Yo, is Rap Just Another Four Letter Word?

Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country.

Long before the "gangsta" element slid over to "hip hop" the reasoning for the whole genre and style was generally purported to be, to show what life in the "hood" was like. That worked for a while and it even drew more sympathy from the otherwise estranged. But as lower passions would have it, the style and language of rap began more and more to take on a life and purpose of its own, namely?sex. If by some magic stroke sex were temporarily extricated from every rappers thoughts and vocabulary, the entire industry would collapse quicker than the stock market in 1929. Now that's brazen!

Referring to rappers as artist and giving them full press doesn't guarantee that it is really an art form, all it says is that its here. But was it here before? Does it really have anything to do with the African American background, culture or heritage? I propose that it does not. Very few whites have succeeded in rap but even that does not prove that it is necessarily a black cultural thing. Growing up as a boy there were only two black families in our town. One of the boys from those families was my best friend. But to say that gave me even a basic knowledge of the African American culture would be an exaggeration. Later I arrived in the city of New Orleans just after the civil rights laws were passed. My exposure to the black culture increased exponentially. Finally I attended two seminaries the last of which was part of the National Baptist Convention a purely African American denomination. What I discovered about the African American culture will always be one of the greatest excursions of my entire life.

Our entire class would sit before some of the most dignified black gentlemen, professors and wait for the streams of their thoughts, opinion and knowledge to flow down to us. Most exciting was when they shifted their emphasis away from the curriculum and began to divulge elements of their private lives and their past. Life in New Orleans as a black man or women was no easy thing. Stories of their upbringing and their struggles would leave anyone with their heart in their throat. These old gentlemen for me were living examples of courage dignity and the best human qualities. What I learned about black culture in short is this. African Americans have a deep and ancient past; they are people with a lasting heritage.

I am sure that the blatant indulgence of sexual descriptive and four letter words that is rap's most prevalent aspect, is not part of their ancient culture and history. It does not accurately depict their culture, their history or any other part of their experience. I don't think my protesting is such a big deal. But I'd guess that if my old seminary professors could see and hear today's rap, you would hear the roar raising up from their graves and billowing down many an American avenue.

Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote, Hook Line and Sinker or What has Your Church Been Teaching You, published by PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book recently released by Xulon Press entitled An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ. Rev Bresciani has his own website at http://americanprophet.org

Latest News


Sky News

Just for the record: the Oz Olympic music was phoney too
Scotsman, United Kingdom - 14 hours ago
It turns out that Australia also knows a thing or two about miming music. Eight years after Sydney hosted what was dubbed "the best Olympic Games ever", ...
Sydney orchestra faked 2000 Olympics performance CTV.ca
Sydney Orchestra Admits to Fakery New York Times
Sydney Olympics Fakery Sky News
Independent Online - Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 265 news articles

GM to offer radios with ports for music players
The Associated Press - 18 hours ago
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp. says it will offer optional radios with USB ports for personal music players on some of its 2009 models. ...

Enews 2.0

First Pop-Star, Michael Jackson, Gets Older, but His Music Never Dies
Enews 2.0, UK - 1 hour ago
Since the 1980s, he became a dominant image in the popular music and his videos airing on MTV, such as “Billy Jean” or “Thriller” turned his figure into ...
Michael Jackson at 50: The music is still welcome even if the man ... Palm Beach Post
Michael Jackson: Dangerous or Invincible at 50? FemaleFirst.co.uk
Michael Jackson Turns 50 And CNS Survey Shows Fans Still Love His ... AHN
Manila Bulletin - Chatter Shmatter
all 185 news articles

Xinhua

Britney's Made Her Mark, Says Pharrell
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 15 hours ago
Hip-hop mogul Pharrell Williams has advised Britney Spears not to worry if she fails to win an award at this year's MTV Video Music Awards -- because she is ...
Britney Spears will not appear in MTV Video Music Awards EnjoyFrance.com
Kid Rock: Playing MTV's Video Music Awards DetNews.com
MTV Marks its Return to Los Angeles for the '2008 MTV Video Music ... Earthtimes (press release)
Digital Spy - antiMUSIC.com
all 510 news articles

Global Music Group, Inc. of Delaware Makes Offer for Assets of ...
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
LOS ANGELES, Aug 29, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Global Music Group, Inc. a corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware (GMG Delaware) today ...

Granada Theater brings live music downtown
Dallas Morning News, TX - 5 hours ago
Downtown Dallas has joined the Granada Theater to present a series of daylong Saturday concerts in Pegasus Plaza. Headliners for the first (Louis XIV) and ...
Kenny Rogers releases exclusive hits collection Reuters
all 20 news articles

A bountiful classical music season kicks off this week
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 12 hours ago
Here comes the annual fall avalanche of riches from the region's classical music groups, including some surprises from Opera San Jose. ...
CCU faculty present 'Romantic Lieder' Myrtle Beach Sun News
all 2 news articles

BBC News

Music Minute: Remembering Katrina
NPR - 14 hours ago
All this week we've been ending our show with different pieces of music connected to the Democratic National Convention. But with the convention floor empty ...
Video: Gustav Follows Katrina's Path CBS
all 6,105 news articles

MTV Video Music Awards: Pussycat Dolls will beat Britney Spears ...
Los Angeles Times, CA - 18 hours ago
I think that our two music kudos prophets — David "Guru" Schnelwar and Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch — have correctly forecast the winner of this MTV Video Music ...
MTV Tr3s and Calle 13 Partner to Unveil the Grammy Winning Duo's ... HispanicBusiness.com (press release)
IN BRIEF Fresno Bee (subscription)
all 5 news articles

Concerts make beautiful music for D-Backs
Arizona Republic, AZ - 8 hours ago
There, patrons pay $25 to $75 a game to hang out and listen to a band or DJ music. The ticket does not include a seat at the game, but club-seat and suite ...

Resources