth and people who are going through difficult times or do not have a relationship with God are looking for some kind of guidance or "blueprint" for how to navigate life. In other words, they are hungry, to the point where they may be starving. To these individuals (as it was to me during early adolescence), mainstream hip-hop (e.g. the same 8 songs that get played on every major radio station, each with catchy, hypnotic hooks and touch on the similar themes of sex, violence, crime, and materialism) becomes their bad-tasting food. Because this appears to be the only food gaining mainstream visibility, they are quick to consume and eat because they are not aware of a quality, healthy alternative. Therefore, although listeners may call in to these stations and request these songs, I argue that they are not FREELY choosing to hear these songs in a way that attests to the song's quality. To freely choose something, one must also have a somewhat comparable alternative to validate one's choice. For instance, In order for a child to choose to do their homework, he or she must weigh that choice against a comparable alternative, such as not doing their homework and hanging with friends. Until these major radio stations and other media outlets present the public with comparable alternatives, the public will never have a FREE choice when it comes to which music they want represented in the mainstream. And we all know that the opposite of freedom is slavery, but let's not get into that right now, lol. Now i'm not saying that hip-hop should not address issues of sex, crime, violence, drugs, or whatever. These are all aspects of people's life experiences, so i think they should be addressed within hip-hop culture. However, my beef is not with WHAT is being addressed, but HOW it is being addressed. For instance, many mainstream hip-hop artists address these issues and the negative affects they have on people, but fail to mention how people can overcome these and other vices. Further, the argument that artists are ONLY speaking their reality and would have more positive, uplifting lyrics if that was their experience does not hold hold weight for two reasons. One, I know that many if not all of these artists are aware of God, and know of his power. As Shabach, one of my favorite Christian MC's puts it:
"I pray for secular rappers with dope music/who have that Godly intuition but they don't use it!"
-From the song "Speak to me" off of the album, "From Sin to Shabach: The Rebirth"(album info in the "hip-hop" section)
Second, because of hip-hop's influence, artists must realize that millions and millions of people look up to them from throughout the world, and thus they are obligated to steer the youth and others they influence in a more positive direction. As I conclude, I would like to ask those who read this to pray that God continues to add more avenues for Christian hip-hop to gain access to the masses. Although I'm a humble dude, I am overly confident, actually 150% certain that if the youth and the lost were aware of positive, quality Christian hip-hop and were thus able to choose between the bad-tasting food and the food that helps us (by directing us towards a relationship with Christ) transform our earthly lives and solidifies our spiritual lives, I know they will choose the latter. This is an issue that I felt God has laid on my heart for a while, and thus I will continue to address this issue in the future. I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts on this, so please speekonit...
Labels: access, artist, choices, Christian hip hop, degrading lyrics, God, hip-hop, influence, lyrics, media, Shabach, visibility, youth
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Everyone playing their part?
Peace and blessings,
First off, I must apologize for the long hiatus, but this past month has been hectic with graduations and moving and all. But as always, I'm back like I left something. The focus of today's entry is something that has been on my mind for a little over a month during a course I was taking. In one of the required readings, Michael Resnick (1996) argues that people tend to view things from a centralized mindset, namely that massive or large-scale events/phenomena are caused by a "central" source. Common examples of this type of thinking include the belief that the productivity of hundreds of worker ants and bees is the result of their respective queens. He further contends that this way of thinking is misguided, because these and other phenomena are not the result of a central source, but of the combined choices and actions of individual agents. To illustrate this idea, Resnick (1996) and colleagues developed a computer program called StarLogo, which allows people to experience various ways in which individual agents work to create unintended phenomena. For example, high school students were able to alter the rules of different StarLogo environments (e.g. cars in traffic, turtles moving in particular directions, and termites picking up wood chips) and see how a series of individual actions can create massive results. To the students' surprise, they found that without a "central" cause, cars eventually formed a traffic jam, the turtles still organized in clusters, and termites still stacked wood chips in a pile. Although these activities may not seem that important, it is the idea behind these activities that we must consider: Individual choices and actions are important, and collectively they are powerful.
Once this idea was made clear to me, I started to think about a movie I recently saw, V for Vendetta. In a nutshell, the movie was about a man who sought to achieve justice on behalf of all the people who lost their lives in the past and are currently being deceived, due to the lives and cover ups of a corrupt government. Sounds familiar? Examples of such lies and cover-ups addressed in the movie include immoral medical experiments resulting in the deaths of many people, and government-fueled ideologies that elicit fear and compliance. Again, sound familiar? I don't know about you, but the syphilis experiments in Tuskegee and the "war on terror" comes to mind for me. Although the movie included good action scenes and the main character was very fascinating, the most significant scenes in the movie came not from the main character, but from the actions of the "community." by 'community" I am referring to the everyday citizens who realized they were being deceived and collectively did something about it non-violently. After discovering "the truth" about their government, huge multitudes of people marched to a central location (for the specific reason of the march and location, go peep the movie) and the government powers nor law enforcement could stop the because it too many people on one accord for a righteous cause. The most memorable line in the movie for me was the statement: "the people should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of its people." While most of us would agree with the first part, we rarely focus on the second part. Governments should "govern" its citizens in a way that reflects not so much fear in terms of being scared of its citizens, but fear in the sense that the government respects its citizens enough to the point where it is afraid to deceive and disappoint them. There's all this propaganda and focus on how much love citizens don't have, have, or should have for their country (i.e. patriotism), but I pray that the hearts and minds of all governmental officials are oriented towards showing love, devotion, and allegiance to its citizens.
In sum, I wanted to draw-out a connection I made between the StarLogo program and "V for Vendetta." Although the former is a computer program and the latter a major motion picture, the common thread is that they both demonstrate the power of individual choices and actions. Further, they show how agents can create massive change by each playing their role in collective action. It doesn't happen often, but it puts a smile on my face when education and popular culture converge for a cause worth considering.
Source: Resnick, M. (1996). Beyond the centralized mindset. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 5(1), 1-22
First off, I must apologize for the long hiatus, but this past month has been hectic with graduations and moving and all. But as always, I'm back like I left something. The focus of today's entry is something that has been on my mind for a little over a month during a course I was taking. In one of the required readings, Michael Resnick (1996) argues that people tend to view things from a centralized mindset, namely that massive or large-scale events/phenomena are caused by a "central" source. Common examples of this type of thinking include the belief that the productivity of hundreds of worker ants and bees is the result of their respective queens. He further contends that this way of thinking is misguided, because these and other phenomena are not the result of a central source, but of the combined choices and actions of individual agents. To illustrate this idea, Resnick (1996) and colleagues developed a computer program called StarLogo, which allows people to experience various ways in which individual agents work to create unintended phenomena. For example, high school students were able to alter the rules of different StarLogo environments (e.g. cars in traffic, turtles moving in particular directions, and termites picking up wood chips) and see how a series of individual actions can create massive results. To the students' surprise, they found that without a "central" cause, cars eventually formed a traffic jam, the turtles still organized in clusters, and termites still stacked wood chips in a pile. Although these activities may not seem that important, it is the idea behind these activities that we must consider: Individual choices and actions are important, and collectively they are powerful.
Once this idea was made clear to me, I started to think about a movie I recently saw, V for Vendetta. In a nutshell, the movie was about a man who sought to achieve justice on behalf of all the people who lost their lives in the past and are currently being deceived, due to the lives and cover ups of a corrupt government. Sounds familiar? Examples of such lies and cover-ups addressed in the movie include immoral medical experiments resulting in the deaths of many people, and government-fueled ideologies that elicit fear and compliance. Again, sound familiar? I don't know about you, but the syphilis experiments in Tuskegee and the "war on terror" comes to mind for me. Although the movie included good action scenes and the main character was very fascinating, the most significant scenes in the movie came not from the main character, but from the actions of the "community." by 'community" I am referring to the everyday citizens who realized they were being deceived and collectively did something about it non-violently. After discovering "the truth" about their government, huge multitudes of people marched to a central location (for the specific reason of the march and location, go peep the movie) and the government powers nor law enforcement could stop the because it too many people on one accord for a righteous cause. The most memorable line in the movie for me was the statement: "the people should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of its people." While most of us would agree with the first part, we rarely focus on the second part. Governments should "govern" its citizens in a way that reflects not so much fear in terms of being scared of its citizens, but fear in the sense that the government respects its citizens enough to the point where it is afraid to deceive and disappoint them. There's all this propaganda and focus on how much love citizens don't have, have, or should have for their country (i.e. patriotism), but I pray that the hearts and minds of all governmental officials are oriented towards showing love, devotion, and allegiance to its citizens.
In sum, I wanted to draw-out a connection I made between the StarLogo program and "V for Vendetta." Although the former is a computer program and the latter a major motion picture, the common thread is that they both demonstrate the power of individual choices and actions. Further, they show how agents can create massive change by each playing their role in collective action. It doesn't happen often, but it puts a smile on my face when education and popular culture converge for a cause worth considering.
Source: Resnick, M. (1996). Beyond the centralized mindset. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 5(1), 1-22
Labels: action, choices, community, government, movie, people, revolutionary, truth, unity, V for Vendetta
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