Melyssa Ford and Kim Osorio were the only women on the panel, and they are good representatives. Ford made sure to point that out that very few people can afford the lifestyle that these rappers portray. Both T.I. and Nelly became uncomfortable at that point, as if she let out the top secret. What she did not mention though, from what I saw; is that of those very few people who can afford to live that way, NONE actually live that way. Sadly, a lot of people will not expose that. Another problem that people don't address, is that the current hot commercial rappers are not talented. These rappers claim that they just do what N.W.A. did, but they'll never make a song like Fuck the Police - because they lack the heart and the talent. Kim Osorio did mention Kanye West at some point, and his commercial success without glorifying violence or abuse to women. T.I. responded to her by saying that the reason for Kanye's success is that he made his debut album for college kids - that's not true. The real difference is that Kanye West is musically inclined and genuinely talented, which sets him apart from the rest. This is probably one reason why so many young people now look up to skaters. The bar for rappers has been set extremely low, and its getting corny; when skating takes some real talent, and its becoming hot again.
Its fascinating that critics of rap are so politically correct with their comments about the immoral music that they allege is destroying youth; critics say that rappers are "misrepresenting" when they're flat out lying. Everything that rappers do now is for shock value. The problem is that they have shocked the listeners to the point where we are insensitive. For istance, after seeing Tip Drill and P Poppin, it doesn't seem radical to hear "shake ya ass bitch I'ma throw this money" (I fux with Jeezy by the way.) And its not unusual to see a young man sing along to "bitch I might be" over and over (I do not fux with Gucci Mane.) Rap videos are nothing but soft porn, but no one has a problem because: hey, Snoop just did a real porno, @ least its not that bad. None of what they show us is real. They are running out of gimmick, so they're thirsty to make a show at every opportunity. T.I. just went to jail, he probably doesn't care that much, but that's no the saddest part. The saddest part is that when he gets out, he will go on TV and say"I did six months, it was nothing." So his fans will go out and do the same dumb shit he did, they can't afford the lawyers he has, so they'll get 3-5 years.
T.I. and Nelly mainly blame the market, in doing so they essentially admit that they sold out. But that is a hard dilemma to jam them up on. Think about it, these dudes were regular guys living regular lives. Along the way, they have encountered debt, jail, babies, baby mommas, the list goes on. When you consider these circumstances, you could probably recognize how much they would treasure an opportunity to make real money and get out the ’hood at the same time. Then its easy understand how easy it would be for a rapper to make this compromise, and that is only if you assume that certain individual had some integrity to begin with. It is a trivial position; if all a man has to do is be chauvinistic and vulgar on track, and that will pay his rent; then that’s his answer. T.I. and Nelly have some merit in their belief that they are unfairly targeted, their superiors influence the songs that they release. And one of the problems is that BET does not have any record executives on the panel to talk about their part of the industry.
Another sad truth is that not enough people hold BET responsible, when they are the channel that plays the vulgar videos all day without dedicating a single half hour to an alternative. The rap game is all twisted up. Its not right to call these rappers artists, because they are not. They are talking, walking trademarks who let the market speak for their products. If we let the market tell it, 50 Cent is the greatest of all time - and we know that's not true. And as I watched Crouch hate on T.I. and T.I. get angry with Crouch, I realized that after the show these guys will shake hands and hug until the cameras roll for the next time they need to fight on air. These guys are politicians, no wonder why they rap about pimpin' so much. The same principles apply for pimps, preachers, and politicians - John Street could have been a reverend or a mack just as easy as he became mayor. The same thing goes for the rap game. Rappers have become players in the game, and that superseded the art of music. Rap is not the counterculture that it once was. This game is just like any other, its just a micro structure of the big game of life where we live - which makes it very American. This is why the whole concept of "Hop vs. America" is questionable.
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