There has been a little stink in the press lately regarding Oprah Winfrey's snub of various hip-hop artists. Several rappers, including 50 Cent, Ice Cube and Ludacris have complained Winfrey is either distant, disrespectful or hostile to hip-hoppers. Of course, Oprah denies it and says she plays some of the music despite never making her show a forum for such individuals. 50 Cent pretty much said Oprah could give a hoot about hip-hop saying she caters to "old white women." Ice Cube is simply mad in general saying he has never been invited on the show calling himself a "rags-to-riches" story which she should appreciate. Ludacris did appear on the show, but as a promotion for the movie "Crash" which he had a part. First, why do these guys care so much? Each one is very rich and will never have to work a real job again in their lives. They have no connection to Winfrey other than the fact all involved are black. But so what? Perhaps something deeper here is at play. No matter if you like the hip-hop form of music or not, two things are obvious: It sells well and caters to a violent, depraved way of life. Billions of dollars have been spent to buy cd's, tapes, etc. The few big-shots in the industry have made alot of money. The promotion of the "bad ass" image has struck gold. Various record companies spend big dollars to sign rappers ranging from "Snoop" to "Kim." The above-mentioned individuals are in the "elite" of the industry. Which brings us back to Oprah. Why wouldn't she have these people on her show? Or any other ones for that matter? It appears to be simple: She does not need them. Why should Oprah Winfrey, a woman of insane wealth and power; a woman trying to promote a consistently positive image on her show, have on people who brag about being shot or rap about shooting police? It is not a direction she wants to go in and should not. Let's look at the record. 50 Cent was a crack-dealer from Queens. His "claim-to-fame" was being shot up so many times without actually dying from it. Then he made his push into the hip-hop world. Does Oprah really need to hear this? Ice Cube, while now known as being an actor, has been an extremely anti-police, anti-authority individual in his rap songs. His one song, "Koreatown," basically called for the torching and burning of stores in the Korean section of Los Angeles. This along with a positive outlook of the "Rodney King" riots that led to the death of scores of people for the "crime" of being white, Asian or any individual at the wrong place at the wrong time. Again, does Oprah want to touch this past with a 10-foot pole? Rapper Ludacris seems tame in comparison. Just a bunch of "I'm better than you" crap. Hip-hop has scores of individuals with arrest records; not too many engineers and doctors coming from this crew. Shootings, stabbings, drug-dealing, death, are routine along with horrendous social messages. Fast money, quick sex, low-class treatment of fellow citizens are the messages over and over again. Who can blame Oprah for staying away? As usual, the assault on Winfrey has a great deal to do with her race. Hip-hop is basically black, urban poor. Oprah was a woman from the South with no history in such culture. She had her own traumas growing up but rose to a level as a television reporter before becoming the "Queen." Hip-hoppers expect her to be "black" and have them on. Oprah has far more respect than that because she knows such a showcase will promote brutal stereotypes of blacks being ill-mannered and violent which hip-hop is. Only successful black people seem to go through this. Having such people on her show is the equivalent of actor/talk-show host Tony Danza( Italian-American) having on mobsters. He simply would never do it because he does not want to promote the negative stereotypes of Italians. Thus, why should Oprah promote a negative stereotype of African-Americans? She should not. 50 Cent says Oprah caters to older white women. It seems more that Oprah caters to Americans of all types. And whose social messages are far better for a nation, Mr. No Cents or Winfrey? Not even close. Perhaps the hip-hoppers are resentful for the obvious: They made it through promotion of violence, resentment, hatred, envy and pride. Oprah made it through hard work and decency. Maybe the inferiority complex is showing? |
