February 12, 2009

HHID Turns 2: Despite Best Efforts, People Still Buying Shitty Rap Albums


So it's apparently been two years since my two readers started leaving me hate mail in reference to my take on their favorite albums. Time sure flies. Anyway, I hope that you have enjoyed reading the reviews, especially the ones where my mind goes off on ridiculous tangents. Hip Hop Isn't Dead has some more stuff planned for the upcoming year, including more write-ups, random articles, video posts, italics, and the like, so stick around, and tell your friends.

Speaking of which, the second round of Reader Reviews should start up this coming Sunday. Any future requests for guest writing will be dependent on the reader response to this, so if you enjoyed that particular feature back in December and would like to see it continue, leave some comments for your fellow man (or woman), and shoot me some e-mails. I always enjoy seeing someone else's take on something I wrote about, but maybe that's just me. As I keep mentioning, future calls may very well be for albums that I haven't yet been able to get to, so that's something you can look forward to.

Finally, I just have to get this off of my chest: I was watching Access Hollywood a couple nights back (or, more accurately, it was watching me, since I wasn't paying attention), and they had a story about Chris Brown's troubled childhood in his broken home, as if to rationalize why he threatened to kill his girlfriend Rihanna while he choked the shit out of her. I also read on some other blogs that Rihanna allegedly gave Chris Brown herpes, thus justifying his coward-ass attack. I'm sorry, but what the fuck? Why does anybody feel the need to rationalize any of this? Treat the situation for what it is: Chris Brown is a fucking punk that beat up his significant other, and his lapse in judgment (if he even had any) may cost him his fucking career. It's extremely fucked up that Chris Brown is being made into the victim here, since he's the guy that fucking attacked her. And the media is helping to mold public perception: the story on Access Hollywood even showed one of their female reporters, Shaun Robinson, interviewing him with a big smile on her face, as if to say, "You see? He didn't beat me up that day! Obviously Rihanna did something to him! What a bitch she must be, right?" That shit just isn't right.

And before you ask, no, I'm not a big fan of Rihanna either, but this shit got out of hand so quickly that it amazes me. I can only imagine the complete lack of coverage this story would have received if Chris Brown had attacked a random unknown woman, and that actually makes this situation even worse. I'm glad that radio stations have pulled his shit from their playlists, but I'm even skeptical about that move: it's obvious that Chris Brown doesn't make that much money for the radio stations if they're so willing to delete him from their lives, since R. Kelly pissing on a teenage girl (on video, no less) wasn't enough to make them stop playing the "Ignition" remix.

I'm stepping off of my soapbox now. Reader Reviews begin on Sunday! You've been warned.

-Max

6 comments:

  1. Chris Brown's actions are indefensible. That being said, I would be shocked if this cost him his career. You brought up R. Kelly yourself. When that news first broke a lot of stations stopped playing his music but his music was eventually back in heavy rotation. I can see basically the same thing happening with Chris Brown. Once he apologizes for his actions and does some community service, something R. Kelly never even did, the radio will play his songs if they feel they can profit from doing so. Shit, R. Kelly was making songs about midgets and every other kind of person having sex and he got airplay all along. The way it's perceived is that playing Chris Brown's music right now is somehow supporting domestic violence. Once he's served his penance and shown himself to be appropriately remorseful, playing his music will be seen as giving somebody a second chance. It's the American way!

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  2. I agree, Chris Brown is a bitch boy for attacking a woman, his girlfriend no less...
    I'm looking forward to more reviews, although I don't always agree with you, I find your reviews very useful and entertaining

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  3. I agree that Chris's actions are inexcusable; but sadly I think this kind of publicity hasn't really ruined a performer's career since Fatty Arbuckle. With all the press this is getting, I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to leverage this into better representation, even.

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  4. You.Do.Not.Beat.Women

    Everybody doing that is a bitch and nothing but a bitch

    It's as simple as that.

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  5. Chris Brown is fucked, plain and simple.

    He beat up the chick who Jay Z apparently felt "was like a little sister to him", NOTHING positive is gonna come out of this for Brown.

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  6. Werner, kicking it OLD SCHOOL! Fatty Arbuckle, the fuck?! Seriously, nice reference.
    Chris Brown is a little bitch who hopefully will disappear and become a pathetic footnote like Ike after Tina.
    Congrats on two years, Max! Here's to many more!!

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