Imus and Tony

As expected, Don Imus was fired. Shocking it wasn’t. What has surprised me, is how the comments by this 67 year old white dude are some how related to hip hop. One of the common themes I’ve heard is that Imus used those words because hip hop made it acceptable. That some how a form of music I’m fairly certain he doesn’t listen to, has had such a huge impact on his vernacular. Sorry, but to borrow from hip hop, this is whack yo.

You want to know who or what is responsible for this grown man, going on the air and calling a women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s?” Well, I’ll tell you. He is. It’s that easy. Even Jason Whitlock has point some of the blame at hip hop, and I can’t believe this. If we’re going to over analyze the situation, and look for the root cause, then fine, let’s do just that.

Say some how we find a connection to the words rappers use, okay fine. I’ve heard “nappy” and I’ve heard “ho’s” in a few songs, so I’ll pretend that Imus is often bumpin’ Snoop and 50 Cent, and some how he thought that since he heard them say that it would be okay if he did. Guess what, that still isn’t the root cause to all this. That’s just pointing the finger at the easiest target. But why not look deeper, try and figure out why rappers use those words? Oh, that’s just stupid talk. Rap music is obviously to blame for all the ills in the world. They like to drive Escalades ya know, so that’s why SUVs are so popular. And therefore, hip hop is why we are currently fighting a war in Iraq.

But to be fair, hip hop does have a strong track record of degrading women. I don’t disagree with the statement, nor do I find this as an attractive aspect of the music. But is hip hop alone in this? Hell no. Look at Hollywood, and at the television shows and movies they produce. Where are the movies and shows that put women in a positive light? “Desperate Housewives?” Does that really put women in a positive light? Even my favorite shows, “Entourage” and “The Sopranos” treat the majority of its female characters as either sex objects or weak victims. Of the five movies nominated for best picture last year, only The Queen had a woman as the central figure. How many of the previous Best Actress winners, were characters that had to overcome or survive a man? And how many movies in general, portray women in a positive light? But only rap music has an impact.

The fact that so many commercials and print ads we see, have women scantly clad and obviously selling sex to sell a product isn’t worth noting either I assume. But a rapper says bitch or ho, and he’s obviously calling all women that. And rappers have more influence over our society than anyone else. I understand that some of the outcry has been over Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton bringing such attention to Imus’ comments, and not doing the same when rappers use the same words. But that’s bullshit too. They’ve done that for years, way back to the days of 2 Live Crew. These stories don’t have the legs to last 20 years. Something else happens, and they move on. I promise that we won’t hear Jackson or Al talking about Imus 6 months from now.

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Now on a lighter side, here are a few thoughts on “The Sopranos.” If you haven’t watched the most recent episode yet, stop reading.

Just a couple possibilities I see:

Tony kills Christopher- after the movie, he obviously feels a little resentment to Chrissy. And airing family business in a movie is probably a slight violation of Omerta.

Tony lets Christopher get clipped- Phil is still mad as hell about his brother being killed, and with Johnny Sack gone he no longer needs to honor his word. But just killing Chris would spark a huge war between NY and Jersey, which is bad for business and T knows it.

Christopher rats on T- fearing for his life, as well as wanting out of the life so he can continue to pursue movies and care for his new family.

Is it Sunday night yet?