Tonights Programming: You

Found this on a friends wall, shared by a friend of theirs, and after watching it I decided to post it here, hoping others will take the time to watch it.

This video features something that I continuously stress, media being used to program us to think, act and perceive live in a specific way: that which is being promoted and is most suitable to the agenda. Dave Chappelle said it best at the beginning of the video when he said "the use the t.v. to program us from a young age." All types of media are affected by this agenda but this video is pertaining to music, specifically hip hop.

One of the most respected and appreciated artists in the fairly short history of hip hop is Tupac Shakur, known by most as just Tupac. In a lot of ways, he was a messenger, speaking powerfully in every track that he performed on. Nobody has ever had even close to the same level of passion or lyrical presence as Tupac did, and a lot of times what he was rapping was positive and definitely meaningful. His life was cut short in a controversial shooting, many conspiracies have come up but nothing has been solidified. Since his passing on, hip hop has never been the same. He definitely has one of the largest, if not the largest, influence on the entire industry as a whole, but no one has ever come close to comparing to his talent. In fact, Hip Hop (and the rest of mainstream Music) has been diminishing in quality of intelligence in lyrics, in the messages being sent and in the imagery being shown. He has some excellent points in this video, check them out.

There is a difference between selling out and selling your soul. With government regulations and statutes in place, it is extremely difficult for any individual to make it in music these days, especially hip hop. Recently, hip hop has been slandered by the biggest names in the industry today as they state it is "dead." It is technically only dead to anyone trying to come into it, they are still getting richer (Beyonce and Jay-z were the 2nd richest couple in the world in 2009). Regardless, it is dead, as if you pay attention to how the mainstream lyrics have progressed, well actually, decreased in value of intellect and positivity, it is clear to see that most of the artists coming out are mindless. In order to get into any one of the major labels (there's only a few, and they own all the smaller ones) you would have to sell out, as they depict and determine what style comes out, and also determine what will be "popular." Lil Wayne is the King of Hip Hop? Half the times HE doesn't even know what he is saying on a song...

Check this video out, ITS NOT JUST HIP HOP!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSP4w_q1g0g