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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/21/2014 in Posts
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It ain't easy being a celebrity or high-profile public figure these days, unless of course you are Kim Kardashian who makes a lucrative living off of being an airhead exhibitionist. Unlike other female celebs sniveling about the omnipresent paparazzi, or the hackers posting nude pictures of them on social media sites, Kim relishes any opportunity to flaunt her assets. Her popularity is the 8th wonder of the world. Elsewhere, hardly a week goes by where those who have gotten what they wished for, upon getting it, are now burdened with the stress that comes with success. Superstar athletes who, between cheering up their fans were beating up their loved ones, have fallen from grace, their shoe contracts as void as the veins of the steroid abusers among them, their finances as scrambled as the brains of concussion victims. BOOOOO. Which brings us to the POTUS. Once on top of the world, now stuck at the bottom of his lame duck ratings, Obama hangs in limbo, lynched by racist Republicans, left to dangle by his own scatterbrained party. Blindsided by the audacity of hope that was his campaign slogan, his dreams have become nightmares. Bummer. Then there’s poor ol Bill Cosby, the latest fallen idol. America’s favorite dad and spokesman for Jello has been toppled from his pedestal and is being outed as a gelatinous sexual predator worse than cradle-robber and God portrayer, Morgan Freeman. It turns out Dr. Cliff Huxtable was actually Dealer Clit Hustler, hot to examine the bodies of passed-out young wanna-bes he drugged and allegedly raped. His career and reputation are now hovering on the brink of ruin. He learned a hard lesson. So, Students, what does this teachable moment teach us? Being rich and famous carries with it a responsibility. A responsibility to whom? To yourself, so you won’t become your own worst enemy. Consequences are a bitch.1 point
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It definitely does. But this one really defines the co-option... what's worse is Busta Rhymes actually participated in the new one. smh1 point
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Okay the easy way to update the AALBC page is to give you the Amazon page. http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-D.-Burns/e/B004WTS8SG/ It's about as current as it gets with the correct links to each book I've written. An excerpt of something I've written that has broad appeal would be the One Hour To Wealth book, but I really want to push Archie's Psalm because there aren't any Black coming of age stories for featuring Black boys. I have business lectures but not really any book trailers or the like. But here are a couple of websites from when I was going to get started working on my writing again: http://sheliagoss.com/2012/08/23/archie%E2%80%99s-psalm-by-christopher-d-burns/ http://joeypinkney.com/5-minutes-5-questions-with/5-minutes-5-questions-with-christopher-d-burns-author-of-archies-psalm.php The most recent publication is the non-fiction paperback, One Hour To Wealth. But since I've never really pushed any of the books they are all "new". I would like to build the brand and without using too much of your time, set me up a package and I'm ready to get started.1 point
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I don't complain about commercialization as much as I do about the pushing of one sound into the mainstream. 25 years ago you would hear Public Enemy, Kwame, Big Daddy Kane, X Clan, Kool G Rap, NWA and the Geto Boys on all on the same radio station. You had balance. Today, there isn't any balance, so when you hear a person who loves Hip-Hop address the commercialization of it, that pertains to the repetitious songs that clutter the airwaves and leave people like Common or Talib to streaming or to be found by seeking out a different form of music. The only thing you get on mainstream radio is Lil Wayne and it's not because the beats are the best of the crop, it's literally being forced on kids. (Lil Wayne is just an example, you can insert Two Chainz or Young Thug or any of the commercialized stuff). Kids don't even know a song like How To Kill God is available to them. It used to be WBLS or Hot 97 or whatever radio station would have an hour a night dedicated to local or other styles of Hip-Hop. Those shows are gone. This is obviously a problem with Clear Channel's control of the airwaves. So commercialization is bad because of this. No one who loves and admires Hip-Hop is saying that they don't want Young Thug, they are saying we want more choices. We want a Roots song along with a Lil Wayne song... not Lil Wayne all damn day. Let me put this in a way even you will probably agree with. When you watch VH-1s or MTVs countdown there is pop, soul, rap and every genre except country represented. When you watch BETs countdown it's pretty much a hoochiefest and bunch of the exact same sound. So kids watching BET only have one image to aspire to while the kids watching VH-1 aspire to be guitar players, singers, rappers or use all types of instruments in reaching for a career in music. All the BET kids see is a dude hopping around on stage using "witty, puns". Mos Def plays the Timpani throughout the song Quiet Dog while he raps. Was this video played on mainstream radio? No, neither was the video. The Roots play their own instruments, but none of their videos make the BET rotation so the BET kids don't know that rappers actually play with live instruments. The only person kids may have seen is Kendrick Lamar performing with Imagine Dragons, but people don't realize he has a band! (At least he is a rapper who has something to say with his party songs) When something is controlled by corporate america we know the outcome is never positive. Since I am acting as the voice of the Hip-Hop crowd I'm telling you right now that we don't think there have to be standards. What we want is equality in the presentation of the music. In the past when you had Two Live Crew you also had Public Enemy. Kids and adults (you Cynique) today can't tell you who the conscious rappers are because they aren't being introduced to them although these artists are selling records and shows and are not really underground at all. (I do have to say that Lecrae is at the top of the charts, but if you turn on BET his video isn't being played and it definitely isn't on the radio. That is the issue here and this is what we want as the standard: equality.) Whenever I've addressed any of the commercial artists I said I personally don't like them, that doesn't mean they aren't rap/Hip-Hop, I just draw the distinction for the purpose of saying that the music being made is easily tossed to the side. it's disposable. To this day It Take a Nation of Millions is still thought of as a groundbreaking record, not just by Hip-Hop heads but by anyone who reports on music. Will Lil Wayne be thought of the same way in 25 years? Probably since kids aren't being introduced to Mos Def or Pharoahe Monch. I've never said that certain songs are not authentic.. ever. Don't put that on me. I said I don't like it and it's wack. I can't claim authenticity for an artist. I can only say it's wack. P.S. Hip-Hop is only as edgy as Rock and Roll once was. Once again we are discussing a new artform that is still only a few decades old. We are just now beginning to see elderly Hip-Hop artists. What I find interesting is this conversation probably couldn't take place about any other music genre which speaks to the influence and power Hip-Hop has (or it should have).1 point