Is anyone else bothered by this "gangsta" subculture we have today? I generally try my hardest to be accepting of everyone, and I try not to use or even consider stereotypes. But whenever I see music videos of rap stars espousing violence, and objectivism of women, and this obsessive materialism, I can't help but feel nothing good comes of it. I don't pretend to know everything about the subcutlure, but these images keep reinforcing negative stereotypes of African Americans (since it's most often associated with them, but now more and more white teenagers are calling themselves members of it.) I also mistrust my intuitions about it, since I live in a mostly white suburb and my view of a subculture I'm not often exposed to might skewer my views of it.
Yes, I agree, I think it is destructive. Bitches an' hos, how disrespectful, I don't know why black women tolerate it. Not all rap is bad, but much of it is very degrading to women and I think it's unfortunate.
i find myself getting more bothered by the message that all african-americans live this "gangsta" life in the ghetto. i'm not saying it does not happen, but i know many people of the african-american community that are not part of this "gangsta" culture nor do they live in a "ghetto." but i also find if very disturbing to go into a white suburbia and see white kids dressing and acting like they are "gangsta's," its very disturbing to see this. they have the right to dress and talk how they please, but they really do not know what they are doing. from the kids in white suburbia that i have met that act like this - this is in the boston area - most have not even been into "ghetto" neighborhoods. they go to downton boston, but they do not venture to "african-american" communities and actually have a first hand account of what this "ghetto gangsta" life is. so i find it very disturbing to see white suburbia kids, not all, but some, act like they know about "ghetto life."
Not bothered, more like entertained by the ridiculousness of it all. Especially after work one day, when this guy came up to me and asked "Yo, who you waitin' for? Your man?" Then later, from a distance I heard him yell "No you di-ent!"
I don't think any of the "gangstas" have actually been to a ghetto. This reminds me of the Chappelle's Show skit "Trading Spouses" where the husbands of a black and white family trade places, and when the white kid begins talking like he was born and lives on the streets, the black father takes him to the ghetto and drops him off and leaves.
All that shit you see, is all that bull MTV. the thugs and violence and degradation is all fakeness, its not real. trust me i know. For me there is two catagories of rap, True Rap, and Pop (C)rap and i dont listen to (c)rap. the people you see living the mentality of the shit they see in the videos or in the music is the exact same thing that Britney spears and all the other "Pop" bitches have done to kids, The ones who let that (c)rap dictate their lifestyles are weak and mindless as usual
i realize the 'gangsta' rappers are no more the real 'gangstas' of today, then frank sinatra and his ratpack were in my 85 year old mother's adolescence. those are in the white house and on wall street. but romantacizing aggressiveness does play into their trip. that's why i found hip hop annoying from jump. although sometimes now i hear it being used to deliver messages i don't entirely dissaggree with either. (although i'm not sure politicaly 'subversive' rap is neccessarily in the same catigory as 'gangsta')
Kids, kids, kids... I've been...er...longer around than all of you. I've seen subcultures all the time. Roman kids riding sports horses with thunder decals on the sides. Henry VIII's daughter smoking horse shit. The list goes on and on. It's a natural phenomenom that before the bird leaves the mother bird's nest, it rebels.
