Monday, March 15, 2004
I think the thing I hate most about University is the students.
Today we had a class discussion on Wayde Compton's the 49th Parallel Psalm. The book uses hybrid genres to communicate and articulate hybrid experiences and existences (look I'm one of those university students I hate). One of the aspects I found appealing about the book were the it made connections to hip hop and literature and hybridity. There's a large focus on hip hop and it's oral and literary elements. It makes for an interesting read and seemed like a good companion piece to John Sobol's Digitopia Blues.
The class discussion focused primarily on what elements of hip hop are literary. Someone said that they felt as though hip hop had no literary elements because as he said "I was walking down North Street a few days ago and I saw these guys just going off on their front step just rhyming whatever came into their head. It doesn't seem to me like there's any literary element to it at all."
I sort of got pissed off.
I got pissed off at the way North Street somehow seemed to stand in for the phrase, "the black part of town."
I got pissed off at the complete ignorance of what constitutes hip hop, it's more than just freestyling and rhyming whatever words pop into your head.
I got pissed off at the way we think we're down because we walk down North Street and happen upon some 'hip hoppers'.
And then I got pissed off all over again.
I got pissed off at how I like to think I'm down and how I like to think I know what I'm talking about.
I got pissed off at how we were 40 boring university kids talking about the literary elements of hiphop, applying our big brains to the concept of hiphop and articulating it in the language we're comfortable with.
Is there something wrong with being white and a hiphop fan? No, but you had better be sure what the fuck you're talking about before you go flapping your gums about ignorance and who doesn't understand what.
Who's appropriating what now?
Maybe I just traded in catholic guilt for white guilt.
Today we had a class discussion on Wayde Compton's the 49th Parallel Psalm. The book uses hybrid genres to communicate and articulate hybrid experiences and existences (look I'm one of those university students I hate). One of the aspects I found appealing about the book were the it made connections to hip hop and literature and hybridity. There's a large focus on hip hop and it's oral and literary elements. It makes for an interesting read and seemed like a good companion piece to John Sobol's Digitopia Blues.
The class discussion focused primarily on what elements of hip hop are literary. Someone said that they felt as though hip hop had no literary elements because as he said "I was walking down North Street a few days ago and I saw these guys just going off on their front step just rhyming whatever came into their head. It doesn't seem to me like there's any literary element to it at all."
I sort of got pissed off.
I got pissed off at the way North Street somehow seemed to stand in for the phrase, "the black part of town."
I got pissed off at the complete ignorance of what constitutes hip hop, it's more than just freestyling and rhyming whatever words pop into your head.
I got pissed off at the way we think we're down because we walk down North Street and happen upon some 'hip hoppers'.
And then I got pissed off all over again.
I got pissed off at how I like to think I'm down and how I like to think I know what I'm talking about.
I got pissed off at how we were 40 boring university kids talking about the literary elements of hiphop, applying our big brains to the concept of hiphop and articulating it in the language we're comfortable with.
Is there something wrong with being white and a hiphop fan? No, but you had better be sure what the fuck you're talking about before you go flapping your gums about ignorance and who doesn't understand what.
Who's appropriating what now?
Maybe I just traded in catholic guilt for white guilt.
# posted by Die Brucke @ 3:13 PM 
