Which Rap era stands as the best?

[MattZ]

i don't think kanye really hates each and every white person...especially the gaggles of them buying his album. really though, if this artist doesn't know me personally...i just chalk it up to a generalization towards the subsets of white america that are legitimately holding those of color down.

 

I am even more jaded. I think it's all entertainment. I mean, Ice-T went from Cop Killer to being a cop on Law and Order for crying out loud. Ice Cube and Flavor Flav railed against the establishment and now couldn't be more firmly in bed with it.

 

Just like heavy metal dudes dont really worship Satan, I think the majority of rap guys are playing the part. I mean, some of them may hate white people, but I think the lyrics are meant to fill a niche. Or sell albums to people that really do hate white people (or at least like hearing people rapping about it).

[EL the Famous]

well, it's like I said, i'm sure that there is some subsection of 'the establishment' or 'white people' that these artists really do take issue with and justifiably so. however, just like anybody who is rallying against a certain group or issue or whatever...you hit a point of practicality that makes it hard to be 100% into it.

 

the world isn't totally black/white, no matter how much you rap about it. plus, hip hop has gone beyond Russel Simmons and Rick Rubin shipping records out of a dorm room...it's a huge fucking business. people are getting paid. paid by a large % of white suburban teenagers.

[bjorn_skurj]

Rap would not be what it is without the buying power of white people.

[aricandover]

On a related note, this is something I've been struggling with a for a while, mostly because I've been listening to a lot of Common lately.

 

Sometimes I have a hard time reconciling the fact that I love hip hop and the fact that numerous hip hop artists seem to not think too kindly of me (or more precisely, the group of people I happen to have been born into).

 

In most forms of music, it's not too hard to seperate what a singer says and what he actually feels, because most of the time, it isn't autobiographical, but with hip hop, it's not the same thing. When Kanye says "and the white man gets paid off of all of that", it's pretty obvious that it's his feelings. So how should I, as a white hip hop fan, react to lyrics like that. I don't really have a problem with it, but it does make me feel a little bit awkward when the person who is making music I appreciate and enjoy says things against me.

 

I know it's not a big deal, and I'm not going to stop listening to their music, but it's always made me feel a little awkward when listening to certain songs and artists. Does anyone else feel this way? Probably not, as it's pretty stupid.

 

you can even it all out by listening to some Skrewdriver