Rapper Common: Obama will change hip-hop’s attitude

By Eliott C. McLaughlin (CNN)

The rapper Common wants to take hip-hop in a new direction, he says, and he has an unsuspecting ally — President-elect Barack Obama.
 
Common says he was looking for a new sound on his eighth album, “Universal Mind Control.”

“I really do believe we as hip-hop artists pick up what’s going on in the world and try to reflect that,” he told CNN, outlining his belief that mainstream as well as so-called “conscious” rappers — the more socially aware — will pick up on what he sees as the more optimistic prospects of an Obama presidency.

“I think hip-hop artists will have no choice but to talk about different things and more positive things, and try to bring a brighter side to that because, even before Barack, I think people had been tired of hearing the same thing,” he said.

Likewise, “Universal Mind Control,” with its hook-heavy, synthed-out tracks, represents a “broadening” of hip-hop’s audience — one that demands evolution rather than hackneyed revamps of old beats, rhythms and rhymes, Common said. 

Not that Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., is altogether removed from the temptations of his hip-hop brethren.

He serves as a spokesman for Lincoln Navigator and purports on his new album to “rebel in YSL,” a reference to designer Yves Saint Laurent. Money is also a weakness, as Common — No. 14 on Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of richest rappers — regularly invokes the greenbacks he makes and spends.

Still, Common has come at hip-hop from a different angle from many of his colleagues. He was generally considered “underground” until he linked up with Kanye West, who produced his albums “Be” (2005) and “Finding Forever” (2007).

Even now, while paying homage at mainstream hip-hop’s altar, the Chicago-born lyricist also enters parishes where most rappers wouldn’t be seen. He’s helped front movements for HIV/AIDS awareness and vegetarianism, and he’s written two children’s books emphasizing the importance of self-esteem.

Lyrically, violence has never been his thing; soft-drug use has been mentioned but rarely glamorized; he removed homophobic references from his lyrics years ago; and while there have been hints of misogyny and the occasional N-word in his verses, neither has been a staple of his rhymes.

“I’ve always been conscious, honestly,” he said. “I made a choice on this album, ‘Universal Mind Control,’ to really make some music that was bright, that would be a little more lighthearted, just because of what was going on in the world.”

With a few exceptions, his latest lyrics are consummate Common. In his beat poet’s cadence, the 36-year-old rhymesmith aggressively courts the ladies, personifies hip-hop, aggrandizes himself and his hometown (lovingly, “the Chi”), and respectfully doles out props to hip-hop’s forefathers — most notably to Afrika Bambaataa on the album’s title track. 

The album’s sound, however, is atypical, moving — sometimes jerkily — from club-banger to anthem to ballad to Top 40. The latter even runs counter to the opening verse of “Everywhere”: “No pop, no pop, no pop, no pop/We gonna do this thing till the sky just drop.”

But the sound is part of “a whole new sound and a new movement” in hip-hop, something he explored out of disdain for repetition and predictability, he said. That might explain Kanye West’s relative absence on “Universal Mind Control.”

The Louis Vuitton don appears on only one track, the pop-drenched “Punch Drunk Love.” But West has long been credited, even by Common, with bringing his fellow Chicagoan to the mainstream after “Be” and “Finding Forever” went gold and leapt up the Billboard 200.

Of course, it’s not all Kanye, said Common.

“I’m a true believer that it all boils down to the music, because Kanye can endorse something, and if people don’t like it they ain’t gonna get with it — regardless of whoever endorses it,” he said.

He compared his working relationship with West to the collaboration he enjoyed with The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams on “Universal Mind Control.” Williams, whom Common casually likened to Quincy Jones, pushed him lyrically, much like West did, he said.

Between Williams and Mr. DJ — who composed backbeats for some of OutKast’s biggest hits — Common arrived at the evolution he sought, he added.

Common also is plotting a change, or at least a detour, in his career path. Though his past cinematic endeavors have been primarily gangster flicks, Common has landed a role in the upcoming “Terminator Salvation” and could play Green Lantern in “Justice League: Mortal” should the derailed movie get back on track.

“I would truly love to go increasingly in the acting direction,” he said. “My goal is to be a movie star. I want to be at Will Smith’s level. I want to be co-leading with Leonardo DiCaprio.”

Fear not, Common fans. The aspiring thespian is confident he can pull off both, though hip-hop might ride sidecar to the silver screen. Acting, he said, seems to improve his music.

“I don’t take as much time overthinking it. Actually, since ‘Be’ I’ve been working on films and each album has been expanding and increasing, so I feel like I would still make music, but it wouldn’t be the main gig,” he said.

Selling albums, Common said, is about more than good music, and though he stands proudly by the music he made pre-West, he concedes he didn’t do enough to claw his way up from the underground.

“After you make good, quality music, then it’s your job to go out there and promote it and to market it and to get it out there to the people. I feel like I wasn’t doing that early on,” he said. “Now I am, and I feel like I’m growing as a songwriter and working with producers that are very incredible, so I feel all that is contributing to me getting the recognition that I’m getting.”

Obama And The Hip-Hop Problem

Young black activists roared their approval when Barack Obama recently greeted criticism on the trail by dusting off his shoulders, a reference to a rap song by Jay-Z called "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." The media covering the moment went crazy, too. Washington Post reporter Teresa Wiltz hailed Obama’s moves and called it a "seminal moment in the campaign, the merging of politics and pop culture," and noted the lyrics suggest, "If you feelin’ like a pimp … go and brush your shoulders off."

So Barack Obama is feeling like a pimp?

Online at "The Root," a Washington Post website for African-Americans, Obama supporter and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell was sky-high. "Like every other hip-hop generation voter in America I went crazy when he did it," she wrote. "I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a perfect moment."

Harris-Lacewell read that moment as a sign of racial swagger and solidarity with "his base of young urban brown and black voters," and they loved it. "He displayed all the familiar self-assurance and bravado of the hip-hop emcee. The people who got it went nuts, while those who don’t know hip-hop just thought he was being funny and confident."

The video went viral and became a YouTube sensation.

What is it about this music that drove Obama to emulate it, and drove the Princeton professor crazy in the process? This Jay-Z song boasts about a "middle finger to the law." Harris-Lacewell touted that Obama would like the song "99 Problems," which has an entire verse about being racially profiled by the "mother f—-ing law" for "doing 55 in a 54." Jay-Z also tells critics to kiss his whole (rectum).

Sen. Obama claims to be a fan of Jay-Z and Kanye West, but he knows that he has to distance himself a little from the lyrical lows of this "art." He’s been gently critical in interviews. "I love the art of hip hop. I don’t always love the message of hip hop," he said. Even with the rappers he loves, "There’s a message that is not only sometimes degrading to women; not only uses the N-word a little too frequently; but also something I’m really concerned about, it’s always talking about material things."

"A little too frequently?" This is like saying a tsunami’s a little too wet.

Obama should take a look at a new report from the Parents Television Council about three popular rap-music programs that air in the afternoon or early evening — "Sucker Free" on MTV and "Rap City" and "106 & Park" on Black Entertainment Television for two weeks in December and a week in March.

In 41 and a half hours studied, analysts found 282 uses of the N-word. Is that "a little too frequently," too?

A little too much degrading of women? In those same hours, there were 143 uses of the B-word to describe women.

A little too much focus on material things? Here, Obama is gliding by the question of what material things are acquired. The rap shows included 205 depictions or discussions of drug sale or use and other illegal activity during the study period, for an average of 7.5 instances per hour, or roughly one instance every eight minutes.

Obama did not discuss the heavily sexualized world of rap in his answer. Sexually explicit scenes or lyrical references on these shows appeared 27 times an hour in December and 40 times an hour in March. No one could miss that drumbeat.

In just one week of programming — 14 hours in March — PTC analysts found 1,342 instances of offensive/adult content, or 95.8 instances per hour, or one instance of adult content every 38 seconds.

Who is being influenced by these messages? During the two-week December 2007 study period, children under 18 made up roughly 40 percent of the audience for these three BET and MTV rap programs. Because all of these programs re-air throughout the day, study results underestimate the percentage of unique children who are exposed to this flood of sexually explicit and violent and crime-glamorizing rapper swagger.

A year ago, Obama made an obvious point when he said Don Imus was fired by NBC for using degrading words that are all over rap radio, but rap mogul Russell Simmons cried foul: "What we need to reform is the conditions that create these lyrics. Obama needs to reform the conditions of poverty."

That is, of course, ludicrous. Poverty doesn’t "cause" violent gangsta rap any more than road rage is caused by Toyota. These messages are vile and contemptible, and black leaders like former Gov. Doug Wilder and Bill Cosby are true heroes for saying so, while suffering the inevitable blowback.

And Barack Obama is dusting off his shoulders to the applause of the crowd.

Food for thought.

L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. To find out more about Brent Bozell III, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Hip Hop & Soul Artists Call for End of the Iraq War thru Music

Respect The Culture, LLC, a Philadelphia-based record label and multi-media company have released of a hip hop song calling for peace and the end to the U.S. war in Iraq. Hip hop artists Nex Millen/Retrospective and Poesh Wonder collaborated with soul songstress taragirl on the new single. The release comes just weeks before a heated Presidential primary between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Clinton in Pennsylvania.

The song’s chorus requests that the "Commander in Chief" bring our troops home. Its verses tell the story of three people intimately involved with the Iraq war – a child whose mother is on active duty, a soldier fighting in Iraq and a grandmother concerned about her grandson’s interest in enlistment after having lost her son in the Gulf War. Throughout the song, the repeated cry is, "We’re just looking for peace Mr./Ms. President."

The song’s feature artist, Nex Millen, says, "We believe that hip hop culture has a voice in the Pennsylvania primary, other primaries and caucuses and in the general election. The song is an expression of the will of a majority of Americans, and I consider myself the ‘Hip Hop Super delegate.’"

"Music has always been an important aspect of American culture and a means of political expression. ‘Troop Song’ goes beyond mere politics and gets to the heart of the issues facing our troops, their families and our country-at-large," said Marci Krufka, the single’s Executive Producer.

"Troop Song (Cause Unknown)" is available for purchase via Itunes, cdbaby and other distribution outlets. A free stream of the song is available on www.myspace.com/troopsong . Free mp3 files of the song are available for download to the press upon request.

Respect The Culture released the following statement regarding Troop Song: "We support our troops in Iraq and throughout the world and thank them for their hard work, dedication and service as they preserve, protect and defend the United States. But after five years, the time to end the war is long overdue. For the sake of the troops, their families and friends, and the future of our country, we ask the President and Presidential candidates to please, ‘Bring Our Troops Home.’ Our country is at war. We can’t continue to ignore that our troops risk their lives every day. Nearly 4,000 U.S. troops have died and tens of thousands have been injured – not to mention all of the personal sacrifices that our military and their families have made for the sake of freedom. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have perished and continue to live with the repercussions of war daily. Yet our network news broadcasts begin nightly with politics and Hollywood antics, while updating us on the war in their last story, if at all, almost as an afterthought. Our cable news features political debates, celebrity interviews, financial news and sensational stories that get ratings. Most of us believe the war should end and our troops should come home as soon as possible."

Nex Millen/Retrospective is a Philadelphia-born hip hop artist, producer and DJ. He was a co-founder of Camden, New Jersey-based Breakbread Projects and a member the critically-acclaimed group Nuthouse. Millen has performed across the United States and throughout Europe and was the Music Coordinator for the Digable Planets 2005 Reunion Tour UK.  Formerly an engineer with Sony Studios (New York) and Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia) and Artist Development Representative for EMI/Capitol, he has released several recordings as an artist with former groups, produced numerous singles, albums and mix tapes for other artists and was the Music Supervisor for the very successful And1 B-ball mix tapes.

Poesh Wonder is a New Jersey-born hip hop artist. He has two solo albums, "Like This," and the recent release, "No You Haven’t And You Never Will Again (The Motion Picture). His current single, "Selectah" (El Chavo/Juno Records UK) was a featured release on Itunes Hip Hop. Poesh Wonder has made guest appearances numerous recordings including "Breakbread Radio," "Balance is Back," and "Almost Famous." His work has resulted in worldwide acclaim, resulting in featured appearances on "Historias De Q," the latest CD of Spanish hip hop phenom Quiroga and starring with Quiroga in the video for "Wah/Fuego en tu Interior."

"taragirl" is a Philadelphia-based soul artist. She has shared the stage with legendary artists, including Chaka Khan, Angie Stone, Jill Scott, Chrisette Michele, the Brand New Heavies, and Amy Winehouse. Her album, "The 26th Power," produced by Simon Illa, is currently available on Itunes.

Respect the Culture LLC is a Philadelphia-based record label and multimedia company – globalizing hip hop culture through music, fashion and art.

For more information contact Marci Krufka at Respect the Culture at 610-550-9705 or marci@respecttheculture.com  or see www.respecttheculture.com .

Obama Is Like Diluted Hip Hop

Socially corrosive and ignorant songs like Soulja Boy’s represent everything that’s wrong with music today. But it spread like wildfire. Similar to how Obama’s rhetoric represents everything that’s wrong with liberalism and big government. But after last night’s results in Texas and Ohio, the honeymoon may be over for Obama.

“You’re  like a hip hop song, you know?” Remember that famous line uttered by hip hop pioneers, A Tribe Called Quest, to describe the infamous Bonita Applebaum and how enamoring she was? They chose to compare her to hip hop because that was the best way they could describe her completeness; perfect in every way. Like a tight verse over a hot beat.

I would say Barack Obama is much like the diluted, hybrid version of hip hop today. But for those of us from the Northeast, myself included, who appreciate the real hip hop of old, we understand the importance of lyrical genius.  It wasn’t just about the beat or the hook. It was about the lyrics, the substance of the song. 

Popular music of today is a hollow shell of what it once was when lyrical content actually meant something. Nowadays, all you need is thumping bass and a simple, oftentimes ridiculous, hook and you are guaranteed a platinum album.

Let’s take that wildly popular, overplayed ad nauseum, crossover mega hit, by Soulja  Boy, “Crank Dat.” We all know it. We’ve all seen the dance that goes with it. Black and white, young and old, in the club or at a sporting event, we’ve seen people singing along and doing the Superman dance. Now, has anyone really taken the time to actually listen to the words of the song? It was even nominated for a Grammy, the highest honor in music. I guess that is supposed to give this nonsense legitimacy.

Socially corrosive and ignorant songs like Soulja Boy’s represent everything that’s wrong with music today. But it spread like wildfire. Similar to how Obama’s rhetoric represents everything that’s wrong with liberalism and big government. But the masses love him, even though many of his supporters, and some surrogates, cannot name a substantive reason why. 

That is what we have in Barack Obama. Some would say he’s all rhetoric. Eloquent speeches but no solutions. But just like that current favorite song you’re blasting in your car, you know the beat and the hook, but have you really listened to the content? Do you know what you’re singing along too? Or what you’re allowing your children to sing along to?

Sen. Obama’s real policy positions and plans for America are masqueraded by his hypnotic rhetoric. He has managed to serenade the electorate, and most of the mainstream media into a trance with his charismatic speeches and witty one-liners. Too often, voters’ attention spans aren’t long enough to get past the feel good hype to actually examine, or even care about, the details.  “Don’t believe the hype!” Isn’t that what Public Enemy cautioned us against?

Just like popular music today. If you were to remove the beats and just read the words of most songs, you would be horrified by what you’ve discovered.  And you begin to ask yourself, is this what I’m spending money to download? This is what I’m letting my children sing along to?

For some folks, this type of “ignorance is bliss” existence works for them. If it makes me feel good at the time, just do it, right? The “Obamamania,” sweeping the country makes his supporters look like fanatical teenagers swooning over the latest hot new actor or musician. Fainting spells, high pitched screams, video groupies. You’d think you were at an N’Sync concert in the late 90’s! But why?

Many aren’t quite sure. Obama talks about change and a new direction for America, but how exactly? With $850 billion in proposed new spending resulting in an increase in your taxes to foot his “new direction” bill, some may want to listen to another station.

Last night’s primary results exposed some kinks in the mighty Obama’s armor. Hillary’s decisive wins in Ohio and Texas put a halt, at least for now, on his momentum. Exit polling shows late deciders broke for Hillary primarily because she was able to get voters to take a second look at Obama.  Clinton finally figured out a way to snap the media out of its Obama trance to actually begin examining his record and ask some tough questions. Whether it was questioning how well-equipped he is to tackle a national security crisis, to his relationship with Chicago slumlord Tony Rezko — currently on trial for corruption — to his association with controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Sen. Clinton benefited from a confluence of recent events which exposed some Obama weakness.

The honeymoon may be over for Mr. Obama. Up until now, he has skated through this primary season relative unscathed because of the love fest he’s enjoyed from unabashedly biased networks like NBC News.  So much so, it has become a staple of Saturday Night Live skits. However, at a press conference on Monday, the usually calm and collected Obama, lost his cool somewhat with reporters after being bombarded with tough, legitimate questions surrounding his campaign. Now, now, Sen. Obama, never let them see you sweat.

It’s no surprise that in today’s instant gratification society, a feel good candidate like Obama can actually challenge a political juggernaut like the Clinton political machine. Now that Hillary seems to be the “Comeback Chick,” (since “Comeback Kid is already taken in that household) the rest of the race should prove to be fascinating to watch.

But just like that one-hit wonder with the hot beat and catchy hook, does Obama have the sustainability factor to stay on the top of the charts? Will the fickle electorate still be singing his tune seven weeks from now? Stay tuned.

By Tara Setmayer, Thedailyvoice.com

Tara Setmayer is a conservative commentator and the communications director for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).