If you have ever watched
Black Entertainment Television and have any bit of intelligence, you must have noticed time and time again that
BET continuously chooses to ignore the positive elements of a genre known as
hip-hop or urban culture by ONLY showing the commercial side of urban culture that demeans Black entertainers and entertainment.
Allegedly, this side of hip-hop is what sells hence they continue to push it. The same mentality can be flipped because if you continuously push ANY product it will eventually sell. So in hindsight, if they pushed the positive, the positive would sell.
This repeated strike against the genre that only shows stereotypical hip-hop cultured videos while passing on the elite, conscious, uplifting artists that can possibly change the way hip-hop culture is viewed in the mainstream is a direct slap to my face, personally.
As a true fan of hip-hop culture, I have listened to many facets buried in the genre, so I know every hip-hop artist doesn't rap about a materialistic lifestyle such as the having money, cars, clothes and oh-
no's...
Someone that has a warped one-sided view of hip-hop should listen to artists such as
Lupe Fiasco (his debut single
Kick, Push was speaking intellectually on how he grew up a skateboarding kid, not an inner-city,
gangsterfied thug),
Mos Def,
Talib Kweli and even
Nas from time to time.
If you are from Middle America and not in tune with urban culture you will only be aware of mainstream media and its contents. Hip-hop is very much mainstream now, but people will only hear what is pushed into the mainstream.
I want to be clear, ALL hip hop music does not degrade women, talk about selling drugs or talk about negative aspects of life. Although, hip-hop does hold a direct reflection of some artist’s background and how they grew up, it should in no way be the voice of a whole genre.
That’s like saying
McDonalds is ONLY known for selling French Fries. What about the Burgers, Apple Pies and Orange Hi-C? There are many facets to that business and the same goes for hip-hop.
It’s a dirty game because the voice of some hip hop is definitely the mirrored image of how they perceived life, living throughout a less fortunate, poverty stricken environment, but I despise how some people relate only this side to the genre. Education is the key.
I believe people born with a silver spoon do very much need to hear that side of life because if you never knew there are people less fortunate than you then how can you learn to appreciate your blessings. i.e.
Trading Places.
It seems that BET has yet once again stepped on toes and dropped the ball yet again by banning
Ciara’s
Ride video but choosing to continuously run Trey
Songz videos,
The Neighbors Know My Name and
Invented Sex.
To me, that is an oxymoron of monumental proportions and I say an
SSD flag should be thrown! This gesture to show a male sexually explicit video but not a female version of the same magnitude is not only sexist but contradictory in the same breath.
In Trey Songz videos respectively, they are both very illicit and subliminal with half naked implied nude sex scenes all while containing strong sexually powered, lyrical content.
What does that say to one of BETs prime target audience of 13-25? It’s okay for them to show a half naked man talking about wanting sex, but if a 2010 sexually empowered woman wants to discuss her sense of sexuality its wrong?
Now what’s interesting is these videos are both very steamy, very sensual and sex driven, so of course discretion should be exercised on both, but to ban one over the other is just nonsense.
Truthfully, the song title "Ride" is implied to that of riding a beat on a track while "Invented Sex" is blatant and forthright. I mean really? Come on, who has a crush on Trey Songz at BET, seriously!?
Not to mention, since we are going there, I am a man so why would I want to see Trey Songz in proactive scenes!!!? I want to see Ciara.
But then again, like I said before, BET concentrates on what sells and I guess the BET prime target audience is FEMALE 13-25. Hmmmmm SSD!
Have you ever woke up with a song playing in your head? A random one at that? Every once in a while, my passion for music wakes me up singing these random songs on repeat not being able to start my day until I hear the actual song.
