Im the Hiphopopotamus, my lyrics are bottomless..... Im also the rhymnocerous

Reading Tricia Rose, I sort of let my bias get the best of me. My idea of hip-hop can be validated by her: Hip hop is not dead, but it is gravely ill. When I think of hip-hop, I think of Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, and for a recent musician, I think of Atmosphere. I believe the hip-hop genre has taken a nose dive in society for a few reasons. The one I care about? They sing (for the most part, of course there are exceptions) of NOTHING!!!!!!!! I really don't care how big that ho's ass is, nor do I concern myself with how much bling you got, or how crunk you are. What I care about is songs like "White Lines" talking of how bad the addiction to cocaine is and telling his fans outright in the song, "don't do it, baby." Now we have to listen to less hard hitting lyrics, telling of REAL struggle. We have, as Tricia Rose referenced, T-Pain, with his song "Low." "She had them applebottom jeans, boots with the fur, the whole club was lookin at her. She hit the flo', next thing you know shawty got low, low, low, low, low." ANYONE ELSE FEEL THEIR IQ DROP? Give me some lyrics that make a difference, give me lyrics that distiguishes this generation's hip-hop as more than just songs about sex, riches, and drugs. Let's make a ruckus with social and political commentary and for the love of god, someone get flava flav off the tv! Anyone else remember when his clock around his neck meant time is running out for the white man, not you can stay in the reality show? I hope at least Bryan does....

Marc Prensky is part of my mob

The reading for this week was Marc Prensky's "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants". Honestly, it's odd actually reading what the generation has been thinking, but with way less slang and swearing. I do believe that we have come to a point in our education system where something must give. I guarantee it will not be the headstrong youth. Trying to bring technology into education is an idea that, thankfully, is no longer cutting edge. If my cell phone can bring up information on history faster than one can teach it, why should I pay attention? That is one big question Prensky asks. He then goes on to say that the older generation, which he dubbed the "digital immigrants" for their learned, not instinctive, knowledge of technology, needs to catch up.
Here is something I battle with, I feel as if our reliance on technology has made us in essence, a dumber society. Can the average teen find information in a book? Remember those? They are like the internet, except you can hold it!! There is a hard balance between advancing our intelligence through technology and advancing our sloth through it. Don't agree? Watch Idiocracy (starring Luke Wilson and Dax Shepard). It is meant as a comedy, however, through laughing you will get scared shitless by the parallels between the extreme of the movie and now. Although I agree with Prensky that our society needs to accommodate to meet the needs of a new way of thinking, learning, and living, I also believe we should make sure that our advances do not lead to our demise. Quite frankly, I love those crazy little books. Stuffed with words and not constantly being questioned of its authenticity (take that wikipedia!).

When I was 13...

My story is like everyone else's. I was not who I was to become and yet undecided of who that should be. Granted I had that horrible temper that would get me in trouble almost all the time, either from teachers or parents, however I was pretty much "normal". I got great grades, I was the "hopeful" out of my 3 other sisters. That drastically changed, however, when I began to identify myself with a genre, so to speak.

I fell in love with the goth, punk rock look. The drastic tones, the almost taboo clothing, it was enough to make my head spin and I fell into it so easily. Black was my calling card, backed up by "I don't care" attitude. It was something i felt comfortable in. In the later years, as I took my angst out on a crumpled pack of obligatory clove cigarettes, (regrettably looking back at my stupid choice to start smoking, now that I'm at a pack a day of menthols), fighting with my parents, and the general "you don't understand me" fights.

Thirteen was such a sucky age. You don't know who you are and you don't know what you want to be. I'm unsure if it comes like lightning while you are still thirteen but inches away from fourteen when you get this epiphany of the person you want to be (even if its just for now). However, thirteen held an innocence, a naievity that is quickly lost. If I thought thirteen was bad, god, sixteen is hell on earth. Perchance that will be a different blog....