Sunday, June 15, 2008

It's Father's Day, yo

It's interesting to see the Star Tribune chronicle the so-called hip-hop scene in the Twin Cities. They seem to really, really want a hip-hop scene in this town. While there is some good hip-hop coming out of the Twin Cities, and some artists get some play outside of town, most hip-hop fans nationally aren't really with it. You would be hard-pressed to hear much local hip-hop on B-96. But, since the Strib really wants there to be one, they put out articles like this one.

I mean, it's nice to see how Brother Ali raises his son (he talks about it quite a bit in his music), but is it worth publishing how a niche artist like Brother Ali is a father? And, I say this despite liking Brother Ali's music. I don't agree with his politics all that much, but at least he is putting out music that isn't misogynistic. That's what is good about the local hip-hop community here. It isn't the usual "look at all the crap I have" stuff that has essentially made me stop listening. But, the scene here is not anything close to what Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, or Chicago has. However, that is another post. The point here is, I think the Star Tribune entertainment staff wants badly for Minneapolis to have street cred. This is in addition to them wanting a return to the 80s heyday for the Minneapolis scene, which admittedly was outstanding. They should want that. But, an article about how the Rhymesayers raise their kids? Does it really matter all that much?

Here's the usual disclaimer for any post that talks about hip-hop: I know most, if not all of my few readers, hate hip-hop. You don't need to tell me that.

Oh, happy Father's Day....especially to Ed, my late father (who definitely disapproved of my watching Yo! MTV Raps back in 1988).

1 comment:

Mr. D said...

Hey, glad that the guy is a doting father. The problem with these sorts of articles is that they treat the person being featured in much the same way a cultural anthropologist would write. I have no reason to automatically presume that a guy isn't a good father just because he happens to be a hip-hopper.

And you go ahead and like hip hop, Stingah.