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September 26, 2007
Out of context files: Anita Baker is not a rapper
Today's out of context excerpt is especially relevant considering the Retrohump selection. Bill O'Reilly and Juan Williams chalk up black society's social ills to hip hop (via MM4A):
WILLIAMS: It really corrupts people, and I think it adds, Bill, to some serious sociological problems, like the high out-of-wedlock birth rate because of this hypersexual imagery that then the kids adapt to some kind of reality. I mean, it's inauthentic. It's not in keeping with great black traditions of struggle and excellence, from Willie Mays to Aretha Franklin, but even in terms of academics, you know, going back to people like Charles Drew or Ben Carson here, the neurosurgeon at [Johns] Hopkins [University]. That stuff, all of a sudden, is pushed aside. That's treated as, "You're a nerd, you're acting white," if you try to be excellent and black.O'REILLY: You know, and I went to the concert by Anita Baker at Radio City Music Hall, and the crowd was 50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed. And she came out -- Anita Baker came out on the stage and said, "Look, this is a show for the family. We're not gonna have any profanity here. We're not gonna do any rapping here." The band was excellent, but they were dressed in tuxedoes, and this is what white America doesn't know, particularly people who don't have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg.
End quote.
Posted by Merry Swankster at September 26, 2007 11:41 AM
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Comments
Yes, Twista, Luda and Snoop, the Holy Trinity of Hip-Hop.
Posted by: Randall Monty at September 26, 2007 12:27 PM
Bill O'Reilly's musings as cultural anthropologist are pretty incredible. Did you see the rest of that story on MM4A? His description of the scene (or lack thereof) at the Harlem restaurant are incredible for someone who is in New York City everyday.
Posted by: Sebastian at September 26, 2007 02:04 PM
did Anita Baker really say that?
i have a feeling that she did not.
Posted by: Luda at September 26, 2007 02:16 PM
