Jun 7, 2018 But what about artists before 15 years ago? I wasn't implying mixtapes were as new as streaming, just that many artists prior didn't have that option. The internet and YouTube comes heavily into play with homemade videos. The distinction of an album vs mixtape vs "playlist" vs EP is pretty much entirely up to the artist at this point. I'm just saything the internet has changed things and you could say oh well x artist couldn't do this cuz it wasn't invented but what's the point, you know?
Jun 7, 2018 Lol, this is such a conservative talking point. They are being victimized and anybody saying not to realize and change that are complicit in it. Saying "slavery is a choice" lets the powerful oppressors completely off the hook. It's standard "personal responsibility" pablum that protects mandated hierarchies. I mean, yeah, if you want to pretend slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation were a "long time ago" and plenty of more recent events from the war on drugs to the 2008 depression disproportionately affected black peoples. But I guess everybody can be a famous rapper and radio DJ in a country that pissed away labor protections and manufacturing 40 years ago and now pumps out service industry jobs that don't provide living wages. This is like the guy who climbs out of a s--- filled hole and sets by it preaching to you "ya know, you don't need help. I didn't." Instead of, you know, pulling them out and asking who dug the f---ing hole and threw you in it. I do think there's room for "aspirational" thinking that incorporates this sort of analysis. Idk if anybody has tried it though. Mostly self-help s--- ignores systemic issues and focuses on personal responsibility which is great for conservative shitheads who preach responsibility as a means of shifting blame and as an excuse not to empathize with or help anybody.
Jun 7, 2018 But really @Slyk I think the changing stuff on streaming is bothersome for different reasons, simply because I don't like when artists make choices I don't like such as thugs changes to EBBTG and chances "only got can judge" line added to ULB or Greedo removing a whole project from streaming. Which is why I always make sure to download copies of albums I really like even though I mostly stream now.
Jun 7, 2018 It's weird that rich, successful people think the system works that way despite the mountains of evidence that say otherwise. It's almost like they want to preserve it.
Jun 7, 2018 blanket statement? All blacks are victimized? Everyone is oppressed? Everyone struggles to succeed because of the white man is holding them back?? cmon. racism is very much a thing, and the burden is passed down from generation to generation and we're not far enough separated from slavery for all to be perfect in this country, but to say that the entire current generation of black people in america have a significant disadvantage to succeed in life is asinine. the "slavery is a choice" line doesn't let anybody off the hook because kanye is a f---ing idiot and nearly everybody knows that what he said was nothing but an uneducated man spouting off.
Jun 7, 2018 I mean they aren't really wrong. There are no laws specifically promoting descrimination against african americans. Affirmative action has made it easier for african americans to goto colleges, even if they came from wealthy homes. Compare the average it takes for them to recieve acceptance and the average asian american and the difference is like .4 gpa points. African americans are more likely to have kids at a younger age and have more kids than other races in America. And it is true that they are shot by police at a higher rate but if you compare their proportion of police shooting victims (33% i think) to their crime percentage (commit roughly 40% of all crimes) then the statistic begins to make more sense. At some point you have to realize that not everything is the system's fault and that some of it may simply be culture. One interesting indicator of this is if you compare black americans who came from countries other than america, all of them have much higher average incomes than native African americans. Nigerians for example bring home over 70k a year, nobody would argue nigeria has more opportunity than america so why is that? Black Americans from the carribean also make around that and so do kenyans.
Jun 8, 2018 Alright, so there's two ways of addressing this. I could throw out tidbits like "1 in 5 adult black men are in jail" or "black women are 3x times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts even if you take into economic status". I could tell you to read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander or Matt Bruenig's paper on The Destruction of Black Wealth During the Obama Presidency. I could even widen the context to a bunch of s--- about the average person being victimized as well to clarify that black people are just especially bad off in a time of vast inequality. The second option is clarifying that I'm not using "victim" to imply a fatalistic mindset or that they're helpless to improve their conditions. You could substitute victim with "oppressed" or whatever. The point is to use language that points out the systemic nature of their oppression and how that needs readdressing. It can't be solved internally among the people themselves. Finally, don't say "slavery is a choice" didn't let anybody off the hook when shitheads on the right immediately championed Kanye and parroted his dumb a--- statements lol. Was it on a purpose? Idk if Kanye can do anything on purpose anymore lol. Being a useful idiot isn't noble. Charlamagne, likewise, is a piece of s--- for coining "black privilege" which implicitly undercuts the idea that black peoples are fundamentally disadvantaged by nature of their race. It's obviously just a hot title he knew would make headlines and sell copies. That's what he is at his core.
Jun 8, 2018 I don’t know if you’re white or black, which makes this discussion even all the better tbh. I can’t and won’t attempt to refute statistics...because statistics are facts. What I was and still am stating here, however, is that when someone like Charlemagne, who is successful, and is black, makes comments stating that he doesn’t feel like he’s been oppressed on his path to success, then people (mostly black) will chastise him for it— without asking or wanting to learn more information...he’s a fraud, he was privileged, he’s full of s---, he’s an uncle tom, etc etc..hateful things. but why? That mindset is so trapped, it’s like saying, “I have it rough, and we have the same color skin, so we need to band together and tell everyone that everything is s---”. What if Charlamagne actually wasn't oppressed? What if he’s actually had the same (or close to) opportunities in life that his white colleagues have also shared? That would be “unreal”, right? Saying that and witnessing that happen is what pisses me off because a.) it’s pushing a narrative, and b.) it’s self-hindering. You can’t tell yourself and convince everyone else all the time that you aren’t successful because of the white man...and when you see someone who has maybe had a different experience in life become successful and speak their mind, you can’t go and call them out for their lies because their truth doesn’t benefit you —or more likely: because their story doesn’t fit yours. That’s a terrible way to approach life — thinking that everyone who shares the same skin color as you has no chance. Because you’re including yourself in that bucket. And how can you ever be successful if you’ve told yourself your entire life that you can’t be, shouldn’t be, and won’t be? You can’t. I won't ever argue against the fact that there IS oppression and there IS inequality, but h--- no do those statements apply to everyone and h--- no does everyone within the demographic need to share the same sentiments. There is no obligation to do so and there should never be. I've listened to interviews with Charlamagne and he's flat out said that he's failed multiple times in the past before he became successful. He's had many opportunities to find his path and to become successful. He feels that he's had just as many opportunities as white counterparts... but f--- that guy, right? More layers. Thinking that kanye speaks for truth and his word is god is ridiculous. Lol to think that because kanye said "slavery is a choice" it actually let anybody off of any hook. Literally nobody educated thinks that.
Jun 10, 2018 Let's get it clear the only thing I can criticize Charlemagne for in regards to this discussion is the language he used to title his book which I found relevant to the Kanye stuff. h---, for all I know, the substance of the book is great stuff. I wouldn't be surprised. He's a smart guy who knows how to be provocative to get eyes on him. I never called him a fraud, said he's full of s---, or said that he's an Uncle Tom. I think he's unwittingly obscuring systematic oppression. Misguided, if you will. Again, he's not making a statement about his personal experience. He's generalizing in a way that might make people believe their success/failure is totally a product of their merit. It's supposed to be encouraging, and it's a huge part of self-help culture just see: The Secret or Malcolm Gladwell's stuff. I think even innocent things like motivational posters people tape in their cubicles do the same thing, to a less specific and dangerous extent. They make people think their struggles are a personal hurdle and not part of a larger injustice that needs addressed. Corporate power loves doing that. This is not an equal opportunity country, and a wealthy, successful black man projecting his statistically rare achievements unto a race of people who are being ground into powder by the wheels of society doesn't sit right with me. I think it protects power that needs reformed and resources that need redistributed more fairly. I have no qualms with motivational stuff in the right context. I think Kendrick celebrated his identity beautifully on TPAB and that appeared to motivate a lot of people in the right way. It promotes solidarity, it makes people feel good about themselves, it never proffers hot takes. I think general encouragement works because prescriptive stuff like Jay-Z advocating a form of ethno-nationalism or J Cole saying rich people should decide how the vast majority of public wealth is spent is just bad. It's hard to do motivational talk that incorporates actual structural critiques that don't end up sounding fatalistic. At least, not motivation that anybody is interested in a society pitting individuals against each other in a life or death struggle for resources, especially in a genre that glorifies material status in a country undergoing a new guilded age wrought with immense disparity. If those statements don't apply to everyone, then Kanye shouldn't project his magical mindset onto people who were brought here in chains, beaten, r---d, and in fact did rebel many a times to no avail. It's inaccurate and gross. If those statements don't apply to everyone, maybe don't coin a phrase like "black privilege" which implies that they in fact apply to no one. Again, this is a narrow critique of a phrase, not of Charlamagne himself. Talking about his personal failures and how he grew from them to get where he is sounds great to me. He's a quality role model in that regard. [/quote] I don't see why Kanye being stupid absolves him from saying stupid things. I also can point to various right wing personalities and outlets who signal boosted him saying that precisely because it does serve their interests, that being insisting that racial inequality doesn't exist and that it's a lapse of personal responsibility.
