| ThurgreedMarshall |
09-21-2006 06:37 PM |
Thurgreed
Quote:
Originally posted by Jack Manfred
I get your point about the subtle distinctions of authenticity in hip hop, though I doubt most 13 year-old suburban white kids do.
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Understood. But isn't that the point I was making? That hip hop (or at least main stream hip hop) really hasn't been reaching for authenticity over the last 15 years? They've been reaching for what 13 year-old suburban white kids think is authentic.
Quote:
Originally posted by Jack Manfred
I agree that JT has heard a lot of Michael Jackson and is JT's primary influence. My analogies were between white artists working in black idioms. One set was steeped in it, the others were purely exploiting a trend to make it palatable to whites. Of course, Janet Jackson can sound a lot like Michael when she chooses. JT does a better job incorporating hip hop into his tracks than Michael does. In fact, I'd say rappers and producers want to work with JT more than they want to work with Michael.
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I wasn't contradicting your analogy. I was offering an entirely different one.
JT and Usher are weak versions of Michael Jackson. They clearly both idolize him and copy him as much as they can. But you can't be a successful pop/r&b singer today if you don't incorporate hip hop. And when I say "incorporate hip hop" I mean hire Timbaland, Pharell, Dupri, L'il John, Dre or another beat maker to completely create your music.
Quote:
Originally posted by Jack Manfred
One thing interesting about both The Wire and H:LOTS is that they both had diverse casts (read: black actors playing cops instead of merely criminals). But the Baltimore Homicide Squad that David Simon profiled in his book back in the 80s was nearly entirely male and white. The creators made conscious decisions to make the police force in both shows more integrated than in real life.
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It's a good show. I never watched Homicide, which is my excuse for why I only picked up on The Wire recently.
TM |
