Thug Life Army

Bourgeois Negros vs Hip-Hop (AKA) "What the F**k Happened to Black Popular Music?" By Paradise Gray of X-Clan

Like a retired old basketball player coming out to criticize the latest crop of NBA players, another elitist bourgeois old ass jazz musician Mr. Kenny Drew, Jr. attacks Hip-Hop, this @#%$ is getting old.

This kind of ranting is so common that I have to this date ignored picking them apart as they offer no mental challenge nor intellectual competition or worthy debate. However I''m on a long car trip and I''m bored so I''ll have some fun and set this up like a court case so that I can get Hip-Hop some JUSTICE: (please copy and paste this on forums whenever this issue comes up again, and it will). - Paradise 2006

Case: Bourgeois Negros -vs- Hip-Hop (AKA) "What the F**k Happened to Black Popular Music?"

Prosecutor: Kenny Drew, Jr.

Plaintiff: Bourgeois Negros

Defendant: Hip-Hop

Defense Attorney: Claude Paradise Gray

(Closing Arguments):

*Prosecution: Mr. Kenny Drew, Jr.

What the F**k Happened to Black Popular Music?

*Defense: Mr. Claude Paradise Gray

The same thing that happened to Black People. It was stolen, en-slaved, co-opted, integrated and brainwashed!

Prosecution:

"You may wonder why I''m talking about popular music in this first installment, since I am generally thought of as a "jazz" musician".

Defense:

No wonder at all! You wanted attention and you knew there was no controversy in discussing "Jazz" in 2006, so you are doing what everyone else does. Play the Hip-hop card. But there will be no easy win on this day as I am going to prove to you the ladies and gentlemen of the jury today, that my client "Hip-hop" is innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt. And yes today there will be the use of the infamous "N" word "NOT GUILTY"!

Okay, first off wasn''t Jazz like stolen off of our elders by guys like Kenny G and Yanni?

It would seem to me that you would have a more important fight on your hands than attacking your children's music. Didn''t your parents hate your music? It's time for yall to grow the hell up already. Is this the best generation for White music? There are no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith's or Elvis's running around right now either. And the same lyrical content that is popular in Hip-hop is present in all of today's young music regardless of race. Heavy Metal, Dance Hall reggae, Reggaeton you name it, if it's young and American, it is laden with drugs, money and sex. It's not even limited to music, it's in Movies and T.V. Have you seen today's video games? Try comparing the Grand Theft Auto Series to Pac-Man, Pong or The Mario Brothers games!

While true that the current image that is the industry favorite marketing scheme is a the menacing face of a athletically built young Blackman, did Hip-hop create this image or is it the same warmed over image passed down from your generation that started this fire? You do remember Shaft, Super-fly, Sweet Daddies Badass, Foxy Brown? The image that you describe could easily have been a Truck Turner poster could it not? The whole Pimp, Player, Hustler image is a throwback to the to black exploitation era and yes my brothers and sisters if you hadn''t noticed, we are still being exploited in 2006. Did you even see the movie that you are criticizing? "Get Rich Or Die Trying" by 50 Cent? In the movie 50's character respected women, was very sensitive, a good caring father and showed an incredible amount of restraint even after being confronted with the death of his mother, and almost being killed himself, flipping the script by successfully trading drug dealing for music (as he has done in real life) 50 is to be commended for portraying such a strong Blackman in today's sell-out market.

Prosecution:

"And if 50 Cent was really shot nine times, why couldn''t one of those bullets have hit a vital organ?"

Defense:

Why are you calling for this man's blood, does he really deserve to be dead, what crime did he commit against you?

It seems that the streets also have a problem with 50 now, unbelievably he is "NOT" gangster enough for them, it takes real blood baths and massive jail sentences to maintain street credibility now. I''ve heard that some major labels encourage criminal activity and use every opportunity to use this as marketing and promotion. Urban magazines such as The Source and XXL (both white owned) have seen jail issues become best sellers.

Why do so many older cats act like they are so disconnected from Hip-hop?

Could it be because they ran off on the black community so long ago that they don''t even recognize their own children? They can''t understand the lyrics, they can''t feel the rythmic vibrations of the drums, they hate the way we dress, our cadence, our rebellious nature, they act as if they hate everything about Hip-hop. Could it be because Hip-hop is the sound of abandonment, the sound of pain, a call for help, a ghetto 911. Other signs of our demise are: Crack, Gangs, Murder, Joblessness, no health care, homelessness, no proper education and being poor in general. Life is not imitating the ways of Hip-hop, rap music is catering to the vampire like blood thirsty lust of America. It allows young white males from the ages of 13 24 to live the inner city experience vicariously. Rap music has sold 75f it's CD's in the past 10 years to this coveted demographic.

Prosecution:

"How the hell did we get from "Just to be Close to You Girl" to "Back That Ass Up Bitch"? How the hell did we get from "What's Goin'' On" and "You Haven''t Done Nothin'' " to "Me So Horny" and "My Hump"?"

Defense: I Object!

This is an attempt to sterilize your musical culture while condemning ours, as if there were no drug use among some of the most prominent Jazz and Rhythm & Blues artists such as Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Billie Holiday just to name a few. How about lyrical content? How about Blowfly? Millie Jackson? Be fair, don''t compare apples & oranges. Let's talk about comparing all the way back to Clarence Carters - Strokin''? How about "I Got Ya" By Joe Tex? Rick James signing about Mary Jane (WEED), Elton John's Lucy In the Sky With Diamond (LSD). Billy Paul's "Me And Mrs. Jones", he was Jones''ing for some Heroin. And don''t tell me that Johnny Guitar Watson wasn''t Pimping on his album covers. How about the Isley Brothers? The Ohio "Players". C''mon the word "Jazz" itself means to "@#%$" how much of a hypocrisy is this?

Doe's Hip-hop have any positive values, doe's it have no artists who are alternatives to the corporate cookie cutter sound and marketing? Of course it does. Who can forget the uplifting messages of peace, hope and spirituality in the lyrics of Africa Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Force, KRS-1 or the Poor Righteous Teachers. Or the social consciousness and protest messages in the lyrics of X-Clan, Public Enemy, The Coup, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Paris, Common, Rakim, Dead Pres, Kanye West. If the only reference of knowledge that you have of Hip-hop is given to you by corporate America i.e.: Commercial Radio, BET, MTV, then you get what you ask for! I''ll bet that you dug deep to acquire your knowledge of Jazz and R&B and are quite "THE MAN" at parties because of this fact. Why did Hip-hop not rate the same treatment?

We can even get a lil'' eclectic: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, PM Dawn, The Jungle Brothers, Kwame'', Kool Kieth, The Boo Yaa Tribe.

Prosecution:

"Since only one element of music is present in most of this crap it doesn''t even justify being called music."

Defense:

You insult a generation of young wonderful people when you insinuate that J DILLA did not create music or that the music he created was one dimensional. How about "The Roots"? How about the Philly Sounds pioneered by D.J. Jazzy Jeff? Isn''t he Hip-hop enough for you? Ever hear Premier's (Gangstar) sound? Teddy Riley = Hip-hop. Can''t you appreciate the multi-layered compositions of Public Enemy's "Bomb Squad". Kanye West is Hip-hop, Lupe Fiasco is Hip-hop, The Force MD's are Hip-hop and I''ll put some LL Cool J up against a R&B love song or two anytime.

While I can sympathize with your frustration as an artist, I can''t empathize. Let's get back to picking apart your ill-thought tirade.

Prosecution:

"So what's the solution here? Damned if I know!"

Defense:

I knew you were going to say that! People like you never have any SOLUTIONS! The worst part of this is that it's not really rocket science.

Here are a few solutions. (WARNING ACTUAL SOLUTIONS FOLLOW). This may cause irritation in some individuals:

Start a youth music learning program, similar to the African American Music Institute in Pittsburgh. (Or send them a check).

Use your expertise to work with young Hip-hop producers on musicianship.

Encourage as many old school and current Jazz artists as possible to reach out and mentor young people, collaborate with them.

Instead of "killing the messengers" who talk about the squalid conditions of the inner city hoods let's actually do something about the conditions.

Instead of mad flaming rants dis-respecting artists that we don''t like, identify good artists with positive music and promote them.

Prosecution:

"I find it offensive that any record company would try to make a profit from glorifying something that has decimated the black community the way that crack has".

Defense:

So do I. What are you gonna do about it? You make no suggestions about the problem being the multi-media corporations themselves. They are the ones in control and they have the power to make the changes if they are forced to.

You wanna boycott? Boycott the corporations that sponsor negative images of our people.

We are so quick to jump on our own people, think BIG.

Boycott Record Companies themselves not the individual artists.

Boycott BET, MTV, TV studios, Movie Studios, radio stations and their sponsors. You wouldn''t even have to start one, you could join the Universal Zulu Nation's Boycott.

My last suggestion to you Mr. Kenny Drew, Jr. is for you to please SHUT THE @#%$ UP!

It's better to let someone assume that you are an idiot, than to open your big mouth and confirm it.

Hip-hop doesn''t suck - You Do.

I hope that you will recycle the big ass bottles that all the Haterade you''ve been drinking came in.

I rest my case.

Claude Paradise Gray

Public Defender for Hip-Hop

www.myspace.com/paradisegray