About two days ago I had a very funny craving : the only songs my ears wanted to listen to were DJ Khaled songs of the mid 2000s to early 2010s. Those songs were my favourite back then because I love rap music and followed the trending rappers. So, having about three or four of the rappers I cherished hopping on a Khaled beat, trying to outdo themselves with sick bars was just awesome and entertaining at the same time - without minding whatever rubbish said in the songs.
I wouldn't forget in a hurry the day I had an heated argument with another dude on who was the faster rapper between Twista and Busta Rhymes. As if the universe was listening, about two weeks after Dj Khaled dropped the remix version of Welcome To The Hood and both Twista and Busta were on it with their fast flows. In fact, Twista dropped his bars immediately after Busta, making the song a good alibi for my argument on who the faster rapper was.
So on Friday, as I searched for those Khaled songs and played them, the first one I played stopped in less than 30 seconds. Why? Because it wasn't hitting home as much as I would've loved it to. On another check, I realized I was playing the Clean Version of the song, the version that blurs out the cusswords and lewd statements. I wasn't feeling it. And I scrolled down the list to play the original version - the explicit version.
When I was a young adult, I was quite reserved and respectful. However, whenever I lose my cool, the F word drops out of my mouth with consummate ease. As a matter of fact, it became the goto word to express anger, frustration, and elation. But I'm not an American. So how come I'm spewing cusswords with consummate
ease? The answer: Rap/hip hop.
The impact of what we hear and see on the TV is not lost on anyone, especially the producers of these contents on display. At some point, smoking Cuban cigars became so rampant that it was made to look like a big boy stuff. You'd want to try it not because it's good, but because a popular guy on TV made it look smooth. However, that shit is reportedly expensive so not everyone could have a cigar hang low on their mouths like the likes of Jay Z would.
When I was growing up, if you'd ask me what I wish to become when I grow up I would've told you I wanted to become a sniper. Funnily enough, I had no family or close relative who ever worked in the military. However, my interest in the smooth killing business was piqued simply because snipers are made to look like the royalties of any military. They were presented as the accurate, cold, devastatingly decisive geniuses that determine the direction of war with minimal fuss.
Yesterday while I was watching a Snoop Dogg documentary where he described the events with Death Row before and after the death of Pac, I realized even more the importance of content. He literally said the East Coast vs West Coast battle that claimed many lives became a serious thing after Pac released an infamous diss track. Just one popular voice on radio and TV saying disgusting things about the other made people walk into their death in the name of honour, made gang-banging look cool to the point kids dreamed of and joined gangs to their detriment.
When I first watched Godfather of Harlem I was so captivated by Bumpy Johnson's intelligence that I nearly started to defend him, forgetting in a moment that he did more harm to his community than good by making profit off nefarious activities. At some point I looked forward to another season of that series just to enjoy the genius of a criminal at work, forgetting that he is still a criminal regardless of the good things he's trying to do.
In conclusion, those cool movies about criminals are gradually towing the line of image laundering. Criminal activities will always remain one irregardless of the genius mindsets behind. Presenting crime as a beautiful thing to behold will continue to ruin lives. The producers know that, but then they also know it makes them a lot of money as it gives the direction-less youths out there the needed adrenaline to misbehave. It's all about money now. Yet, more youths will perish.
