BE EXCITED (or afraid)

Until next time,

Mashaal

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip”

- Will Rogers (1879-1835)

“It was many years ago, when you stole my cool. You had me at hello” - “Hello” by Beyonce

I was 11 years old, standing in a Pakistani CD shop, watching my mother buy a bootleg copy of Whitney Housten’s Greatest Hits  when it caught my eye. It was sitting there, on the CD racks, just a tad dusty.

I walked over and stared at it. The cover was black and white. Not sure what was going through my head when I picked it up, but I brought it over to my mother.

“Who is this Jay-Z?” she asked and I had no idea at all. 

24 hours later?

 ”Mom, Jay-Z is SO COOL. I mean… he doesn’t sing, he talks really fast, it sounds great but I can’t understand it all. I don’t know what he means by the crack game..”

At 11, Jay-Z had pulled me into the strange yet wonderful world of Rap, and when I returned from Pakistan, a whole undiscovered world of Rap was awaiting me. Eminem followed after Jay-Z, then Nas, then Tupac and then Biggie Smalls, who is actually the reason why I have decided to write on this topic today.

13 years ago from this date, Biggie Smalls, considered a legend within the rap game, was shot dead. With Tupac previously shot dead as well, many today believe that rap died with them.  And with good reason.

The reputation and respect that rap holds probably equals to the soberness of Lindsay Lohan. Almost nothing at all. People who listen to rap are considered to be from low-income households, usually from ghettos, with limited knowledge and unemployed parents. Consumers of rap are portrayed as violent, drug taking/distributing men who carry guns, rape/sell/buy women and live life the illegal way.

Since true examples create stereotypes, the stereotypical profile of a rap listener is, in essence, true. Yes, there are gangsters listening to rap since the majority of rappers have been gangsters before the money started pouring in. And as gossip journalism has proven, some bad habits are hard to let go of (I’m looking at you Lil Wayne and T.I)

Then there is the discussion that all hip-hop and rap is concerned with is the materialized goods; cars, cribs, gold, bling-bling and lets not forget the half naked women. Turn on MTV and if by some God’s miracle there are no reality shows playing, you see 50 Cent inviting you to his Candy Shop. Or Lil Wayne inviting you to lick his Lollipop. Or some auto-tuned crap is coming out of a guy with grills.

All of the rap critics are rightfully annoyed; rap is appealing to the basic human instincts and is not stimulating brain activity. The only issue with the rap critics is that they often fail to recognise the true essence and meaning of hip-hop and rap.

Initially, during the era of Tupac and Biggie, hip-hop and rap was all about storytelling. Yes, there was mention of women, sex, drugs, but what many people forget is that pimping, sex, drugs were and are a part (notice how the two words are in Italics) of rap since the environment is what rap is about. Since the hood is drenched with gang violence, women selling themselves and drug abuse, it is only natural that rap places itself around such topics.

Rap was also used to portray frustration and hope for change. Tupac is an exceptional example. With songs such as ”Changes”, “Ghetto Gospel” and the provocative ”Brenda’s Baby”- the song about teenage rape and pregnancy- Tupac grasped the true nature of rap; an oral account of real humans, real problems, real issues, real emotion and real talk.  Biggie Smalls, though credited to bringing the gangsta in gangsta rap, had lyrics fueled with raw, and often bitter emotion. 

Even rappers who’ve been in the game for a while, such as Nas, Jay-Z and Eminem, have had albums and songs that revolve around raw hip-hop; Nas with his ”Illmatic” album, Jay-Z with his “Resonable Doubt” album and several songs off the “American Gangster” album and Eminem with songs such as “Mosh” which was highly anti-bush and ”White America” which attacked the pro-white bias in America.

So what has changed and is rap truly dead?

Hip-hop and rap is no longer an art; it’s a business. In the shadow of capitalism, the rap industry is more concerned about the green notes rather than the quality of the music that is set out. And that’s not only because they can do that, but because the consumers have adjusted to product.

Jay-Z’s music, for example, has transformed in the years, and has become more ego-centered, despite the fact that the man is obviously talented, smart and highly gifted. Known to never use a pen during his raps, Jay-Z’s been sitting on the throne of rap for a long while now, and with every new album, tries to challenge the boundaries, limitations and definitions of rap. Usually dressed in so-called “ghetto-chic”, he manages to remain hip yet skip the stereotypical image of rap; without the huge obnoxious diamond necklace that could feed half the population of Africa, the grill that could pay the mortgage on your house and instead of having a 9273892642 girlfriends at a time, the man is married and from what we know, not a philandering one (depending on what your opinion on that love child allegation is.)

It’s also understandable that he wants rap to extend beyond solely concerning about the hood. However, rapping about yourself and your riches is usually a topic for a couple of songs, and not an entire album, which was the case with “The Blueprint 3″.  As a big fan of Jay-Z, it’s hard at times admitting that,despite his raw talent and one of the most  remarkable lyrical talents of our time, he’s begun to drift away from cores of rap.

Nas, who I honestly see one of the most talented rappers of ALL TIME, has always been lyrically provocative, with his album “Untitled/Nigger” being an exceptional example. From the music, to the lyrics, to the tone of his voice to the album cover screamed “This is rap; love it or hate it”.  But ask yourself; how often do you hear Nas on international radio? The same goes with Mos Def and Lupe Fiasco; both are immensely talented and I often find myself blown away by their flow, the genius in their lyrics and the unique beats, yet, how many times do you hear them winning Grammys, AMAs, VMAs. In  fact, how often do you hear them on the radio?

You don’t.

It seems that any rap that isn’t mainstream, or rap that doesn’t fit in the stereotypical box of rap is hardly publicized. Controversial rap, whatever its nature, is also frowned upon. Eminem, though provocative for entirely different reasons, has always had troubles since his rap is controversial and often hard to swallow. Even Jay-Z is only played in international radios when he’s got the likes of Alicia Keys, Beyonce or Rihanna singing on the track. How many times have you heard a solo track on the radio? 

I don’t believe rap died with Biggie Smalls. It definitely transformed and the development of rap is rather erratic.  Rap is going through what teenagers often go through; identity crisis. Right now, nobody really knows where rap stands or even where it’s heading. Rappers need to make money, and club bangers sell.

It seems that mainstream hip-hop and rap is here to stay for a while, before underground hip-hop and rap catches the public. Or a miracle happens. Or Jay-Z starts rapping about poverty, so it’s cool to rap about poverty.

Until then I’m going to listen to old rap records until Soulja Boy is out of a job.

Seriously.

“We’re not lost. We’re locationally challenged.”

Megan Fox.

Since Megan Fox has more hits on Google than “Climate change facts”, by journalistic standards (whatever they may be, because I don’t know yet; I’m only a first year) I calculate, assume and conclude that Megan Fox is more news worthy.

Megan Fox is the equivalent to getting drunk and waking up the next morning with the worst hangover ever which leads to a ”I will never ever do this again” promise; only to find that your friend Cheryl has just broken up with her philandering husband Ashley and needs help to forget it all, so you go down that road again (this time with Cheryl who by far is a better looking human than you, thus leaves with a sexier man while you leave with yourself), wake up the next morning, make the same promise, only to repeat your actions based on some other excuse the following week (I assume, since I don’t drink alcohol). Basically, Megan Fox is bad for you, she will eventually get you killed with her acting abilities, but you can’t get enough for her. No matter how much it hurts. It’s the foX-Factor.  No comments on the last sentence, thank you.

So Ms Fox gave an interview to a magazine claiming that despite her sex image, she has actually slept with only–get this- two men.

TWO.

ONE. TWO. NOT THREE. BUT TWO.

And why is this news? Firstly, whenever Megan Fox opens her mouth, she says something that is so utterly out-of-this-world material that it instantly becomes news. Secondly, she’s posed in FHM, GQ and every other men’s magazine, is considered a sex kitten, has a “Hi, I know how to f*ck a man in 600 different ways excluding the missionary position” look and she’s assumed to be the next Angelina Jolie, and folks, we know where Jolie stands in terms of sexual partners. And now we find out that Megan Fox, the sex symbol of our time, has actually only slept with two men.

But why exactly is this, jokes aside, news? Assuming that Ms Fox is telling the truth, her confessions are actually challenging  and shattering cultural norms and stereotypes.

We live in a society that has a very vivid, alive and opinionated view on sex.  Sex has become more than just the basic for human survival and need. Today it’s actually a characteristic trait.  Sexual activity has transformed into defining people, the way they think, their lifestyle, their character, their beliefs.  Automatically, we start placing people in categories depending on how sexually active they are.

Granted, the view on sexual activity is different from culture to culture, from person to person. While one man may not like his woman to have slept with 15 men before him, another man might enjoy the thought of having an experienced woman in bed. Same with goes with women. Some find the thought of sleeping with a virgin preferable, while others like a man who’s brought home some prey before.

Maybe I am making an unfair and rather groundless statement when I say that many men in the modern Western society prefer an experienced woman in bed rather than a virgin, but usually the more sexual partners you have in bed, the more experianced you are and thus, by guess, you are more comfortable. And men like that. I think.

So when someone like Megan Fox, who men (and women!) see as a sexually confident woman, comes out and states that she has not in fact, slept with 11039728346387463743463 men as we all were assuming, gives the idea of having many sexual partners another thought.  

Just because a woman (or a man for that matter) hasn’t been laid in double, triple, or if you are Tiger Woods,  infinite digits, doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of sexual experience. A man who has slept with two women should be as sexually desirable as a man who has slept with 10. Maybe this is my X chromosome speaking but  shouldn’t the fact that a woman/man can passionately please you be the defining matter? And various studies show us that all humans have different preferences when it comes to sex. As long as a man can make me scream of pleasure and make the neighbors file complaints, whether he’s only slept with one woman doesn’t matter. In fact, I’ve always assumed that having many sexual partners is quiet a turn off.

Maybe one day, the amount of sexual partners will not be equivalent to confidence in bed. Maybe one day, a man won’t be judged by how many women he has slept with, but how well he can please the one he is sleeping with. Maybe one day, being a virgin wouldn’t be such a terrible thing. Then again, maybe one day Gary Coleman will grow, Heidi Montag would go natural and Rihanna will start wearing clothes again.  Who knows?

Now, if only Shemar Moore and whoever is in FHM’s top ten sexiest women turn out to be virgins.

See, that would make my day.