The songs you are listening to, one is from one of the greatest rappers of all time Big Daddy Kane an the other from one hip-hop's jokes Soulja Boy. I am sorry but anybody who thinks Soulja is a talented rapper is seriously delusional. How does these songs relate to street lit?
"This new form of "street lit" began to remind me of a similar destruction of hip-hop, where the same ghettocentric stories began to take precedence over the creative perspectives and multi-faceted voices and subjects of our urban music. All of a sudden, you could not succeed as a rapper unless you had sold drugs, committed violent crimes, and claimed to be an unruly gangster, who had done hard time in prison. You couldn't rap about the normal joys of life anymore. These new kids on the block rejected how Ice Cube had had a good day, while preferring to hear how dark in hell it was for DMX."- Omar Tyree
Tyree said it best. Where oh where has hip hop gone?
In his article Tyree argues that the street fiction novels that are coming out now resembles the death of true hip hop. Tyree realizes that he is not as popular with his urban youth audience because of his wanting to stray from topics dealing with gold-diggers, prostitutes, and drug dealing gangsters to something new and different. Tyree says, "The fact is, when I began to write about good black men with A Do Right Man in 1997, the importance of black family with Single Mom in 1998, the reality of black-on-black love with Sweet St. Louis in 1999, the indulgences of superstars with Just Say No! in 2001, the ugly face of New Orleans poverty with Leslie in 2002, or the challenge of positive feminine power with Boss Lady in 2005, few readers bothered to listen to me." Tyree foresees that street fiction would soon be obscure if they continue to write about the about unprogressive African-American men and women. He concludes by saying that publishing is a business and to sell books you must write about what people want to hear about and that is sadly the more gritty and abrasive books. "Either the product makes money like "street lit" and sex novels do, or it fades into obscurity like a VHS video tape machine. But if the only way I can earn a living now in African-American adult fiction is to sell my people the same poison that they've become addicted to, then I quit with my artistic integrity still in tact, while moving on to a more progressive mission," says Tyree.
It's like everything in media these days needs to contain sex and violence to sell. That's all people want to see. Right now, I am reading "Pain Freak" by Gregory Garrett, a street fiction novel, and the after the first two chapters of the book, I already dislike the book. It is about a young woman who was raped as a child by her cousin and then becomes addicted to sex. She then meets a man who is not only a drug-dealer but also abusive. She has his baby at 15 and after ratting him out for abusing her and sending him to prison, when he comes out, she goes back for seconds. The protagonist in this book only cares about making money, having sex, and choosing all the wrong men. She makes women look bad. And the way she speaks in the book is appalling. Point is that Tyree is right. How are we suppose to progress and move forward as people if we continue to read these books that denigrate who we are? Some people say that street fiction novels contribute to the stereotypes imposed on African-Americans and books like "Pain Freak" do by creating this "heroine" whose only care in the world is having good sex and making that paper. I appreciate his honesty and bluntness and I wish him luck in his career.
Teachers want to read street lit books in their classrooms to get closer to their students and give them a book that can relate to them, this is a prime example of the WRONG BOOK TO CHOOSE. I repeat the WRONG BOOK. Its a WRONG BOOK for any young women of color to read. For one it is poorly written and it would make you feel ashamed to be a young black women.
"This new form of "street lit" began to remind me of a similar destruction of hip-hop, where the same ghettocentric stories began to take precedence over the creative perspectives and multi-faceted voices and subjects of our urban music. All of a sudden, you could not succeed as a rapper unless you had sold drugs, committed violent crimes, and claimed to be an unruly gangster, who had done hard time in prison. You couldn't rap about the normal joys of life anymore. These new kids on the block rejected how Ice Cube had had a good day, while preferring to hear how dark in hell it was for DMX."- Omar Tyree
Tyree said it best. Where oh where has hip hop gone?
In his article Tyree argues that the street fiction novels that are coming out now resembles the death of true hip hop. Tyree realizes that he is not as popular with his urban youth audience because of his wanting to stray from topics dealing with gold-diggers, prostitutes, and drug dealing gangsters to something new and different. Tyree says, "The fact is, when I began to write about good black men with A Do Right Man in 1997, the importance of black family with Single Mom in 1998, the reality of black-on-black love with Sweet St. Louis in 1999, the indulgences of superstars with Just Say No! in 2001, the ugly face of New Orleans poverty with Leslie in 2002, or the challenge of positive feminine power with Boss Lady in 2005, few readers bothered to listen to me." Tyree foresees that street fiction would soon be obscure if they continue to write about the about unprogressive African-American men and women. He concludes by saying that publishing is a business and to sell books you must write about what people want to hear about and that is sadly the more gritty and abrasive books. "Either the product makes money like "street lit" and sex novels do, or it fades into obscurity like a VHS video tape machine. But if the only way I can earn a living now in African-American adult fiction is to sell my people the same poison that they've become addicted to, then I quit with my artistic integrity still in tact, while moving on to a more progressive mission," says Tyree.
It's like everything in media these days needs to contain sex and violence to sell. That's all people want to see. Right now, I am reading "Pain Freak" by Gregory Garrett, a street fiction novel, and the after the first two chapters of the book, I already dislike the book. It is about a young woman who was raped as a child by her cousin and then becomes addicted to sex. She then meets a man who is not only a drug-dealer but also abusive. She has his baby at 15 and after ratting him out for abusing her and sending him to prison, when he comes out, she goes back for seconds. The protagonist in this book only cares about making money, having sex, and choosing all the wrong men. She makes women look bad. And the way she speaks in the book is appalling. Point is that Tyree is right. How are we suppose to progress and move forward as people if we continue to read these books that denigrate who we are? Some people say that street fiction novels contribute to the stereotypes imposed on African-Americans and books like "Pain Freak" do by creating this "heroine" whose only care in the world is having good sex and making that paper. I appreciate his honesty and bluntness and I wish him luck in his career.
Teachers want to read street lit books in their classrooms to get closer to their students and give them a book that can relate to them, this is a prime example of the WRONG BOOK TO CHOOSE. I repeat the WRONG BOOK. Its a WRONG BOOK for any young women of color to read. For one it is poorly written and it would make you feel ashamed to be a young black women.
VERDICT: I DEEM PAIN FREAK NOT ONLY DEGRADING AND POORLY WRITTEN BUT INAPPROPRIATE NEVER THE LESS
Road to the Death of Hip Hop Take 1
Road to the Death of Hip Hop Take 1
Songs Ain't no half steppin-Big Daddy Kane
Turn my swagg on-Soulja boy
No comments:
Post a Comment