Rap and Conservative Talk Radio -- Brothers Under the Skin

[steven johnson]

Rap music and conservative talk radio share a number of characteristics: disrespect of the government, holding the making of money in high esteem, a fascination with guns, solving problems with -- unsubtle social engineering techniques, and a simple world view of paranoia and chauvinism.

David Segal writes a fascinating piece paralleling these two communication genres and their 'entertainment' function -- shock jocks for their respective communities. They cleverly tell people what they want to hear and reinforce their feelings of superiority and uniqueness. Welcome to the Voice of Radio Balkinization.

...But to my uninitiated ears, there was something reassuringly familiar about political talk radio, and not because I know a lot about firebrands.

It's because I listen to a lot of rap.

Gangsta rap, in particular.
I'll admit that the parallels between Jay-Z and Rush Limbaugh do not seem obvious, and to grasp them you need to look beyond the violence and misogyny that have made rap a favorite target of the right wing.

For great careers in both businesses you'll need:

EGO...
HATERS ...
FEUDS...
VERBAL SKILLS...



Call It Ludacris: The Kinship Between Talk Radio and Rap

[MrScorpio]

1. If Gangsta Rap is all he listens to, then he's a fucking fool

So-called gangta rap is the epitome of the American capitalistic system. Not only that, it's pure fluff.

What he calls gansta is simplistic and juvenile. Plus it's only the most commercialized arm of hip hop music, promoted and sold by large media conglomerates.

Let him listen to independent underground hip hop from companies like Stones Throw Records and try to come back with that bullshit.

I've been an internet DJ since 2005 with over 130 shows under my belt.

I know crap when I see it.