Recent Comments:
Jay-Z Leads Cristal Boycott {Luxist}
Jun 19th 2006 10:51PM Clearly I can understand what you are saying, but I still KNOW that you have trouble with reading comprehension. Telling me your score does nothing for me as I am seeing your performance here and I believe you guessed, cheated, lied to me or (what I really think) you are educated, yet lack intelligence & creativity. I am quite intelligent, my dear Watson, as well as educated. You seem to be only the later. I'm gonna say once again...YOU STILL HAVE NOT STATED YOUR OPINION ON THE TOPIC AT HAND. We still do not know your viewpoint on anything except you FEELING hip-hop is not black. And I am still unconvinced that you even believe that for two reasons: A) You do not appear to be insulted about the comments made by Frederic Rouzaud (if you were why did you not use this perfect space to let everyone know?). If you were hip-hop (i.e. black) you would and would have mentioned that by now. B) You only identified black artists when speaking of hip-hop.
News flash – this message board is titled “Jay-Z Leads Cristal Boycott” not “Hip-hop Culture and Black Culture: One and the Same?”. And this is not freshman English, let alone high school freshman English, which is quite clearly as far as you got. You write here as if I am grading it… Even your comments here use quotes, citations to books, interviews and websites – where the hell is my reference page in MLA format? You have done nothing but taken quotes from others and pieced them together to try to prove an invalid and ridiculous point. Add something from your own thoughts or it is called plagiarism. Do you have a love, passion for music or did you just read about someone else’s?
Do I agree with the A:B relationship, yes I do. Yes every hip-hop person is not black. But it originated from blacks and is BEYOND widely identified with the black culture. My point really is this: even blacks that do not listen to hip-hop music are still considered hip-hop by the general population. Well-to-do racist people make comments that do not use the n word or African American or black because they think us ignorant black people will never figure out that when they say “urban”, “hip-hop”, “rap thug”, etc. they are talking about blacks – in a bad way. If you want proof to my point – check out “Urban” Sony – with the exception of J.Lo (who is actually wrapped up in the black culture) every person is black (“urban”). http://www.so-urban.com/urb/urban.php?content=links&right=r1&left=l1
Think about it, even you yourself identified hip-hop with blacks – every example you gave above was a black artist. Yes there has been a hip-hop explosion lately, with other races being more involved, but it is still part of the black culture. When people say hip-hop, particularly in a derogatory way, they are referring to black people. The .02% whites, 2% Latinos and 1% Other are important and we accept them openly into the culture. The majority of hip-hop is not bought by blacks, but the VAST majority of it is made by blacks…and it was created for and by blacks, though it is now widely accepted by others. (Think FUBU!)
I hope that you have never had to go through racist experiences, but if you had, than maybe you would understand that people that are racist don’t always wear an identifier (and do not always make it verbally known). They make sly comments (that they think/hope you won’t figure out), dirty looks, won’t wait on you and may even deny that they are racist. They may even truly believe that they aren’t. I have had it happen to me enough times sweetie to know what is what. And even if the man did not mean it to be that way, he still said it and it is widely regarded as offensive by the black community. Because you love quotes, here is one for you – “Racism is still alive, they just be concealing it”, so truly stated by Kanye West.
Your point about racism is sadly true though (other races get treated poorly as well). Even still, you still have not been treated poorly simply because you are black - simply because you are not black. Maybe that is why you are not offended by the comments of Frederic Rouzaud – because you are not black you may not find it offensive to talk about blacks in a derogatory way. I personally despise all racism. Or maybe the reason you have not spoken on the comments is because you have not read any book or website with an intelligent enough response to use as your own, since you clearly have no thoughts of your own. Well I guess no intelligent response besides mine, which you simply can not use because you want to pretend to have some intellectual debate going on with me.
You will not impress me or change my mind about your ignorance on hip-hop by saying that you spent time with such and such, read a book, etc. – you clearly have never lived the culture. Being in the room with someone does not mean you are them.
I will leave you with some words of wisdom as I have been subject to many like you. Plenty of educated people, who spend too much time trying to wow everyone with their supposed superior intellect. Plenty of people who can not communication effectively with others or teach others because they are so busy keeping up a charade that they are intelligent. People who are book smart, but lack emotion, human understanding, creativity and their own opinions. People who can spit out an answer to you if it fits in the equation they know. People who spend their day trying to make others feel stupid by talking over them. Honey, believe that I can understand you fine, could beat you on any IQ test, or any other for that matter – but I also can teach anyone anything and talk to anyone, without trying to belittle them. I do not feel the need to impress anyone, even though I could if wanted to. If you truly were all that (intelligent or any other fill in the blank word), people would come and tell you, you would not have to tell them or sell them.
Jay-Z Leads Cristal Boycott {Luxist}
Jun 18th 2006 2:50AM Big Steve - did you actually read my “thesis” or did you breeze through it? Or are you just that stupid? Do you actually use your brain when you prepared your response “thesis”? I guess the real question is did you read everyone's comments or just mine? I not only addressed the comment by Frederic Rouzaud clearly, I addressed other comments listed above. (So no one directly spelled their race, except you and I, huh? I beg to differ.) The comments above stated “playing the race card” repeatedly - which is typically a statement that whites say after a black person responds to them making some grossly offensive statements against blacks. So I responded (and assumed they were white). By the way, you can only play a card you are dealt! Also, one person said they were not anti-black, which leads me to believe they are not black. Another person angrily stated Jay-Z was racist & made comments about white people, which leads me to believe they are white. Comments above generalized all hip-hop as degrading to women (which also leads me to believe they are white, or at least non-black, as no hip-hop/black person would make such a grossly inaccurate statement), which is incorrect. So I mentioned that it is incorrect and pointed out other genres that do degrade women. Is it right to degrade women? Obviously I don’t think that because I am a woman and I clearly stated that I don’t agree above. My point was that Frederic Rouzaud did not call out other avenues that women are disrespected in, so obviously it is something else about the hip-hop/black culture that bothers him (like our skin color). It was stated above that Jay-Z deserves for people not to want to be associated with him because of negative things he may (/may not) have done in the past, so I commented that everything is not negative about him.
Of all the courses you mentioned you’ve taken, I did not see reading comprehension listed, which you must have missed. You lack understanding of why I made the comments and also the black culture. You may have took some courses, read a book, but you have never been black. And I quote you - “Hip-hop and the black community are not synonymous.” I never said they were, but I said they basically are, which they are. And so did you…wasn’t every artist you mentioned black? Real good way to prove your argument, by in fact proving mine. You can not tell Jay-Z or me how to feel when someone makes a derogatory comment about our culture.
I’m petty name calling? I was name clearly up for my culture and Jay-Z. No, I didn’t call people that disagree with me racist white people. I pointed out that racist white people make derogatory comments, like that of Frederic Rouzaud, about blacks for several reasons (listed in my last comment). You have no idea what it feels like as a black person to be down-talked, disrespected and stereotyped with no repercussions…uh probably because you are NOT black and you have never been treated poorly simply because you are black. I have and so has Jay-Z. If you read everything I wrote I said clearly that you, I, nor anyone has the right to tell Jay-Z how he felt when he read/heard the comments. You still don’t have that right. Jay-Z took hip-hip culture as black culture because it IS basically synonymous and I feel/know most every black (and most non-blacks!) would agree with that. If I said heavy metal culture, most would think I meant white culture or was at least referring to white people.
The only thing I have ever read that was romanticized about hip-hop culture, was what you said…because when you are romancing someone you usually are blind to whatever you choose to blind to about them. You choose to ignore that hip-hop culture is by and far regarded and related to black culture (because it is basically the same thing)…because you relate yourself with the hip-hop culture (you said yourself you did and were offended by Jay-Z stating that hip-hop only pertains to blacks). I have no right to tell you not to be offended by Jay-Z’s comments about what you feel is your culture, just like you have no right to tell me and Jay-Z not to be offended by what was said about our culture.
Could your real issue be that you are not widely regarding with hip-hop culture? If you truly are part of hip-hop culture, shouldn’t you yourself be offended that Frederic Rouzaud made such degrading comments about YOUR culture? Do you truly feel like part of the culture or are you feeling left out? YOU IGNORED the real issue, not I. Instead of saying if you felt it was justified of Jay-Z to boycott Cristal, you used this space to rant on how blacks and hip-hop are not same, but you and hip-hop are. YOU BROUGHT up race, as did most of the comments on this page. It is hard NOT to mention race, but you are calling me out…how hypocritical and ironic. The statements made by Frederic Rouzaud brought up race and his comments/Jay-Z’s reaction are what we’re discussing. Or what we are supposed to be discussing, but after reading two of your blogs, I still have no idea what your opinion is on the boycott/comments made by Frederic Rouzaud. All I know about you is: how you feel about hip-hop not being the same as black, how you feel about Jay-Z’s comments and that you are a person that likes to use “big, smart” words to cover up the fact you are completing ignoring the subject at hand and have no reading comprehension skills. Ironically, you try to imply I am ignorant, immature and/or unintelligent for making comments addressing the subject at hand and truly you yourself are ignorant, immature, and unintelligent.
One thing is for certain – I can not call you racist against blacks for disagreeing with me (you said I called everyone racist who didn’t agree with me) on the subject at hand, BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR OPINION IS EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO RACE MATTERS!! Get a clue, a brain and a dictionary for 6th graders. If you at least had the dictionary, you could have used fewer words TRYING to sound intelligent and addressed the real issue at hand, instead of going on and on about how YOU feel blacks shouldn’t claim what is theirs (hip-hop culture). And I wouldn’t have to show everyone reading this that you where trying to impress them by pretending to be smart. Your vocabulary says you have read a book or two in your day (probably not about the origin of hip-hop though!), but your logic, argument, comprehension level, ability to follow a topic and all of your comments let me know you are flat out stupid.
To “Lwroy Jenkins”…Where the hell do you get off calling rap MILLIONARES, which in fact makes them the wealthy elite, no class street thugs? How do you know what they appreciate? You’ve probably never tasted Cristal yourself, probably can’t pronounce it, and obviously are ignorant. Maybe you were trying to be funny, but you didn’t succeed. Take your bitter (why be bent out of shape that rappers are millionaires?) ho ass and eat a d*ck. I would be very happy if I wasn’t on the same message board with your stupid ho ass. You have no useful comments to make.
Jay-Z Leads Cristal Boycott {Luxist}
Jun 17th 2006 1:56AM Jay-Z is not pulling a race card, Frederic Rouzaud statements WERE racist and HIGHLY offensive. The hip-hop community is BY FAR dominated and a direct extension of the black community. They are basically synonymous. Other cultures may have roles in it now, but it originated from and is dominated by the black community. Anyone that would think that this is a race card must be racist themselves. Or is an ignorant white person who can not put themselves into other people's shoes. Racist white people make comments, like those of Frederic Rouzaud and some of the comments above, because of stereotyping, ignorance, arrogance and lack of understanding.
Do you really think that every black person calls women b**ches? Do you really think every rapper does? All blacks are all not drug dealers, even though realistically a drug dealer is nothing more than a business man who didn't have the same opportunities as some people. People make generalized statements and judgments about people when having no idea about their past. You have no idea why someone choose the path they did. Do you think a prostitute's dream when a little girl was to sell her body for money? Highly unlikely; something happened that pushed her back to the wall and made her feel that it was the ONLY means to survive. Leave a hard life of poverty and see what you may get into. Please, I beg of you, rent the moving Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and you may have your eyes opened slightly!!
Morally conscious statement? Please! Do you understand when, why and how hip-hip started? No, because you like to speak on things you don't know. Nowadays some hip-hop does degrade women, but so does ROCK, HEAVY METAL, other music genres, the entertainment industry & media, society and mainly (GASP!) - guess what - WOMEN themselves (I am a woman, by the way who does not disrespect herself). A woman controls the nature of the relationship; by and far even the most disrespectful man will shut up if a woman stands up for herself.
Is hip-hop money not good enough for Cristal? They get free advertising and have probably gotten boat loads of money because of the references in hip-hop songs.
I am a very open minded person and I respect other people’s opinions, but no one here (including myself) has a right to tell Jay-Z how he felt when he heard/read the comments. I 100% agree with him, am part of the boycott and I felt EXACLTY the same as he did when I read the comments. And by the way I am black, part of the hip-hop community and I am not a “drug dealer, faux thug, stabber, rapper, etc.” or any of the other derogatory and judgmental things made about Jay-Z and his character. You forgot to mention that he pulled himself from a life of crime, has donates MILLIONS to help others that come from rough environments so they don’t have to turn to a life of crime, is an extraordinary & talented artist, humble, he never gave up, pursued his dreams, remarkably intelligent and stands up for what he believes in. People are not defined by what they did on their worst day or their best day – you have to look at someone’s complete story to understand their actions and to make an accurate judgment. That is why only God can judge.
