Bill Cosby defents criticism of Hip Hop...music industry "glorifies the wrong things..."

-- chuck

I totally agree with this. Kids making their own world in a decaying city has become a theme of early hip-hop & that was definitely true of the Cosby Show.

this reminded me of how awesome bill cosby is.

That was the first movie I saw alone in a theater (7 1/2 years old). My mom periodically checked in on me and brought me chocolate chip cookies.

OT, I know, but there is an entire series out there called "Classroom Scare Films". I wonder how the crack films compare to the LSD ones we had to watch. "Dead is Dead" - that's not the one where the kid is in his coffin but doesn't realize he's dead, is it?

Hey Cosby, how about taking your message into the projects, instead of speaking at colleges? His whole "black man, help yourself" screed doesn't play out as well when he's telling it to people with degrees.

Curious. When was the last time that he actually taught a class of kids? And since educators tend to use music lyrics to educate their students these days, hip hop isn't totally useless.

eh?

It's ridiculous. People have been going to the movies to see sex and violence and various extreme situations for a hundred years now, and has it totally destroyed our Social Fabric? Sure, many American black people indulge in the stupidest things and maybe they ought to be reading Henry James and rebuiding their neighborhoods...in fact, many of them are engaged in rebuilding their communities. The problems many non-rich folks in this country face have far less to do with pop culture than with deep systemic problems in the larger culture. Bill Cosby may have been a funny guy at one time but he really needs to shut the fuck up.

omigod talking so much shit on Tim Russert's show now...

Cosby is seemingly fourteen months away from having a O'Reilly/Glen Beck/Lou Dobbsesque talk show.

http://funky16corners.wordpress.com/2006/10/30/bill-cosby-funky-north-phildelphia/

http://www.dickdestiny.com/blog/2007/10/music-for-monday-hooray-for-salvation.html

http://christonium.com/politicalmusings/ItemID=11923775652574

Bill Cosby says the audience for Gangster Rap is made up mostly of Whites. This adds to the negative stereotype for Blacks. The "Gangster Rappers" use of negative stereotype comments in their videos provide the opportunity for young whites to use those very same words, "N" words.

Dr. Poussaint talks of "values" having been corrupted. The lyrics in the rap music and videos portray young blacks as unimportant. This prevails throughout the black community.

Sunday, Oct. 14 with Tim Russert on Meet the Press
Entertainer Bill Cosby and Harvard Medical School Psychiatry Professor Dr. Alvin Poussaint tackle the controversial and complicated issues facing black communities across the nation and discuss their new book, "Come On, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors."

Here's the transcript http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21293963/page/2/

DR. POUSSAINT: They took part of the N-word and put part of the white word and called themselves wiggers.

MR. COSBY: But you see, when youth does that, you have to understand that youth—these are, these are kids, they, they don’t have the responsibilities that, that we have. They don’t have to have a job. They don’t have to support a family. They don’t have to buy insurance. They—so they’re, they’re free-forming and they’re freewheeling. It’s the people who make these records. It’s the, it’s the guy in the boardroom. I have another friend of mine who said to me, “I, I write rap lyrics.” He said, “And I went to a man”—I mean, “I went to work, and the guy said, the executive said to me, ‘I want lyrics about rape. Rape is good.’” He said, “And I looked at the guy, and I said, ‘You’re talking about my mother.’ And the guy said, ‘Well, if you don’t want to write it, then I’ll get somebody else who will.’” But, see, all these things, this dopamine-raising level. Alvin has a very interesting viewpoint on whether or not kids are listening to the lyrics. Because if you, if you challenge them, you say, “Why are you listening to that?” They say, “I’m not listening to the words. I just like the beat.”

DR. POUSSAINT: Which is nonsense. They’re listening to the—they got to hear the words. And the, the young, young girls will be dancing to words that degrade women and degrade them and they’re dancing to it. It shows you how much values have been corrupted, you know, by some of the media influences, and the young people can’t distinguish between what’s right and wrong. It’s like the, the bad stuff has become normal, and then they even see it as part of their culture instead of something that’s abhorrent and, and, and, and hurtful to their, to their lives and to their community.

I know! I can't tell how many times I've gone to my office to work hard at my job of writing rap lyrics and found on my desk a memo like this from some Caucasian executive: "Rape sells. Especially mother-rape. Give me 16 bars on it by noon or you go back to the mail room." Please withhold my name until I can secure federal whistle-blower protection.

Ten points for Cosby shoehorning "entropy" and "inertia" into his sentences.

I have another friend of mine who said to me, “I, I write rap lyrics.” He said, “And I went to a man”—I mean, “I went to work, and the guy said, the executive said to me, ‘I want lyrics about rape. Rape is good.’” He said, “And I looked at the guy, and I said, ‘You’re talking about my mother.’ And the guy said, ‘Well, if you don’t want to write it, then I’ll get somebody else who will.’”

This obviously happened to Eminem.

If only Tim Russert had asked him who that exec is...

Cos' take on this shit is both OTM and brave, for a gazillion reasons.

brave yes, otm not really. its taking a much more nuanced situation and trying to find the bad guys in a very specific place. the real 'bad guys' wd actually require a much more sweeping indictment of american culture & systematic white privilege and oppression

I'm with Cosby until he gets feisty about hippety-hoppety lyrics.

He needs more nuance, although I must say I'm bored with the UGK cd lyrics('n' this and 'b' that) and not too crazy about the sentiments expressed there (whether it has great soul music samples or not)--That "2 kinds of B's" song. But I guess I am supposed to excuse them because those type of sentiments have long been expressed by folks of all colors,classes, and creeds; school systems and housing have long been segregated resulting in the parents of many of the participants on the UGK cd, and the participants themselves having difficult lives, Texas' Republican governors; and well those soul samples sure sound good.

I'm with Cosby until he gets feisty about hippety-hoppety lyrics.

why what stops you there?

I'm amazed that a comedian who understood the value of irony and timing as well as anyone in his generation is this tone-deaf about how music and lyrics work.

Bullshit. The "irony" argument may have been passable with "Cop Killer" 15 years ago -- it isn't now.

plz explain how cop killer is ironic but kanye sampling daft punk & lil wayne rapping about man-purses is hurting the community

who the fuck thought cop killer was ironic

doh xp

we simply must not allow young black men to continue to crank dat soulja boy - lets take it back to the carefree, ironic days of 'aint no fun' and 'black korea'

we simply must not allow young black men to continue to crank dat soulja boy - lets take it back to the carefree, ironic days of 'aint no fun' and 'black korea'

lol

Living Colour was my first show.

i was never into living colour but that story is whats up

Living Colour was my first show.

ha same. Trent woulda been at that Lolla show, so it all comes full circle.

Well then.

omg the last sentence

laz112 said:
I actually have this old album with Cosby and Quincy Jones. Cosby been rapping since before rap started yo. There is this one track called "Hicky Burr" he tore that shit down yo. I think it was released in 1974 or something.

Got a Cosby sweater
Rep it cuz it's better
Follow to the letter.
Yo.

Fingers crossed for a Jello reference

"They think they're hip. They can't read. They can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."

with the laughing and the giggling and the jibber-jabber night-train going to nowhere

He's against laughter now?

The beef is on (maybe).

okay at this point everyone involved just needs to stop

Dyson is that dude, but I don't look forward to his mic moment.

i saw michael eric dyson speak at my school a couple weeks ago, hes a supremely intelligent and dynamic guy and because i have a lot of respect for him i am just going to pretend that this doesnt exist

i took a class from that guy! the day michael jordan retired (the first time) prof dyson wore a bulls jersey under his tweed jacket

Can we put together a rap album titled SHUT THE FUCK UP, BOTH OF YOU?

c'mon dan you don't want to hear cosby doing a bjork cover?

Only if it's "Ancestors" (or whatever the Gremlin-fucking song on Medulla is called).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIBAWAneoo

omg flashbacks

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oof they've played this a bunch on KPFA recently.

^^^ Sooooo 1998.