I’ve been sitting by watching how Nas has taken this whole anti-Fox News protest, spinning it into one of the biggest publicity moves of his career. Bravo! For that, I want to commend him, because in this horrible music sales climate, I have to say, that hip-hop is suffering so much, I support anyone who figures out a way to SELL RECORDS…watch here…
BUT
Let me digress… It’s starting to bother me how quickly people (mainly the media) jump on the bandwagon of a so-called “good cause.” For one, we’ve all known for years how conservative (whether or not it’s disguised racism is not for this discussion…for that one, my legal expertise would call for more research)…how conservative Fox News is. I have often gone on Fox News to defend hip-hop’s position when it has been attacked. I sat across from Bill O’Reilly when he tried to knock one of ours for giving back to the community. I went on the Big Story with Jon Gibson when they tried to call another artist…an R&B one…a gangster rapper and contributed to him losing a major endorsement. When they’ve attacked hip-hop in the past, I have, and so have many others, gone there to make sure hip-hop has a voice. Now, if some of our artists choose to never represent hip-hop to these audiences (the Fox News-es and the like) then I will say that is the choice they have. But when you take a stance, and you decide to take a stance for a cause like this, I am going to question your intentions, because it means that if this issue came up and you weren’t promoting your album, you’d be sitting on the sidelines not doing much. Now let me say that Nas isn’t wrong for this….he is for his own cause. Because he has an album to sell and promote. We are all ultimately doing things for our own cause? What is bothering me is how quickly the media (a lot of bloggers who just want to be down) jump on his bandwagon and start covering this story without giving it any context. So everyone is just applauding and giving this super-duper coverage without posing any questions. So my beef is more so with journalism and the hip-hop media right now. Here are a couple of times when I would have liked to hear Nas say something…
1. when BET did the panel hip hop vs. america.
2. when Don Imus called the Rutgers basketball team nappy headed hos. (did he say anything? correct me if I’m wrong)
3. when hip-hop lyrics came under fire at the congressional hearings last September.
4. when the Rolling Stones Keith Richards said some dumb shit about hip hop.
5. when 60 minutes did their report on “Stop Snitching” and we were left with Cam’Ron as our voice
So…I’m asking…does it matter that he’s doing this a week after his album dropped? Do we care that he will go on the Colbert Report, an anti O’Reilly show, but will not go on Fox News (insiders at the network told me that he’s turned them down a few times) and represent hip-hop when it’s getting attacked. Or even go on a black show like Hip Hop Vs. America and put his 2 cents in. I’m just asking you all.
July 24, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I’m a fan of his music, but I have absolutely no clue what he’s trying to do with this petition. More importantly, what kinda of results is he trying to get? I probably wouldn’t sign it. The thing won’t lead to nothing, cause as you said, Def Jam’s budget will likely dry up faster, so he’ll start working on his next joint or vacay with Kelis rather than say some gibbrish in front of the Fox office. Dude, you know damn well no 600,000 people signed that petition.
July 25, 2008 at 4:32 pm
dude I personally signed it and it wasn’t because of Nas… The issues are way bigger than a dang rapper homie… in this day & age homie you need to get a clue..
July 25, 2008 at 5:20 pm
You’re right, all of this stuff is old news: the N*word, Fox being racist, tell us something that we already don’t know!
The sad part about it is that real political Hip Hop artists like Dead Prez, Immortal Technique and Bambu have always taken a militant stance against injustice in the system and in the media and because of it, they’ve likely forfeited the exposure that mainstream artists like Nas enjoy. Because they are committed to making people aware of racist policies in every album that they do – not just the recent one they are promoting – they are marginalized and thought to be one-note artists. Hopefully with Obama ‘s campaign and people feeling inspired about real change, we can learn to appreciate the artists that have proven their political stance even when it wasn’t popularized by a controversial moment that shook the rest of the status quo out of their obliviousness.
http://www.myspace.com/bambumusic
(Exact Change droppin’ September 11th!)
July 25, 2008 at 6:03 pm
That’s a very heavy load for him to carry. I wondered about the timing of the protest as well. ‘Sly Fox’ is a good song but this could have been protested months ago. And he’s gonna have to step to O’Reilly, on the air, now that he brought his name up. And I’m sure Rupert has his army of lawyers waiting in the wings, too. Maybe Nas should call Chuck D and NY Oil for some support.
Vincent
thimk.wordpress.com
July 25, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Kim:
It’s very interesting you say insiders at Fox told you he won’t go on there; on the Colbert Report, he said he’s challenged Bill O’Reilly to a televised debate with no response.
I definitely agree that he could and should have been more vocal with the previous events you listed, however I don’t think it’s stretch for him to do what he’s doing now with Fox and other issues.
Let’s hope it’s a sign of more things to come.
~Boss Lady
July 26, 2008 at 12:09 am
Who else in hiphop is standing for any causes that effect the masses?…….I’ll wait………thought so.
Kudos my nigger!!
July 29, 2008 at 4:51 pm
i’d talk to bill o’reilly as well… just not on a fox news program. i totally understand why one wouldn’t play an away game there.
they should slug it out somewhere neutral.
and to my brother, jackpot… i could see colorofchange.org finagling 600,000 signatures. they chase the ambulances like whoa. this whole thing is their show. nas is just the necessary figurehead.
August 15, 2008 at 4:27 pm
That’s an excellent point. He has been largely silent when hip hop was being crucified at other moments.
I think the Fox News thing is a personal vendetta. That network is a habitual line-stepper and every week there is something to take them to task for. Being taken aback by Fox News’ hyper conservativism is like being upset that babies drool.
The fact that he chose to speak out when his album hit the shelves is in fact very telling.
August 20, 2008 at 7:31 pm
He can’t champion every cause.
If you watch Cable News it should purely be for entertainment. None of that can ever be taken to seriously. Seek out the truth for yourselves.
Just Nas’ name in association with enlightening people about the medias ways will garner a lot of attention be happy about that. Who cares if he gets a couple thousand more records sold. That pales in comparison to the advertising dollars these news channels make from creating news.
August 25, 2008 at 4:51 am
Is it worth Nas defending his stance ON FOX NEWS? whenever I have seen any hip hop artist on Bill O’Reilly’s show they have been shut down by O’Reilly – he talks over anyone and does not allow them to adequately state their opinion. I’m giving ups to Nas for combining a PR style campaign with something that he has spoken about and obviously feels strongly about – my only worry is that O’Reilly thrives under any sort of publicity, be it neg or pos…its what makes his character more entertaining to conservative America
August 31, 2008 at 2:13 am
on Don Imus Nas did comment but didnt take a stance like he is now.plus seems Nas doesnt know Murdoch’s daughter is married to a blackman.so he probably gotta be careful not 2 call him as racist like orielly.n kim cool u questioned d motivation behind what Nas is doing even though u messed with em 4 a minute.or is it cuz u not cool wid em no more.whats ur motivation for d questioning.lol
September 7, 2008 at 5:39 am
First of all, always glad to see the lovely Kim Osorio, even via .jpeg, lol
Secondly, I think Nas made the right move. You ask the questions of “Where was Nas when…” Here’s my line of thinking: why waste ammunition on minor skirmishes when you can empty the clip on the critical strike? That’s efficient maneuvering.
For instance, ask yourself this question: “What actually happened after all the debates and interviews that Nas DIDN’T attend?” You might not agree, but I’d say… nothing happened. As in, no direct action was taken to create concrete change after a single one of those interviews and debates.
That being said, had Nas attended, do you really think it would have changed anything? Maybe it would’ve been more enlightening and hip hop would’ve been better represented for thirty minutes to an hour, before an audience of already-conscious listeners. But I doubt his presence alone would’ve triggered any physical action.
But to go right at the monster in Fox News— just like when he went at Jay in Jay’s prime— I think is commendable. Nas didn’t go to Fox to talk and discuss the status quo, he went to Fox to FORCE CHANGE. It’s like Karl Marx said: “Hitherto philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” Talking and changing are two separate dimensions.
Had he gone on, say, a Fox show, the bias would’ve been too great against him. That’s like fighting a shark underwater; you’re out of your element. So instead of subjecting himself to a bias like a sheep to slaughter, he sought to destroy the bias itself. That’s what we ALL should be doing. It’s what Paulo Friere calls “praxis”— reflection leading to action leading to reflection. Enough with the talks and debates; we should be allowing logic to lead us to ACTION, not more discussion…
February 5, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Really cool I love some of the articles which have been written, and especially the comments posted! I’ll come back!