I think this is a tempest in a teapot, to mention another beverage. Typical
of how social/political super sensitivities now so often intend to censor
disrespecting spoofs under the guise of some kind of untouchable integrity.
Pretty thin skinned, these Hip Hoppers. While I am certainly not one to
resist criticising commercials, this appears to be a not very good reason
to do so. The ad is OBVIOUSLY not intending to impart true history, I
didn't believe it was true for a second, who did? Yo, it's a joke, get it?
While it may show some ignorance of the form, especially the dating of
scratch invention, it is no different than the ignorance implied in the way
all humor mis-states its subjects for humorous or ridiculous effect.
Commercials are FULL of this kind of surreal disrespect toward ANY subject
they include, it's par for their course, and I don't believe any of us take
their twisted histories seriously.
However, this kind of indignant response to it DOES bother me as it can
easily extend to all forms of satire or parody and the ability of anyone to
pull our leg over anything anyone objects to. There's nothing more sacred
about Hip Hop history than there is about political history or advertising
history or anything else we might want to get you to notice through the use
of absurdity or humor. Heinekin might sell just as much beer with a serious
relating of true Hip Hop history, but they didn't choose to do so, and that
is as much their right as it is mine.
Next we'll be calling such humor racist.... Equality, were it ever to
actually arrive, means of course everyone can be kidded equally or else it
ain't equality. So, like it or not, it's arriving.... at least in silly
commercials like this. Actually getting used to TRUE equality may be a much
bigger problem than this ad agency's sense of humor, which in fact not ONLY
represents corporate cooption, but ALSO shows how far this form of music
has worked its way into our national awareness and appreciation.
Now let's talk about how Rap lyrics seem to be about 90% driven by a nasty,
over the top lust for brute sex, money, power, and personal status via
material acquisition - some of which Heinekin can relate to, I'm sure.
EVERYBODY'S got problems they could improve on, EVERYBODY has a right to be
wrong, so EVERYBODY better maintain their sense of humor if we really want
to progress with creative freedom for EVERYBODY.
DJ
Negativland
>speaking of "new sounds in music" and corporate cooption....
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>
>A Tools Of War Press Release!
>
>RE: Heineken Commercial Spoofing the Creation of the Scratch
>
>>Perhaps you saw the Heineken commercial, during the Grammy's,
>>featuring a DJ rockin' the party, back in the early 80's. He
>>accidentally spills his beer on the turntables and when he attempts
>>to wipe it off he "invents" the scratch. The year shown on the
>>screen is 1982...
>
>Many of Hip Hop's legendary DJs have expressed their outrage but the
>most insulted of all is the actual creator of the scratch,
>GrandWizzard Theodore. In the Summer of 1975, at the age of 13,
>Theodore created the technique that would eventually become one of
>the signature sounds of Hip Hop music today.
>
>As you can see from the responses below- some people still possess
>the revolutionary spirit that sparked Hip Hop in the first place!
>
>Here's what Theodore and friends had to say recently about Heineken's
>mishandling of Hip Hop culture.
>
>GrandWizzard Theodore (L Brothers & Fantastic 5): "It's a disgrace to
>the Hip Hop culture. Heineken doesn't know the culture and they don't
>contribute to it, then they have the audacity to give wrong
>information about how scratching started! They take from the culture
>and they don't give back. We should boycott Heineken. Scratching
>started in 1982? I don't think so.
>
>That commercial is a total disgrace. What they did was very very
>upsetting. I guess it's true that the people shouldn't be using their
>own product. They must have been drinking too many Heinekens when
>they made this commercial."
>
>MixMaster Ice (U.T.F.0.): " I think it's an insult to people like
>myself and especially the pioneers who originated and laid the
>groundwork for where Hip Hop is today. These people (Heineken) don't
>know about, were not part of, and had nothing to do with where Hip
>Hop came from or where it's headed. They need to do more research and
>include more pioneers in their commercials so the culture can be
>preseIN TO SEE THAT HEINEKEN IS NOT DOING THEIR MARKETING HOMEWORK,
>BECAUSE IF THEY HAD, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE INSULTED MILLIONS OF HIP HOP
>VIEWERS AND LISTENERS, THE SAME HIP HOP VIEWERS AND LISTENERS THAT
>MAKE HEINEKEN ONE OF THE LARGEST SELLING IMPORT BEERS IN THIS
>COUNTRY. WHAT HEINEKEN PROBABLY SAID WAS "HEY, THIS LOOKS CUTE AND
>MAKES US LOOK REALLY COOL SO LET'S PUT IT OUT THERE CAUSE IT WILL
>SELL MORE BEER" WITHOUT TAKING THE TIME TO GET THE FACTS. LIKE A LOT
>OF OTHER INDUSTRIES INCLUDING THE RECORDING INDUSTRY, HEINEKEN IS NOT
>TAKING HIP HOP SERIOUSLY ENOUGH TO GIVE IT THE PROPER REPRESENTATION
>IT DESERVES. YEA I AGREE, IT WAS JUST A LOUSY COMMERCIAL DONE
>INCORRECTLY AND, "NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T AND ON WITH OUR
>LIVES." TRUE THAT!!!! BUT THE BUCKET IS NOW OVERFLOWING WITH ALL THE
>LITTLE SPECKS OF BULLSHIT THAT'S BEEN DROPPED IN BY INDUSTRIES AND
>ARTISTS WHO WANT TO MAKE MONEY AT HIP HOP'S EXPENSE. WHAT I WANT TO
>DO IS CALL ON ALL THE HEAVY WEIGHTS IN HIP HOP, THE ONES WHO ARE
>MAKING ALL THE MEGA DOLLARShip-hop and its pioneers, but they have
>the nerve to allow sponsors to air these bullshit commercials and
>keep brainwashing the generation at hand. this is the reason why the
>true pioneers of hip-hop must align, and make a solid coalition, to
>protect ourselves and our history against misrepresentations of this
>kind. i ask my brothers to stand up and take notice, a lawsuit should
>be in order. peace, dj disco wiz"
>
>Adisa Banjoko "The Bishop of Hip Hop": "The recent "Hip Hop" Heineken
>ad, does Hip Hop culture a great disservice. It promotes unrealistic
>images of how and why the elements of our art were created. It is a
>slap in the face to all true architects of the culture and fans of
>the art. I feel it is unfair exploitation of African American people
>as a whole, and Hip Hop culture across the board. It is my sincere
>wish Heineken will pull that ad campaign immediately."
>
>GrandMaster Caz (Cold Crush Brothers): "JUST ANOTHER PUTRID ATTEMPT
>AT HUMOR FROM ADVERTISING ASSHOLES WHO MOCK THE MOST COPIED, IMITATED
>AND EXPLOITED CULTURE SINCE AFRICAN DRUMS. THE INVENTION OF THE
>SCRATCH WAS AND IS A BOON TO THE HIPHOP CULTURE AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE
>MUSIC INDUSTRY AND SHOULD NOT BE MADE LIGHT OF BUT BROUGHT TO LIGHT.
>LOVE, PEACE AND HAIR GREASE TO MY BROTHER GRAND WIZARD D.J. THEODORE.
>
>GRANDMASTER CAZ"
>
>Bobbito: "I've always boycotted all liquor companies personally cuz I
>don't drink at all. I get intoxicated off of my music. I'm not
>opposed to spoofing of our culture, but that should only be done by
>the insular community when it's in responsible hands. No major
>corporation that has no vested interest in our culture has any right
>to spoof. Quite honestly though, I'd be more troubled by seeing
>Theodore in a Heineken commercial than seeing a spoof. I don't watch
>TV at all, haven't in over a decade. In any event, you have my
>support and good luck.
>peace, bobbito"
>
>Ddn't even pick up on how thin that was. It's a matter of "people"
>who have nothing to do with Hip Hop or the people who live it, trying
>to appeal to our beer consuming masses by appealing to them as being
>"down" (when they are not by far) while cashing in on Hip Hop, not
>even realizing how totally ignorant, ridiculously dense and extra
>stupidly stupid they are, in their attempts to do so. I bet alot of
>us are too blind to even recognize it. But it just goes with all the
>other insidiousness that Hip Hop's existence has brought along. It
>isn't the first or last time Hip Hop (or black folks for that matter)
>will be used or exploited through and by manufacturers and products
>that we can do without the consumption or endorsement of....like
>anything with refined white sugar in it -it hardens your arteries.
>Alcohol, works wonders on livers and the pancreas as well as they
>both wreck your complexion. Cow's milk...what's with those ridiculous
>ads??? When are we gonna recognize that i and insulted, I'm always
>compelled to see the negatives only as a blessing in disguise.
>Hopefully Heineken will hear them and so will the public and in turn
>the music will be heard along with the truth. Have no worries because
>everything is in perfect order with the universe, it's just the time
>for it, believe it or not...and you bet I'm gonna mention this
>shtick! Peace and blessings yall' Qbert"
>
>DJ Kuttin Kandi (5th Platoon): "TO ALL ARTISTS, FANS AND LOVERS OF
>HIP-HOP... I will not sit here and watch as we, people of Hip-Hop
>culture, continue to play a part in the lies that corporate America
>has created. For years, we have shouted out, marched, rallied and
>died for our own rights, freedom of speech and to own our own lives.
>Yet, when we gain these rights we deny those rights because we
>subject ourselves to little hand-me-downs that America tempts us to
>believe are real. They give us a little "freedom of our own", they
>give us a little shine, let us make our speeches through our
>rhymes... T our history through our way of poetry. They blast our
>faces on television, mock our upbringings, and blame only us and our
>culture for the violence, materialism and sexism in our society. My
>fellow Hip-Hop people, sadly, we do have much to apologize for...
>True, I can blame the MEDIA (such as beer companies, ahem) for
>bringing misinformation to the masses.. Yes, I can blame radio and tv
>stations, record labels, movies, newspapers, commercials and large
>corporation companies for misleading our people to believe that
>Hip-Hop is just about the benjamin's and bling blingin. Yes, I can
>blame our schools, our teachers, our history books, the GOVERNMENT
>for not teaching the real history we were never taught... I can blame
>all of the above all I want.... BUT we all know that we have as much
>to blame... We have allowed ourselves to become part of the lies they
>feed us by taking part of their commercials, by parading around in
>the music videos that THEY DIRECT, by writing the rhymes THEY want
>society to buy. How cated stories they have fed to the MASSES... even
>if it may seem humorous with their own version of how the skratch was
>created... It may seem frivolous to all of you of my generation that
>our older pioneers of Hip-Hop are complaining... It may seem to you
>that they are being bitter and angry, but believe me, 20 years from
>now, that could be YOU. We need to preserve our culture and cherish
>what our older generation have handed down to us. We need to respect
>that and share the stage with them. I am asking all of YOU to take a
>stand, young and old for TOGETHER we can make a difference using
>America's system, using their commercials, using the media... IF WE
>TAKE CONTROL. We can take this system and make it our own. We can
>empower ourselves if we use it to our advantage - the right way, that
>is... After all, it is what it is and we have to make the most of
>it... If they're not telling the truth, we should write and document
>our truth... so it shall be written into history. If they take our
>culture and make it the
>
>A true activist, DJ Kuttin Kandi gave someone named Mercedes, at
>Heineken, a call on Fri. March 2 and told her what she thought about
>that wack commercial. You can call Heineken USA: 914-681-4100 or
>e-mail at infoATheinekenusa.com or infoATheineken.com to tell them what
>you think.
>
>Thanks for your support!
>Peace!
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>Rumori, the Detritus.net Discussion List
>to unsubscribe, send mail to majordomoATdetritus.net
>with "unsubscribe rumori" in the message body.
>----------------------------------------------------
>Rumori list archives & other information are at
>http://detritus.net/contact/rumori
>----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
Rumori, the Detritus.net Discussion List
to unsubscribe, send mail to majordomoATdetritus.net
with "unsubscribe rumori" in the message body.
----------------------------------------------------
Rumori list archives & other information are at
http://detritus.net/contact/rumori
----------------------------------------------------
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
N© Detritus.net. Sharerights extended to all.