Spring Break
Hip Hop Debated By Audience At AACC
Erin Alicandro
Issue date: 10/25/05 Section: Focus
Kitwana countered the popular sentiment that the majority of hip hop listeners are white. He said there are not enough reliable surveys available to draw this conclusion, but many major media outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN have used information from unreliable polls by a polling group called SoundScan. The number given by these polls, reflected only a small demographic and survey group, he said. He wants more accurate surveys to be conducted.
Kofi Adisa, an English PhD candidate, was unsatisfied with Kitwana's use of SoundScan to support the fact that there is no conclusive evidence that hip hop listeners are primarily white. He cited evidence that hip hop listeners are primarily white, including a first-hand observation of a hip hop concert he attended, where about 60 percent of the audience was white.
Kitwana discussed the immergence of movies since 1995 that have dealt with what it's like to be a hip hop kid. These include "Malibu's Most Wanted," "Hustle and Flow," and "Bringing Down the House." "Malibu's Most Wanted" is about a white upperclass teen who is into hip hop, but he's never been in the hood, Kitwana said. The main character, played by Jamie Kennedy, has a highly political father. The father hires two black men to take him into the hood, but things get complicated because these two men have stereotypically white personalities, Kitwana said.
Kitwana said that "Malibu's Most Wanted" was a complex satire that was not to be taken literally. "I think Jamie Kennedy is identifying with is perception of the media identification of what is hip hop," he said.
Leila Linntoya Washington, a family studies graduate student, along with many other students present, voiced concern over the messages made by movies like "Malibu's Most Wanted" and "Bringing down the House." She felt that Queen Latifah's role in the "Bringing Down the House" was degrading to African Americans and perpetuated stereotypes. She thought "Malibu's Most Wanted" was equally offensive and did not share Kitwana's opinion that is was an effective satire on hip hop culture.
Kofi Adisa, an English PhD candidate, was unsatisfied with Kitwana's use of SoundScan to support the fact that there is no conclusive evidence that hip hop listeners are primarily white. He cited evidence that hip hop listeners are primarily white, including a first-hand observation of a hip hop concert he attended, where about 60 percent of the audience was white.
Kitwana discussed the immergence of movies since 1995 that have dealt with what it's like to be a hip hop kid. These include "Malibu's Most Wanted," "Hustle and Flow," and "Bringing Down the House." "Malibu's Most Wanted" is about a white upperclass teen who is into hip hop, but he's never been in the hood, Kitwana said. The main character, played by Jamie Kennedy, has a highly political father. The father hires two black men to take him into the hood, but things get complicated because these two men have stereotypically white personalities, Kitwana said.
Kitwana said that "Malibu's Most Wanted" was a complex satire that was not to be taken literally. "I think Jamie Kennedy is identifying with is perception of the media identification of what is hip hop," he said.
Leila Linntoya Washington, a family studies graduate student, along with many other students present, voiced concern over the messages made by movies like "Malibu's Most Wanted" and "Bringing down the House." She felt that Queen Latifah's role in the "Bringing Down the House" was degrading to African Americans and perpetuated stereotypes. She thought "Malibu's Most Wanted" was equally offensive and did not share Kitwana's opinion that is was an effective satire on hip hop culture.