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My World: Live and let live

Let me start with this disclaimer: there is no bad blood between The Activist staff this quarter. During our meeting we often laugh at, ahem, with, each other. However, I have to disagree with the previous “My World” opinion column by fellow Activist staff member Othello Gooden. I know, I know, it was an opinion piece. But I could not let this extremely one-sided view go on without throwing in my two cents. In this generation, there are no musical outlets untapped: anything from grunge, pop, folk music, or jazz is available for you from a wide range of artists, ready for you to pick their songs and listen, depending on what catches your ear. And yes, rap is also included in this gigantic field of musical style. But why is rap targeted constantly and so unfairly? Yes, there are many songs that degrade women, songs about strippers, songs about being in love with the hottest bartender, and unfortunately, songs about being (sigh) “wiped down”. But are these songs influencing what people do? Or are these songs influenced by what people are already doing? I think if there were not people already going to nightclubs and falling in love with strippers and bartenders (however explicitly), there would be no inspiration for these lyrics.

And if you open your mind just a fraction, you will notice that for every one of the songs that make you cringe, there is a song made that is a counter-argument for the foolishness. Artists like Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, Kanye West, and groups like The Roots make songs that relate to the thoughts and feelings of people who want something with a little more depth. They use profanity for emphasis, not degradation. Do not misunderstand me, sometimes I can be caught listening to the foolishness; who doesn’t feel that sometimes they are dressed so nicely from their “shoulders, chest, pants, shoes” that they should be “wiped down”? But when I tire of that, I certainly know of all my alternatives.

Which leads me to my next point: music has been controversial since, well, forever. People were having sex way before Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was released thirty years ago. The song didn’t promote promiscuity; it simply told you what the man needed. And who didn’t (I mean, doesn’t) listen to Prince? The man is an icon; he plays basically every instrument known to man and probably some that aren’t, and anyone who doesn’t have at least one song from the soundtrack to “Purple Rain” memorized has absolutely no idea what they are missing and should be forced to watch it at least twice a week until they do. Controversial music is what gives people their individuality.

But the music-oriented television stations know where to draw the line so that they can keep their younger viewers. The programs and videos they show are all edited, and if parents still think that it isn’t enough then monitor what your children are watching. If a parent thinks that it is not important to do so, then it is their lack of leadership, not the artists who make the music’s, fault if their children get a hold of what may seem like less than desirable music. Listening to certain songs is a choice; no one forces you to. I agree with the way rap artist Lil’ Wayne put it on one of his hundred of freestyles released over the past couple of years: “You may say that it’s wrong/ But I ain’t talkin’ to ya child/ I’m talkin’ to this song.”

Now I will never say that sometimes artists go overboard. Rapper Eminem constantly wrote songs about suicide and murdering his on-again, off-again wife. I personally do not think that makes for relaxing bubble bath music, but I cannot campaign against his message. It is not my job to censor. But if there is something playing that I don’t want to hear, there is one thing that I can do without stifling someone’s creativity: turn it off.

I’m done standing on my soapbox. For right now. Most of us will just have to learn to agree to disagree. But before I go (you knew it was coming) I have to address a comment from Othello Gooden’s previous “My World” article on urban fashion: “We see these styles on the streets; they need to stay there so proper authorities can deal with them accordingly.” The first time I read this all I could say was, “What?!” What exactly does that even mean? That urban fashion should only be worn by criminals who stand on street corners because they are the only ones the designs are made for? GQ magazine does not set the standard for what is and is not fashionable, at least not for the whole world. Different styles of clothes (of which I have many), piercings (of which I have7), and tattoos (of which I have 3), and various hairstyles are what make this world so unique. Does my choice of dress and decision to have body art mean that I should join the criminal world? That I should go stand outside and wait on the corner for the authorities to profile me and come pick me up? I seriously don’t think so. Without these differences we would all end up looking recycled and beige.

So there it is; I’m done giving you my two cents. Feel free to pay me back.