- Apr 16, 2014
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I mainly listen to podcasts in my car. But when I have my daughter, I play the radio. There’s the top 100 station, which is mostly benign. But the “urban” stations is where there are some songs I deem questionable to play in front of her.
I grew up listening to hip hop in the 80s, where it was diverse. But post Uncle Luke, NWA, and East Coast drug/murder rap (Mobb Deep, Lost Boys, Nas to an extent, etc), stations began “favoring” that music more, where it’s the norm not the exception. During that mid 90s to early 2000s rap, there were groups like Outkast, Goodie Mob, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pharaoh Monch, MF Doom, etc but besides Big Boi and Andre that music didn’t deliver commercial success. As the South exploded with party and trap music, G-Unit dominated the charts…the demand (from white audiences) cemented back pack rap being the exception and not the standard (yes yes, Black Eye Peas, Kanye West, etc).
So it’s moreso the gatekeepers pushing this sure win violent, misogynistic, toxic music on us. Kind of like Chinese food, Crack, Liquor stores in the hood.
No one is dismissing post slavery, Jim Crowe/segregation, post Civil Rights, 90s crime bill, police brutality, etc.
It’s just the control of the music and art form we created.
Who are these gatekeepers?