tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4754850197734248374.post4046018138939047592..comments2023-08-19T06:18:56.992-04:00Comments on LEFT UPPERCUT!: Reverend Al...You're Losing UsLe Tigre Rougehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08617049241496531186noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4754850197734248374.post-60893508394152355372007-09-13T22:54:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:54:00.000-04:00I think those that are encouraging the youth, are ...I think those that are encouraging the youth, are often not covered by the media. There are many people still fighting the good fight, but they are not recognized or heard on a national level. At times I think legacies of past great leaders have become so overly romanticized that we don't recognize the daily warriors that are fighting for the youth and the poor in every community in the country on a daily basis. Martin and Malcolm led movements on a public level, but it was people less heralded behind the scenes that organized those grassroots movements and fought those fights.Le Tigre Rougehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08617049241496531186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4754850197734248374.post-57212375288781858732007-09-12T23:21:00.000-04:002007-09-12T23:21:00.000-04:00Good point LTR. I wonder…who do the youth have now...Good point LTR. I wonder…who do the youth have now? I know I need to read more and keep up with domestic current events, but the only movement-oriented person (I wont call them civil rights leaders) I can think of that is validating the voice of the youth today is Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Every generation seems to have a seasoned elder to validate a voiceless youth, as you stated. If Sharpton was ours, who is validating today’s youth?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4754850197734248374.post-88479971566078635272007-09-12T22:29:00.000-04:002007-09-12T22:29:00.000-04:00D-Fence,You make some good points. What I would s...D-Fence,<BR/><BR/>You make some good points. What I would say is this - even if we (the first generation of hip hop) get older and more wiser, we shouldn't feel that we are no longer a part of the culture that we lived in and helped create and shape. I think we do a dis-service to ourselves when we limit hip hop to simply music, or what's on radio today. Hip Hop is rooted deeper within us than maybe we realize. Beyond the music, hair styles, fashions, dances, and cultural trends that hip hop shaped (and continues to shape) it also changed the way we see and interact with the world. Our generation (and of course I can't speak for everyone) has an edge and attitude (mostly for better, but sometimes for worse) that is derived from hip hop. We tend not to take shit and that alone has helped many of us prosper in the workplace, school, etc. <BR/><BR/>That said hip hop is clearly youth-driven. It appealed to us and it continues to appeal to them (today's youth). The greatness of Al Sharpton was his ability to validate those who were otherwise powerless and voiceless. My concern is that when he takes blanket swipes at hip hop, he loses touch with young people. And once older folk lose their ability to respect and have an open discourse with young people, they cease to be able to impact the changes they want to see.Le Tigre Rougehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08617049241496531186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4754850197734248374.post-89593196438539109622007-09-11T21:59:00.000-04:002007-09-11T21:59:00.000-04:00You make a great point about Sharpton. He has sto...You make a great point about Sharpton. He has stopped supporting hip-hop the way he did 15 years ago. Then again, so have I. On one hand, I think much of the rage against hip-hop is misplaced and misdirected. On the other, while I support an artist's 1st Amendment right to express him/herself in their medium of choice, I can't say I support the content of their expression, at least not that of most artists in rotation on your local hip-hop/R&B station. Could it be that Sharpton and hip-hop have both changed, both grown in different directions? True, there are still some vestiges of that conscience hip-hop I was raised on, just as there are still traits of the Sharpton we knew in the ‘90s, however you have to have a keen eye and ear to find them. I wont pretend that all early ‘90s albums were progressive. “The Chronic,” “Doggy Style,” and “All Eyes on Me” are classics that will always have a place in my heart, but no longer have a place in my CD changer. So I guess the question I must ask myself is who has changed: the artists, the industry, or me?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com