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The. Rap. Rap started out as a bragging art form. Or derived from the dozens. Of young moms is so cool. She went to McDonald's the Pinochet Gourlay away. Sunday night and I love all the souls you see through for me just the plan. Of a young man here is so nice you know I think Painkiller the comb I feel. A lot of people that were pioneers Grandmaster Flash Grand Wizard Theodore cool dark color Rock Eddie Cheeba Hollywood the list goes on. Civil rights movement is passed. Yeah by consciousness emerging among of people. Like you for. The way. His life was never the same from them.
If anything I think that music should be waking up white America to how bad it really yes. This is reality. Rap. The voice of the community. Like. To say it can make you feel sick. Rat No. One. Said. The same. Just stop play
here comes the next one of the music. So when you are done for you sort of look straight into the camera Are Your Friends of what you do for the record. Mel Reed and I'm a writer. Dave Cooke radio name is David being and I do about seven or eight different things between in the music. Rap is a commercial term for a very old tradition of oral Portree. That was originated by Native Americans maverick Americans in the United States probably has origins in East Africa. And it's come from I think it probably means we're going to have the kind of hotels that we're calling it long as you have the same kind of general view or a cynical world view placed outside the real field where some very well possible notion.
She says to show you say Yeah thanks good old natural stuff get a jacket on PR. Don't stop there. Rat out every rabbit. Just like that is going to be the braggadocio element. Bragging inflating yourself you know this goes all the way back to Africa. It's nothing to do with you know anything that people want to say it's a social phenomenon because the climate's it's a game of going there every turn my back every time I see my role. There will be a dissing aspect of it but basically you know that is
done in the spirit is being competitive. You know it's like if I play basketball ominous try and slam the ball in your face you know if we play baseball much time beat you of wood box on the beach a but you know with wrapping around you in a minute. Hello my name is Dave. And I'm a MC. I wrapped. The challenger always goes for hours ago. But let him do you want to be fight phone so much I think you want to be like me you want to build a reputation. I look at you and all I do is laugh because the guy you dream to have a list here that's the battle's one you're the mama's boy and I'm the father son to a good girl pastoralist I got extended that's not materialistic he said was that if you'll give me some but you gotta try going to I got a real one you want is a plastic amount of Saugus one what. One up plan that doesn't work. You're going to get me you know play the part I want to ask you what's it gonna be you limit death I said I want to be.
I've heard this somewhere before. Yes I am because I'm a you know I never heard Art is art is really pretty rich. Can you come off the mylar. I like being heavy set for get be a slim market all the times no. Sex trade routes of the top of success. And. Yet still looking like a bum in the streets trying to keep you would've brought the light switch on the road you gotta hope that. Nothing more than a new jet with the key point blank if you can get the big crazy shut God is backing away. As you know he was pothole you know look this is the coverup. Come and now Mike Gravel on a sheep like you say I want to like you. You're too weak. I never want to
buy something like this. I'll grab the microphone. Point out the space you're dismissed. Now it's up to Vettel doing keep pushing Oh man you know what all. Is the way you presented do. You got to presume it was and Phil is doing a few aggressive if you tell me dude you care really is like fighting dude you can beat him it witty legal replicas somebody you come at him. You know even if you lose if you fight me if you lose you don't run off. If you fight and you lose hey you got me today but expect one to morrow. That's way got to be rep a nothing different. Rap is the same thing as fighting. A can. Now. Be the sea I. Love ha r d. Me. Like.
Do. When unemployment on their way were one of the Union Home Like no. Broke up this morning and I had nothing to do with to give me some word but the crowd one cool stepped into the office said Dan in the seat thinkin about the boss and then ahead of me was a nothing go and know all the things all wrong me mentally break in mid-air from straw so I had to comprise a word to the wise do what I do best enough to hang with the guys. That are always on a gramophone. As you know I have some of you may have read what I don't give you no missed you know why attitudes are messed up. The gross acts of deity. Sometimes the gang slang in. Cocaine. Sometimes a mental block. Then you have to become a job. Play ball. Be the best that you can be. But that ain't that easy because as many out there that tries to compete. Take your program and
wipe it out. Delete one push of a button. One time you a star next time and nothing in the city of Oakland is a city of the gang. Whoever can hang is the better man and I mean a veteran. You gotta keep on pushing and peddling when I say Pearlie don't mean streets. 9 times outta 10 it's a battle in your mind and only YOU can win. How did you learn how to rap without writing your lyrics down how does it come to you so easily. That's a good question. I guess guy gives certain people gifts. Yes I was knowing. How or how did you do in school when you were in school. Citizenship was crummy. Scholarship was good. I was a little test. I mean it's for sitting in a class. Being quiet I'm not a quiet person.
Family you might hear it in New York. Someone should tell you more about that. At all. Tiredness of the middle. Don't Roanoke win definitely because rather than work out it's time we brought it out. I got most upmost respect for New York with his Florida. Lead rep stay in New York. Yesterday. Do you want to be a rapper. Yeah why. Because
me is fun for one you know and I'm good a. At least I think so and everybody else and know me say yeah you know top dead. Spot. Glamour in the glory. MLM are from Jacob and I don't know are from a P.G. crew. I'm a rapper and lyric writer. Hello I'm Jacob from MC no more and Jake and I'm in charge of deejaying and program drums and I do on one name is Alan Black and Metro wreckers mainly the glue for everything hold it together so that these guys can do what they do best. That's right.
That's right. Rice is a. Really no. Word. For it. Because. It doesn't. While. Black. And. Black. Friday. For sale right. After. The phone hacking like I said that's a dark art for say among Michael.
Moore. Where lyrics come from for you. For me it's kind of funny to see. Just listening to my father snuffed out a question from some you know school a real school you know the 30s the 40s back you know the gangster days you know you talk to my mama time you know they had they had the penitentiary right back there so my father always talked in rhyme sometimes you know like you know if you didn't go to class on the beach arrest that kind of thing you know. Wow. I don't know Jimmy says he lived here and in my heart in his life that called the police on the West Bank where you sold out or if you think you can make in one house you could make a record for all to know. Give. Me your. Thoughts on. The way to get here.
Engineers number not. To. Be so weird you get weird you would you did you lock it in your head you never know I might just be at home listening all records. I hear some I like. I just put it down to you know he's attracted the kind of stuff the door with. All your club. Finds of the dog will sit with your friends. But the words are what are important. That's what's appealing to me as a writer about rap is that the words are not secondary to music which is what you get in Iraq and other forms of pop music. Now a major Why record companies assign an X left and right just like rock me once it wants to cooperate get into it then you know you know just multimillions of dollars and rap right now and the locals have
been trying to come up financially struggling so I have no time to trail one which is right now what we're doing right now and I want to. Know they're the first ones off a teaching crew that tried to laugh and make the deal like the springboard. For you know to get the record label notice to give these guys. Notice and let our always told or whoever works the hardest rehearsed the hardest and tried to go somewhere those are the ones who are going to make it right and you know it's time to get started. How is that place. We'll wait for the doctors to express themselves as you know we all know what kind of condition that their society is on right now. Good thing you know no value whatever so key is looked to belong to some they want to identify with someone if it's not gangs name
what is this music oil sis you know whilst you're doing good you one are fortunate I was raised in middle class and you know got education they able to sustain yourself on dance to society but. We all got dreams and where we come from we see that adult life the music life or the criminal life. They were in. The wrong. They. Saw the way.
The wish was it's not. So. It. Was Just The Way to go. The way I never did a starlet to live through. I look funny but you get money so your world I hope you're ready for me not go the route I'm going to want to myself wait on the ground just look at your Billboard reports and sales is the West Coast that's out selling them for the East Coast brethren all over the place. You know MC Hammer tone local NWA the list goes on and on Digital Underground right now with big business you know all these people out of Oakland or somewhere on the West Coast. He. Made you eat ribs with gravy to eat.
Beginning. Sunday morning by misuse none more definitely not anymore crossed over everywhere. Why do you think so many white kids particularly middle class white kids relate to this music. Because rap is pure It's a pure pure form of self-expression. Rap goes against the grain to a large degree. You turn on you listen to pop radio. First of all most of music on pop radio based upon black music anyway and it's just diluted So I mean. I rather have the purer stuff than the diluted stuff I would imagine would be the way of thinking even though it might not be articulated by a wide audience. We're going to have a moment of silence when we tell you all about Mike Tyson.
It's exciting it's something you turn on radio you hear on the station that station I guess you could say 10 records over and over is something new then there's always been like Carrie's aspect lets go down into the ghetto and have some fun and entertain ourselves to see how these people live and then we come back to the suburbs and you know you get to live on the wild side for a little bit and then you come back and remove yourself from it. There's always been a fascination place from what I've understood with white culture wanting to find out about black culture they've always taken stuff from our culture just never giving us credit to it. Isn't that cynical. I mean there are various living there so they can get a taste of it and go back well and I think it is. I go to school here at Cal Berkeley a lot of these kids come up here from places like Baldwin Hills San Marino places that are nowhere near Compton in Watts and Los Angeles. You go to a party. You see people flashing crip signs and talk about on role in 60s and on this and on that and on the other pretending they're gangsters.
And on a black perspective a lot of people have come to equate the harshness of get a life with being black. I've got some brand new something that's hyped and hot and ready to go coming out of the city of Oakland in Fresno cool Rajai deejay slice. It's a black thing check it out the lyrics are definitely hyped. Yes it's not going to get that urge to support. You don't like them or any of this in them. I don't think I got a voice. It wasn't because the shooting took. Place. It's the truth to the music.
And they're willing to follow the lead of their predecessors. And I'm a problem with third base does that too much to be. CONSIDERED. But if you're any of justified doing Madonna which she did like a few years ago I came to the black channel and was not supported by white radio initially with her first album came through here was played on urban stations. You know one of those 40 spots could have went to another black artist. And she got to begin with Madonna No I don't know you know I live all I know she's no longer in our camp. She got her piece of the pie and use that as a springboard to something else. So white rapper that comes in for anybody who participates in this black music art form needs to be accountable needs to hold themselves accountable to a community and even those people that are you know that that's a mindset that's not just a black and white thing just because you're black and come flying through here because a lot of brothers that will
come here and do the fly by night thing in a minute to. A Monet. And Iraq. You have a big private people tend to think oh you've got it made because you're different. White Female Rapper perfect marketing thing. But I was always really interested in the music and being true to the music and to me I didn't want to sign with anyone that couldn't help me make the music good is not just about laying down some dollars it's about. Doing B and doing music and loving rather than feel it's difficult it's a lot of wind. I think the initial reaction can sometimes be
harsh and really judge not on and I think that there is racism everywhere. What I learned is I honestly believe and I know it to be true because it's happening with groups like third base. If you are good. If you are true to the culture and respectful of where that comes from you will be accepted. We can. See it's a result was what the little subtle moves the major success stories in rap. But now most females up till now have been sort of the only time they've done a rap they've been answering a guy's rap about this. It's. Something that says to us there's there's females around that are just really serious sciences
and they're right below you don't think of them as being female rappers are just great after they're put out great reference to the present time to go out to wherever the plane take. The lights or the microphone. How much of it was don't be good Mike. One more you don't want to go. To your router to get the how do you think. People rap about everything under the sun. There's no one thing you know the world right now. The trend is for a lot of people to embrace the concept of Afrocentric city way which means having like world view that space from an African perspective as opposed to a Euro centric perspective. So that means honoring accepting and acknowledging our value system in lieu of other people's value systems and basically presenting things
and saying things on our own terms and forcing people to dialogue so that you can have what I would call a true integration meaning that you're a white guy. You have your way of viewing things I'm a black I have my way of viewing things. If we're going to talk we're both put our views on a table and walk away with each of it not you feed it to me and I go yes or that's good and now I know now what you learned from me I learn from you. And that's a trend that gets picked up by a lot of rappers now. It's the. Way it manifests itself as a lot of rappers rapping about the origins of black people
black and African cultural pride. The positive things that address the social and societal ills that are afflicting us. How much. Trouble. Is it. Going to get. Sure. With the right music. Kind of rap music I don't know what it
is. If you ever heard Public Enemy. You know never have. Pretty much a hard turn around the corner. This is. Just. It's it's just it's rebellious and. Heartsick. That's why this is a good sister. I like some of the rap music and I dislike others. I feel that it's a lot about the black culture. But sometimes it says it in a negative way and it would be more positive. What are some of the negative things which are drugs. Prison. Crime. And I don't think these are the things that should be reflected in any kind of music that music should always be it was it.
CNN vehicle decided that they will not listen to when you say that and you go and look at the mall to million dollar films. And all of violence in these movies and all the sex and in these movies and all of these just out loud disrespectful women great and so forth and so what's the difference. I mean I feel that. These kids see this every day. And all the do is expressing what they see. And I don't think they're advocating the black Skeel black silk that whites heal blacks and vice versa I think they're just expressing what they feel and what they see. Now there's a lot of pain coming out of this music too because a lot of these kids and an enormous amount of pain. And so they this is there were expressive it's a far better situation and they express it this way than to go out there with a gun and blow somebody brings up. Guns Down them. One. By. One. Disturbed at all by. Some of the violence the social classes.
I still play the wife. And the girls. Real for homicide rate you're. Open. To. Homicide living rough for a while sounds like of the film each other but. A hidden story. Let's all read about very much of a white girl to kill herself. The result is the same right. People of this. Young people really. So there's a crisis in this country. Economic crisis where you have families a lot of single people with families or ministries. Have had knowledge among blacks but also among whites. I don't know if this will be dismissed as a burst of music and probably people are in power are looking at it. For the purpose of choir phenomena which is always been the attitude toward government culture in this country. Has to deal with
one another like that. Love trades around in a lot of my most played songs from night with top when you let the watch if that is what you get back. Shouldn't have to write from a blank. You are now about to witness. If someone were to look at the bolts. But. What. If you. Don't. Want to solo.
One element that's upon a lot of most of the song is oppression by the police. That the FBI recommended rock the world realises that all the way up. But there's an issue there deserves to be investigated and more attention paid to it. And this is a classic Listen American goggles that like people feel they're pretty different about the police and whites perceive like me that there's lots of white women. Excuse me ma'am. Is your daughter in one of the cars. In the car in the first place
where. This watching this. And now she's in. A little. Late. But. Still. No. Matter. What your betters you should. Feel. My sister told me she was trying to stop the police officer from choking my brother or my and it was choking him in the first place. I did want to rescue a wrist pin on my brothers not to. Anybody just on the sidewalk to stand out here on. This every street demand on the streets I don't care what they have to do don't own passengers miss everybody I was people with people every day. Maybe parking their park just like you know just Clark and drive slowly by you. Nigger has business gone oh you know son
of a bitch he says the word you know and that's not right for him to do to the police officers they do it and do the job right but God did not put it down to the judge nobody. You know like excuse people that he's like. Play in the way. I will and I won't. In general I don't. And that mainly has to do with. The fact that I do a show on the show that I do I feel that I'm reaching out to the public and I'm trying to educate them. And. In doing so I think I send out a conflict in message. When I play a Martin Luther King speech by Malcolm X. Or I'm trying to sit there and say stop the violence and then I drop in NWA is
talking about this is that the other and I understand a perspective might be a lot of young impressionable people out there that are allowed to remain. Impressionable because their parents. Don't sit down explain to them the proper context in which to listen to music. But you know I mean if I have 25 records and I only have room to play 10 15 won't get played one of them just happens to be NWA. But it's more conscious that you're consciously not playing consciously don't play groups that I don't like or consciously played music that I think is not good and that's always a subjective thing and I consciously don't play a group like NWA who I feel sometimes will be misinterpreted by a listening audience. All the examples that rappers are probably more militant. So that's where I read it. Washington D.C. in 1963. Percy speaks you know my dear boy. Circus out. His role in this way. More Some nights he's 6 3. There's a
feeling. This is where the whole. Sex. Symbol goes first houses. History of. Drastic. Cuts. For. The ball. In. The back. There's a sound. I think so.
Because what do you call a foreign accent. Only in a different style. But similarity. That. Baseball and settles is often a long. Distance. From. This investigation listen to music but listen to music because it's music a song the norm and we don't want to I don't want to go to the sixes again I love the 60s culturally but I would go to all that stuff in this piece of work that's unnecessary. To a new Well let me take over the witness now let's call that a call. Later on I think my Alice is pretty much a pro black militant album. But still you shouldn't feel threatened in any way.
By that I feel why listen if you don't fit what I'm against racism in all of this for me I'll read Robert Brierly interview. Says that his agenda. Is to. To rewrite the history of western western western civilization and culture. And and that's basically the same believes belief that I hold because we're programmed from a very young age to believe that were inferior. And to take a stance in my music where. It's meaningless. It's not something that I choose to. Feel oppressed. Still underclass still deprive him of just a little except for the pale. So to say that everything is OK because it is best for him back a black population of a black looking out of me after I finished the song
and me write him. Ever since my name are we trust scientists to keep the peace. You could approach this from another top Scarface release this is a serious stuff. If it's all black radical rap. Is still going to power so you can't stop it from going to get a very quiet I'll say for example how can people know them to know from the left. It's called patience. It's aggressive. We were told nothing to call you something real. I can't sing. Basically.
You know rap rap rap was what was in it. And. I mean it was in at the time and you know. So you can't say. What. The political rap. Well I was becoming you know tired of the same. Brag rap. That everybody seemed to be you know. When I get my big beat the rap first came out you know black rat was over all ability to work together pragmatic here like a leader. And the you know you had everybody wanna be a gangster. And with the introduction of certain key artists like.
Public Enemy and. They started making people become more aware of what Malcolm was about and basically what the entire concept of black nationalism or and that's when I began to exorcise I'm concerned that certain rappers label themselves political but send out mixed messages. Iced tea for example. Takes an anti-drug stance. And says you know don't do drugs to kids. Nobody gets to take your place. It turns around and he has his wife now half naked on the album cover holding you know 12 gauge mixed messages like that stress certain things are more important than others. You know that saying no to drugs and one point on respecting black
women. Organization out of Miami basically is putting out the music lyrics in particular which are clearly I think in the worst case with obscenity. You know we recognize there are freedom of speech in a moment here but. Children six seven eight years of age almost assuming they're able to read can buy these are lyrics and we're not talking about minor words we're talking about a very graphically explain type of obscenity that I don't believe that there ought to be really. So but you know if it's an adult that's that that perhaps is a different situation but a child. I just cannot believe it.
We know that you can't put a childproof cap on the world and we believe strongly in the First Amendment and in the protection it provides. We also know that some music being marketed to our children is so explicit and so graphic that consumers need to know about it. A voluntary labeling system is the most effective way to alert parents and kids as to what's in the tapes and records that they are buying. Sure to be sure it is. I mean we got to this is plain as day as just the male ego at it's worse. You know I'm saying it's like if every brother could go home and his woman would where you've been and you know why you come home so late. Just leave me alone. That's what he
wants to do. He's not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I mean like you know maybe I was out of the fellows like I tell you that I left my watch and I think working you know that's a reality when I could to show I'm just kind of just like stroke their ego when you hear it you know you feel good and. For you it's a lot a lot of men out there your brothers go out there but I just like that I don't go. Out. A lot of things that I do that I write is just not right. It's not perfect but I have to go on with my life for that to go ahead and be too short because Too Short is very profitable or 1990. Why would you why would you not if you said right here why would you not do what I'm doing why not. I
tried to write. Without. Crosswords and without you know slang and all that stuff and it just it's not me so I got to be real about it. So for me that's we'll work with it soon as I started laying down the real truth. I got a call from Jive Records RCA says that you know what I really want to do. With plan and you point to me you know what can I say stuff. A lot of women. Don't get offended a lot of them do but a lot of them don't get a feel for the fact that they immediately when they hear they say oh he's not talking about me just because I found this in and all the women who are offended when he said to me don't. We don't want. This for us little kids go. All The only difference I have honestly is that when I was a child I knew every word out of her. Richard Pryor I heard and watched movies and would see the maggots Superfly and heard the language they use and all
the stuff in the 70s what they do everybody was making love to everybody you know in the 80s. And ever the world just came about to just be real. Wow. Just ruthless is crazy. Now you know and we got HBO and Showtime we just turned our town dream. See it on. The side. That's not our fault. He's a product and we are probably going to say maybe our products. 1783. So society. I've never been a success in 1966 that's here I was born I could never. Say. This action in Bill you know that would have been a health care. I've never done that. But I can do it in 1990 to sell a million albums was. What's that say about. Society was to say about anything I'm just I'm saying like i'm says in my job I went from trying to scrounge up a kind of Pinney's in the corner of my room by packing new courses you know that might have occurred out of lamb in the corner now.
That's a big difference. Think difference. What would you do. Will they always be a market for it. I mean there's always going to be that certain segment of the population that's going to want that type of material. I think that artists need to be held responsible for what they say but I don't believe in censoring anybody. As far as I'm concerned you know PMRC can go to hell. There are people who are trying to trying to you know get the warning stickers etc. etc. on everybody and censor people's material but. You know I still believe in free speech and can say whatever he wants to say. But is he willing to be responsible for what he says later on down the line. What does that mean being responsible for what he said I mean a lot. When you catch flack for being a sadness or or you know when your sales begin to suffer and they will suffer because the negativity is beginning to
crumble. And in this industry as a whole it's and it's not in both going to be negative. Then you can't blame anybody but yourself. Basically everybody gets in the rap rap just to get a dollar or to get the family whatever to take the responsibility. Of being socially aware and responsible is to take the extra step. I think rappers need to be accountable. They need to be accountable on all types of different levels they need to be accountable and aware of the messages that they put out there need to be accountable and aware that their role models whether they like it or not. An expression when you look at the fact that we are influenced by our entertainers need to be accountable. OK you're doing rock and roll reggae or rap. OK. Half the people that will point a finger at an end and L.L. Cool J and say These guys need to be accountable. Well sit there listen to Luther Vandross and somebody other R&B singers who say the same thing. Like Chuck D said it best when I interviewed him. You know he was asked that same question you know what about his negative lyrics and I like you the
example he use said L.L. Cool J just comes right out the song said I want to get your pants on a record. Luther Vandross sings it well I love you and I want to bring you flowers and roses but the bottom line is he wants to get in the woman's pants too. Now that's a negative thing. They're both saying it just want to sing it at the other guys just being very direct about it's not giving you anything to camouflage it. So they're both wrong as far as I'm concerned it is just different. Let's see if she looks back at the jury. Bondi Beach boyfriend and his detention would best be defined you mean to be beautiful there's no other man had a whole lot of things to say. We're going to open up the lines make a break that record and call the on air when you think of that song by Jesse Well yeah I think you're breaking breaking up why do you want to break a lot of people and all that when you two meet.
Oh no man I'm doing I'm right there with no women either. OK that's a point well taken All right OK all right thank you after that right. So there you have it. We're going to break Jesse wes a lot of people don't like to design the women. That's a message out to all you all are going to put out records just insisted that women in general a lot of people out there just ain't have no more it's played itself out is cache no longer to be think of the new Ikea means I'm going to play some more good new music. Looks only seems that well so I asked him directly I said all right now our crew because the family is a veteran followed that was wrong. Let's do this so easy it comes to me so where is this man was the Winstar now and now it's just I do you want to know what I know with jazz rock n roll that emerge from the Afro-American community the subculture that company and musics you know and it's enjoyed because we're a
minority in American society you have a mainstream culture that looks in on this and has basically taken what it wants from it and now it's. Television you might think that. Sure the radical right now with rap music and it is happening when it gets taken over and redefined in spit out to us in a different form by white America. We're I'm nobody to blame but the right business people the black middle class. They have been and if you talk to most rappers you'll probably agree the biggest obstacles for rap music. In fact they embrace I guess. The attitude that one might stereotype of white parents back in the fifties when rock n roll started crossing into the mainstream we had all these people going now that's evil music.
Here's a form that black people created and I think people forget that it will be a multibillion dollar industry. I'm not the type of man that I make this seasons it was breaking that I'm shaken. Brother. Makes a move that you never heard of. How come I'm not enough to put you a bunch of crap is going to be like what rock is now it's going to be a dominant form of music. But you going to have history to say you know we lost jazz we lost this we lost that. So let's not let lose rap when they make it here. They never knew about the villain but. Me I'm stronger right. Makes me crazy. Easy. Let me get a young.
Woman. In stores to figure. Out. The next. Time she. Told him that it was almost it playing in. His own back and. So I guess. I could. Be. A fan. Of the game. You don't. Let. Me keep doing what you do. We'll give it to. You let him say let's say. Right. Deal. With It. Tonight. They may. Write.
To me. Government but. Not. Being. Sure that you never see a man. I mean. This. Is. Not. For me.
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Rap City Rhapsody
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The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
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Description
Program Description
"'Rap City Rhapsody' is a non-narrated, cinematic look into the social and political issues that surround the Rap music phenomenon -- a cultural explosion of rhyme, rhythm and reality -- reflected in words, nuance and emotions of rappers from the Bay Area, music and social critics, and music videos. "'Rap City Rhapsody' is perhaps, the first documentary of its kind -- journalism in the MTV Age. The lyrics of the music -- along with those interviewed for commentary-- help to tell the story about the meaning of rap. It attempts to speak to a wide cultural audience, while not losing its essential need to accurately reflect this African-American subculture. Rap (or Hip-Hop) has emerged as the musical statement of the 1990s, and America's black urban youths are its spokespeople. Yet, it has been able to cross class and racial boundaries. 'Kids want to belong to something, they want to identify with something,' says Allen Blackwell, a member of APG Crew, an Oakland rap group. 'We all got dreams and where we come [from,] it's either the dope life, the music life, or the criminal life.' Writer Ishmael Reed adds, 'and white kids like this music, this music is saying something to them too.' "'Rap City Rhapsody' also explores the controversy over sexist and sexually explicit lyrics, and the attempts by some politicians and organizations to ban rap music or place warning labels on albums, tapes and CD's. "'Rap City Rhapsody' is an example of what journalism does at its best: educate, inform and challenge the viewer to re-think his or her opinion about a topic. It moves you to care about a subject. "'Rap City Rhapsody' is an important, innovative look at a current issue. It deserves your consideration."--1990 Peabody Awards entry form.
Description
Special Report A cinematic look into the historical, social and political issues surrounding rap music. Includes interview with Davey D, as well as clips from local rap artists such as Too Short.
Broadcast Date
1990-06-14
Asset type
Program
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:57:54
Credits
Producer: Akili Buchanan
Producing Organization: KQED-TV (Television station : San Francisco, Calif.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
KQED
Identifier: cpb-aacip-42457fba3bc (Filename)
Format: 1 inch videotape
Generation: Master
Duration: 0:57:54
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-e4ffae3159c (Filename)
Format: U-matic
KQED
Identifier: cpb-aacip-efec622e5ce (unknown)
Format: application/mxf
Duration: 0:57:54
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Citations
Chicago: “Rap City Rhapsody,” 1990-06-14, KQED, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-55-t43hx16800.
MLA: “Rap City Rhapsody.” 1990-06-14. KQED, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-55-t43hx16800>.
APA: Rap City Rhapsody. Boston, MA: KQED, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-55-t43hx16800