By Andrew Woolford
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/salinger101
In a search for hot topics in the Caribbean I ran across an interesting article in the Trinidadian Express. The headline read: “G-Unit Member Shot Dead” so, I open the link thinking: 1. God I haven’t watched T.V. in a while; 2. About time another one get shot, and; 3. Which one got shot?
But in reading the article my prejudice about G-Unit was destroyed, proving that I’m truly pompous.
G-Unit is a bona fide gang in Trinidad and Tobago, and the gang member that got shot was 48-year-old (yes Ripley Believe it or not) Berresford Ash aka Berry. The schematics of his death are a bit graphic and straightforward. What was interesting was the general response to the article made by the Trinidadian people. They blamed American Hip-Hop for the negative cultural influence on the tiny twin island. And they were serious.
In 2007, Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds and Hip-Hop, a documentary about the influence of hip-hop on the diamond industry and culture in Sierra Leone, West Africa, was released. The very enlightening documentary was produced by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda. In the flim, Cepeda takes recording artists Paul Wall, Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Tego Calderon to Sierra Leone so they could hear first hand the atrocities that come with the demand for diamonds.
Hip-Hop in Sierra Leone is becoming a big part of the country’s culture. When Raekwon asked a crowd if anyone could “spit a freestyle”, viewers of the documentary get 2 minutes of off the top of the dome ripping and rhyming.
These artists were shocked by what they saw and heard; they were oblivious to the effects their music had on other cultures.
Raekwon spoke for the hip hop industry when he said, “Our music is an expression of us, [and] we’re not praising it". So, why are people constantly blaming hip hop for cultural problems?
Hip-Hop critics blame Hip-Hop artists for calling each other a “nigga” and they also blame them for misogynistic lyrics that perpetuate words such as whore, slut, bitch, tramp, and my personal favorite slore (a hybrid of slut and whore, talk about Phuzing it). Now the conscious world and the international community are blaming Hip-Hop for the formation of gangs and gang related violence.
Who knows if this global influence was the goal or the inevitable consequence of gangster rap, but what is known is that there is a break down on communication from 50 Cent’s mouth to the foreign listener.
Now Ash’s death was an unfortunate event, but to blame hip hop influence for his death is just ridiculous. G-Unit stands for Guerilla Unit, for those who bob their heads and don’t read. Guerilla is a type of warfare, where combatants attack and then run. Why would there be a need for a Guerilla Unit in Trinidad?
Trinidad is among the largest economies in the Caribbean, being the only island nation to produce and manufacture petro-oil, and being able to cope with the rise in food prices. Why is there a need for militia on an island where there is no war?
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/salinger101
In a search for hot topics in the Caribbean I ran across an interesting article in the Trinidadian Express. The headline read: “G-Unit Member Shot Dead” so, I open the link thinking: 1. God I haven’t watched T.V. in a while; 2. About time another one get shot, and; 3. Which one got shot?
But in reading the article my prejudice about G-Unit was destroyed, proving that I’m truly pompous.
G-Unit is a bona fide gang in Trinidad and Tobago, and the gang member that got shot was 48-year-old (yes Ripley Believe it or not) Berresford Ash aka Berry. The schematics of his death are a bit graphic and straightforward. What was interesting was the general response to the article made by the Trinidadian people. They blamed American Hip-Hop for the negative cultural influence on the tiny twin island. And they were serious.
In 2007, Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds and Hip-Hop, a documentary about the influence of hip-hop on the diamond industry and culture in Sierra Leone, West Africa, was released. The very enlightening documentary was produced by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda. In the flim, Cepeda takes recording artists Paul Wall, Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Tego Calderon to Sierra Leone so they could hear first hand the atrocities that come with the demand for diamonds.
Hip-Hop in Sierra Leone is becoming a big part of the country’s culture. When Raekwon asked a crowd if anyone could “spit a freestyle”, viewers of the documentary get 2 minutes of off the top of the dome ripping and rhyming.
These artists were shocked by what they saw and heard; they were oblivious to the effects their music had on other cultures.
Raekwon spoke for the hip hop industry when he said, “Our music is an expression of us, [and] we’re not praising it". So, why are people constantly blaming hip hop for cultural problems?
Hip-Hop critics blame Hip-Hop artists for calling each other a “nigga” and they also blame them for misogynistic lyrics that perpetuate words such as whore, slut, bitch, tramp, and my personal favorite slore (a hybrid of slut and whore, talk about Phuzing it). Now the conscious world and the international community are blaming Hip-Hop for the formation of gangs and gang related violence.
Who knows if this global influence was the goal or the inevitable consequence of gangster rap, but what is known is that there is a break down on communication from 50 Cent’s mouth to the foreign listener.
Now Ash’s death was an unfortunate event, but to blame hip hop influence for his death is just ridiculous. G-Unit stands for Guerilla Unit, for those who bob their heads and don’t read. Guerilla is a type of warfare, where combatants attack and then run. Why would there be a need for a Guerilla Unit in Trinidad?
Trinidad is among the largest economies in the Caribbean, being the only island nation to produce and manufacture petro-oil, and being able to cope with the rise in food prices. Why is there a need for militia on an island where there is no war?
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