If you don't like rap, are you a racist?

Lestat · Post by **Lestat** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:09 am

[url="http://www.slate.com/id/2141421/"]Interesting article[/url] - PC taken too far , Episode N-hundred and Xty Y

Damuna_Nova · Post by **Damuna_Nova** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:12 am

Well, if you discriminate against age you're ageist (agist), if you discriminate against race you're racist, so by this way of doing things, discriminating against rap must make you a rapist.

:laugh:

Chimaera182 · Post by **Chimaera182** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:01 am

[QUOTE=Damuna_Nova]Well, if you discriminate against age you're ageist (agist), if you discriminate against race you're racist, so by this way of doing things, discriminating against rap must make you a rapist.

:laugh:[/QUOTE]
LMAO

Ugh, I'm so tired of everyone equating every little thing to meaning someone is racist. Some people need to get a life, seriously. I used to like rap and hip hop, but it also fell out of favor with me over time (seriously, look at mainstream rap videos and tell me they don't all look alike: guys with money/gold/platinum/diamonds, women in tight, revealing clothes, bouncing cars, references to weed). Mainstream rap killed what little like i had for rap, although I still like some of it. Does that make me a racist? I'm sure my latino and black friends would say no. Are people who dislike jazz also racist, or salsa, merenga (sp?), latino pop or whatever? It's called bloody taste! Everyone has different taste in music! It doesn't bloody make them racist (I have to use "bloody" because my preferred word of choice won't fly on here).

But I know people who despise rock. Does that make them racist against whites? No, but you won't ever hear that mentioned. It's like people can only be racist if they're white; at least, you'll only make headlines if you're white.

Darzog · Post by **Darzog** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:28 am

I find these arguments pretty numbing. I've had these discussions with friends before and I think the US is WAY too PC.

[QUOTE=Chimaera182]But I know people who despise rock. Does that make them racist against whites? No, but you won't ever hear that mentioned. It's like people can only be racist if they're white; at least, you'll only make headlines if you're white.[/QUOTE]
That's because you aren't racist unless you are white. If you aren't white it isn't racism, it's righteous anger of past oppression (by whites). At least that's the BS a friend of mine tried to explain to me. When I pointed out that I'm 50% Jewish he said that Jews haven't been oppressed like Blacks (I use that term because if you weren't born in Africa you aren't African American just like I'm not German American). What a crock.

Lestat · Post by **Lestat** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:37 am

Well for me it's more like how can someone start to judge your racial preferences on what music you like. As if you should have 12,5 % black artists in your record collection (example given in the article) when living in the states, and if you say that the latest R&B diva's music is horribly trite, makes you a racist...

Chimaera182 · Post by **Chimaera182** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:25 am

[QUOTE=Darzog]That's because you aren't racist unless you are white. If you aren't white it isn't racism, it's righteous anger of past oppression (by whites). At least that's the BS a friend of mine tried to explain to me. When I pointed out that I'm 50% Jewish he said that Jews haven't been oppressed like Blacks (I use that term because if you weren't born in Africa you aren't African American just like I'm not German American). What a crock.[/QUOTE]
No offense, but your friend needs a smack in the head (and I use "blacks" too for the same reason). Maybe he should read up on history and note how Jews have been through a lot more than blacks ever could.

I find such an arguement stupid and proof of one's ignorance. You can look back in your family tree and find evidence of oppression being dealt out to your ancestors; I guarantee it. People have been brutalizing and enslaving other people since time immemorial (there's that damn word again). Let's look at my heritage: I have Irish, Scottish, English, German, and French blood. The French have been ruled over by the Celts and the Romans, and the Romans especially were fond of slaves. The Germans were ruled over by the Celts. The English were subjugated by the Romans, then turned around and subjugated the Scots and Irish. I'm sure that I have a whole ton of ancestors who were slaves. For your friend to say to you that Jews haven't been oppressed like the blacks (which is just stupid for saying that about Jews to begin with) is to trivialize everything they went through by making it appear as though the oppression of the blacks is somehow more important than the suffering of anyone else.

Aztaroth · Post by **Aztaroth** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:30 am

Oh, for crying out loud! What about if you hate Eminem? He's white, yet he's a rapper.

I don't like rap, but that's because in addition to the videos being VERY similar, the music itself is more often than not computer generated or somesuch, meaning there's very little skill or talent involved in making the music... and the actual... "songs" (for lack of a better words) are oh so vdery similar in every single song that if you listen to one you've heard 'em all! Well, that's not true, but look at, for example, 50 Cent. Most of his songs are nigh-identical!

Argh!

DaemonJ · Post by **DaemonJ** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:30 am

I think everyone should be able to:

list to the music they like
wear the clothes they enjoy
watch the movies that interest them

and basically do whatever the heck they want to with whomever they want to regardless of race, religion, or any anything and other people need to stop trying to classify those actions.

Personally I hate rap because there is very little talent present. It isn't very hard to mumble into a microphone while flashing a gang symbol to a bass backbeat.

Greg. · Post by **Greg.** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:31 am

[QUOTE=Lestat]Well for me it's more like how can someone start to judge your racial preferences on what music you like. As if you should have 12,5 % black artists in your record collection (example given in the article) when living in the states, and if you say that the latest R&B diva's music is horribly trite, makes you a racist...[/QUOTE]

Exactly.

How many oriental/arabic/indian(ok, by Indian I mean anyone from the Indian subcontinent) artists are in the charts now? Most of the artists that are, are very much involved in 'black', or 'urban' to use the more politically correct term, music...

Chimaera182 · Post by **Chimaera182** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:38 am

[QUOTE=DaemonJ]I think everyone should be able to:

list to the music they like
wear the clothes they enjoy
watch the movies that interest them

and basically do whatever the heck they want to with whomever they want to regardless of race, religion, or any anything and other people need to stop trying to classify those actions.[/QUOTE]
I do that already. I'm just more enlightened than most, I guess.

Darzog · Post by **Darzog** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:38 am

[QUOTE=Lestat]Well for me it's more like how can someone start to judge your racial preferences on what music you like. As if you should have 12,5 % black artists in your record collection (example given in the article) when living in the states, and if you say that the latest R&B diva's music is horribly trite, makes you a racist...[/QUOTE]
Well, I didn't want to jump right in with this, but since no one has brought it up yet... EDIT: looks like it was brought up a little bit.
What about the % of white/hispanic artists in a Black person's iPod (or general musical taste). If someone only likes rap and R&B are they racist against all non-Blacks? I would say easily half of my Black friends listen to predominantly rap/R&B music. They have a much higher rate of Black artists in their library than represented by population statistics. And we're not even counting Hispanic/Arabic/Asian/European people/music either. This whole theory is a load of trash.

@Chim, he didn't get slapped but he did get verbal abuse from everyone present (I didn't even have to jump in to get my point across). I doubt that he actually believed that, it was more a defensive reaction to defend his position without really thinking about what he was saying. He's not usually that ignorant, but we all have our moments.

Magrus · Post by **Magrus** » Wed May 10, 2006 11:28 am

Meh, I can listen to certain types of Rap and Hip-hop, depending on what mood and company I am in. Most of it I find to be crap though, as it doesn't fit my personal tastes. The whole "racist" issue bothers me though. I happen to like a few bands that does Hardcore-type music, and they have black singers. That doesn't fit into the main, stereotypical viewpoint of rock/metal bands at all.

Ugh, not to mention, realistically...I have more reasons to hate white people than black people given my personal experiences with both "races".

Almost every black/mexican/puerto rican/asian person I have met has been at least civil or nice to me. I cannot say the same for white people.

Moonbiter · Post by **Moonbiter** » Wed May 10, 2006 1:17 pm

Turn the argument around on it's inflated head: Most modern rap music has lyrics that makes a 70's skinhead stomp sound PC. So if you like rap, are you by default a:

*Bigot/racist?

*Misogynist?

*Criminal?

*Drug addict?

*Pervert?

*Violent?

*Unemployed?

*Fashion victim?

*Gun nut?

... then chances are YOU'RE A RAP FAN!

Push that back into the faces of the morons who claim you're a racist, and see them squirm. I hate rap music, bar a few genuine acts. And I'm effing proud of it!:mischief:

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:55 pm

In response to the thread question...

No, it means you have better taste in music than the masses.

Fiona · Post by **Fiona** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:56 pm

An elitist, then? :laugh:

Luis Antonio · Post by **Luis Antonio** » Wed May 10, 2006 3:07 pm

Regarding rap...

Dont get me started.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Wed May 10, 2006 3:08 pm

[QUOTE=Fiona]An elitist, then? :laugh:[/QUOTE]
*nods* Very possibly yes.

No but in all seriousness I do like some of the older rap music... Nas' Illmatic, Biggie's Ready to Die, Run DMC's Raising Hell and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back to name the majority. That stuff I respect because it had attitude, it was catchy, brutally, scathingly honest... It wasn't all about smackin' hos, 37 inch rims and getting ficticously shot. Worst part is, that crap is all they play at clubs and such... I hate it, why the hell can't people dance to Chuck Berry, Otis Redding or even AC/DC anymore?

It pisses me off.

Chimaera182 · Post by **Chimaera182** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:01 pm

I still like some rap, don't get me wrong. But the new stuff, oh god the new stuff. Not that I'm a huge fan of the old school stuff, but I like some stuff, old and new. But the majority of it just sounds stupid and the videos make them look stupid, and it's just infuriating.

I don't know what clubs you go to, but eesh. The clubs I've been to were all--well, all but one--dance music: Madonna remixes, J Lo remixes, everything remixed. :laugh:

Robnark · Post by **Robnark** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:21 pm

of course, the argument raised in the thread title is rather undermined by the fact that rap is hardly some kind of racially-exclusive genre. for example, I can see 4 CDs by different artists on the shelves by me that feature Jewish MCs from Canada.

that is actually true.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:23 pm

[QUOTE=Robnark]of course, the argument raised in the thread title is rather undermined by the fact that rap is hardly some kind of racially-exclusive genre. for example, I can see 4 CDs by different artists on the shelves by me that feature Jewish MCs from Canada.

that is actually true.[/QUOTE]
A Jewish rapper named Matisyahu has recently become a bit of a hit here in the states and lord knows Eminem and the Beastie Boys are very white.