hip-hop

July 02, 2008

New Acton commentaries this week

In his new commentary, Anthony Bradley tells us that there is a “serious disconnect” in the hip hop community that allows rappers to evoke the name of God in thanks while producing music that celebrates evil. Continue Reading...

November 05, 2007

Misguided Hop Hip Protests: Media Companies Aren’t The Problem

The New York Times reports of a well-intentioned protest by a pastor to protest the ridiculous and dehumanizing lyrics of the type of hip hop shown on networks like BET and MTV. Continue Reading...

August 29, 2007

Outlawing Baggy and Saggy Pants Won’t Work

The City of Atlanta, and several other cities, have been debating whether or not to pass a law prohibiting saggy pants. Here’s the story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta officials did not decide Tuesday whether they should become fashion police. Continue Reading...

August 27, 2007

BET’s “Read A Book” Is Satirical Not Racist

One of the sad legacies of the civil-rights movement is that anyone who makes a critical comment about bad dimensions of black life in America is automatically branded a racist. This is silly. Continue Reading...

August 16, 2007

Acton Alum Offers An Insider’s Perspective On Hip Hip

Acton Alum, Andrae McGary, recently launched a blog to offer some perspective on hip hop for the hip hop community. It’s called Street Soul Arts. His latest post discusses Princeton University religion professor, Cornell West, and the release of West’s second rap album. Continue Reading...

July 23, 2007

Display the “Hot Ghetto Mess” For The World To See

I will make no friends with this post but some parts of black America are trapped in a moral crisis. The crisis will be on display this Wednesday when B.E.T. (Black Entertainment Television) debuts a new show called “We Got To Do Better” which is based off of a website called “Hot Ghetto Mess.” Continue Reading...

July 10, 2007

NAACP Should Bury More Than The “N-Word”

The NAACP held a mock funeral yesterday for the N-word. That’s nice. Many would argue that it’s a horrible word and should never be used under any circumstance. “Today, we’re not just burying the N-word, we are taking it out of our spirit, we are taking it out of our minds,” Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said to a crowd gathered at the city’s riverfront Hart Plaza. Continue Reading...

April 04, 2007

School for scandal: hip hop goes to college

Why would a hip hop group called “Crime Mob” be invited to the campus of a Historically Black College? And why would the group’s “Rock Yo Hips” music video — featuring college cheerleaders as strippers — get so much play on television? Continue Reading...

January 04, 2006

‘Some stiff, righteous stuff’

The Real Clear Politics Blog passes along an op-ed from Bob Herbert, “Blowing the Whistle on Gangsta Culture,” a NYT Select item (subscription required). In the column, Herbert discusses the “profoundly self-destructive cultural influences that have spread like a cancer through much of the black community and beyond.” Continue Reading...