As IF Times

link Former Oakland man, aspiring rapper, killed in shooting on Vegas Strip – San Jose Mercury News.

What’s the difference between a rapper and an aspiring rapper? Is there a threshold of earnings that has to be crossed?  Number of mentions on TMZ? Hits on YouTube? Value of exotic vehicles owned?  Maybe the criteria involves length of criminal rap sheet;  I wonder if that’s where the rap moniker comes from.

Is there a rap school where aspirants can learn their craft as ballet dancers and jugglers would?  And finally, is there an endless demand for essentially the same tribal bellicose beat tunes about violence, racism, misogyny and drugs?  Or is rap just the easiest of music to get into since all you need to do is chant words that generally rhyme? And not even real words; often the letter ‘g’ is eliminated altogether for convenience.  Just sayin’.

As is obvious by now, any artistic expression of rap also requires  the necessity of having the rap imagery and lifestyle.  Rappers can’t be wearing J Crew and Sperrys.  There has to be the standard garb of aviator shades, gold chains, earrings and the obligatory expensive vehicles and entourage of thugs and slutty women.   Most people know by now that this is a schtick.  Think back to the 60’s when all bands had the obligatory beatles haircut; the 70’s when big hair and moustaches were the standard costume.  In the 80’s it was the druggy/metal look which some relics like Steven Tyler insist on wearing to this day.  The fedex commercial in which a band manager complains about his guys carrying golf clubs instead of expressing hate and death hits it right on the head.

But the rap culture is a bit different.  Apparently, to have the look isn’t enough, the artists must have street cred.  So it’s good for business to get into the odd gang shoot out, crash the odd car, or beat up some of your competition.  Having a criminal record is even better.  Only then will the music have any legitimate meaning.  The music has to be about urban anger, overt racism and supposed disenfranchisement.  Seems to me if you can afford gold chains and drive fancy cars, there’s not that much to be angry about.  Here’s an oldie but goodie from 2004:

“…We gonna order take out and when we see the driver We gonna stick the 25 up in his face…… White boy in the wrong place at the right time Soon as the car door open up he mine We roll up quick and put the pistol to his nose By the look on his face he probably shitted in his clothes You know what this is, it’s a stick up Gimme the do’ from your pickups You ran into the wrong niggaz…” Artist: DEAD PREZ Song: HELL YEAH Album: RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta Genre: Hip-hop Label: SONY Released: 2004

 

Not exactly “and I’d really love to see you tonight” or ” I want to hold your hand”.  On any given week, the media will have a story about some ‘rapper’ being shot, arrested or getting notoriety in some way.   It’s hard to understand why this is even news.  They could at least report the headline as it should be without the embellishment of the artist label.  Instead of:

” Aspiring rapper killed”, it should more accurately read,

” Pretend gangster killed by real gangster”

As for all those ‘aspiring’ rappers out there here’s an original rap composition:

Now this is a warning,

To one and all ya’s

Posin’ as a rap star

Yo’ sho to be fall ya’s

Yo think yo’ gon’ be all mean and gangsta

Someone bigga gonna kick yo’ assa

Tryin’ to build some street tough cred’

All’s ya gonna do is wind up dead.

 

 

link Human beings are getting dumber | News.com.au.

According to this article, the progress of human evolution has stopped, at least intellectually.  Judging by what’s considered newsworthy in the world today, but mainly in the U.S., it may be hard to refute this assertion.  On any given day, a scan of popular ‘news’ sites will reveal as much general flotsam and entertainment fluff as there is hard news and analysis.   This is true for Google News, Bing News or Yahoo news (for those that still  use Yahoo).  Even the venerable Wall Street Journal will feature gripping stories about the latest Hollywood gossip.  We can’t even include newspapers anymore since papers such as the NY Times, Washington Post among others have long abandoned their pretense of being in the news business.

The commercial component to fame is greater than at any time in human history due to the ease of access to information and so the pursuit and monetization of fame has eclipsed the quaint goal of genuine work in popular culture.  Of course, in a free society, people can do as they wish; they can choose to take rigorous academic studies at school, or they can choose the far more glamorous route of pursuing their singing/acting/dancing/pro sports careers.  In fact, some may even have talent and deserve every success that may come to them.   Statistically, that is not the case for the general population.   The amount of American Idols are vastly outnumbered by those Americans that are idle.

The real downside that arises from the fortunate few achieving commercial success is that they are sought out for their opinions.  Since many individuals that make it commercially big these days are young, their exposure to life and intellectual development is likely undeveloped at best and misguided at worst.  How often do we hear about celebrity X making statements on Global Warming, or the plight of penguins on shrinking ice floes.  While they may be uber talented entertainers, asking their opinions of weighty issues is akin to asking a dancing bear his opinion on the Palestinian conflict.   Unfortunately, these opinions are absorbed as immutable fact by the adoring fan base who want to be just like their hero.   In any society, it is normal for the people to emulate those that are successful.  Let’s see, Justin Bieber, Ferrari; college degree, Hyundai, hmm…

Contrary to what the article implies, I think it’s more likely that people are allowed to be dumber or even encouraged.  In light of the numerous instances of uneducated people achieving fabulous success, it’s a hard case to make that a good education is worth the effort.  Combine that with standards that have fallen off precipitously in the public schools and as a society, we are allowing humans to become lazy in their cognitive and problem solving processes.  Anecdotal studies have shown that school systems focus more on passing students than they do on demanding competence.  At very young ages and right through to universities, students are steered towards worldviews which don’t always stand up to critical scrutiny.  But they go along to get along.  An old trading mentor of mine used to say that when you ask a 5 year old to explain why 2 plus 2 equals 4, he’ll say “because the teacher said so”.  In very simple terms, garbage in, garbage out.

In a study by the education firm Pearson, they illustrate the declining standard of schooling in America. The study shows that the U.S. is ranked 17th in the world for education systems,  http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/the-report .  Compare that statistic with the those on this study: http://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/  which shows that the U.S. by far spends the most money overall and per capita on education.  Clearly, the issue is not money.  Something must be wrong with both execution and expectations.  Finally, the following anecdote was sent to me, author unknown, which captures what has become of education in the U.S.  I am happy to credit whomever authored this:

The evolution of teaching math:
1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living?
Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2009
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
7. Teaching Math In 2013 Who cares, just steal the lumber from your rich neighbor’s property. He won’t have a gun to stop you, and it’s OK anyway cuz it’s redistributing the wealth.