In the wake of rapper Ludacris being announced as a performer at Summerfest, I posted a semi-defense of rap music the other night. The blogosphere is still wrestling with the issue of \”gangsta rap,\” given the recent shooting of a four year old girl in Milwaukee. Some local personalities who I respect, some who I like, and some, well… some who have radio shows – are suggesting that there\’s a link between Ludacris\’ profane persona and the tragic shooting of Jasmine Owens. Nothing could be further from the truth. It\’s misguided to suggest somehow one has begotten the other, merely because they both happened in a close time period. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
Regarding Ludacris\’ appearance at Summerfest, James T. Harris says:
I’m calling on Mr. Smiley and the Summerfest board to reverse their asinine decision. This is not the time to arm enemy combatants with weapons of ideology. That is what the rap culture is. An ideological weapon of mass destruction.
Milwaukeeans, Wisconsinites and who ever else reads this blog: It is time to view the culture of violence in a new light. We can no longer just be serious about this. We must take the problem personally.
It is time to live and or die by principles. Right now, children are dying for nothing at all. If we’re not careful, that’s what they’ll be living for, too.
As far as I know, Ludacris didn\’t shoot anybody. Suggesting that he, a popular entertainer, is in any way responsible for violence on the street has it exactly backwards. That\’s like blaming the importation of cocaine into the U.S. on Tony Montana. Jasmine Owens was shot by a criminal. And why people who usually abhor those who blame the criminal actions of individuals on society are now handing the killers a \”rapper made me do it\” defense is beyond me.
The nihilistic culture of violence and sexuality exists in our inner city, and Ludacris is holding a mirror up to that way of life so it can see itself. Ludacris is a byproduct of that culture – the culture is not a byproduct of Ludacris.
Rappers aren\’t millionaires because they sell CDs to black people. Rappers gain fame worldwide because they sell CDs to white people. Suburban white kids eat this stuff up because it makes them feel \”authentic.\” If you looked at Ludacris\’ record sales, I bet you\’d see just as many CDs sold in Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, and Franklin as you do in Milwaukee. But where is the violence in those \”white\” communities? If Ludacris was such a negative influence, why aren\’t all the white kids in Oconomowoc gunning each other down? I\’be been listening to rap virtually my whole life – including some of the most objectionable – and yet I\’ve miraculously avoided capping anyone in the ass.
It\’s simple – because the culture comes first. Fatherlessness. Poverty. Lawlessness. Those are the problems that face our inner cities – rap music just packages those themes and markets them to the world. In fact, much of rap music emplores African-Americans to rise up against the tide of racism to succeed. If rappers were so influential, why hasn\’t that happened?
There\’s plenty of sewer-grade entertainment out there for white people to consume, and some of it is very popular. When Quentin Tarantino movies feature sadistic violence and drug use, we write it off as entertainment. When the group Slayer \”sings\” the following on their CD \”God Hates Us All,\” nobody bats an eye:
Slayer actually played in Milwaukee in July of 2006, and no faces ripped off or bullets in the f***ing heads were reported. But why do we tolerate this garbage from white artists? Because it\’s white kids listening to it – and we presume that white kids know wrong from right. Culture comes first.
Ludacris is an easy target, and one that\’s tangible. Ergo, we pressure Summerfest to get rid of him, and we feel we\’ve accomplished something. The scourge of absent fathers, drugs, and failing schools are intractable problems without concrete answers. So while we may all feel good that people willing to pay their money to go see Ludacris won\’t be able to, in the end we really haven\’t accomplished anything but self-gratification.
One could argue that I\’m setting up a false choice – that you can\’t object to Ludacris\’ lyrics if you\’re not willing to also propose a panacea to cure all social ills in the black community. That\’s certainly not true – obviously, the content of a lot of rap is galling, and people are free to object. But this train left the station a quarter of a century ago for rappers, and it ain\’t coming back. The Ludacris song bloggers are linking to as an example of his lyrics (Move, Bitch) is six years old. Remember when Bill O\’Reilly urged a boycott of Ludacris a few years ago for signing a deal with Pepsi? Ludacris\’ big punishment was that he became one of the most popular rappers of this century and had a prominent role in a movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture (Crash).
I\’m not defending all of what Ludacris or any other rapper says, how they portray women and drug use, or anything else. Obviously, a lot of it is garbage, and it certainly doesn\’t do anything positive for society. But not only are there going be rappers like Ludacris for the rest of our lives, there will always be kids willing to buy their music. In the grand scheme of things, rappers aren\’t even a blip on the screen of the cultural challenges we face. The only hope that we have is that we\’ve done a little parenting by the time it hits our kids\’ ears.
May 19, 2007 at 12:48 am
Christian,
I agree with you about “the culture.” But what is “the culture?”
It’s probably an easy 100 things, but Ludacris is one of those 100!
So how does one improve the culture? Shunning and isolating Ludacris would be one thing. Doing the same to another dozen like him would be a dozen things.
A dozen good black role models would be another dozen good things.
Attaching some stigma to having kids out of wedlock would be a huge good thing.
Getting tough with men who knock up women and fail to take responsibility would be another huge good thing.
As for those suburban kids who are probably buying Ludacris CDs: the truth is there is a fair amount of racism about that.
Probably a lot of the kids are liberals and think that this is “authentic black culture” and that they are being “multicultural” somehow.
But the truth is they are getting enjoyment out of seeing black people demeaned.
Cultural change happens when a large number of people decide they will fight to turn this or that “one thing” in the right direction.
Not understanding rational choice theory, they ignore the fact that their sole contribution makes an insignificant difference.
With enough of those people, the culture can turn.
It’s long past due to turn on the racist rappers.
May 19, 2007 at 1:23 pm
All fair points. Actually, we’re not that really far apart.
If I had to boil down my post, it would be that Ludacris is a symptom of a corrosive culture, not the cause. Getting rid of him is like treating a cancer patient with ibuprofen. Do I think we’d all be better off if people would constantly listen to The Best of Bread? Sure. Is it going to happen? Not a chance.
I do want to address your comment about suburban white kids that listen to rap, though. I don’t know that those kids even know what a liberal or conservative is. I think they listen to rap because the attitude, swagger, and bragadoccio appeals to them – not because they necessarily like seeing black people demeaned. Listening to rap signals to their peers that they have a little dangerous streak, and that they are “authentic.”
Now, does listening to rap cause white kids to have a lower opinion of blacks? It could be. I honestly don’t know. On the other hand, a lot of rap (old Public Enemy, for instance), deals with fighting for racial equality – which may actually imbue white kids with newfound respect for the “black situation.” All depends, I guess.
This may all be splitting hairs – certainly rap music isn’t going to turn the world into Disneyland. But it really is the second-hand smoke of the culture wars.
May 20, 2007 at 1:56 am
For what it’s worth, the word “culture” is derived from the word “cult.”
Think about that for a moment.
What one worships/how one worships are the elements of cult.
And the “what” precedes the “how,” so Christian’s analysis (Ludacris follows the reality) is correct.
The problem is the “what”–which is sex, drugs, murder, and rock’n’roll.
May 21, 2007 at 4:25 pm
“…I’ve miraculously avoided capping anyone in the ass.”
Maybe you just can’t shoot straight.