| | Mr Druckenmiller
Nothing in gangster rap should be entertaining or amusing, and, M. Ogunshola, never have I held my tongue about any movie or television program (my vitirol is strong for the Sopranos in particular, but all Mafia movies in general) that glorifies violence and "gang" life. Never. However, I chose to criticize gangster rap. What are you trying to imply by stating a fact that I haven't written something? There are plenty of things I am sure that you haven't written, but what difference does that make?
Fine, but a variety of things are involved in criticisms of rap music, some cultural, some universal, and some, dare I say it, racial.
I want to see you attack a few issues with which more SOLOists are familiar which parallel your disdain for rap so that we SOLOists can respond to critically and with informed comments.
If you had criticized The Sopranos, most people who like the series (some SOLOists, no doubt) would discuss the subtle elements of the series that they like. Art can be fascinating for a variety of reasons, including the revelation of that dark side of humanity by which most of us are intrigued, but in which few of us would dare participate, or to expose us to the tragedies in life that we are yet to experience.
Rap is the same way. It can speak to a variety of circumstances, of which one is the sexually charged atmosphere that is the product of nightclubs and even the ghetto culture which we disdain. You have to understand its subtleties to write a meaningful critique of it, and if you had attacked aspects of the culture and then tied the music to the culture that spawned it, I might have supported you. However, your writing, which preys upon common stereotypes, is no more different than that of many critics who find rap music an easy target for ridicule with an audience unassociated with its nuances.
I'm pleasantly surprised that SOLO is not quite that audience.
Laj.
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