RAP SUXXX singles

It didn't occur to me to put the singles from our upcoming tape RAP SUXXX on my blog, so here they are.

Dedication 

So Bonafide

Lemme know what yall think!

Can Art go too far?

First off, let me start this post off by offering my definition of the word "art," because I feel there may be confusion if I don't. Anything that a person puts time and effort into is technically art. Do I feel that Waka Flocka is an "artist?" No. Does he have a dedicated fanbase that does? Yes. Thus, the stuff that he puts out is technically art. No matter how much people may disagree with that statement, one of the defining characteristics of a work of art is that it causes discourse over whether or not it is art. That's my opinion, anyway. Take this Mustard-Brillo pad nightmare of a painting, for example. Would you believe that it's the second most valuable ever sold?

Really.

Moving on, I just want to say that I am a fervent believer in our First Amendment right to free speech. I believe that our right to free speech is one of the things that makes America what it is today. However, I find myself wondering more and more if it is ever cool to draw the line on that right, especially regarding art. Allow me to explain.

As the years have passed, I have noticed a trend that is...disturbing...to say the least. It seems that our music, movies, and television just keep getting more reckless and, to put it bluntly, Satanic. And what's terrifying is that soon enough, what is initially regarded as "too far" becomes the norm.

Take for example Dr. Dre's album The Chronic. Today it is widely hailed and respected as a hip hop masterpiece, but have you ever actually LISTENED to what the guy was saying?

Peep the chorus from the last track, entitled "B*tches Aint Sh*t."

B*tches aint sh*t but hos and tricks
Lick on these nuts and suck the dick
Get the f*ck out after your done
Then I hop in my ride to make a quick run

Sheeeesh what was that guy's problem? Surely America was outraged. Surely they found this album unacceptable and ribald. Surely they- oh wait, it went triple platinum and was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time? Oh.

I'm not bashing The Chronic. I would be a dirty hypocrite if I sat here n told you all that I don't listen to it myself. I am just WELL aware that Dre's message in it is..terrible. But I've already made my feelings for Dre and his woman-beating as known. Ah well. America seems to have forgiven him and his headphone business is booming so...life goes on right?

"BUY SOME BEATS OR GET BEAT HO!" 

But moving on, as the title of this post indicates, my big question is....can art ever go too far? And at which point does it do so? Are jokes that make light of abortion in poor taste, or are people really just being too anal about it? 

I recently had the misfortune of seeing the cover for an album by some alternative rap group I had never heard of. That cover, in part, is actually what spurred me to write this post. I'm not going to post the picture, but feel free to click HERE if you really wanna see it. Be warned, it's NSFW. It's these sort of things that worry me though. At least Kanye's MBDTF cover was somewhat tasteful. His dong was covered up. 

I dunno yall...between the misogyny, the lewd images, and DMX talking about raping minors in his songs, I just start to get the feeling that "yo...some of this stuff isn't ok." And I know, I know..it's ART. It's HARMLESS. Chalk it up to the AMERICAN CULTURE. But I'm just saying WHERE do we draw the line? Is there a  line? Should any sort of speech, image, or behavior be protected under the first amendment? I don't know. What I do know is that 50 years ago, most women wouldn't stand to be called out of their name by anyone; but today, it's the norm. But these are just my thoughts and this is just where I put them. Food for thought. 

-Nick