Rapper Rick Ross to use Main Street Bridge for video

[Cheshire Cat]

Rap an art form?  Decidedly yes.  But as art does it enhance the lives of listeners or degrade them?  I love art but what I do not love is a medium that continuously portrays women as sexual objects of the lowest form calling them whores and identifying them by their crotches.  While some in society may have the intellectual maturity to discern the "art" in this form, many simply do not. In the case of those individuals, this "art" form can have a really lousy impact on mind, soul and spirit.  The  video clip included in this thread is telling a story to be sure and it would be of value to look at who was in the listening audience while this "artist" edified his message of nigga's and smelly pussy's.  Several young children were in front of this man while he spewed his line of obscenities and that is really something to be concerned about and ashamed of in Jacksonville regardless of race or level of "cool".   Recently we saw the FB post of a teenage boy who allegedly shot a baby in the face in Brunswick killing him.  The byline the youth chose was a lyric from a Rap song proudly declaring a murder up in someones neighborhood.  Art?  Yes definitely and an art form that has some serious negative ramifications in today's world.

Do you hate jazz and folk then?

While I am sure a lengthy discourse about music as art and what does or does not qualify as offensive would be a fun intellectual exercise, inviting one was not the intent of my commentary. It was and is pretty clearly aimed at the degradation of women, especially Black women in the form of "Gangsta Rap".  Delivering that message is sad enough but  to use young children in the manner displayed in the video of this particular artist is really unfortunate.  There is no great wisdom to be found in allowing small children to dance in front of a grown man spouting obscene words while women are dancing like dogs in heat all around him as he refers to his listeners and others as nigga's.   That is my point in totality and really requires no further edification on my part.

[Cheshire Cat]

Stephen, I know how you love to exchange ideas on topics of this sort, but for my part I have said what I felt was important to say. I am pretty much finished on the topic of this rapper, his portrayal of women and his choice to have children participate in what is clearly adult entertainment.   

[Cheshire Cat]

It was literally the most explicit (and to tasteful society, the most vulgar) thing that the music form could be called.  Certainly an 'adult' kind of music.

Indeed it is an "adult" kind of music.  The inclusion of small children in his video shines a bright light upon the reasoning of lack there of on the part of this "artist" and the "parents" of those children who somehow rationalized that letting their kids participate was an okay thing to do.  Exposing children to "smutty art" is not good parenting and not a way to promote music. 

[Cheshire Cat]

and don't even get me started on the blood focused, murderous lyrics of gospel music.

I promise I won't Stephen.  lmbo  Shoot, that would only lead to a discussion of the blood focused and murderous tales and teachings of the bible and I don't have enough years of life left for that exchange.  Hehehe

[ThisDJ]

This topic/thread is been a doozie….     I have listened to everyone’s points and I will add my 2 cents.
My view maybe a bit different from most people, but I come from a musical background. I’m of the Hip Hop era, but I am a student of music. Rock & Jazz both had this negative connotation from the “older” generation when they became mainstream….   

I’ve had to have this “rap music” fight on numerous occasions with everyone from club owners to sports teams front offices.   Check the Billboard charts and see what the top 10-20 POPular songs are.  Count how many are rap/hip-hop songs…..  Rap has slid into POPular music and POP culture.   People don’t like what they don’t understand, and most people don’t know the origins/struggle of the music.
   
I’m not going to carry a flag for Rick Ross here.  He’s an ok rapper… Not the best, but definitely not the worse.  I will just say his lyrics fall under the “free speech” category, but please stop lumping all Hip Hop rap together.   Taylor Swift and Charlie Pride are both country artist but do they sing the same type of songs? 

The bottom line here is Love it or Hate it….   Rick Ross is a MAJOR national Hip Hop artist who I’m sure has a large fan base here in duval county.   Since he mentioned Jacksonville in a few songs he decided to come here and shoot a video.  Not “gangsta style” (where you just show up at locations with a camera and film until the police come and chase you away) but pulled/paid for the proper permits and I’m sure brought a little economic growth to the city.

I heard he really blessed a few strip clubs with some economic freedom while he was here.

I thought anything that moved our great city forward was good??

[If_I_Loved_you]

This topic/thread is been a doozie….     I have listened to everyone’s points and I will add my 2 cents.
My view maybe a bit different from most people, but I come from a musical background. I’m of the Hip Hop era, but I am a student of music. Rock & Jazz both had this negative connotation from the “older” generation when they became mainstream….   

I’ve had to have this “rap music” fight on numerous occasions with everyone from club owners to sports teams front offices.   Check the Billboard charts and see what the top 10-20 POPular songs are.  Count how many are rap/hip-hop songs…..  Rap has slid into POPular music and POP culture.   People don’t like what they don’t understand, and most people don’t know the origins/struggle of the music.
   
I’m not going to carry a flag for Rick Ross here.  He’s an ok rapper… Not the best, but definitely not the worse.  I will just say his lyrics fall under the “free speech” category, but please stop lumping all Hip Hop rap together.   Taylor Swift and Charlie Pride are both country artist but do they sing the same type of songs? 

The bottom line here is Love it or Hate it….   Rick Ross is a MAJOR national Hip Hop artist who I’m sure has a large fan base here in duval county.   Since he mentioned Jacksonville in a few songs he decided to come here and shoot a video.  Not “gangsta style” (where you just show up at locations with a camera and film until the police come and chase you away) but pulled/paid for the proper permits and I’m sure brought a little economic growth to the city.

I heard he really blessed a few strip clubs with some economic freedom while he was here.

I thought anything that moved our great city forward was good??

Your posting was a treat to read that I removed my last posting about debating Rap. And I will leave with Rap just isn't my kind of music. Thank You 

[Cheshire Cat]

This topic/thread is been a doozie….     I have listened to everyone’s points and I will add my 2 cents.
My view maybe a bit different from most people, but I come from a musical background. I’m of the Hip Hop era, but I am a student of music. Rock & Jazz both had this negative connotation from the “older” generation when they became mainstream….   

I’ve had to have this “rap music” fight on numerous occasions with everyone from club owners to sports teams front offices.   Check the Billboard charts and see what the top 10-20 POPular songs are.  Count how many are rap/hip-hop songs…..  Rap has slid into POPular music and POP culture.   People don’t like what they don’t understand, and most people don’t know the origins/struggle of the music.
   
I’m not going to carry a flag for Rick Ross here.  He’s an ok rapper… Not the best, but definitely not the worse.  I will just say his lyrics fall under the “free speech” category, but please stop lumping all Hip Hop rap together.   Taylor Swift and Charlie Pride are both country artist but do they sing the same type of songs? 

The bottom line here is Love it or Hate it….   Rick Ross is a MAJOR national Hip Hop artist who I’m sure has a large fan base here in duval county.   Since he mentioned Jacksonville in a few songs he decided to come here and shoot a video.  Not “gangsta style” (where you just show up at locations with a camera and film until the police come and chase you away) but pulled/paid for the proper permits and I’m sure brought a little economic growth to the city.

I heard he really blessed a few strip clubs with some economic freedom while he was here.

I thought anything that moved our great city forward was good??

Wow, now that I know he blessed a few strip clubs with economic freedom while visiting makes his time in Jacksonville a real treat for the community and his "art" something worth degrading women over and exposing small children to first hand.  Certainly we should all fall in line when it comes to RAP because of billboard charts.   

[thelakelander]

RAP is so much more than an individual artist like Rick Ross and his chosen lifestyle and lyrical topics. Nevertheless, it's a free country and we all have a choice to decide what genres we prefer and don't.  If you don't like it, be like me and conservative talk shows. Switch the channel and move on.

[Cheshire Cat]

RAP is so much more than an individual artist like Rick Ross and his chosen lifestyle and lyrical topics. Nevertheless, it's a free country and we all have a choice to decide what genres we prefer and don't.  If you don't like it, be like me and conservative talk shows. Switch the channel and move on.

I always do so Ennis, however when a public discussion comes up about it as it did in this thread, I am compelled as a woman to say that the foul objectifying of females in such a venue is not acceptable to most of us regardless of the intent.  In this case the "rapper" chose to have some children in his video while sharing his obscene verse and that should never be okay.  It's kind of like the head in the sand photo you shared on the other thread.    Ignoring it doesn't make it go away but commenting on it may have some degree of impact over time. 

[Keith-N-Jax]

The "rapper " chose, what about the parents who "allowed"?

[thelakelander]

Or who forced the females to show up half naked to be objectified? We can't blame everything on music or the guy in the video.  There's a lot of personal responsibility involved as well.

[If_I_Loved_you]

WTF?

[Cheshire Cat]

The "rapper " chose, what about the parents who "allowed"?

Did you read the thread Keith?  I made that exact comment about the parents much earlier on.

[Cheshire Cat]

The women were indeed there of their own accord which is a sad statement to the rest of us who would love to see women respected as opposed to objectified. 

[thelakelander]

WTF?

LOL, that was my initial reaction!