Quote:
Originally Posted by StarFish106
A: Yes. But if you asked me that in 1985, when we recorded Black Codes (From the Underground), I would have said yeah then, too. I can remember being on the bandstand with my brother [Branford] when I was 15 and he was 16, playing some song like "Shake Your Booty," or "Play That Funky Music." And I said to him, "This is the dumbest [stuff] ever. I don't think it can get any stupider than this!"
He looked at me, and deadpanned: "It can, and it will." He was like: "This [stuff] is nothing. You only think this is dumb. Just wait." I'll never forget how he told me that. Ha! If you asked anybody who was black in the 1970s that was listening to Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, if there was going to be a type of music coming along that calls people n*****s - we would never have believed it. No way. After the Civil Rights movement? C'mon! So what he said was truly prophetic. We saw it happen.
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This is the best quote I've seen in a long time. I think Marsalis is on-point here. And as I was reading, I thought about how dramatically different hip hop changed from the late 70s to the 80s; then the 80s to the 90s.....and during these first years of the New Millennium. I have every right to be offended - having participated as an "mcee" back in the day ..... when rhyming was "innocent" and the point was to get in a wise crack or a laugh at the expense of the one who dared to battle you. ... or to simply show of your quick-witted skills over a 'hard' beat...
Thanks for posting this interview...I'd like to see it in its entirety - would you please post the link to its source?
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