Boss on Deck

N.W.A. or Those Three Magic Words

Posted 04/26/2007 at 5:26 PM  |  9 comment/s

Another week, another media crisis, and another call for hip hop to take the blame. By now y’all prolly already know way too much about the whole damn Don Imus situation – Rutgers’ women basketball players are a bunch of “nappy headed hos,” Imus is an idiot, Al Sharpton’s pissed, Imus is unemployed, Oprah’s searching for black souls, Russell’s banning “bitches,” “hos,” and the N-word, fans are like, “What the fuck, I thought this was about some ol’ white dude?,” and rappers themselves are like, “Don’t look at me, I handle mine.” And yet, as convoluted as all that, it still ain’t as simple as all that.

See, Imus is an idiot – that much is clear. And we should all thank God, Martin Luther, Malcolm, or even our folks, for finally creating a cultural climate that ensures that when some racially/culturally insensitive asshole shows (or in this case, speaks) his ass in an incredibly public forum, he’s thrown, well, out on his ass. ’Cause while I, and any of you out there with an inkling of intellect should, ride for free speech in all its forms (even folks saying retarded shit should get the opportunity to say it – it’s America, people), there’s no excuse for allowing that kinda language or perspective free reign on mainstream national airwaves. Granted Imus ain’t come out and say, “I hate black bitches, their mammy asses should all be burned at the stake,” but, you ask me, opening his mouth to say what he did belies an attitude that ain’t too far removed. And of course, and again thankfully, I ain’t alone in that assessment and the plug on his mic was rightfully pulled. Much respect to sponsors Proctor & Gamble, Staples, GM and Sprint, not to mention MSNBC for doing exactly that (and what CBS shoulda done from get): kicking his ass and his show to the curb. Seriously, shit ain’t perfect up in this piece of golden plains, but this is definitely progress.

To a degree. In the aftermath of the whole controversy, the idea that what rappers put out there in terms of lyrics and imagery is pretty much along the same lines, if not worse, than what Imus got canned for saying has become a talking point, especially in light of the fact that the big four (EMI, Universal, Sony, and BMG), if not the rappers themselves, eat a lot of cake off of that kinda trash talk on the daily (roughly $10 billion annual, to be a lil more precise with it). As has been pointed out, shifting the discussion in this direction is a lil’ like being interrogated by the police over a crime you committed and then pointing in the air like, “Oh shit, it’s Superman!” as you try to make a break for it, or being busted for a misdemeanor and being like, “Yo, my man’s and them been burying bodies in the basement for years,” but it’s happened, and as a result rap once again finds itself in the middle of a cultural maelstrom, and on the defensive. Russell’s calling for something akin to censorship, T.I. and Fat Joe say that’s retarded cause cultural change starts at home, and all sorts of folks are like, it’s art/poetry, you can’t censor it and leave it at that. But the question remains: is rap/hip hop, or more specifically, the language spit by so many of today’s best and most popular rappers, as bad, if not worse than Imus’ off-color and off-hand remark? More to the point, is rap and/or rappers somehow responsible for the destruction or at least degradation of social equality both at large and especially within one segment [read the black community] of our society?

Well, here’s the thing: Russell’s right. All discussions of free expression aside, the power of language in terms of emotional impact and shaping perception can’t be denied – it’s the root of our communication, and as anyone who speaks another language will tell you, the language you’re operating in actually changes how you think (there’s that whole classic, Eskimos got a bunch of words for snow thing). What you know how to say changes the way you see and process the world. It just is. And while rap, which is rooted in the spoken word more than any other music form out there, has infinite potential in terms of possible talking points, there’s no denying that the majority of it revolves around something one wouldn’t necessarily call a sunny worldview. And the continued dissemination of negative rap music, especially now (or at least over the last five to ten years) as rap continues to put a stranglehold on pop music culture, can’t be good for us. I mean, these days, living in a cocoon of rap music (as most fans do), is a bit like living in an emotionally abusive household – you might not realize all the shit you’re hearing on a daily basis about yourself and your potential ain’t exactly good for you, but when you grow up, get out, and start trying to figure out how to have healthy relationships with the world you’ll either quickly learn how fucked up you are or you’ll just fall into a bunch of unfortunate situations your damn self (tho in truth most folks will land somewhere in between that).

Point being, if “bitch,” “ho,” and “nigga” somehow disappeared from the lexicon, you’d have a harder time thinking of folks as bitches, hos and niggas cause you wouldn't be able to grasp the concept. And while I realize as a white dude there’s a level that the word “nigga” operates on that I’ll never fully understand, I will say this: as a Southern white dude, I know how completely fucked up this word is. And (you guys are gonna love this) from where I sit, there is no positive way to re-appropriate this word. To me, using it as a term of endearment only further denigrates the race – it’s establishing you and yours as outlaws, like wearing a scarlet letter that separates folks from society, but to what end? Or as Cee-Lo put it on the Goodie Mob's "The Experience" from Still Standing “the only reason you’re a nigga is because somebody else want you to be” – and, considering the history of that word and what it actually means, is that something to strive for? As many, predominantly black, intellectuals have pointed out, if the black community were to really embrace the idea of letting the word lie, it could die from the language like some obscure Latin word, and would that be such a bad thing?
Webbie, "Bad Bitch":

Which brings us to “bitch” and “ho” – now these words, no matter what folks wanna say, are not rap’s problem. As many academics have pointed out, when men across the board are economically or socially handcuffed, either by their own doing or for systematic reasons, women often bear the brunt of their frustration. It’s the have a bad day at work kick the dog phenomenon put to practice between genders. Personally, I think doing away with those words ain’t necessarily gonna fix the problem – men can be assholes, and speaking from experience, if we get it in our heads to act an ass, we’ll figure out a way regardless of the words are available to us. Of course, the flip side is that not being a woman myself I can’t imagine what kind of effect those words have on women, especially young women. Certainly makes sense that the same nigga argument outlined above holds here: if a woman hears herself called a bitch or a ho countless too many times, she just might begin to see herself that way. And next thing you know, daddy’s little girl has become a stripper. And as any halfway responsible man will tell you, strippers are great, until your daughter’s working the pole.

But here’s the thing: Russell’s also wrong. The real debate here should not be about what’s wrong with the language being tossed around in rap, or in the black community in general, but what the hell’s wrong with America that over 140 years since the abolition of slavery and 40 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most vibrant form of popular black expression is a music form/culture has such a negative undercurrent? To take it back to the abusive household analogy, it’s not the words or actions themselves that need to be curbed, it’s the conditions that create those words and actions that need serious consideration. What Russell’s proposing is a band-aid, and while they’re great for stopping the bleeding, if the knife is still out there, one band-aid ain’t gonna do it and we’re still fucked. Bitch, ho, nigga, black on black crime, economic inequality, educational inequality, disproportionate crime rates and prison populations, these are not rap’s problems, they’re America’s, and not just white America’s but the America that exists, at least in theory, for all of us. The most fucked up thing about this debate is that it’s still just a distraction from the larger issue. And it’s up to all of us, Russell, Sharpton, you, me, hell, Obama, to remember that and put this discussion back on track. With all ears on us, now’s the time to make them listen to what’s really going on in these proverbial streets.
Back 2 the Basics:
Looking for that DF quote, I started digging through old DF records. Never found it (anyone?), but I was reminded of how good OutKast really was. For those that missed it, from 1998...
"Return of the G":

"Liberation":

My dude, D. Lemon just sent over the Goodie Mob record, so shouts to him.
Goodie Mob, "The Experience":

And even though everything Wayne's doing right now might seem like it completely contradicts this post, the man's on fire and you gotta respect that.
Lil Wayne, "King Kong" from Drought 3:

Lil Wayne, "Boom" from Drought 3:

Lil Wayne, "Back on my Grizzly" from Drought 3:

And Larry Brown to the Grizzlies? Could be something. Shit, anything at this point would be better than this year.

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