Hi to all,

This morning I was watching Parliament on TV that was covering the key passgages in Tony Blairs pemiership and during this programme there was a debate on hip hop influence on teens expressed in negative lyrics. I do not remember names except there was a well spoken DJ pointing out how the Hip hop lyrics came in various forms and it should be no surprise that negativity was there as it was indemic in what is expressed in the media. He pointed out the disproportionate attention given to crime, loss, injustice than anythjing positive.

We know all to often the discussion amonst friends drifting to the misfortune of others or even how nasty the weather is. This DJ pointed it to being a cultural thing in general and different peoples expeiriences influencing the story they tell. The lyrics of Will Smith being deliberately in without expletives compared with 50 Cents being a contrast and the DJ suggested that this was in part due to their different family backgrounds.

This was interesting as hip hop has been and continues to be a genre of music that teens enjoy and tune into without knowing in part that they are set up to tune into it by the nature of the messgaes that come from society that they live in. The power that any individual has is to make the distinction of what works well for them at their core and what moves them away from this position.

Rather than be lead unwittingly by the norms of society it is useful to make the distinctions that the DJ did that there is route that is more creative where people influence an uplifitng experience not just for themselves but others. We know that nuture as well as nature has role hear and it is of such great value for a teen to have a way of not being sucked into something that is not really about what they want when at their best.

Schools have there cirriculum to attend to and have their students attend to academic persuits and it is great that many if not most schools give opportunities in the arts and sports. In the UK the upper years become preoccupied on what subjects to be selecting for A levels and soon after universities to be approaching for graduate studies. Some of these choices are wide ranging and so how does a student choose? Schools now more often have vocational guidance of some sort or another yet for many teens it is NOT CLEAR what they want or WHAT to be doing next that is a match and a fit for them.

The education system has not helped them in this regard. For those teens that recognise what they want to be pursuing the decisions are more easily made. For those that don't have a sense of knowing decisions can be made on the say so or expectation of others than themselves. This CAN take teens going into their early adulthood more off track that may take years to get back.

To lead a life extraordinary takes someone having a personal knowledge that is rarely offered and in essesence: -
-

Messgae continued!! (Start of message sent before finsishing)
- How do I know when we I am at my best?
- What do I do to set up the state experience that is when I am at my best?
- How do I hold this in the company and interaction with friends and acqaintances?
-

Ah - pessing tab key in error sends POST

These questions among many others that are unique to the individual are able to be facilitated through a process you may have already heard of that is the Mythogenic Self Experience designed by Joseph Riggio. This process begins where NLP tends not, that is what is working well yet the tools of NLP are used at the highest level to track and calibrate and lead to the experience that leads to answers to the above questions. The teen is able to tune into a wider appreciation of what is possible and to what attracts them and what is let to be left behind.

For teens, let alone adults, the learning is invaluable - beyond words. However these words will have to do! If you are interested to read more on this and the opportuinities for teens in the UK to experience for themselfes this learning then go to Heropath

What do you say?

It has been my pleasure
Des Barry

Good, topic, espicially for me, as i am 15. On the hip hop aspect, I myself am no longer a fan, but there is a definite apeal to youth, it emulates the popular feel, rapport with the younger generations collective identity if you will, and speaks of things considered taboo and hushed by the alienated adults. a general theme in hip hop/ rap is my life sucks because of... I love...
F the following,,,
Occasionaly some do speak out productivly on issues and can have a lot of poisitive influence, however the messages are usually crass and angry.

About the future, what we want to be doing, well most perople are she[areded into the common and accepted careers at various careers evenings (dominated by police, army and fasion).
I want to be an NLPer, and a hypnotist, but do not make this well known as due to public misconceptions, espicially with hypnosis, i might as well announce my slef a Vodoo guru!

As you say, for those not sure about their future the perssure to make a conforming decision is often overwhelming, and many just jump on the next university course they qualify for, or drop out and become a carpenter or electrician etc.

I'm not quite sure what you are asking, if you are indeed asking anything, with this post, but it is a good topic, and if you want "insiders knowledge" me and the other teens on this forum ( if there are any!) would be happy to spill the beans on our peers.
thanks
nathan

Cool Nathan, good on you for going for what feels right for you! I hear what your saying about public misconceptions. I got into personal development when I was 15 too and my friends just perceived it as me being an idealistic hippie with no sense of reality being interested in positive thinking. And I've also noticed that now it's becoming more cool for teenagers to know about NLP being positive and such, which is cool! It offers such great possibilities for them, with learning, selfesteem, and all the other stuff they come across in their daily lives!

I don't exactly know what the appeal of hiphop is to teenagers.

I think there is plenty of hip-hop that has really positive lyrics, Jurassic 5 spring to mind and I'm sure there are others.

Also there is plenty of music that is aggressive but not in a negative sense.

Ok, I can resist no longer ...

I've been a hip hop fan for 25 years. Hip hop styles, lyrics and themes are very varied indeed - so when someone makes an observation like this:

... then that indicates to me that this person has in all likelihood only experienced a very narrow slice of the full spectrum of hip hop.

Starting at the beginning of the 90s, hip hop took a particular turn with the advent of 'gangsta rap' (championed initially by Dr Dre's second group. N.W.A.). 'Gangsta rap' was all about guns, drugs, misogyny and just generally being a tough guy. The 'gangsta' archetype seemed to find significant appeal with a certain audience, and this sub-genre later evolved into the thug/pimp/player genres that enjoy such commercial success today. Now this narrow slice of the hip hop world has added a couple of themes, so there's a spectrum between the original misogynistic tough guy archetype (think 50 cent) and the rich, powerful player living the highlife archetype (think P Diddy).

And all that stuff sells a lot of CDs and gets a lot of media attention, but it's not representative of hip hop as a whole. It just gets more publicity. So lots of people have heard of 50 cent and Snoop Dogg, and not many people have heard of Common and Talib Kweli - even though these guys are very influential artists in the hip hop world.

What gets me curious is this: Why it is that the thug / player archetypes are so compelling?

Cheers,

James

Hi All,

For those who are not aware of rap music with more positive values, there's this important video.

Be Well,

Michael Perez

PS - I seem to remember most of my favourite musicians ODing, drowning in their own vomit and singing about various and myriad criminal offenses. And look at how I turned out! Er, wait...

PPS - If anyone knows how to calibrate the difference between fresh and fly using linguistic, eye accessing or posture cues, please PM me...

Fresh involves a temporal distinction that is not a requirement for fly.

Fly is cool. Fresh is cool and new. Eric Clapton is fly. Amy Winehouse is fresh. Sean Connery as Bond - fly. Daniel Craig as Bond - fresh. Currently fashionable - fresh. Timelessly fashionable - fly.

So track for indicators of time orientation.

Now, because of this temporal distinction, old school can never be fresh - although it's frequently fly.

What this means however, is that fly, old school elements can be incorporated into a new jam or style as a way of creating something fresh. When this is done well, the result is dope.

It's not always done well though. In recent years a number of people have taken to jacking old school beats to make their jams sound dope. If this is done uncreatively, or if their jams have no other redeeming qualities, this beat-jacking will more often than not be perceived as wack by the cognoscenti.

Cheers,

James

some people never grow up.
but seriosly never try and understand modern terms.

Word. I'm down wit dat, yo.

Respect.

Be Well,

Michael Perez

Shameless plug for Oz hip hop:

Hilltop Hoods live

"'gangsta' archetype seemed to find significant appeal with a certain audience,"
and what may you be implying?
i admit that I my spectrum of hip hop has only included the gangsta rap type, which is probably why I am so negative about it.
its funnt what they choose to broardcast on the radio, and what happens to strike a tune with us youngstas
nathan

Here is an opportunity for a quick game, list your top 3 musical artists, why do you like them?

For me...

Is it that I feel a connection with them (Life history, age, morality or they have been present at most parties and happy times in your life).

I feel moved or motivated by their lyrics or their songs sum your life up well.

It is very little to do with the sounds they actually make but more the story they tell.

I have numerous Hip Hop CD's and often find myself defending the explicit lyrics and 'Gangster' profile. Not defending as I think they offer anything positive to the world but I do understand why they are there and popular. Maybe they are todays equivalent of ‘Dons’ in the mafia and seen as being the top dogg in local social groups. Having taught in some inner city schools in numerous of the larger Cities in the UK I have seen first hand the lives dominated by Gang affiliation and serious social depravation some people live in. If a person from this area wants to use their musical talent to highlight their poverty or lifestyle, ultimately that is what art is for.

Calling it 'negative' is a bit like calling the newspapers or 9o'clock news negative because all they seem to talk about is bad things happening, this is simply the vehicle that allows you an insight in to the lives of others. I totally understand why we would want to keep the celebration of gun crime and people being proud to be a 'convict' away from the middle England but damning the ones that speak about it does not solve the genuine issue they raise.

What does thoroughly annoy me is people like Reebok using 50 Cent to sell trainers to kids, their adverts pay no connection to his music but totally focus on his criminal background and shamelessly glamorise it.

Will Smith is an entertainer, a Pop star I guess, a totally different genre to the Gangster culture. James, do we need to understand their culture, sure as inquisitive people we live to stretch our brains and try out new ideas but your parents couldn’t understand your dedication to a make up wearing David Bowie or the Stones and their girly haircuts or why you are listening to nonsece about some girl called Lucy who lived in the sky with diamonds. Using your current ability to describe your reasons for affiliating to these artists and then using the teenage you to explain it to your parents, well they still would not understand the desire to not-conform to the older conforming and controlling population.

Today’s recommendation, 'Mosh' by Eminem, if you can download the video to the track then even better.

Don't criticise the messengers, It is a jungle out there and sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

mosh is a great song, I've got the album. surprisingly it didn't get as much air time as his other ENCORE hits.

"let me be the voice in your strength in your choice, let me simplify the rhyme just to amplify the noise"

Politicians are generally rather adept at creating scapegoats,instead of taking responsibility for the consequences of their own actions for society as a whole.
I don't happen to recall any gangsta rappers launching cruise missiles at major cities.

now you cant compare rappers with politicains,
that really isn't fair on the fans.

But seriously by the way many rappers talk the only thing stopping them from lauching cruise missiles is probation.

Despite the admittedly disturbing tendency of many teenagers to take music like this seriously,I tend to think of it as cathartic(I be down with the Sigman).

What do you not like about it?

The actual sound?
The message?
The associated lifestyle?

In your message is 'it' refering to rap music as a whole or a specific section?