October 18, 2006
![][1]Somehow, I ended up watching the [VH1 Hip Hop Honors][2] Tuesday night.Good times. Wu-Tang Clan was honored, as were Eazy-E, Afrika Bambaataa and Beastie Boys (among others). Although it's a bit disconcerting to see the first generation of rap stars enter middle age - was this how our parents felt when Elvis got fat in the '70s? - it was fun to be reminded of how the music got started and evolved. It was kind of like a Kennedy Center Honors for the blingy set.It was that thought that led me to another one: Will any of these folks ever be honored by the Kennedy Center?The honors, if you don't know, honor folks who have made great lifetime contributions to the American arts. The latest class - to be honored in December - includes a conductor I've never heard of (Zubin Mehta), as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg. Ossie Davis and Tina Turner have made it in recent years, so we know it's not an all-white affair.Still: There's rap music still has an element of danger. Some of it is legitimately scary - violence and misogyny - and some of it just sounds scary, unless one is familiar with the music. Smoky Robinson and his crooning are now acceptable to the arts establishment. But I wonder: Will a 70-year-old Ice Cube one day sit in the Kennedy Center balcony?If George Clinton doesn't make it in the next five years, then I'm guessing no. [1]: http://www.hiphop-blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/cube.jpg [2]: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2003307898_hiphophonors17.html
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Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says...
I don't know which stuns me more- that you watched the VH1 Hip Hop Honors or that you don't know who Zubin Mehta is. yow.
October 18, 2006 at 6:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Jo_s_mom (anonymous) says...
Joel,
As soon as Kelly finds out you don't know who Zubin Mehta is, you'll get the full course...or at least the lecture series.
;-)
October 18, 2006 at 6:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chewyfally (Falestine Afani Ruzik) says...
The husband and I were watching commercials for vh1's hip hop honors, and then I started nagging as to why there isn't a hip hop hall of fame. Maybe there arleady is one, and I'm just out of the loop. But if there isn't, there damn well should be.
October 18, 2006 at 7:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
I'm sorry about the Zubin Mehta. I try to be cosmopolitan, but classical music is really not my strong suit.
October 18, 2006 at 9:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
quinno (Patrick Quinn) says...
I'm guessing that the first generation of hip-hop stars will make it to the podium.
My ballot would start w/ Chuck D and Dre.
(Former-music-writer wonky qualification: George Clinton, who is a SuperGenius, is not really hip-hop. Clinton is above all genres, and should have already been honored.)
October 19, 2006 at 8:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pissykitty (Melissa Lynch) says...
If you think rap is scary now, wait till your grandkids laugh at you for listening to "Straight Outta Compton". Eazy E is almost tame compared to the crap Fergie's out there spouting now, and so much better than Little John's yeah-ing and okay-ing. But your grandkids will be listening to rap that will cause you to overdose on your heart medication.
And why you gotta break balls about Elvis getting fat? You try living his life...
And Chewfally, the closest thing I could find to a hip hop hall of fame was a movie Chuck D put out in 2003 and an actual hall of fame in Philly. Why we never hear of it I will never know. I scrolled through the list of their latest inductees and I recognized maybe two or three out of every year. I suppose that's why...
October 19, 2006 at 8:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pissykitty (Melissa Lynch) says...
Quinno - I second what you say about George Clinton. He does indeed transcend genres.
October 19, 2006 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Shelby (anonymous) says...
Any organization that gives Andrew Lloyd Weber ANY award deserves to be destroyed with molotov cocktails and heavy gunfire.
October 19, 2006 at 9:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
quinno (Patrick Quinn) says...
Or strapped into their chairs and forced to listen to the EVITA soundtrack until their heads explode.
October 19, 2006 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bwoodard (Bill Woodard) says...
Thirds on the Andrew "Loud" Weber derision. My ex-wife once insisted on our experiencing the dreck that was, is and ever shall be "CATS!"
Most_grating_and_awful_two_hours_of_my_"cultural"_life.
BTW, Quinno, I think my head_did_explode a little that night; I couldn't drink enough cocktails quickly enough in the intermission.
October 19, 2006 at 4:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
counterlife (anonymous) says...
Amen on the Andrew Lloyd Weber critique. (Why is that man shouting at me?) The Monty Python and the Holy Grail derived "Spamalot", currently popular on Broadway, sends him up beautifully in "This is The Song that Goes Like This." Loud and long, but, unlike anything Weber does, funny and entertaining.
October 19, 2006 at 6:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Feents (Caterina Benalcazar) says...
Perhaps the Kennedy Center will recognize hip-hop artists when people in the media stop referring to them merely as "the blingie set."
October 23, 2006 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rwood (Ryan Wood) says...
Ice Cube is a wonderful crossover talent, but he's no Will Smith. I mean, Will always had the best fat jokes for Uncle Phil and he was almost a better dancer than Carlton. Rapping, acting, comedy and dancing? They should rename it the Will Center.
No, but seriously, I'd love to see the Kennedy Center honor hip hop. Ice Cube and 2pac get my vote. But not P-Funk.
October 26, 2006 at 12:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )