It’s about time!
Finally someone from the hip-hop/rap industry has the guts and good sense to speak up and talk about the damage that sex-filled videos and lyrics do to impressionable young people — of all colors.
When asked by Arsenio Hall what he would say to his colleagues in the industry about what hip hop needs to do, rapper Kid Cudi said that the "braggadocio, 'money, cash, hoes' thing is dead . . . it is holding us back as a culture as black people.” He went on to say that it doesn’t “advance us in any way, shape, or form.”
As he said, the “power of music is so special . . . why not use it for good . . . why not tell kids something they can use in their lives.?
It’s a good question which should be asked of those in the entertainment industry who make millions filling the minds of their young fans with visions, images, and lyrics that demean women and glorify backseat sex, drugs, and gun violence.
Even more important, the question should be asked by leaders of all political stripes.
I guess the gurus of the entertainment industry assume that there is more money exploiting the darker side of life and glorifying thug culture and the gutter than instilling positive visions in the minds of the young.
As to political and community leaders, I would also guess that they do not want to offend those rap stars they love to be around or alienate significant political contributors and support.
I commend President Obama for his “My Brother’s Keeper Initiative,” a $200 million, five-year effort to help build “Ladders of Opportunity For Boys and Young Men of Color.”
It is quite an effort supported by some of the nations most respected foundations who have come together to assist by finding “solutions that have the highest potential for impact” in key areas, including early child development, school readiness, parenting and parent engagement.
It’s an impressive list and includes The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
In addition to these prestigious foundations, the White House said the Initiative will also work with major business groups and leaders “to discuss ways in which they and their companies can work with the Initiative to improve the life outcomes of boys and young men of color.”
The president said: “I’m reaching out to some of America’s leading foundations and corporations on a new initiative to help more young men of color facing especially tough odds to stay on track and reach their full potential.”
Will those involved in the “My Brother’s Keeper Initiative” — and the president — join Kid Cudi in condemning trash rap lyrics and videos as not advancing young men of color in “any way, shape, or form?”
Will they admit that some of this music is in essence a “war on women” setting a poor example for young men of color by targeting, denigrating, and portraying mostly young black women as sex-hungry depraved creatures not to be respected.
Will they say that such so-called music does not help kids’ early child development, foster their school readiness, prepare them for parenting, or help young men of color “stay on track and reach their full potential”?
I think we know the answer.
Clarence V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc., a government, political, and media relations consulting firm in Florida. He held several positions in the Reagan administration as well as in the Reagan presidential campaigns and has appeared on many national and local media outlets. Read more reports from Clarence V. McKee — Click Here Now.
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