I think they take rap as a joke because even though rap is the most powerful brand of our cummunity. It's sad to say but most the time, this culture not kills our community but this culture helps our culture to die. I mean to say, it's normal that white ppl keep lookin' @ our culture like a joke since in this music we treat our women, our sista' : b*tches... we tell to our youth that selling dope and being gangstas is the good thing to be...I'm not askin' to all rappers to be conscious but man there is more in life that b*tches, hoes, guns, drugs etc... Keep cursin if y'all rappers want but please stop sayin' trash about our sistas... Like if they were suffering enough (single moms etc...)... So white corporate look @ us like them black ppl are really a joke... We rules music but we still not own a major...

I don't think for a min the Hip-Hop culture has been deemed as a joke by white colar/corporate america, let's not forget it's a billion dollar industry. That is not something to laugh at or ignore. I'm sure you remember the very 1st rap
record and how liberating & refreshing it was for black people. The Sugar Hill Gang, than came Kurtis Blow and a host of others. They were the voices during that time for the african american communities. They expressed hope and a way out
of the deep opression we were in. Those records brought attention to the communities, more & more talent came out of them. Which still stands today. The difference from then to now is this,
The record labels then didn't know how to react to us. Rap was like a strange place, but it worked. I don't think the genre rap had it's own name, it was catagorized as other or something like that. Anyway, the oppression & extreme hardships that was inflicted onto what we now call the inner cities/ghettos suffered the ultimate betrayal from our own. Not so much we were ever promised anything but, we owed it to ourselves and communities to pull each other up or at least help grab the next person up & out. It all balls down to this Chris, you should not be negotiating with the board. A billion dollar industry later you should be on the board, and those that came behind you from the ghettos should be where you're @ right now. What happened? We got so caught up with making money
our morals went out the window. We exploited our pain and suffering so much, the opression is now ourselves. Our pain is now common place and a way of life. There's not an ugly story out there that went untold. It's now glorified.
We have to get complete control. The Nas, Kanye, J-Z, Common etc.., it's a start in the right direction. We need alot more to bring upon change. We need complete control, a hot new rapper making alot money is not it. That's just a temporary solution to a long term problem. It's going to take a heck of lot more. I have an
idea. It's a long term full control idea. Just email me if you're interested to know. I will say this much it's concerning politicains and others. It will work!
Thank you for reading this whole thing.

When you lose God and Jesus Christ.... and have no knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding.... you lose face value with the Lord. So of course Rap is a joke now. What's being promoted today in our music is Satanism. Every Law under Moses and Jesus Christ is being broken by the lyrical content of this music. Every one. And every morning I wake up to the news of more Blacks and Latinos dying, getting raped, robbed or assaulted.... and blaspheming against the Lord. This is called punishment for disobedience. And it's not new. The Children of Israel went through this before in the wilderness after the exodus out of Egypt. So with absence of righteous counsell...and Laws of Christ__ you have Hell and anarchy. And you can do something about that Chris.... if you want. I can't put it any clearer. Peace

This is a great topic and I hope you'll be writing more regularly now.

Rap is taken for a joke by a lot of white people and, though I believe that will partly be remedied by black owned labels, there are actually quite a few black people that take rap for a joke.

There are numerous issues to which this topic relates but one thing I've been thinking a lot about is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of support for folks to become more professional in their endeavors in hip hop.

Adisa Banjoko wrote about this recently inspired, sadly, by businesses asking for his help and then trying not to pay him:
http://www.netweed.com/lyricalswords/2006/05/if-bay-area-is-really-going-to-come-up.html

It's sad but business standards in hip hop are really not what they should be. It sometimes seems when I'm dealing with other up and comers that they really have no idea of how to conduct themselves professionally.

For example, the number of press releases I see every week that have numerous mispellings and bad grammar say a lot about what the small fry in hip hop think is competent pr.

So there needs to be a support structure to help up and comers professionalize.

I think there also needs to be a related support structure for artists as they leave the limits of the hood behind and see new vistas before them.

One problem is that, if you come from violent poverty, your vision of what's possible is always constrained. Once you leave the poverty behind, if all you can see is what you can buy, you haven't gone very far.

On a related note, all these shootings make hip hop look like a criminal enterprise. No wonder white people want to profit off that while keeping those involved at arms length.

People with power in hip hop, like yourself, Mr. Lighty, need to be the ones stepping up and helping build such support. It might take time away from making money but, as I think you're indicating, there could be much more money if hip hop could professionalize.

We need to be our own DISTRIBUTORS . Is that big enough? But once we get that BIG as far as controlling the worldwide distribution of our multimedia products, we need to make sure we change the game from how it is operated with the people who's on top now...switch up the culture to be more "us"centric and not just black folks running a corporation like white folks have and being happy that it's more of "us" doing the exploiting rather than them. Sure, we want to make $, but there's more than their way. The fact that growing up under capitalism is no excuse either. We do have to play their game with their rules to an extent (I.E. PAY TAXES, ETC), but recognize that all $ ain't good $.

We have to develop our own moral codes within the industry.

Say what you will about Dave Chappelle...that's what I call takin 1 4 the team, turning down $ 4 his own beliefs. A LOT of $. People may want to downplay it, but that makes a huge statement.

Same as Chris Tucker turning down Next Friday because he saw the bigger picture and his desire to be responsible, to not be a part of the problem was greater than the paycheck he would have received...now look how much he's gettin payed because of the demand he created for himself as a hot commodity...he's not just A list he's on the A+ list and he still has his dignity.

And another example of people who saw the bigger picture and didn't run with the negative images, Will Smith. The proof is in the pudding...taking a moral stand puts you in more of a position of power and respect for the long haul.

If it doesn't kill your career, it will make it stronger.

That's my 2 cents 4 now...Later.

Watch: The Corporation. It will help to detox some of the poisons in our mental.

Embarrasing documentary: American Rap Stars. I didn't watch the whole thing, but halfway through, I'd had enough. I am not easily embarrassed...HBO backed that? Damn, I know I can get a damn deal then...or maybe not cuz I'd like to think that anything I had something to do with would be more substancial. More power to the dude who produced/directed it, but some of the content was very ig'nant.

I wrote about one of the reasons here:

http://www.novaslim.com/2006/05/dead_wrong_1.php

Additionally, I don't take most of the popular rappers seriously because these days, the drama and the "beef" and the courtcases outshine the art. It's sad but it's true.

Chris, it's nice to see that hip hop has such growing pains. Your perspective and insight confirms that the right people are stil in the right places to have an effect however small it may seem. My name is Kevin. I was Missy's first producer and I founded the fisrt record label to put Missy on wax. I was a student at Norfolk State University from 1986-1992. I watched hip hop expand and put on weight. It's only natural. You just keep you finger on the pulse of the movement and do you part to keep it healthy and alive. The next time you talk to Missy asks her to contact Kevin Rodgers (404 664 2016) It's been 15 years but I know she hasn't forgotten "FAYZE" Primecut Records and Deep Vibe Productions.

I don't have a problem with non-black people being in positions of power when it comes to hip-hop. I think Lyor Cohen is an excellent example of an executive that knows hip-hop as well as he knows himself.

What I have a problem with is that there are not enough blacks making the ultimate decsions when it comes to our culture.

You can apply this same thought process to politics as well, but that is a much broader topic.

The truth is that not very many executives understand the swagger of a good beat underneath the real cold truth of the right ryhme scheme.

You don't have to fully understand something to appreciate it or enjoy it. Let's rememeber that fist and foremost. But to make the big calls and market something that is much bigger than just run-of-the-mill product? Nah.... there needs to be a deeper link.

To market something effectively I beleive you have to understand it and that is the problem our music faces today.

It is very simple for a checkwriter to say 'go find me some of that snap music; it's got a groovy beat and I can bug out to it! The kids love it!'

Anybody with half a brain, a budget, and a little clout can go find and sell the next " Laffy Taffy." Which is not to diss D4L as much as it is to point to a situation that screams the hit became much bigger than the potential career of the artist.

This leads us to our current catch 22. Aspiring artists and producers are now copying the formula because that is how by and large they are being told they can get on.

That KILLS the next generation of classic albums and icons.Where does that leave us? If we stop right now and just ape what we have already done we won't continue to grow.

Growth gave us Sugarhiil, Boogie Down, everything that came out of N.W.A.,Biggie, Tribe, Outkast, Jay Z, Ludacris, Missy.... you get the idea.

So to simplify my concern into a question... Chris what are your plans to keep hip-hop from relying soley on TRL, first week sales and reptitive formula to stay @ the forefront of American and to a certain degree global multimedia?

The reason why when you or any other "Brother or Sister" go to these meetings and see no people of color is when any of our people make it to a certain level, they always forget about the people of color who helped them get there. Also, most of our people have white or Jewish lawyers, accountants, etc... It is fine to hire a person of color to be your stylist, bodyguard, runner, etc..(when I say runner, I mean someone who picks up your cleaning from the cleaners, or gets you something to eat, etc..). when we can hire our people for better corporate positions instead of menial positions, then that will be a start. We have people out here that have a understanding of the business but can never get a chance to show it.The Brothers and sisters that make it to that level always tell you to call the office and make a appointment so you can talk to them. That appointment is never made because they are always "so busy" or "not available".When those appointments are made and people actually sit down and talk to our people and hear the knowledge that most of these people have,then you will start seeing more people of color in corporate meetings and running their own labels without having to consent with anybody! Hire an attorney of color, hire an accountant of color, hire a publicist of color! Also,I know it feels good to sell water for the Vitamin company, let's not stop there. Let's own the company! One last thing, All of you that have money like that and want to do something positive, Go to the High schools and find out who wants to be a lawyer or an accountant and sponsor Him or Her. As you know the children are our future and it would be great if we can bring our own children up so they also can get to those Corporate meetings! Let's Get Busy Or We Will Be Lost!

so you screenin your calls now. ok i aint' mad atcha. darryl aka the OV had a point and so did k to the obra.

i got a full water system in my home where the water is purer than the purest like the vitamin water 50 markets. so i don't need his water...what about the people who don't have water purifiers and just want a chance to get a decent job or make a career out of their love for their craft? there are more hungry people than what corporate america let's slip through the cracks.

you betta listen listen.

Why would people take rap seriously? Rap doesn't even take itself seriously. There is too much focus on violence, beef, drugs, discrimination, and other negative elements. Hot 97's landlords are trying to evict it from its building because of all the shootings that have happened. How many shootings have happened at Q104.3's offices, or Lite FM's offices? Zero, and this is not a coincidence. It's part of the culture.

People in rap are too afraid to "fuck it, I'm not going to do the same bullshit." They still feel a need to act thugged out and gangsta. That's why you see someone like Bustarhymes, who used to be at the forefront of conscious rap with Leaders of the New School, acting all tough, beating up Dave Mays and embroiled in controversy where his bodyguard gets shot, then refusing to cooperate with police. This kind of drama doesn't happen to other types of music. You can't use drama like this to sell records and then wonder why white CEOs don't take you seriously. When you cultivate an image of menacing black men acting rebellious and violent so you can sell records, you can't complain when people confuse that caricature with who you really are as a person.

Don't get me wrong, I love hip hop from the bottom of my heart. But it doesn't deserve to be taken seriously because it is a bunch of clowns who are obsessed with image and fronting and acting hard when they should be making music.

HEY CHRIS

THE MUSIC GAME IS AMAZING, WHY IS IT THAT ONCE A BROTHER BLOWS UP IN THE GAME HE CUTS ALL CONNECTIONS WITH HIS PAST FRIENDS(CHRIS BROOKS) AND IN SOME CASES FAMILY. MY COUSINS (SHAWN SABB, HAKIM ROBINSON) USES TO GO TO THIS TECHNICAL SCHOOL (GOMPUS) IN THE SOUTH BRONX AND THEY USE TO RIDE THE TRAINS AND HANG OUT WITH THIS DUDE THAT BECAME ONE OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE BUSINESS. MY COUSINS ARE BOTH INTO MUSIC AND FILM PRODUCTION AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEIR OLD FRIEND FOR YEARS TO NO AVAIL. ALL TO OFTEN BROTHER MAKE IT AND DON'T LOOK BACK OR REACH BACK TO OPEN DOORS FOR THEIR HOMEBOYS, THAT'S WHY THE RAP GAME IS SO SEGMENTED IN NY AND THE SOUTH IS BLOWING UP.

IN THE SOUTH AND OUTSIDE OF NY IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY AND HELPING OTHER CREW MEMBERS GET ON, BUT IN NY IT'S ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ONE, IN FRONT AND BEHIND THE MICROPHONE. EAST COAST RAPPERS BETTER WAKE UP AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN ATLANTA, AND HOUSTON. THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS. WU-TANG STARTED THIS WHOLE SQUAD SHIT, BUT THE SOUTH REALIZED THE POWER OF NUMBERS.

AND WHAT'S UP WITH ALL THESE RAPPERS BOASTING ABOUT GOING TO JAIL AND GETTING SHOT? IN MY DAY A REAL HUSTLER NEVER GOT CAUGHT OR SHOT, HE LIVED A LONG LIFE AND ENJOYED THE FRUITS OF HIS LABOR. GOING TO JAIL WAS A DISGRACE AND AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE FAMILY AND THE FAMILY NAME, TODAY IT'S WORN LIKE A BANNER OF RESPECT (HOW LOST THE BLACK MAN HAS BECOME) AND THE WHITE MAN IS LOVEING EVERY MINUTE. THESE NEW SCHOOL RAPPERS ARE TEACHING KIDS HOW NOT TO PASS GO, BUT HOW TO GET SHOT OR GO TO JAIL. WHERE'S THE UPLIFTMENT AND TEACHINGS THAT RAP WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED TO PORTRAY.

I'M AN OLD SCHOOL BRONX BROTHER WHO USES TO ROCK THE MIC BACK WHEN BAM, FLASH, AND HOLLYWOOD GOT IT STARTED, BROTHERS ARE MAKING LOT OF MONEY BUT NO PROGRESS. GET IT TOGETHER (KEY WORD TOGETHER)PEOPLE, BEFORE WE LOOSE A WHOLE GENERATION.

There are many things that goes on behind closed doors that no one knows or trys to understand. Just because someone you know makes it doen't mean he or she has to give you handouts for the rest of your life. What we as a group need to do is find out how this brother or sister did it and follow those blue prints.

Those of you who know chris back in high school so what. So what you rode the train with him, so did a lot of other people. You was a friend at another level in his life grow up and move on.
We should not put a man down because he took a chance at life and won. Would you even remember chris if he was working for Metro North or the MTA.

I might be bias with my comments because I am one of the original violators and I was there from the begin (Union Sq.). I know first hand about all the up and down chris had to suffer to get where he is at today. No, I do not work for CHRIS, I do not have any type of record deal or anything like that, I just know what the meaning of friendship is.

Chris has help brothers & sisters from the street move up to postion in some of the biggest lables and has work with interns to give them first hand knowledge of the business.

Hip-hop is the soul of the streets. It gives some people of color hope. This avenue of business has open many doors for African American, Latino, and many minority group. However, we need to wake-up and stop pointing the finger at each other and start to claim our music back. We need to educate ourselve on the music business and ownership. We need to have more seminars on principles of money, banking, and financial markets. Understand strategies and skills of business communication. Once we start to have control over the business than and only than can we dictate what kind of music hit the street.

I would be wrong for give anyone advice if I did not do these things myself. I have gone back to school to recieve a Master degree in Occupational Psychology and started a not-for-profit organization.

for info chrisali55@verizon.net or realdadsnews.com

for information to Chris Ali:

chrisali555@verizon.net

chris Ali is hosting Fatherhood Summit go to realdadsnew.com for information.
June 17,2006

Dont try to substantiate why Certain people dont believe in us. Who Cares?

As long as you show and prove with Success after Success everything is ok. Make your money , support your family

Nice blog, I am a fan of 50 cents, I never realized that he was amanged by your record company until I watched this MSN link for Santalina http://exposure.msn.com/?id=9501>1=8328

Have you also heard of Premier ( Honey Love )http://www.myspace.com/honeyluv408 and GI
http://www.myspace.com/gimusic

Jose :-)

You have a lot of great things to say continued success. Check out my site...

You have a lot of great things to say continued success. Check out my site...

You have a lot of great things to say continued success. Check out my site...

You have a lot of great things to say continued success. http://imtwicemovies.homestead.com/INTERFACE.html Check out my site...

You have a lot of great things to say about the RAP industry. I'm in Los Angeles and i work with many very talented up and coming rap artist. Why can't smart savy music professional who truly have a major interest in our work stand up and get together and support these inner city rappers working to get sign.. continued success. http://imtwicemovies.homestead.com/INTERFACE.html Check out my site...

Chris,

First it great to see that you have made it into the board rooms to even disuss the current state of Rap and Hip Hop with these cats keep doin what you doin'. But now on to the question of where do we go from here? And how do we create and capitalize off of Rap and Hip Hop's next big thing? From my observations over the last few years our music has become more visual with first the advent of the music video, then the VCR, then the DVD, and now the internet and streaming video. Rap and Hip-Hop- must begin to think more conceptualy in video messages not just music videos but Urban Entertainment media. with news and interviews from inside the industry. for too long we have to wait until MTV or VH1 finds our news to be "newsworthy" and that only seems to me to be when there is violence. Chris we have to begin to package and DELIVER our culture at the speed of thought to who ever wants it. The old record lable / distributors business model is dead and has been for years. We need to embrace new technologies and author once and deliver everywhere. Get at me for solutions my comapny can offer. www.urbanimages-online.com