Tupac or Biggie

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

I have always been of the opinion that gangsta rap is the equivalent of junk tv, it's a cheap, mindless form of entertainment. And there's a place for that, but don't try to sell it to me as intellectually based criticism of culture. It's exploitative and ignorant for the most part. The above being a prime example.

The problem I have is that they sell the stuff to our kids as main stream. I can't blame the guy for trying to make a living but I can blame the MTV types pushing this stuff on our kids.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by mlmpetert

Yeah, everyone knows Ja is the realist without a doubt, but this thread is just about Pac & Big.

Ja Rule was freakin horrible

[chica-alisha]

Tupac...I have a book of poetry that he wrote-The Rose That Grew From Concrete... His talent was sensational!

"A coward dies a thousand deaths...A soldier dies but ONE!! "

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by chica-alisha

Tupac...I have a book of poetry that he wrote-The Rose That Grew From Concrete... His talent was sensational!

"A coward dies a thousand deaths...A soldier dies but ONE!! "

That was William Shakespeare in "Julius Caesar."

[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

That was William Shakespeare in "Julius Caesar."

Yeah right. Next youre going to tell me Coolio is ripping off quotes from the Bible.

[KLHJ2]

Write a poem about your struggles and see how many albums it sells. Your distaste should not be about rap it should be for the society and lifestyle that caused it. Nobody wants to be a thug and promote that lifestyle, but they can only speak of their own experiences. America gets off on tragedy because the majority of the populatation experiences and embraces it because it's all the know.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by mlmpetert

Yeah right. Next youre going to tell me Coolio is ripping off quotes from the Bible.

I'm going to assume that's sarcasm. lol.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Angry

Write a poem about your struggles and see how many albums it sells. Your distatste should not be about rap it should be for the society and lifestyle that caused it. Nobody wants to be a thug and promote that lifestyle, but they can only speak of their own experiences. America gets off on tragedy because the majority of the populatation experiences and embraces it because it's all the know.

America embraces it because it's what's sold to them and we're largely a nation of sheep. Add that to the fact that there's not many better (harmless) ways for suburban white kids to piss off their parents, and it's a pretty good recipe to sell albums. Completely agree with your point about distaste for the society that produces the conditions these clowns are talking about, but let's not pretend this is high art. I don't think any form of media (music, games, etc) is going to get someone to pull a trigger they weren't already going to pull, my argument is that people glorify the music as if it has a heightened significance.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

America embraces it because it's what's sold to them and we're largely a nation of sheep. Add that to the fact that there's not many better (harmless) ways for suburban white kids to piss off their parents, and it's a pretty good recipe to sell albums. Completely agree with your point about distaste for the society that produces the conditions these clowns are talking about, but let's not pretend this is high art. I don't think any form of media (music, games, etc) is going to get someone to pull a trigger they weren't already going to pull, my argument is that people glorify the music as if it has a heightened significance.

I don't like comparing people to sheep but since you want to go that route yes, society treats the poverty stricken level of society like sheep.

Ask yourself why urban kids want to piss their parents off. Perhaps they were wronged in one way shape or form? IDK maybe a father left when they were a child or was too drunk to take interest in his chils life, or perhaps their mother was addicted to drugs and didn't provide the proper level of attention necessary to nourish a child.

Art is a depiction of life through the narrators eyes whether it be through a visual or audio description. Just because you do not think that it is high art doesn't mean that it isn't. Again we go back to opinion and what others can relate to and or crave.

You're right, someone who is going to act on a negative impulse is going to do so regardless of influence. That is why your argument that "such behavior is glorified with a heightened significance" holds no water.

Everyday people do things that they are not proud of and have the guts to tell the tale. Some people use those examples as motivation, as we agreed, and were going to act on their own impulses anyway and others are just intrigued and informed by it.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

Rap fans, please explain the deeper meaning in the above? Perhaps explore the socio-economic take implied by "That's why I ****ed your bitch."

It's called Battle rap. It's a form of war which is usually limited to words but it sometimes can get deadly as in the case of Pac and Biggie. Expressing your anger with words is liberating.

This isn't an empty bluster.
Buster is no better than a duster.
His posts are the most lackluster.
Vote to ouster that inbred ballbuster.

[Valleyranchgirl]

2Pac touched me Biggie never did.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Valleyranchgirl

2Pac touched me Biggie never did.

Hope your shots are up to date...

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by saden1

It's called Battle rap. It's a form of war which is usually limited to words but it sometimes can get deadly as in the case of Pac and Biggie. Expression your anger with words is liberating.

This isn't an empty bluster.
Buster is no better than a duster.
His posts are the most lackluster.
Vote to ouster that inbred ballbuster.

Right, which is where I get the fact that it's entertaining... wouldn't/couldn't argue that it's not, hell it's not like i never listen to it nor have any in my collection, but none of that means it has any deeper meaning than any other pop song out there. People always try to defend the genre by saying it's a look into the issues facing inner-city culture, but I don't buy that. I think it just exploits human nature in that we all listen to stories involving conflict. But it doesn't inspire anyone, which is what art is supposed to do. I think that's the crux of my argument: it's entertainment, not art.

Originally Posted by Angry

I don't like comparing people to sheep but since you want to go that route yes, society treats the poverty stricken level of society like sheep.

Ask yourself why urban kids want to piss their parents off. Perhaps they were wronged in one way shape or form? IDK maybe a father left when they were a child or was too drunk to take interest in his chils life, or perhaps their mother was addicted to drugs and didn't provide the proper level of attention necessary to nourish a child.

Art is a depiction of life through the narrators eyes whether it be through a visual or audio description. Just because you do not think that it is high art doesn't mean that it isn't. Again we go back to opinion and what others can relate to and or crave.

Your right, someone who is going to act on a negative impulse is going to do so regardless of influence. That is why your argument that "such behavior is glorified with a heightened significance" holds no water.

Everyday people do things that they are not proud of and have the guts to tell the tale. Some people use those examples as motivation, as we agreed, and were going to act on their own impulses anyway and others are just intrigued and informed by it.

When I say people are sheep, i'm referring to the majority of consumers slurping up whatever they are told is hot, be it music, IT hardware, or whatever.

Your last paragraph is nonsense, imo. These clowns are not speaking "from the heart" they're speaking from the wallet. They know that the more vulgar, the more violent, the more extreme they get, the better that shit sells. They'e not trying to inspire anyone, and if you believe that they are, I think you're either kidding yourself or you've got a whole lot more faith in people than I think they deserve.

I never said "the behavior was glorified by a heightened significance." What I said was that people claim the music has a heightened significance, meaning claiming that there is a deeper meaning to it all than just your average song.

I have no issue with the genre, I just find it disingenuous when people feel the need to point to supposedly deeper interpretations when in fact, it mostly appeals to our baser instincts. That's not a bad thing necessarily.

[KLHJ2]

Who looks at a painting and says "I want to do that"? Who draws inspiration from that painting to mimic what they see? Hardly anyone does that. On the other hand who looks at a painting and says "that is magnificant". It all comes down to taste. You just don't have a tase for Gangsta rap. That is no different from someone who says that they might like nudity in a painting but to depict sodomy is taking it too far.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Who looks at a painting and says "I want to do that"? Who draws inspiration from that painting to mimic what they see? Hardly anyone does that. On the other hand who looks at a painting and says "that is magnificant". It all comes down to taste. You just don't have a tase for Gangsta rap. That is no different from someone who says that they might like nudity in a painting but to depict sodomy is taking it too far.

LOOOOOL...