More PSP ads target of critics

European marketing campaign promoting new white PSP seen by some as racist; Sony denies any intentions other than artistic.

When the PSP was released in the US in early 2005, the handheld sold itself with its sleek design, large screen, and "it" factor. Sony advertised anyway, of course, but ran into some troubles with its graffiti-themed ads, drawing fire from some for defacing public property. Recently, some new ads for the portable in Europe also received complaints for encouraging "violent or anti-social behavior" because of statements such as "Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature here" and "Take a running jump here" in the subways of London.

Now it looks like new PSP ads have caused more uproar. A campaign in the Netherlands promoting a new ceramic white-colored model has landed the company in more hot water.

The series of ads show a white woman in all white promoting the system in various ways. But it's one ad in particular (available at digitalbattle.com) that has several calling the campaign racist. In the controversial piece, the white woman is wearing a scowl on her face and holding a black woman in all black by the jaw, and reads "PlayStation Portable White is coming."

Sony has claimed that there was no ill intent with the ads. When asked to comment on the debate, a Sony rep told GameSpot News: "The marketing campaign for the launch of the white PSP in the Netherlands focuses on the contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic White PSP model. A variety of different treatments have been created as a campaign to either highlight the whiteness of the new model or contrast the black and the white models. Central to this campaign has been the creation of some stunningly photographed imagery that has been used on large billboards throughout Holland. All of the images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colors of the PSP's, and have no other message or purpose."

For more pictures of the campaign, check out the official Dutch PSP Web site.

351 Comments

  • ChitoKiryoku

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 4:39 am PT

    omg. I can't believe I haven't heard of this add before

    doesn't sony know how many black people live over here in the netherlands?? 0_o seriously the most counter productive add I've ever seen

  • Elyoshi

    Posted Dec 13, 2006 6:12 pm PT

    "Seven pages of gigantic posts debating this?
    People forwarding the advertisements to each other willingly?
    Race issues aside, this has been turned from a one-country billboard to a hugely successful international marketing campaign."

    This is not GOOD publicity that sony's getting. With a marketing campaign, you want people to be effected by it in the way that they will go out and purchase the product, not avoid it. Sony ads in general have been very ill recieved due to the pretty much flat out offensive content, not only racism, but the constant mockery of the "fanbase" they think they have. This is driving people away, not bringing them in...

  • TooDamnRaw

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 1:14 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • rafaelmorales11

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 12:18 pm PT

    http://digitalbattle.com/2006/07/08/the-racist-ds-lite-ad/

    This just makes it all pointless.

  • EPaul

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 7:21 am PT

    what's wrong with these peple?

  • ShiroSirius

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:16 pm PT

    Seven pages of gigantic posts debating this?
    People forwarding the advertisements to each other willingly?
    Race issues aside, this has been turned from a one-country billboard to a hugely successful international marketing campaign.

  • Orca3

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 11:13 am PT

    Ok.

  • diablusx

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 9:28 am PT

    The ad was horrible without the racist part of it but it is the racism that people are seeing here. It is interesting to me that this could be seen as what people want to see. Instead of seeing what it was intended in the ad of how the new white PSP is amazing instead they see nothing about the PSP at all and only see the 2 females. Does that mean that people want to see the racism? Do people want a reason to hate $ony more?

  • Greenlight23

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 9:24 am PT

    Sony's in hot water again? For the third time? What's wrong with them? Couldn't they just NOT use an advertisement that could seem offensive?

    But then again, I think that all of these PSP ads are not centered at the general public, but just at the generation that they feel plays their games, which would be 10-21 year old people. I mean, maybe they're trying to speak to them in a language that they understand, a dialect rich in concepts that the average American/European teenager understands (brief references to sexual innuendo, violence, etc.), and may not be concerned all that much about the parental force protecting their children from such concepts so long as they have a product selling well.

    But a racist ad? Come on! Could Sony be saying that they were NOT aware, in the slightest bit, that this specific advertisement could be at least a little reminiscent of the segregational times in which colored people were inferior? Could they have been taking a risk, thinking that these old wounds in history were finaly healed for good?

    Whatever the reason, this sure isn't bringing them a lot of worldly support, which probably was what they were aiming for when they invented the company.

  • Helljin_Deist

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 9:20 am PT

    Here come the "Uncle Tom" comments.
    I'm a 21 year old black male, and I don't have an issue with the ads. Yes there are still plenty of racist people around, yes in my experience it is more of a challenge being a young black male (I have a lot of white friends with similiar or less employment/ education experience than my black ones and don't even interview as well yet have far better jobs). Untill I see an ad that makes it clear that one race is superior to another I'm not going to stop using my PSP or any other Sony products, especially not because of an ad that was used by a different branch of Sony in a country other than this one. I don't know what the racial atmosphere is like there, but I can't assume that it is the same as it is here. The ads went both ways with each woman being dominant and dominated in different ones as well as when they seemed equal.

  • jalmodov

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 8:31 am PT

    The ad is reminiscent of too many racist ads from the past, where black people are depicted as inferior. Sure, there is another photo where the black woman is on top. But I don't recall a time when white people were an opressed minority in the US, so it's not the same. The ad is intentionally provocative. Whoever denies that is being purposefully naive, or deep down racist himself. And as I said on another thread, the image of SONY competing against itself is just pain idiotic.

  • ukexboi

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:24 am PT

    lets see.. I haven't seen the otheres just the white chick clinching the the black chicks jaw.. but I heard that there was one with the black chick clinching the white chick.... well in that case.. why is everyone so upset?

    I mean really you have a white chick clinching the black chicks jaw one in one advertisment and then a black chick clinching a white chick... where is the racism in this? I'm white and I don't see a problem with either.. is it because one came out or was saw first than the other?...

    Even if it was only the white chick with her chinching the others jaw.. still where is the racism in that?.. really.. think about it.. and I'm thinking of how to put this in words.. the racist people are the people that brought this up... why?.. if we viewed blacks and whites equal.. such as white and black both being white or black and white both being black.. where is the racism..
    If it was a black and black chick it would have been fine right?.. and if it was a white and white chick.. it would have been fine.. right?.. it's so hard to put in words what I'm thinking..

    lets see.. to view black and white as equal they would have to UNDERSTAND the fact.. that putting Black and white people in ANY ad or anything doing something like this would be natural.. why?.. because we would view them and us as equal if we all accepted the fact that something like this is just an ad.. which it is..

    now if it said "The White is coming" and only that with a white chick clinching the black chick, THAT is something to get upset about..

    Its hard to put what I'm thinking into words so lets just say this... I'm not racist.. so looking at this.. it's just a simple advertisment with both a white and black chick advertising a PSP White...

    It's almost like the "N" word.. black people can go around screaming this word to each other and its ok.. but all hell breaks loose when a white person decides to say it.. it's like WTF? you can say it to each other and be fine with it.. but if someone else of a different race says it it's offensive? I think THEY are the racists and/or the whiners..

    ^ tis silly..
    "It's like a Black chick and a white man doing the dirty, with the black chick afterwards screaming abuse!"
    ^I don't know how that came out.. but it kinda fit what I was trying to say...

    "obviously the black chick in the AD didn't think it was racist or didn't care.. I know they didn't just run up to a black chick and take a quick pic and run! BTW she is NOT CG! (only some people might understand this)"

  • MountainDew77

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 2:10 am PT

    WOW u people are idiots... Sony was just trying to prove their point. They dressed up the WHITE woman in WHITE clothing and the BLACK woman in BLACK CLOTHING. They over-exaggerated their point that the WHITE PSP is coming, and was showing it as the BLACK PSP better be ready. What if the white PSP came out first? Would it be OK for the black one to be the aggressor?? Would you all still complain? Sony was showing the difference in the colors of the PSP... They aren't racist....

    PS2, PSP, and PS3 all come in black.

  • hitman187x

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 1:31 am PT

    http://usera.imagecave.com/hitman187x/PSP/PSPforum1.jpg

    Go Sony!

  • Paceydre

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 10:28 pm PT

    I live in The Netherlands and I don't see this ad as racist. I look to it in a different way than most people do. Maybe I look at it the way Sony wants you to look at it.

    I see it like this..that the psp black has to move over for psp white. Simple as that.

  • Platyphyllum

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 8:21 pm PT

    Geez, can't Sony make a better ad then that? Seriously, it's racist and it's pretty bad, I wouldn't buy a PSP if I saw that ad for the first time. Racism is everywhere, lots of people (mainly white people) say that the ability to perform sports so well for black people is like cheating which in my opinion is not true. All that Sony is doing is supporting this racism, why did the whit PSP ad have to have a white woman threatening a black woman? It could've been something else and something more attractive.

  • mikekare79

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 4:49 pm PT

    Let's be honest, that's racist. You just don't do that. It's not a Sony vs MS thing, it's just calling it what it is.

  • p1r4t8r

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 4:38 pm PT

    Political correctness at it's worst. It's an ad, it's not a political statement. Some people have way too much time on their hands and just NEED to complain abut something.
    Two thumbs up to sony for being bold enough to use this campaign.

  • swade

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 1:20 pm PT

    In Europe racism has been on the rise currently black soccer players are being taunted because of a man saying that their ability to perform is like cheating... Seriously it's really awful right now there is a huge group of racist in Europe... Sony knows what they are doing.

  • TheJessMan

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 9:38 am PT

    It's not Racist, it's gay...

  • Halexandre

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 5:30 am PT

    On a second thought, why the heck the white woman is teasing the black one? Is this white PSP by any means more powerful than the original black ones???
    This ad is just plainly bad: an unfortunate visual appeal with an even more unfortunate subliminar message.

  • Halexandre

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 5:19 am PT

    No wonder they were criticized... The ad that depicts a withe woman teasing a black woman is of an extreme bad taste! I hope people protest and DON'T buy this white-PSP for these ads are extremely racist in content (even if it wasn't their original intention)... What will we have next? A silky KKK version of PSP???
    Two thumbs down for Sony's avertisers!!!

  • davu_leon

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 5:19 am PT

    Clearly this ad is offensive to some in America. But it was not released in, and as far as I can tell, was never intended for, the American market. You see, in Europe, we can see people of two different races engaged in a struggle without automatically assuming that the Black one is the weaker, oppressed person. The advert dosen't show the Black girl in any sort of subservient position, she merely looks surprised. And those who claim that the advert depicts a white woman 'beating the **** out of' a black one are simply bringing their own baggage when they view it, as it shows nothing of the sort.
    Racism is ugly and should never, ever be condoned. And an advert such as this would never work in a country like America, where racism is so deeply entrenched in the national history and psyche. But, to reiterate my point, this advert is not intended for consumption by the American public. Why not find out if any European groups are crying out about the insensitive racism of it, and then you might understand if it is indeed racist,in the context of the society in which it appeared. That is to say, a society where race is not a divisive issue in the way it is in the states.
    And before anyone flies into a rage, I'm not just America-bashing, I do love the place, and have travelled fairly extensively over there, but the fact is that I didn't even reallly understand what racism was until I saw it at work in America.

  • iamreallyelvis

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 5:10 am PT

    This is a prime example of just how out of control all of this racist stuff is. God forbid you use a white person to represent a product that is colored white and vice versa... How the hell is that racist??? Sony should have just made the PSPs Green and Orange or something like that so nobody would find a way to label the stupid video game device as racist....Then again, maybe frogs and people with suntans would start complaining.... Get a life.

    Personally, I think all you handhelds look the same....

    The CIA Ate My Brain
    -elvis

    www.HardhatTees.com
    STUPID SHIRTS FOR SMART PEOPLE

  • AManCalledDan

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 4:58 am PT

    sony no you cant recover this time. you are just pissing way to many people and important people in fact your getting to get yourself banned with this racist s***

  • HyperGlowMohawk

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 6:54 pm PT

    It's called personification people. Do you know how stupid it would look for two PSP's to be locked in a struggle? So instead, they have the PSP taking on a human characteristic (the struggle, since inanimate objects don't do that), by replacing them with people who represent the different colored units on a very physical and visual level. The whole set of pictures makes this argument valid.

    http://www.armchairempire.com/News/?p=33 has all three.

    But any how, poodle hair woman, and "I can't bloody see you past your ugly" lady are not going to assaulting our eyes anymore, so I don't really care about Sony taking down these adds.

  • Liquid_Courage

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 5:51 pm PT

    I don't see how anyone is suprised, Europe is a pretty racist place. They try to act like they are not, but they have never treated anyone equally just merely as 'exotic.' I mean any place where people come to football/soccer games throwing bananas at the black players and with racist banners isn't all that open minded.

  • bgeneral81

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 2:49 pm PT

    I think people got waaaaaaay to off topic with this one. It's an ad people, take it for what you want there are a lot of sh*%&y ads out there (personlly I don't care for ads or even bother) so get over it and lets get back to our miserable lives.

  • ElHypno

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 1:20 pm PT

    Where are the complaints about the "Dirt Balls" with the mexican accent? No where because Mexicans don't want Carlos Mencia to say that they are Dee Dee Dee. More stupid Ads, more stupid fire. Japan is going through kind of a cultural revolution right now. It is kind of trying to figure itself out.

  • swade

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 1:07 pm PT

    Hmm I'm black and I find it offensive but not racist. I can clearly see the message they are trying to send and the idea is basic. I just think the ad is disrespectful come on now... I dont have a problem with the N word but when a white person says it knowing that it offends black ppl it's still disrespectful whether they are white or not. Thie is very offensive and you should know better, If we used the N word instead of black all the time and we were never called black I wouldnt have a problem with a white person calling me that but the fact that they know it offends some ppl is disrespectful. They could've easily have just put 2 of the same race one with a white shirt and one with a black shirt to clearly get the message across, Sony did it on purpose with the intentions of gaining some attention to the PSP.

  • ewjim

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 1:02 pm PT

    For someone ANYTHING that white is racism... Why don't all not black-skinned people scream something like that on BLACK PSP? They DON'T CARE about the color of PSP of ANYTHING, everything is SAME!!! Can't you see it?!

  • DJ_Xbox

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 8:12 am PT

    Sony is really starting to piss me off.......
    They cant get through a year without pissing off someone.

  • ronaldmonster

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 6:12 am PT

    Here we go again...........

  • zey2k

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 5:49 am PT

    well i'm not ofended even if it was the other way around, but those ads about the subway ar just nasty. "YEY look at me daddy i'm going to get a PSP!!"...plock! And you guys say "there no one that stupid". Well,kids are

  • saragat

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 5:34 am PT

    Anyone offended by this ad is racist!!!

    Think about it, you know it's true...

  • Ponsardin

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 4:13 am PT

    Sony looks to be pretty unlucky this year.

  • Kounji

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 12:56 am PT

    Blame in simple its in poor taste.. and probably should be considered low brow. I know its a very interesting artistic shot and the message in it is very clear. There is still a lot of sentiment in this country because of how terbulent times were. Issues such as civil rights and school segregation were only resolved really within the last fifty years. There still is a lot of bad blood its a part of life. Sony being a corporation doesn't necessarily set its self out to be a racist company. They're manly out there to attract the attention of the masses to sell new product. My problem is that sony's advertising department didn't see the ads as being offensive and didn't decide to possibly go with something else. (Don't get me started on the squirrel ads) I know they used this add in europe but that same sort of sentiment doesn't exist. I know a lot of people hate being politically correct cause they feel constricted and not able to express their ideas or themselves. However, I'm of the opinion that there should be a line drawn when saying certain things using mass communication. The key to bringing society down to a level where people know everyone's comfort level and respects it(which is impossible but should be an ideal that we strive for) is communication between peoples in letting them know what's okay and what's not and being smart enough to know what not say.

  • PR3D4TOR2

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 7:17 pm PT

    I HATE SONY ! I HATE SONY ! that's all i have to tell you ppl

    now against black then against white then Yea they will say We yellow rules

    they are racist....

    HATE SONY

  • dfoz3

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 5:45 pm PT

    I believe in free speech, but I believe in common sense as well. After skimming the responses in this forum it is obvious that Sony got what they wanted, unfortunately it was done through divisiveness rather than positivity. This forum shows that no matter how much you force acceptance, you can't change what is in a persons heart.

    Int the words of E-40, "ONE LOVE"

  • scruffybawls

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    yall have to remember tom and jerry the cartoon was almost pulled of syndication because mothers in the 90s said it would teach their kids animal cruelty, racism, and sexism. yeah weird, they also said they were worried about ther kids killing ther cat with a chainsaw and bashing a dogs face with a mallet....w.e. if it had a white woman in all white hanging a black woman in all black yes, that would be racist

  • neocow5

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:47 pm PT

    Of course it's racist.

    Free publicity. Looks like they got it.

  • johnnybowman

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:22 pm PT

    Why did the two people need too be fighting couldn't sony have been more creative with the way they represented both whit and black psp

  • jimboboklashaur

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 11:19 am PT

    Grow up people. It's an ad. The point of an add is to grab people's attention. Clearly Sony grabbed your attention, because people are arguing about it, right? So, kudos to Sony for doing what they're supposed to do; getting their product noticed, and causing a commotion.

  • Sandman100

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 11:08 am PT

    There just ad people nothing more. I do believe Sony is getting into some heat. I doubt the ad was intended to be racist in any way but it does seem a little rough. I hope to see good things from Sony in the future.

  • jaa1984

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 11:04 am PT

    guess theres no point in posting opinions... this topics a waste of time. sony's not ignorant. the people who view the ads wrong are. it's an ad.

  • ecklof

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 10:53 am PT

    I do believe Sony is getting into some heat. I doubt the ad was intended to be racist in any way but it does seem a little rough. I hope to see good things from Sony in the future.

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:33 am PT

    diamondfox32
    **I think everbody is getting "poor taste" confused with "racist". Could we go back to talking about games again, please? Oh, and TequillaZaire is right - I would have MUCH rather seen these chicks making love, not war...**

    You know what I see? An advertisement. Maybe in "less than great taste", but still an advertisement. Nothing more. People see in it what they want to see in it. It could've be reversed and I would feel exactly the same way.

    Like I've said, we live in an age where EVERYTHING offends EVERYONE. Pretty soon we'll have a BIG BROTHER society because it will be the only way NOT TO OFFEND anyone.

    We as a society have gotten to a point where ANYTHING said by ANYONE is offensive SOMEONE. Some things said or done deserve that title. Usually though that is not the case. We live is a land of freedom and free speech, we lose more and more freedoms as time passes.

    I will admit some things are offensive and need to be regulated, but things like religion in school? What harm is there in that? "Yeah let's try to teach our kids manners", but little johnnyX in the corner is an athiest/"Insert religion here" so because HE feels offended by it EVERYONE else who is not is made to suffer (even the ones whose religion it is).

    We live in an age where everyone sues everyone else for the dumbest reasons. People sue corporations for silly things (My coffe was hot, I burned my tongue..$200,000). It seems common sense has left and in it;s place greed and stupidity have taken hold.

    People on these boards can think what they will of me, but beliefs and morals are what this country was founded on.

    Freedom is another thing that is abused and is beng taken away. if people would follow laws and use common sense more often than not things would go fine. But someone breaks a law, BAM. we lose a freedom. Someone does something else equally stupid. Bam. Another freedom gone.

    Then again if freedom wasn't abused as well things would be better. There are so many fine lines you can't cross. Aa crook breaks into your house, you shoot him, you get charged with a crime? The crook violates your rights, your privacy, your home, yet you are at fault for defending your home. I know there are probably factors I left out but that is the general jist of the situation.

    Geez I have gotten way off topic here haven't I?

    But yes,the ad with two chicks "making out" would've been more widely accepted, but then the lesbian and gay community would've have THEIR say about it and then there would be something else to complain about.

    Which goes back to my comment. EVERYTHING offends EVERYONE (which is so silly it's retarded, especially when people are LOOKING for it).

    Anyway I stand by my comment. The ad offends people looking to be offended or looking for another reason to complain.

    You know if this country had been based on todays community, we'd either have A) Failed by now or B) We'd be a utilterian BIG BROTHER society with NO FREEDOMS (we're getting there anyway, slowly but surely).

    People need to look past these things. If something offends you is it because it's offensive, or is it because you are looking for something to be offended by? I am sure 99% of things could be considered offensive to someone in so manner somewhere, but we deal with normal everyday life and we go on.

    It's silly to think of the state of the world today in those terms, but sadly we must.

    I don't know, it is just sad to think of things being the way they are. I long for a time when things will be better.

    Maybe we'll get there someday.

    My two cents,
    kevin

    legionosh@msn.com

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:06 am PT

    Glifberg40

    (first off I wanted to say thanks)

    Just to clear this up, Black Metal is usually created by Scandanavians- Black revers to evil/darkness/Satan themes, not black people.

    Yeah my brother is a HUGE DEATH/BLACK metal fan, but then agin he likes a lot of different music, but like me Rap is a no-no. Speaking of stereotpying, rock has a bad reputation of being "kill myself" or "Satan"..gee maybe like 1-2% of rock has messages even vaguely resembling anything like that. Black/DEATH metal is a different story, but I think you get the jist.

    "The Hiphop attire is a culture you are insulting a culture I'm sure there are people with speech impediments in Special Ed classes too."

    **I'm not entirely sure what this means. Most people with speech problems do not have to go to Special Ed classes. I stutter, and this perception of stupidity comes up frequently. I don't think you were saying people with speech problems are idiots, but if you want to complain about discrimination, think about how it is for people to laugh at your face when you're talking- how it is for police to tell you they think you're lying because you're stuttering, how it is for people to ask you why you don't know your name, for people to treat you like an idiot.**

    Speech class is something I took for years. I am not sure what Sasuka55 meant but I am by no means slow or unintelligent. I have been there with the whole laughing at you when you talk ordeal. Not a fun thing to have to deal with. People look at you like you're retarded. I remember the police stopping me one night when I was walking home (years ago). of course he thought I was lieing because I was stuttering. People laugh at you, girls think you are strange or a freak. And talk about being teased by everyone. (and that was just high school). Sasuka55, I know about ridicule and things like that. It's not fun for anybody.

    So susuka55, do you think I am an idiot because I stutter? Do you think I am slow because of my speech problem? Everyone who knows me knows that I am fairly bright person, and overall a super nice guy (albeit with a shorter temper fuse than I'd like)..

    You know why I made the comment about the hat/special ed thing? Because it was true. Some of the slower learning kids unintentionally would wear their hats like that. It didn't look "cool" then and it sure in the heck doesn't look "cool" now. I wanted you to know how that looks to somone over 30. MC Hammer pants looked "cool" back in the day. How cool do they look now? Same with any silly fad.

    If it ridiculed the so called "culture", then I guess it deserved that knock against it. African Culture is a culture. Rap is not and does not deserve anything even vaguely resembling a culture.


    **I think there are worse forms of discrimination than thinking that white guy just looked at you funny.**

    True, but looks can hurt sometimes almost as bad as words. Still you do have a point. I get looked at funny all the time, but hey I live with it. I don't want around like I hate anyone, with that swagger that is so common with todays rap fans, carrying a HUGE chip on my shoulder (although I am a little defensive, but that comes from years of teasing, etc). Otherwise I am mr. go lucky.

    Of course not everyone walks like this, but the ones who do seem to generally have the attitude I describe..and I'd have to put the cause down as Rap. What else is there to blame.

    My two cents,
    Kevin

    legionosh@msn.com

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:41 am PT

    zash

    Not quite Zash, I just don't like anything Rap. As I have stated there are SEVERAL Afr. Am. black musicians I really like and countless others I admire. Same goes for Afr. Am. actors, etc, etc. I say I don't like anything black is utterly and totally wrong.

    As far as gospel I just don't care for it. I don't know why (and no it's not a color issue, there are as many white gospel artists as there are black). Just doesn't do it for me, but bascially all other music goes for me.

    I know my post upset people, and that wih all honesty wasn't my intent. My original goal was to ask a few questions and it turned into a rant of sorts.

    I wouldn't say I am ignorant of Afr. Am.. (defintely on many thing though)..No one knows everything. So we are all ignorant of something. Do I maybe not understand the so called "rap Culture"? I'll accept that. That doesn't mean by default that it's worth understanding. From what I see and how they dress and behave I choose NOT to understand it.

    Answer me this, someone posted about raps "lyrical content". I have passed by COUNTLESS cars over the years with their 15" subs and 1.21 jigawatts of amps powering the system. You know what I heard? THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. CAR RATTLE. THUMP.

    NOT ONE WORD was even heard or audible. So to say people listen to rap for it's lryical content is something I find hard to believe. Explain how that works fo me, because with me being "ignorant" I guess I don't understand it.

    My two cents,
    kevin

    legionosh@msn.com

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:26 am PT

    futureboy99

    First off, learn to use paragraphs or at least space out your comments. It makes things MUCH easier to read. (nothing is worse than a 600+ word blog that is one long paragrah, but at least you use punctuation, which is more than some of the 377T folks do).

    Well glad to know you are intelligent. Wearing the clothes is one thing. So do you walk with the same swagger "I am so f*&&ing cool it's unbelievable"? Do you have the the same mannerisms? Do you act like you are better than everybody else? Do you drive with your seat pulled as far down as it can go so you can't even see the road to drive, but you do it because it looks cool?

    Is image more important than possibly wrecking you car and possible death? It apparently is to A LOT of people (and oddly enough I could almost guarantee 99% of them listen to RAP or one of it's variants ((hip hop, r&b))..

    If you'd read my posts you'd see I also included behavior in my description. I also said I know I not everyone who dresses like this acts this way, but several do.

    I take it you aren't living in Louisiana? If not that would explain a lot.

    As far as rock goes, the amount of "I wanna kill myself" rock music (which I've never actually heard in my 37 years) pales in comparison to the ratio of raps negative content. Let's say rock has 2% "wanna kill myself" music (which is probably WAY too high), rap has, what, like at least 50% of it's content is negative, if not more, not to mentions Raps "general mass appeal", which only broadens it's audience.

    As far as the clothes you mention, I have no idea. The one's I AM talking about wear clothes that cost more than mine (but of course I only wear jeans and whatever shirt I feel like at the moment. Image is not my main concern. I am not out to prove how pimp or dope I am. there are better things to do in life, like raising kids with *gasp* morals). I wasn't saying they wore poor clothing, actually quote the opposite. You took that how you wanted to take it (granted I didn't specify)..but still YOU made that assumption.

    Hell I grew up in a single parent household (with 3 brothers). I know all about not having any money, So let's not go there.

    Growing up in a bad enviorment is one thing, but to not and act like you did to reflect a certain image to everyone is retarded. If you're from Ohio (for example), why act like you are from Compton?

    I like all nice and good people. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but if the cover is unappealing no one will probably give the book a chance.

    My point being, you want to be treated like a good/nice person then ACT like one. Don't walk around with an attitude like everyone owes you or that you are so much better than everyone else.

    Personally? I am VERY modest and I know there are billions of people better tan me, but I decent guy, a nice guy and I like NICE people, regardless color (I hate to keep repeating that but it seems to be getting lost in the consusion). Hell I know plenty of white people who are a$$ holes.

    And lastly, if you are "so wise and intelligent', please learn to use "your" and the other words you apparently don't like to use for whatever reason.

    I know I mispell words, but with me typing 4 billion words I do make those mistakes, but I try to be clear so people can understand me.

    My two cents
    kevin

    legionosh@msn.com

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