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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 393
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 03:50 am: | 
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Hitting back at hip-hop hustlers
By Stanley Crouch
Having grown up in the midst of many intelligent, down-home and courageous black women, I was appalled for 20 years by the silence of the women who were being demeaned and turned into sex toys so consistently in the worst hip-hop imagery. Where were the descendants of those black women who gave so much of the heat to the civil rights movement and made so many sacrifices for it?
Why didn't anyone have the moxie, in the spirit of Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer, to take on the $1.5 billion rap industry? Perhaps because, in our culture at this time, cowardice is more common than the common cold.
Yet when, in 2005, Essence started its "Take Back the Music" campaign to question this hate-filled and decadent material, 1 million hits came to its Web site in the first month. Yes, the campaign festered for awhile because of a lack of funding - but at a recent music festival in Atlanta, it began wobbling back to its feet. Eight thousand people in attendance seemed ready for war against dehumanizing images.
Well, time will tell (perhaps literally). Essence is, after all, owned by Time Warner, which makes more than a few pennies from hip-hop material.
But even if this campaign should peter out, the day is far from lost. Warming up in another corner is Yvonne Bynoe, author and lecturer. Having had more than enough, Bynoe wrote a remarkably intelligent defense of Oprah Winfrey on Davey D's Hip Hop Daily News (Daveyd.com) last month. Go there, I urge you, and read it yourself. With the letter, titled "Do Blacks Really Need Oprah to Be Down with Hip Hop?," Bynoe earns a place as a Thomas Paine in the movement against female degradation.
In reaction to the rappers like Ludacris who complain that Winfrey - the American Queen of Goodwill - has disrespected them or failed to support their careers, her rebuttal is so well thought out, so articulate and so full of righteous anger that I am sure that 50 Cent and Ice Cube suffered skin burns if they read it. Or could read it.
The young lady knows their work well, sees the illogic of their assertions and lays them out in a row like dead fish in the market. Unlike so many critics who tiptoe into such territory, Bynoe shows no inclination to be silenced by a flag of false ethnic solidarity. With confidence, she slaps aside all the manipulative ploys that rappers use against any who dare question their insipid material.
Of the attacks on Winfrey, Bynoe writes, "The underlining sentiment is that if she is unwilling to set aside her values and opinions, then she can't be down for black people. This position assumes that what is good for black entertainers is good for black folks, and that notion is arguable. There are many media outlets that expose U.S. rap artists to the global marketplace. However, Oprah is virtually alone in her ability, through her selection of guests, to provide the world with a broader view of black Americans and their achievements. For most of us, particularly black women, who are frequently equated with the images of half-naked, gyrating females found in the rap music videos, a countervailing portrayal is welcomed." Uh-oh.
Beware, you gold-and-diamond-toothed dogs, they are coming for you. They are young, educated, good-looking and fiery, meaning that they cannot be dismissed as old, out-of-touch, frustrated hags.
The dogcatchers are on the way.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5066
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 07:45 am: |
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Interesting...
I think, though, the only things that will defeat the misogynistic (and overall misanthropic) elements of hip-hop are boredom...and better, fresher MUSIC. |
Yvettep
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1111
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 09:33 am: |
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I agree, ABM. But there are also many young women who are into hip hop as performers, documentary film makers, activists, and other such roles. I think the greatest hope for turning around the depictions in this genre may lie, in part, in what these women are able to accomplish. And that will depend, in part, on how these women's male peers respond AND how we elders, male and female, respond.
For instance, I have been following this annual conference: http://www.intermediaarts.org/pages/programs/b-girl_be/main.htm. This student/instructor at my university is another example of this young female hip hop activism I am talking about: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/RaeSpot/
And when I was looking for the url to post for this I came across this that I did not previously know about: http://bgirlmanifesto.com/
Then, we (especially, we older folks) need to support grass roots activism and protest that is begun in the age demographics that hip hop targets, like the one at Spelman against Nelly.
Eventually, though, I agree that people will get bored. The middle class White kids who are the industry's largest financial supporters/targets right now will move on to some other music genre. Some act now big only on the Internet, viral, and word of mouth circuits will make a commercial splash and challenge other acts (and the folks who ink their deals) to move in a new direction.
But it is nice to see that some are trying to actively help this evolutionary process along. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5071
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 10:05 am: |
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Yvettep,
Well. Hey. I've been around...awhile. And I've never witnessed any form of protest defeat any popular form of music.
Foks tried such with certain forms of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Pop generations prior. And it never really worked.
Why? Because the kids (and many ADULTS) were usually having too much FUN listening and dancing to the music. And let's not even mention the FORTUNES that were made from such.
So although I DO think it's good that people express their displeasure with certain parts of hip-hop, I think that, ultimately, this issue will be decided via the cash registers and via radio/TV/Cable ratings.
Again. I think many of those who decry the less flattering elements of music and popular culture would do better to apply their time, efforts and MONEY supporting that which champions what they desire.
For example, the son of a friend of mine is a local Christian hip-hopper. I buy his music for my daughters and have attended his performances. He's got a wondrous blend of very fun and lively music that reinforces very positive messages, but does so in a way that young foks appear to appreciate. And he and father (who's a wonderful singer/musician in his own right) produce his music in their home studio. So he's much less vulnerable to the machinations of dubious, shaddy record labels.
If we all back more of THOSE kinds of efforts, we'd defeat the Fitty Cents and Ludacris' of the world. |
Yvettep
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1112
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 10:21 am: |
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That is exactly what the efforts I have mentioned (other than the Spelman protest) are doing. These women, summits, etc are not just about decrying, but putting out there what they think better represents themselves and their experiences. There are also some very good spoken word and other hip hop artists--including female--who sell their stuff directly from their websites. These are other folks we can support. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 4838
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 12:11 pm: |
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Jazz never demeaned women. It was guilt by association that got it in trouble with respectible folks because of the free wheeling lifestyle if its musicians. It's significant that Billie Holiday was nicknamed "Lady" Day and Ella Fitgerald was referred to as the first "Lady " of jazz. The Blues didn't really deamean women, either. Male blues singers were typically the victims of women who had done them wrong and their laments were often sang tongue in cheek. And Bessie Smith was called the Empress" of the Blues. I have yet to hear an explanation for the lewd mysogyny of rappers. Do they secretly hate all the female figures in their childhoods blaming them for the absence of male role models? Who knows. Ice Cube recently put out a new hard core rap album, saying he was returning to his roots. He's millionaire with a wife and kids. but he didn't want to be thought of as a sell-out who'd abandoned rap. Go figure. |
Yukio
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 1344
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 01:05 pm: |
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blues demeaned women....most things that men control demean women. I believe there is perhaps more misogyny in hip hop, but it is in blues...
the problem, in general, is that much of what was left on the streets or the minds of men who wished they could have mastery over a women has been lived out in videos for consumption...
while these images are not good...believe it or not...these women will both sing the same lyrics and slap the shit out of a niggah who tries to live out what is seen in the videos in real life! Go figure! |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5075
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 01:06 pm: |
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Cynique,
I am not excusing it. But I think the misogyny within hip-hop is a product of several factors:
@ Several generations of Black men being raised without any semblance of a father and of mores/expectations about how men/women are suppose to treat each other.
@ There's a masochist strain within women who accept - if not outright get off on - all the unapologetic machismo spewing from Fitty & Co. Part of it is that inate lure of the Bad Boy that reside in almost all women. And part of it ALSO a product of generations of Blacks NOT being raised with any standards/etiquette across the sex-gender lines.
@ So based on both above, there's A LOT of confusion about just HOW young foks should think and feel and do with each other.
@ I think there a HIGH degree of misogyny and racism amongst the WHITES owners/managers of the record companies and Black rapper provide (for them) a blissfully lucrative venue for such.
@ But the bottomline: The shyt SELLS. And as long as it is or appear lucrative, the record companies will back it. Now how you convince and train some dumba$$ high school drop out that he SHOULD not take cash/cars/women/airtime that he can score just via fake braggin' about All Duh B*tches & Ho's I Be Banging? Your guess is as good as mine.
Ice Cube is straight-up about getting paid. Plain/simple. Hell. From what I understand, he came from a nice, comfortable 2-parent home. So dude's been fakin' gangsta for 20 years now. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5076
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 01:08 pm: |
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Yukio,
I agree that hip-hop is NOT the first genre of music that featured some manifestations of misogyny. I mean, hell. I'll you have to do is listen to a few Rolling Stones albums or something.
Perhaps the only difference between what's going on today and yesteryear is the relatively higher frequency and blatancy of such. |
Schakspir
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 323
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 03:59 pm: |
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I disagree with ABM, because the old record labels(like Okeh, Vocalion, Paramount, Victor, etc.)which recorded most of the blues and jazz were also white-owned. The real reason why there's so much misogyny in today's hip-hop is because 1) many of these rappers, if not most, are repressed homosexuals, and 2) the hip-hop industry may very well be government/CIA managed, as in psy-op warfare. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5082
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 04:11 pm: |
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Schakspir,
White foks change to. At least their behavior does. Maybe todays record tycoon will do what his father and grandfather would not. That don't mean they were less racist than their son/grandson.
But I do think there is a homo-thug undercurrent to A LOT of hip-hop. I think it's born partly from the conditions resulting from the rampant Black fatherlessness (which I previously described) and from the exorbinant rates of incarceration.
I'll let you run with that "government/CIA managed, as in psy-op warfare" concept. It sounds interesting. But I'm still quite a ways away from going THERE. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2453
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 11:00 am: |
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Stanley is a punk. |
Prettybabygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Prettybabygirl
Post Number: 374
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 11:59 am: |
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Abm, Schakspir also said that Kola works for the CIA and was brainwashed by them. Do you see a pattern here with Bro? |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 873
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 12:21 pm: |
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I guess Stanley Crouch never heard of C. Deloris Tucker. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 401
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 01:42 pm: |
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1) many of these rappers, if not most, are repressed homosexuals, and
2) the hip-hop industry may very well be government/CIA managed, as in psy-op warfare.
Wow! Now that's a thought...! |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 4843
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 03:12 pm: |
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The idea about rappers being repressed homosexuals is intriguing. Although psychiatrists now claim that homosexuality is not a learned orientation but an innate one, there are other studies which allege that lacking a father figure or not bonding with a father who is present in the home can trigger latent homosexuality in men. Could the macho womanizing image of all of these rappers be just a front to conceal their longings for a Daddy to love. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 402
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 05:30 pm: |
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”Abm, Schakspir also said that Kola works for the CIA and was brainwashed by them.”
Interesting that you said that. Here is an e-mail that was sent to me concerning Kola Boof. You read and decide.
Kola Boof is what the military bureaucrats who created the MK ULTRA mind control program would call a "Beta." An "Alpha" is basically a human file cabinet-- literally programmed to go on missions, memorize important information, bring that information back and then to promptly forget what their mission was until the next mission. "Deltas" are programmed to be heartless, savage, super killers-- hence the term "Delta Force."
Again, the memories of their most super secret exploits are instantly buried deep by the verbalization of the proper "code word."
The "Beta," on the other hand, is programmed to be a "sex slave"-- something that Kola Boof admits that she once was. She appears to have been used to gather information on some of America's political/military targets. Her memories of such events are clouded and garbled, and the time frames she provides for her history don't add up: the symptoms of the classic mind control victim. Check out the photographs of her and look into her eyes. Take a good long look: Does Kola seem like she's "all there?"
And while Kola claims to have been abused sexually, she shamelessly keeps using her body to gain attention and to sell books. You might say that her sex addiction to her own body is inexplicable. She openly admits to just about any type of sexual behavior with no regards to her personal or private life. WIth her, nothing is out of bounds. And her bellicose ranting and raving about black men borders on pyschotic. She sees no hypocraisy in her condemination of black male interracial dating while openly encourging black women (and herself) to indulge in the same behavior that generates her loathing of black men. It makes absoulty no sense. That is, until you learn about programs like MK ULTRA and MONARCH (the ultimate "Beta Program").
And while Kola claims to have been abused sexually, she shamelessly uses her body to gain attention and to sell books. You might say that her sex addiction to her own body is inexplicable. She openly and arrogantly admits to just about any type of sexual behavior with no regards to her personal or private life. With her, nothing is out of bounds. And her bellicose ranting and raving about black men borders on psychotic. She sees no hypocrisy in her condemnation of black male interracial dating. She openly encourages black women (and herself) to indulge in the same behavior that generates her venomous wrath and loathing of black men. It makes absolutely no sense. That is, until you learn about programs like MK ULTRA and MONARCH (the ultimate "Beta Program").
So stop wondering where all those "missing children" have disappeared to, because now you know. They, like Kola were "disappeared"-- only to reappear as someone's programmed sex toy. That's Kola's admitted history-- now her mission is apparently geared towards sowing hate and confusion: NOTHING she says is internally consistent, NOTHING she does makes any sense-- except if she is a bonafide "Beta."
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Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 444
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:14 pm: |
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Ntfs,
What does the CIA gain from this? Is there a goal?
Rappers Being Repressed Homosexuals:
Just about EVERYBODY in Hip Hop has been accused of being gay. Russel Simmons, P. Diddy, Eric Sermon and the list goes on. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5092
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:16 pm: |
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PBG,
Not really. But then, I'm not really much of a Conspiracy Theorist.
Yvettep,
Which name do you think draws MORE attention to an article about misogyny in hip-hop: "C. Deloris Tucker" or "Oprah"?
Cynique,
I basically think that although most of us have a dominant predisposition to heterosexuality, MOST could under a certain set of life experiences willfully engage in homosexuality. And I think the absence of a father could lead to LOTS of confusion about what one should think/be as a man. PLUS...fatherless children, male and female, are more likely to be sexually abused (If I recall correctly, many of boys who were abused by the Catholic priests were from broken homes.), which could also greatly lead to ambivalence about sexuality.
Ntfs_encryption,
Again. I'll allow you, Shrakspir and Prettybabygirl to do the CIA/Kola Conspiracy Theory thing. Too much of THAT shyt gives me migraines something kinda AWFUL. |
Prettybabygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Prettybabygirl
Post Number: 378
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:21 pm: |
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No BB.
Everyone in America, not just hip hop, has been accused of being GAY.
There have been published rumors about Spike Lee, Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey all being gay.
The "down low" newspaper craze indicts every black man in the community (funny how white and latino men don't engage in this, only brothas).
Condoleeza Rice, despite Black republican boyfriend, is accused of being gay.
Hell, every black woman who achieves is accused of being a lesbian or a man (Ciara).
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Prettybabygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Prettybabygirl
Post Number: 379
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:23 pm: |
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C. Deloris Tucker got an awful lot of press when she took on rap misogyny.
But Stanley Crouch hates C. Delores Tucker, which is why he wouldn't mention that she was the first and only proponent.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5094
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:31 pm: |
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PBG,
Just 'cause it's a rumor, don't mean that it ain't true. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5095
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:35 pm: |
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PBG: "C. Deloris Tucker got an awful lot of press when she took on rap misogyny."
That's true. And what RESULTED from such: MORE songs and money were made from misogynistic hip-hop during and after Tucker did her thing what occured prior to such.
Why? Because in a capitalistic society there's really no such thing as Bad Press. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 410
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 12:33 am: |
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"Again. I'll allow you, Shrakspir and Prettybabygirl to do the CIA/Kola Conspiracy Theory thing. Too much of THAT shyt gives me migraines something kinda AWFUL."
Understood. Didn't say I believed it. It was sent to me and I just posted it for others to ponder. |
Prettybabygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Prettybabygirl
Post Number: 383
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 12:48 am: |
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Oh come on Ntfs. You hate Kola just like all the other men here (except Abm). Considering how she's cursed at you, I wouldn't blame you. She's a real bitch towards men sometimes (unless of course they're sexist cads like Abm-- just kidding Abm--but he and Quincy Jones and Thomas can do no wrong for some odd as hell reason).
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Schakspir
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 332
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 01:19 am: |
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I assume--of course, it's just an assumption--that a lot of these SUPER-MACHO TYPE THUG RAPPERS are usually repressed homosexuals because they try too hard and too crudely to project an aura of masculinity.....That's usually a dead give-away. Too butch.
As for the CIA thing, it may or may not be true, but Kola's supposed dealings and shady background do remind me of the kind of kooks usually associated with intelligence/spy agencies. It's not as far-fetched as you'd think. Read about the CIA's, Mossad's, Her Majesty's Secret Service dealings and you'll actually find even more bizarre things going on. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5104
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 03:54 am: |
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PBG,
Don't be hatin'.
Schakspir: "a lot of these SUPER-MACHO TYPE THUG RAPPERS are usually repressed homosexuals because they try too hard and too crudely to project an aura of masculinity.....That's usually a dead give-away. Too butch."
Yeah. Plus the more flamin' type gayboys like their men to act kinda...RUFF.
Schakspir: "As for the CIA thing, it may or may not be true, but Kola's supposed dealings and shady background do remind me of the kind of kooks usually associated with intelligence/spy agencies."
I'd really like to meet that mad scientist CIA operative who invented Kola. 'Cause that suckers due a Dr. Frankenstein of the Year Award. |
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