[lovelyivy84]

As to the bootlegging issue I think the new Eminem cd is a case inpoint- that album was available bootleg AND on the net for weeks before its release. It still hit number one it's first week and actually sold approx. 300,000 copies in 2 days.

This only happened because he is an album oriented artist- Eminem might have a catchy single, but his ALBUMS are always high in quality as a whole- I would buy the real copy because you just can't get the same feel for it downloading it song by song off of Kazaaa or Morpheus.

I am with Neicy though. I will be damned if I am going to shell out 15 bucks for a cd that has two good songs on it.

Hip hop just isn't edgy OR original anymore- all the popular artists are soo boring and rehash the same themes repeatedly. I mean that new Bug Tymers song really makes me want to scream every time I hear it! It's so unoriginal! I honestly thought it was a joke song, like No Sex in The Champagne Room or something!

Hip hop is not about black people or black culture, it's about appealing to the fantasies of teenage white boys who want to be thugs. I have no allegiance to an art form that views me as a gold digging ho, or as a wife to wait patiently at home while my husbands roams the streets sexing anything with breasts, even Khia with her non-singing self. Note: this is my real beef with hip hop- it is used to objectify US, and degrade our sexuality in so many ways. It reinforces so many stereotypes about black women and our bodies that it literally makes me ill.

I have no love for hip hop, and haven't had any for a LONG time. The last cd I bought was Mos Def, and until he releases another one (or The Roots, or Common) I will be saving my money.