So BET has a new video that is all the stir. "READ A BOOK" is the name of the song. It was aired on BETs 106 and Park. CNN even had to get their share of the conversation. If you haven't seen this one yet, go to Youtube.com and check it out. It's got everything you need for todays hip-hop video. Only its a cartoon.
Mistakenly, the CNN newsroom has tried to make its comparison of this piece to the Sesame Street, Schoolhouse Rock, and other reading initiatives from the days when I was a kid. Except this isn't a public service announcement.
Its satire folks - A literary tool used to make a mockery of ones own culture; to appall; to convey notions disenchantment. Maybe if this was Chris Rock or Dave Chapelle, just maybe folk would feel better about it? BET is the premier channel for rump shaking and bling. Personally, I think some of the more contrivesial scenes got across the point of hip-hops declining priorities and value system. Spelling "book" on a plump, jiggling cartoon butt was genius; "Hard to miss!" Guns shooting books at you; "Information you can't ignore!". Sure there are plenty more positive ways to get the point across, like, "illiteracy kills". But these artist chose to provoke change with two strong statements about the mis-direction of hiphop and the mis-behavior of hiphop fans. But better than that to me, they present the challenge of the day: "Parents! Turn off the kids TV!!"
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