Rappers and Being "Gangsta"

I really am not sure if I can say much else that hasn't already been said. Like Rabbia and Leonard have said before me, even if the rappers and hip hop artists do good things, their image in what they are famous for (music) is much more negative.

However, I think that it isn't required that rappers and hip hop artists have this image. An example of this are so-called "Nerdcore" rappers like mc chris, whose most famous song "Fett's Vette" is shown below.

Rap: The Good and the Bad

I agree with Orwin and Lenny that rappers actively give back to their communities and help improve the lives of inner city youth. For example, MTV followed T.I., one of the most influential rappers from Atlanta, as he completed 1000 hours of community service in their documentary T.I.'s Road To Redemption: 45 Days To Go. T.I. is shown visiting numerous schools and community groups to talk to them about avoiding violence and on avoiding the lure of gang culture.

I am certain that other rappers also give back to their communities and try to serve as role models for today's youth, but the problem is that those efforts are not revealed to or advertised to our youth as often as the "gangsta" image is shown.  Kids are not aware of the average rapper's good side because they rarely see it. All they know is what is shown to them through music videos and revealed to them via lyrics...lyrics like those found in my current favorite rap song, "We Be Steady Mobbin" by Lil Wayne.

 

I like the "I don't give a f***" attitude of the song, and I love the beat. I know Wayne doesn't mean it when he says:

"Man fuck these niggas
I'ma spare everything but these niggas
I flip the gun and gun-butt these niggas
Take the knife off the AK and cut these niggas"

...but an impressionable youngster can't tell whether Lil Wayne is just expressing his anger at some situation or if he really is gonna bust a cap in someone's ass and leave someone's brains on the street uhhhhhh. And don't forget the expletives, racial slurs, and womanizing. This is the stuff (censored) our youth sees on TV or hears on the radio. They don't always see the good side of their favorite rappers. They just see this goon persona rappers have fabricated. If the good deeds were showcased more, kids would know that the topics rappers rap about are just sick fantasies and that it is not normal or right to want to hurt others.

Rap/Hip Hop

I agree with Orwin that rappers can have a very good influence on the people. However, I think that their are multiple ways that they can help the community. While Lil Wayne helped the community through donations other rappers such as Nas can help the community by the message that they sing/rap about. In the following video Nas has a very positive message to the young children.



Nas was always a very influential rapper and in this particular song titled "I know I can" Nas is telling the children that they can be whatever they want to be, but "it takes much practice" he also tells them "no body says you have to be gangstars, read more, learn more, change the globe". This to me is one of the best messages that a rapper can give to his fans.

Southern Hip Hop Effects

Many people like to think hip hop or "rap" has a begative impact on black communities or just cities and their environments period. Me personally think hip hop impact can both both ways depending on the individual that's taking in the information. Yes many can say kids listening to the music about guns, stealing, robbing, amd killing plays an impact on what kids see and think is cool but parents can dictate how their kids act from how the words and action of their favorite rapper or singer. Hip hop isn't only those types of crimes but it has a positive feedback also. Some people that like to judge rappers from their image or where their from.





People should tske time to check what the rappers are doing for their communities and just family as a man because they do just as much as a typical country singer or gospel singer. A great example is rapper Lil' Wayne. She is seen by many as the best thing to happen to the south and some is cherish him. As a role some see him far from ever being one but others say he's a great man. He may have charges against him and has been in trouble with the police but he also has done things for his communities such as donating to New Orleans after the hurricane and helping the fallen and wounded ones. I'm a person to always look at people for their positive traits and what they are trying to do to better themselves. So what kind of impact do you all think hip hop has on the south and it's people?

The new KKK claims to be a new organization saying that they are going to fight for a nobel cause such as sex offenders. However, the view of the Ku Klan embedded in peoples heads will never change. People will never forget the things that the Klan did before the civil war to African Americans, lynching, beating and torturing them. This video is a perfect example of Americans not accepting such a group back into their society. These are all normal people who rallied to stop a Klan march. Most likely the 8 men arrested had no criminal record, but their hatred for the Klan changed this. For these reasons I don't believe anyone would accept the KKK.

Agreeing with the "New KKK"

I think it is interesting to note this change is the attitudes of people in this KKK group compared to the "traditional" beliefs of the Klan. This trend is, I think, in part to the stigmatization of racism in our society. As society has less and less sympathy for racism, extremist religion, and intolerance in general, groups that support those things will become less and less open about supporting them. I don't find this surprising at all considering things like the sterilization of things like the creationist movement into intelligent design and then the "strengths and weaknesses" movement.

As for the KKK believing rallying against things like sex offenders, I don't think that this actually matters. Just because someone believes in one thing you also believe doesn't make you automatically agree on all other points. This works both ways. The classic example of this is that Hilter was a vegetarian. The implied conclusion of this is that all vegetarians condone genocide, even though it is demonstrably false. This is clear to anyone who has ever seen this argument made, and why it is usually only made in jest.

There was one thing that caught my eye in your post not totally related to the topic that I would also like address. You said:

"I think sex offenders should suffer the most brutal punishments imaginable"

I'd only like to remind you of the Eight Amendment:

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,

nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

I am all for punishment and rehabilitation of criminals, but I don't

think being specifically brutal to sex offenders will fix anything.

"KKK" Old and The New

I think their are no differences in the KKK as a whole and it's meaning. Maybe the actions of certain KKK Klan may be different but my feeling toward the Klan will not change, only because of previous actions in the past and the mark they have left on others. I feel the KKK plans in Nahunta is more of positive feedback towards the community and city itself. The KKK has always had a negative vibe and attention towards people because of their actions and beliefs and against peoples religions. I feel just as Rabbia mention that people should be punished from what they have done. Me personally is against sex offenders and illegal immagration. I think the rally will have more supporters than people think just because of the main focus the KKK is concentrating on. Most rallies back in the days was known for either some type of death is about to, someone is about to get hurt, or they are mad about a situation. I'm in no way supportive of the KKK because of it's ways in the past but I do support the purpose of this rally and it's purpose.

The KKK Today

While browsing through the AJC, I came across this article titled "KKK Plans Rally in Nahunta, GA." After reading the headline, my initial reaction was of utter shock and bewilderment. I had no idea the KKK was that active in today's day and age. When I read the article, the following snippet caught my attention:

"City officials say the Klan group says it will focus its rally on illegal immigration and sex offenders."

I can support rallying against illegal immigration and sex offenders--I think sex offenders should suffer the most brutal punishments imaginable. At a KKK rally in Stephenville, TX in 2007, the klansmen seem more level-headed and tolerant:

BUT, I still have some reservations about the KKK rally. It is hard for me to forget the intolerant and violent past of the KKK. The KKK might be more open-minded today, but I can't forget how the KKK lynched and harassed people of color in the past. I don't think my animosity towards the KKK could ever fade away, so I do not support the rally in Nahunta.

For this week's topic, I would like to know how you guys feel about the KKK rally in Nahunta, GA and the "New KKK".

Typical "Black' Southern Chick

I agree with Rabbia. There is alot of stereotyping going around and from people talking about southern clothing to southern voices to even "southern" cars. One example is my brother moved to Richmond, VA from Phenix City, AL and took his car with him. His car is label "southern" because of the designs on the outside of his vehicle. He has Superman designs and he car sticks out from other cars and the police regularly pull him over. His car is perfectly fine in the South but no in the northern states. No matter what we do or act southern people have their own distinct title or ways they act in the eye of the public. From my video clip you will see how southern woman is thought of. The video is showing clips from the movie Scary Movie of the an African American woman named Brenda. I think the movie is stereotyping on how women are in the South. The clips give a thought of southern women being loud and ghetto with long hair(which isn't theirs).
Video

Dilemma of the Southern Drawl

I agree with Lenny that there exists this stereotype that suggests that those with a Southern accent are dimwitted, slow, and unsophisticated. Even the legendary singer Johnny Cash acknowledged this stereotype in his song "Southern Accents," which you can listen to below:



Cash was raised in Dyess, Arkansas, but spent most of his adult life in the southeastern United States. Due to his upbringing and due to the time he spent in the American South, Cash developed a characteristic southern accent. In defense of his accent and the accent of his people, Cash wrote "Southern Accent". The song begins with the following stanza:

"There's a southern accent,
Where I come from.
The young'uns call it country,
The Yankees call it dumb.
I got my own way of talkin',
But everything is done,
With a southern accent,
Where I come from."

Here Johnny Cash reveals how he is aware that people assume he is a country bumpkin or that he is an imbecile due to the slowness of the Southern dialect. Cash also asserts his "I don't give a damn" response to the critiques of his accent. For his lifestyle and his locale, the Southern accent is appropriate, and Cash doesn't care what Yankees or youth may say.

I agree with Johnny Cash's indifferent stance towards the stereotypes. He shows that people should be proud of who they are and how they speak. Southerners shouldn't feel inferior due to their accent.

The southern "hick" stereotype

This is the famous quote from the final scene in the award winning movie Forest Gump. Forest Gump is the story of a ordinary man who did extraordinary things. In this scene Forest is talking to an old lady and man who think he is a rather slow man. When forest tells them that he is the owner of a multimillionaire company they laugh at him and don't believe him. When people judge southerns because of their slow accents do you think this is a stereotype?

In my opinion just because you have a southern accent does not make you dumb. There are many people such as Ted Turner and Jimmy carter who have southern accents but are very successful. What do you all think?

The BBQ Song

This is a song about the regional differences of barbecue in the South. This includes differences in the type of meat used, differences in the sauce base used, and differences in the flavor of the sauces used. I enjoy almost all kinds of barbecue, no matter where I go.

As for the sentiment at the end, I think that both definitions can be used, as barbecues (the event) tend to serve barbecue (the dish).

Fried Food in the South

I was reading this article about the history of fried foods and the author brought up a very interesting point, that almost every culture has its own type of fried food whether it be the English's Fish and Chips or fired oriental foods. This statement got me thinking about how some of the problems Americans have with obesity as a result of eating unhealthy foods isn't as prevalent in other places. The reason I settled on was that fried food is made so widely available and cheap. The south has always had problems with poverty, so fried fast food has been the primary choice of many southerners because it is cheap. To an extent fried food provides the poor working class with the energy it needs because of the ridiculous amount of carbs one serving provides. The problem is that people have overdone the consumption of this food and thus have begun to consume much more carbs than they could have ever needed, and thus they have become much, much larger. The thing is that the South has traditionally had oily, fried foods so why should obesity be getting bad now? The main reason is technology has made it so much easier to be lethargic. People just don't get the exercise that they need counteract what they eat. In general, life has become too easy to watch pass by.

Southern Rates and "Problems"

I think southern food has it pros and cons but after all is said the negatives do out number the positives. I agree that the food are mostly bad and that obesity is becoming a nation wide problem by the year. The South is more likely to have health issues such as diabetes, hypertension(high blood pressure), and strokes. 4 states, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina are in the top ten for states with the most overweight people. To add to the problem the south is in the race for top homeless people. Homeless people aren't able to get to health foods so they tend to eat whatever is available, which is mostly fried foods or gressy foods. Places such as McDonalds and Burger aren't helping with the dollar menus which is so cheap no-a-days that it doesn't take much for a person to order a cheap Double Cheese Burger which is nearly 500 calories itself and Burger's burger at 770. The calories are getting ridiculous these days like Rabbia said.

Orwin Smith

Southern Food and the Obesity Epidemic

I agree with Lenny that while Southern food is delicious, it is notoriously unhealthy. For example, you can devour a cornbread muffin in as little as three bites, but those three scrumptious bites can cost you upwards of 180 calories. How about a side of mac and cheese? That's another 330 calories, 108 of which are from fat. Some good, down home pork ribs carry a whopping 477 calories and 60% of a person's daily cholesterol intake. The math speaks for itself--Southern comfort food is inherently unhealthy and fattening.

Years of consuming traditional Southern fare, that too in extraordinary quantities, has earned Southern states the title of the fattest states in the Union. The video below is a compilation of maps authored by the Centers for Disease Control. The video shows how the rate of obesity in America, particularly the South, has increased over time.



Clearly, there is something peculiar about the Southern lifestyle that is causing our obesity rates to be so much higher than the norm. Personally, I attribute this oddity to our food choices, our portion sizes, and our sedentary lifestyle.

Southern "healthy" food

Southern food is good for the soul. It brings families together within the South. Each family has it's own way of creating the meals. Unfortunately, Southern food does not have the same effect on the body that it has on the soul. Often Southern foods are fried and artery clogging. A well known favorite is "Southern Fried Chicken." Fried foods are such a large part of Southern food that children are raised on it from an early age. The food is so high in caloric content and fat that

The food is well known for its amazing taste. However, it has a major draw back, it's very unhealthy. The south is the most obese area in the United States. The problem with all of the southern food is that 90% of things are fried. The song above shows the very stereotypical view of southern food "southern fried chicken". What do you think of the Southern food?