Jasiri X - Republican Woman: Can we relate? Yes we can!
I'm an old white rocker from the 'burbs of NJ. Tony Soprano country. My Mom and siblings are Brooklynites, Dad's side from Long Island. Me, the baby was raised in suburbia. The phrase "Keep it real" comes to mind. I have never lived in the city. I love most music but Hip-Hop has for the most part eluded me. I don't want to read the Jay-Z dictionary. I am what I am and I don't want to sound like Michael Steele. MC's I have liked are generally East Coasters from Queens or Brooklyn. I could understand them. I like Snoop even though I've never been to Cali let alone Compton. But I could understand him and he used to sample Funkadelic and Parliament who I love. But I couldn't relate. There was no message for me . Raps about guns, pimping, and gangsterism, (despite my being Sicilian), had no meaning for me. I was not raised on the mean streets. Rock & Roll during the Vietnam era was full of political awareness that few contemporary bands ...