Tell the preacher, god got more than one son

 

Tell the law, my Uzi weighs a ton

 

I walk like a warrior,

 

from them I won’t run

 

I got the black strap to make the cops run

 

 

Those are interesting quotes.

No. Only if you pass around emails depicting Obama as a monkey would you be considered racist.

 

I will ask though. Do you believe that some Obama hate is because of his race?

Yes I do believe some of the hate for Obama is because of his race... But not the blanket coverage conveyed by the left that EVERYONE who disagrees with him is racist.. My two favorites to be the next President are both African-Americans..

I dont think they ahte Obama by race, but by name.

 

I think most that disagree with him truly just disagree him. I think there is a larger amount than people think simply despise him because of his race. I don't feel like any one on BGP despises him because of his race.

To take more hip hop slang....I'll keep it real with you. If it was any other rapper I would have a different explanation for each individual. Every rapper has a different story. In this case the evaluation of Common is way way off.

 

While I agree with you about rapper's having different stories, which is why their words mean different things. However, perception is reality, the majority of the time. I don't know Common's background, so if I were to hear his song for the first time it would be easy to think he was talking about cop killing, and setting President Bush on fire. That is extremely inappropriate for this event/setting, but not for you to listen to on your own...IMO.

I will ask though. Do you believe that some Obama hate is because of his race? Are you in the belief that some people who disagree with Obama aren't doing so because of his race?

 

I think that there are just as many people who dislike Obama because of his race as there are people who like him only because of his race.

Yes I do believe some of the hate for Obama is because of his race... But not the blanket coverage conveyed by the left that EVERYONE who disagrees with him is racist.. My two favorites to be the next President are both African-Americans..

 

 

I agree there have been some jumping the gun on the racism call but there are also some valid racism claims amongst those as well. I tend to see one person holler racism and then 100 people claim to not be racist. I know you say blanket coverage from the left but I don't see many people just screaming racism over every disagreement. Just a few rabble-rousers.

I think that there are just as many people who dislike Obama because of his race as there are people who like him only because of his race.

 

I agree.

Those are interesting quotes.

 

Yes they are. 'My Uzi weighs a ton' is a line from a old song that had nothing to do with cops. As I mentioned before he is 'street reporting'. His words are the mindset of many in the inner city.

Yes they are. 'My Uzi weighs a ton' is a line from a old song that had nothing to do with cops. As I mentioned before he is 'street reporting'. His words are the mindset of many in the inner city.

Would you consider Common a role model to the inner city youth ??

Yes they are. 'My Uzi weighs a ton' is a line from a old song that had nothing to do with cops. As I mentioned before he is 'street reporting'. His words are the mindset of many in the inner city.

 

Did you see the words right before that? "Tell the law, my uzi weighs a ton".

 

Regardless of what you say his lyrics mean, they look like he is advocating killing the police. He says, "I" and "My"...

 

If he's speaking for people in the streets, does that mean he agrees with them? Why else would he want to preach their message?

Would you consider Common a role model to the inner city youth ??

 

 

A role model? Me? No. I don't consider any entertainer, athlete, politician or any one in the public spectrum to he a role model. They do inspiring things from time to time but anyone looking for a role model outside their own home or maybe even school is living a hard life.

 

Here's the thing though. If I wanted to be a rapper then Common would be a good role model. With all of the rappers that are out Common is one of the ones that I wish my kids would listen to more. He is a smart man whose intelligence comes through in his lyrics. He raps about loving and respecting women. Respecting yourself. He doesn't have lyrics laced with profanity throughout and even recently quit using anti-gay lyrics. Common is up there with Jay-Z when it comes to rappers worthy of being a role model but like I said, no one should have a role model outside of their own home or school IMO.

Did you see the words right before that? "Tell the law, my uzi weighs a ton".

 

Regardless of what you say his lyrics mean, they look like he is advocating killing the police. He says, "I" and "My"...

 

If he's speaking for people in the streets, does that mean he agrees with them? Why else would he want to preach their message?

 

I have already stated that if you aren't familiar with Common I could see where the confusion comes in. I also said I don't expect any of you to understand or buy my explanation either.

 

Is he not allowed to write a poem describing the climate of the inner city? Should he sugar coat his lyrics when describing the mindset of a young black youth that feels oppressed by the police? What exactly should he say when he is trying to express this through the written/spoken word?

 

Like I said, 'my Uzi weighs a ton' is a line from an old song. When old hip hop heads hear those words I go back to the days of that song and a smile comes across my face as I can hear the line which is from the song Public Enemy #1 by Public Enemy.

I just did a little more research because I have never heard these lyrics of his in a song. The YouTube clip is a 2 minute poem that Common recited on Def Poetry Jam on HBO which is produced by Russell Simmons who is the Def Jam founder and of Def Comedy Jam fame. This makes this whole thread even more laughable to me now knowing this.

Would you consider Common a role model to the inner city youth ??

 

To answer your question better....2 out of every 1000 inner city youths would look to Common as a role model. He isn't hard enough, gangsta enough, fly enough and his lyrics are too soft for any inner city youth to identify with. Inner city kids don't listen to any of Common's music. Ever.

Bottom line, if you're bringing in a rapper, you'll always be able to find questionable lyrics if you dig deep enough. But Common is not a bad guy for inner-city kids to emulate. A much better pick for that audience than, say, Michael Buble.