I was going to something on that Malaysian/Muslim?Hip-hop convergence, but I realized tha Lynne said it all, including some stuff I didn't think of
since when was being African-American synonomous with hip-hop?
The slug on this made me worry:
Eh yo, trip*! *Check this out!
They look like African Americans, dress like them, move like them and even use hip-hop terms like them. With rare exceptions, the hip-hop lookalikes are Malay. ARLINA ARSHAD reports on a phenomenon that is worrying some people in the Malay/Muslim community.
But after reading it I realized it wasn't that bad…
I just hate the fact that although hip-hop has arrived, it is still considered nefarious. It's also interesting that hip-hop becomes a global product that gets to represent American Black Culture Worldwide. If it ain't got to do with hip-hop, then those abroad won't believe it's authentically black. Shit, there are some white folks right here in the states who won't believe it either.
Peep this statement I wrote in an abstract for a paper I once delivered: Hip-hop is the most commercially successful black cultural product of the last twenty years. Its wide global transmission relies heavily on the networks of America?s recording industry and its distribution mechanisms. These controlled channels of distribution in turn lend to a controlled worldwide distribution of black culture.
What with shit like Fiddy using bullet scars as marketing tools, I totally understand why hip-hop is still seen as nefarious. My problem is that, as Lynne says, it is the only image of Black Americans much of the world has…including much of America.
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