Worokya Duncan: Of Coons and Men of Character
Let me preface all this by saying, I don’t need permission to speak the truth- just an occassion. Secondly, Charles Ramsey is a hero, not a c**n. He is not a joke and should not be viewed as one, but alas, we live in Gore Vidal’s United States of Amnesia…… On Facebook the other day, [...]
Does a Black Man Getting Corporate Money Mean that Racism is Dead?
Last week, a controversy exploded over a new Mountain Dew ad created and directed by the rapper Tyler the Creator, one of the most visible figures in the hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, which Syracuse University professor Boyce Watkins—who is himself black—suggested was one of the most racist bits ad spots [...]
Chris Broussard is a Christian Who Opposes Homosexuality: Does That Make Him a Bigot?
By Alan Noble Yesterday Jason Collins became the first male athlete in one of the four major male sports to come out as gay. But headlines praising this move were overshadowed by news that ESPN NBA analyst Chris Broussard believes that practicing the homosexual lifestyle is a sin. During a segment on ESPN’s Outside The [...]
Kirsten West-Savali: Tyler the Creator, You’re More than a “Young n***a”
By: Kirsten West Savali, Your Black World When Tyler the Creator, 20, stepped onto MTV’s VMA stage to accept his Moonman for Best New Artist in August, he delivered an acceptance speech reflective of both his questionable intellect and contagious effervescence: “Yo, I’m excited as f— right now, yo,” he said. “I wanted this sh– since I was [...]
Russell Simmons to Bill O’Reilly: “You Wanna Pick on Somebody, Pick on Me”
Russell Simmons and Dr Boyce Watkins recently co-authored an open letter against mass incarceration and the War on Drugs. The letter went to the Obama Administration and has helped to raise awareness about the devastating impact that the drug war has had on families, especially African Americans. Russell Simmons, writing for GlobalGrind.com, recently wrote an [...]
Tyler, the Creator Talks Mountain Dew Controversy with Billboard, Takes Issue with Dr. Boyce Watkins
On Wednesday, PepsiCo removed an online ad for Mountain Dew developed by Odd Future rapper Tyler, the Creator after accusations surfaced that it portrayed racial stereotypes and made light of violence toward women. In the 60-second spot, a battered white woman on crutches is urged by an officer to identify a suspect out of a lineup of [...]
The Dews and Don’ts of Advertising: Yahoo Music
Even before N.W.A famously fired their 1988 warning shot “F*** tha Police,” hardcore hip-hop was known as the rebel music of the day. Like the previous generations’ early rock ‘n’ roll that championed spending the night together, glam metal that wouldn’t take it anymore, and punk rock out for revenge, it reached out to disenfranchised youths and in [...]
MTV Asks: Was that Mountain Dew Ad Really Racist?
By Maurice Bobb Rap ads are in danger. After Dr. Boyce Watkins wrote a scathing post, “Mountain Dew Releases Arguably the Most Racist Commercial in History,” which appeared onYourBlackWorld Wednesday (May 1), alleging that a new commercial featuring Felicia the Goat, directed by Tyler, the Creator under his Wolf Haley alias, is rife with racist images and [...]
Russell Simmons Speaks on Mass Incarceration
When Russell Simmons talks, people tend to listen. And these days the 55-year-old hip-hop impresario has much to say to those who might be his most ardent audience members. Young black and minority men are being jailed for minor drug offenses at a rate at least six times higher than that of whites nabbed for the same [...]
Bill Board Magazine Discusses How Three Citizens Derailed Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Mountain Dew
This article by hip-hop veteran Dan Charnas gives the background on how the deals with Mountain Dew were derailed by a group of concerned citizens who were fighting to protect their community from negative imagery. It talks about the direction that hip-hop is headed, and how we might be turning the corner. Those of you [...]
May 10, 2013No CommentRead More