Versus Hip Hop on Trial Debate

Jesse Jackson, KRS-One, Q-Tip, Estelle, ?uestlove, P. J. O'Rourke, Jaron Lanier, and 14 other rappers, poets, academics and pundits came together in London on 26 June to debate the motion, 'Hip-Hop on Trial: Hip-Hop Doesn't Enhance Society, It Degrades it', chaired by the BBC's Emily Maitlis, and moderated online by Jemima Khan.

Presented by Intelligence Squared and Google+, it was the third in their new joint debate series, Versus. The first ever global debate on hip-hop saw fierce arguments put forward by speakers who were live on stage, and also beamed into the event via Google+ Hangouts, a live multi-person platform.

• Category

  News & Politics

[DjDedan]

yes please show me how nigga/bitch/ho is positive...

oh and no i don't listen to the radio at all (not on purpose at least) i'm an underground house head since about 88, got fully underground about 92... here are examples of what i listen to: watch?v=A3cfGzuICzA , watch?v=y8gLdqNfzl4 and watch?v=dFM9gqntdcM - there is a balance between party and message that resonate with me...

[96THEFUTURE]

Some women are bitches and some Women are hoes..... Because they call them hoes it doesnt mean that they are calling every woman the same



[CaptainChurrr]

Errr.. What are you saying here? My post states, that it is stupid for the left side of the pannel to claim that people in the Hip Hop culture who say the words "whore, nigga, bitch" means that the the entirety of the Hip Hop culture "downgrades" society.... Like really? lol That is bullshit, their claim is invalid. And I have no Idea why you replied to my post? I never said the opposite of what you have stated >_>

[aurorab4]

Upliftment through knowledge, ie an ancient & modern history lesson through spoken word & rhythm. knowledge of what happened and continues to happen to black people globally. You wanna tell me it's not promoting rape & violence now? For cases in reference I refer to Lil Wayne & Rick Ross in particular. Before the introduction of 2nd rate artistes as those mentioned and a few more besides, Hip Hop was always about the realness through music.

[newdirectionbeats]

Pretty much said everything I needed to say on it now. It's clear Rap and Hip-Hop fans like you will never get influenced by another opinion. It's a bit like Supporting Liverpool FC VS Manchester United FC. People will argue their points but at the end of the day return to their favourite team.

I'm out of this circular discussion and have a good read of "The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation" on Hip Hop Is Read, brother. Respect

[Ben Ben]

All depends who we are talking about, as I said. People like Waka Flocka, and Gucci Mane People who rap about drugs have this happen to them. Because their fans are ignorant, and are from poverty. If we are talking about rappers who are on a higher scale then no that doesn't happen because their fans consist of more sensible people.

[bonitaapplebum00]

you must have a different view of positive and negative than me. if a song says nigga or bitch/ho that's automatically negative to you?

and who do you listen to? the radio is pop and watered down...it's not hip hop. trap rappers are not the only rappers that exist today. plenty of mos def's, talib kweli's, nas's, kendrick lamar's, j. cole's, raekwon's, ghostface killah's, joey badass's and big KRIT's out there who have solidified places in hip hop with substance in their music.

[bonitaapplebum00]

you missed the point...i'm saying hip hop is big enough for the dichotomy to exist between the negative, ignorant trap/party stuff and the stuff with substance. not everything needs to have a message in it, but that doesn't make the genre as a whole bad or worthy of being on trial.

[DjDedan]

another false assumption, there is way more to black culture than hip hop... so no i'm not putting black culture on trial, i'm saying why do people act like no one should criticize hip hop. Black culture is way bigger than hip hop, for example, i'm black, i gave up on hip hop in the mid 90s, i find soulful house music a lot more positive & inclusive (example: "follow me" by alyus watch?v=A3cfGzuICzA). Black culture has never been 2d, we are 3,4, infinite-d brother! Peace & Resist