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Do G's Really Make The World Go 'Round ? These letters are in response to the recent Friday Night Vibe Editorial entitled Do G's Really Make The World Go 'Round ... For the record while a lot of folks really appreciated the column..there were an awful lot of folks who didn't pick up on the satarical approach I had taken... Please bear in mind when rereading the piece that I was being a bit comical.. I was taking the same type of backwords approach many of hip hop's critics have taken when lambasting 'gangsta rap'....
Davey D C. Delores Tucker was an uncle Tom. My true feelings on the industry is, Quiting worrying about what everyone else is doing and quiting riding on someone else's jock, because your material ain't a hit. If you spend more time working on your material than you do worrying about what everyone else is doing, you might have a hit. Tim Dogg started the East vs. West conflict with "F**K COMPTON" when NWA and everyone else from Compton was representing Compton as people like Audio 2 etc. was representing Brooklyn. You didn't see anyone dissing Brooklyn. Playa Hatas.
I like this editorial. You make some very good points and analogies to many things we are all exposed to on a daily basis. If you think about it, it's like Chuck D once said "rap is like the CNN of the black community." At the time Chuck said this rap was on more of a conscious vibe but know it's still reporting on things but more from a bad news perspective. If you sit and watch a news program the bad news is headlined first and then reported later in the show to keep you tuned in. You will quickly hear about people in the Middle East "blowin up the spot" but what else will your hear??? Not much I support your mission to get rid of these gansta actors, talk show hosts, etc. After all when hip hop emerged out of the Bronx it was an alternative to gangs and violent street life. Hip hop should be as it once was, fun. I used to go to just about every hip hop show or tour that came to town. Now I have to be very selective on what show I go see and where. Any way, enough of my lecturing for the moment. Keep up the positivity. Randy Williams What's goin on Davey D, or who ever it is who actually reads these replies. I'm writing concerning the last editorial "Do G's Make The World Go Round." I can't believe that this letter came from the same person/people who I have recieved previous enlightening and intelligent letters from. Do you actually believe all of the things you stated in this. I mean Elvis Presley, James Dean, Charlie's Angels???? Come on! It is true that many rappers etc. got ideas for names, lyrics, etc. from these types of movies and what not, but it's also true that just as many did not. I find much of what you said hard to swallow. There is some truth in what you said, but there is no basis on taking it as deep as you did. I challenge you to sit down and read thru...slowly....a few times what you have written (I did). You pointed out the fact that everything today came from yesterday. Where do you suppose yesterdays ideas came from. Big hint: the day before yesterday....get the point? These things have ALWAYS been here and I'm sorry to say that they always will be here. It is just that todays society embraces them more openly than yeterdays. I in no way shun what you are doing, as a matter of fact we need more people who are doing something for hip-hop today. I just question the ideas that who have presented and whether or not anything can actually be made to happen. There are just some things that need time to take its course on. Thanks and keep it comin. Peace
aka DJ Draft- Collective Crew Promotions- collectivecrew@usa.net The Real Hip-Hop show- KAMP student radio- University of Arizona
You missed the point to that letter Mike..
I think that what you and your friends are trying to accomplish is great. However, you should know that this will be a ver long and tedious task. People will be ready to knock you and not take you seriously. I feel the same way. Gangs didn't start with hip-hop music. When it comes to the "True" gangsters, such as Al Pacino, The God Father and many more people don't criticize there work. Although, we must start using the brains that God gave us. I believe that we copy far too many things that we hear and see other people do, but the funny thing is that those same things that we copy are not criticized until we start doing it. You should really focus on that as well during your mission. Tupac was a great man and I love him dearly. Just as he said "He didn't have a record until he made a record". Good Luck. Peace. The interesting thing is this: We've all seen the movies (Scarface, Godfather, etc.) We all played war when we were kids, read Sgt. Rock comic books, and thought guns in general were pretty damn cool. You are right when you say that Gangsterism is as American as apple pie. The thing is, most of us didn't decide to take it up as a way of life! Most of us realized that there is a difference between film and tv and reality. I don't know about you, but my Mom made damn sure I understood that putting on a cape and pretending I'm Superman is not going to make me fly. And therein lies the crux of the whole matter, doesn't it? Having some adult/parent/authority figure around to explain to a kid the difference between Luke Skywalker shooting a Tie-Fighter, and you shooting up your homey. It would easy to say it's a black and white thing, but it's never really about race in America, it's about class. There are plenty of poor white kids who turn to gangs for support, it's not just black youths. I had a Mom who didn't have to go to work, who could raise me. I went to good schools and had some proper education. Presumably you, Davey D., a black man, went to good schools as well. You're black, that doesn't automatically make you a gang member, does it? If someone is there to shed some light, then the entertainment remains simply that, entertainment. If no one is around, the entertainment becomes the substitute authority. Unfortunately, my point only seems to support the point of people who want more and more censorship. Example, IF no one is home to supervise the kids and tell them right from wrong, then we MUST have censorship or else more people will die from gang stupidity. As a musician, I don't want this. But as a human being, I want to be able to walk down the street in the Mission, in LA, in NYC, and not worry about getting shot. It's an awkward place to be in. If we are able to reach people, educate them, I don't think we'll have these problems. I applaud KMEL's new approach to (hopefully) emphasize the positive in Hip-Hop, not the negative. As much as I want to see artistic freedom survive, I want to see people survive even more. If not playing Gangsta raps results in fewer deaths, then so be it. But, I think the problem goes deeper than what is played or not played on the radio. Most people, given the choice, will choose life over death, positive over negative. Please, keep moving in a positive direction. PEACE! Gamma Ray Records / The Marginal Prophets STOP MAKING THESE GANSTA'S RULE THE TV'S. I'M WIT YALL 100%. DAVEY, YOU ARE AN ARTICULATE BROTHER WHO CAN REALLY DEMAND AN AUDIENCE'S ATTENTION. SO DO WHAT YOU DO BEST AND GO FOR IT.
It sounds almost as though you are saying that gangsta rappers havent played a major role in the state of young folks today. Im curious to know know if I am understanding this correctly. No Doubt it is a necessity to address the roles that the whole "Gangsta Crew" has on America's youth. But I would like for it to be made clear to me wheather or not you were defending gangsta rappers by mentioning the predominantly white "history makers" like Farrah, Sylvester, Arnold, Former President Bush, and all those other people who have certainly influenced America and our mode of thinking as Americans. Are you saying that gangsta rappers (who have chosen to idolize these characters) are not responsible for their actions because the Italian gangstas and others started the trend???? JUST CURIOUS!
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