More Fun On Breihan's Blog

more interaction--this time involving an angry rock fan named "dahata."

enjoy...

A dance class picture of some "gangsta" rapper is supposed to show that many of these guys are frauds? Hell, anybody with a brain knew that anyway. Even the myth of the badass African-American heavyweight champion (and we all know the boxing / hip-hop interface is crucial) is taking a severe (literal) beating these days, with Eastern Europeans like Vlad and Vitali Klitschko and Sergei Liakhovich battering and bloodying these "badass" black men all over the ring, and making them look far less than badass. *Ass-whupped* is more like it. Maybe the Russians are where it's at for street cred, brothers and sisters! Anyway, this Breihan dude seems to be trying way too hard with the hip-hop stuff: as Iggy Pop once said, the idea of a young male Negro is still so incredibly exotic to these naive lefty American journo types, far more so than the music often merits. Hip-hop is still treated by such types as if it's this outre, outsider form of art, when the reality it it's become every bit boringly up its own arse as rock and roll was in the mid-1970s before punk. Yeah bro, "I'm lovin' it" indeed! Music critics who are always poking around for any shred of commercialism with rock and roll bands seem to suddenly turn a blind eye to this issue when hip-hoppers equate artistic integrity with bling. Why is that? Because they are a bunch of hypocrites? If Thom Yorke suddenly did a McDonalds ad, would he get the free pass that rappers get? And finally, Breihan, you are a wannabe hipster, because if you're weren't you'd have the balls to admit that Mobb Deep's _Amerikaz Nightmare_ album was actually very good -- right up there with their "seminal" 1990s material. Even the Thomas Dolby cop worked. But since the album and band weren't seen as "hip" anymore at that point, you casually rubbish it/them and dwell on a lot of lesser bands. Don't go away mad, Tom.

Posted by: DaHata at May 5, 2006 10:19 AM

I'm not going to disagree with the whole personality thing, but the Three 6 dudes can ride a beat, and Dilla couldn't. He's not even remotely unique there; half the rappers working right now can't ride beats. But that matters.

(This dahata guy is adorable.)

Posted by: Tom Breihan at May 5, 2006 12:30 PM

Never mind the cutesy attempts at patronization, Breihan. DaHata speaks the truth, the kind that makes PC music critics -- who worship doo-ragged young black males with guns (as long as the guns aren't pointed at them) as romantic heroes, but who also see a shotgun-toting, beer-drinking southern white man driving a pick-up truck adorned with a Confederate flag as the ultimate enemy -- squirm. You Noo Yawk slick media boys worship transgression as long as it fits a college-boy's liberal PC agenda. Someday you'll grow out of it.

Posted by: DaHata at May 5, 2006 05:21 PM

dahata--i don't get your assessment of breihan at all. i guess your take is not from a hip hop perspective at all, but from the perspective of an angry punk fan. the fact is this. real hip hop fans have never given a shit when hip hop artists have sold out to corporate interests. when pete rock and large pro were doing sprite commercials in the mid 80s, hip hop fans were happy to see their heroes making some money. the fact is your rock and roll take on "selling out" makes no sense in a hip hop context. its the average white fan/critic who gives a shit about that, not real hip hop fans. granted, there are white hip hop fans who have adopted that way of thinking to hip hop music, but they are outsiders. that attitude comes from loser music fans who can't leave their basements long enough to get laid and get when their favorite bands are making money and having fun. i know very few hip hop fans who care if their favorite artists are making money as long as they continue to make good music. so if common and mos wanna do commercials, they should by all means. i honestly hate when rock fans import that stupidity into hip hop criticism. in fact, i'd think that is one of the biggest problems with the whole backpack scene--that they have adopted that way of thinking. im sure this is an area on which breihan and i can agree. as for your commentary on white liberals being obsessed with black thuggery, i'm not really sure what the point is. but just so you know, it wasn't iggy pop who came up with the idea that the idea of the black male is exotic to white liberal types. it was norman mailer in his piece, "the white negro." get your shit straight homey....

Posted by: bsidewinzagain at May 7, 2006 02:14 PM