"Part 2:Read Carl Jeffrey Wright’s In Search of Heroes Interview and Become Inspired" by Ralph Zuranski
Click Here to visit Jeff Wright's Heroes Page
check out the links below to the Guardian Line Comics and Urban Ministries
www.TheGuardianLine.com
www.urbanministries.com
Ralph Zuranski: I was talking to you earlier and I was very impressed with your concept of how the black culture basically needs the impact on youth of all ages worldwide. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Jeff Wright: Sure. I think that it’s fair to say today that global youth culture is rooted in urban culture. When we think about the hip hop movement, the style of dress, rap music, all of these youth cultural icons have come out and are driving the culture globally. It almost doesn’t matter what nation you go to today, whether it’s Japan or Russia or even in Latin America. Young people all look pretty urban and hip hop.
Jeff Wright: One of the reasons for that of course is that we have six giant global media companies that are propagating these cultural icons through their music and video shows and through the sale, of course, and distribution of rap and hip hop music. But most of this originates, or has originated, out of the African American community.
Jeff Wright: Now the thing that is startling, of course, is that there is just not enough African American teenagers in America to sustain that kind of a global or even national business in and of themselves and so we find that upwards of 80% of rap and hip hop music is bought by suburban white teens.
Jeff Wright: The same is true when you get out of the U.S. Many people who don’t look like African Americans are consuming and thriving and pushing forward hip hop culture.
Ralph Zuranski: Isn’t there a problem with the message that the hip hop culture is perpetuating? Isn’t it sort of life-destroying, calling women “hoes” and killing the police and just the images that are created from that particular genre?
Jeff Wright: Like so many things, something that started off good gets turned bad. In the beginning in the origins of rap and hip hop, there were political messages.
Jeff Wright: There were messages of social justice and economic justice and even the earliest rap; most people will go back to Public Enemy and Chuck D and these groups. But way before those rappers and hip hop artists, spoken word, which is a part of African historical oral tradition, had messages of social redemption.
Jeff Wright: I think of artists such as Gill Scott-Heron or even before him, the Last Poets, who did use a fair amount of what might be considered profanity in their work, were delivering socially positive messages. In fact, one acronym used for rap in the early days was Rhythm And Poetry, RAP.
Jeff Wright: Now today what has happened in order to turn this into the commercial global phenomenon that we see, the most negative, misogynistic authority-defying, women-hating, God-hating lyrics, images, and artists have been promoted on a global scale by companies who clearly have no concern whatsoever either of the impact on society or the culture but rather just how extreme can we go in order to make money.
Jeff Wright: Then of course all of this is painted with a black face which is a pernicious evil in my view that is being foisted not just on the global community but in particular on the African American community.