TURN OFF THAT RADIO!
who stole the soul?
Just got back from Pasadena, CA where the Rap Sessions tour is continuing. Unlike in Madison, last week, we were joined by additional members, including Ernie P (who is a regular tour member) and the Bay Area's own Davey D. Just to give some basic background, the Rap Sessions tour are a series of community/college conversations around race, hip-hop, politics, society, etc. We've had about three dates so far, beginning in Chicago back in the summer and I'm in Providence next week and then a bunch of dates in the spring.
Some interesting points made during Wed panel. I'll try to be succinct with my summaries:
Davey D spoke at length about radio and how, over the last 10-15 years, media consolidation (think Clear Channel or Infinity) have been driven by disturbing political influences designed to suppress dissent or alternative voices to the current status quo. This is why, as Davey argues, you hear 50 Cent all over the radio and on BET but you won't hear the same amount of programming devoted to songs or artists that speak on, say, spirituality, social justice, or anything that might be construed as "positive" (let alone progressive).
This goes back to one of the classic debates surrounding pop culture and hip-hop in particular: who leads who? Is crack-celebrating, big-booty-worshipping, gun-bucking rap music the result of consumers saying, "this is what we want to listen to?" Or is that merely what they're offered by corporations running record labels, radio, video, etc.? I don't think it's an either/or situation: there's overlap, collusion, etc. But ultimately, the argument being put forward is that, at least with radio, there's a concerted effort to downplay any music that diverges from (let alone critiques) the current staple of pimp/playa/gangsta rap. (Where "My Humps" fits into this, I don't know. I don't want to know.)
This has always been a highly contentious debate though unfortunately, often gets dumbed down into a set of extremes...what you might call the "corporate radio/record industry are unmitigated evil" vs. "10,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong" sides.
The bigger question lurking behind the issue is along the lines of, "why is today's hip-hop music - as filtered through radio - seemingly so socially irrelevant?" and in trying to address that, everyone seems to have someone else to scapegoat. Fans blame the artists for not doing more to be positive. Artists blame the industry (which would include radio and labels) for pushing their own agenda. The industry blame the fans, saying that they only deliver what the people want. And so the cycle continues.
One more thing, on a somewhat related note: Davey was also arguing that 50 Cent is not as big in the streets as folks think...his reasoning was that given the huge promotional push 50 has gotten on TV, print, radio, with the upcoming movie, etc., his 4 million albums sold (for The Massacre) actually falls short of expectation and that this is evidence that 50 may be selling amongst suburban consumers but not in the hood. (Actually, I'm not sure what the logic in arriving at that conclusion is. I might have missed something).
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