Let's Have a Real Conversation
I know this is supposed to be a column about the music business, but this time I'm gonna change it up a bit because there's something that's been on my mind lately that's got me stumped. Maybe all y'all who write comments on this blog can help me understand:
Since when did some random statement cooked up by people in the news media and the blogosphere start trumping words from the horse's mouth? Since when did MediaTakeOut become the voice of authority?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a guy who complains about media coverage, usually. People in this business who say they don't want to be famous or talked about are basically full of shit. I know this, because I have artists I'm working with now who get all bent out of shape when they're not recognized in the street or in a club. For years I wanted more props in newspapers and magazines, and I wasn't fond of feeling overlooked. So when someone attacks me in the media I more or less accept it as the price of fame. As long as it's just me who's being targeted and not the people I love, it's cool. I get over it.
But what's crazy to me is how stories go around in this media echo chamber of blogs, entertainment shows, tabloids and even regular newspapers that are twisted or dead wrong. One person writes something with no basis in fact, then everyone just repeats it as if it was fact, over and over again until no one questions it, even when they've already heard the full and correct story from the person they are writing about! It's like the horse's mouth has become irrelevant!
I could give you dozens of examples where that's happened in my life. But what scares me most is the hurt this kind of mindless misinformation can inflict on a whole community or movement. Take for instance the way the anchor lady on a local news channel called a drug dealer a hip-hop entrepreneur. Say what? Like you can draw a comparison between what drug dealers do, and what I do? But that became the standard description every time you saw a report about that case on the news. I am a hip-hop entrepreneur and there's no way you should get the two things mixed up.
Because that newscaster made her big, sweeping statement like it was fact, the description caught on. Next thing you know, hip hop and drug dealers become one and the same thing in people's minds. People hear something often enough and, to them, it becomes the truth. No one questions it. It's partly this kind of bad journalism that's where hip hop is getting its f***ed up name from!
It seems things have spun out of control in the last few years. I don't remember it being like this ten years ago. If the National Enquirer had a story, no one believed it. But now you'll see it picked up by blogs and newspapers all over the world. Sometimes that rag has a better chance of getting the story right than so-called respectable media outlets. Is it because we have news 24/7 and millions of websites trying to get the news first that the media doesn't care about the truth anymore?
I guess with so much noise out there everyone tries to scream the loudest and be the first to put out the story without checking the facts. I guess if the White House press guy can pass off lie after lie to Fox News and CNN and all the major networks, and get away with it, we can't expect the entertainment media to get their stories right.
Basically any journalist who asks me a question is gonna get a straight answer from me. I don't care. I got nothin' to hide. For three years now I've been telling people me and Janet are not married, or engaged. (If we were married believe me I'd have no problem telling people, and you'd hear about it anyway because the wedding reception would be the party of the century!) But it's like nobody's listening, because EVERY TIME I walk the red carpet reporters ask me the same questions: "Are you married yet?" or, "When's the wedding?" It's kinda funny, but it's also retarded.
When Page Six ran that story about my book Young, Rich and Dangerous, they added their own lil' spin to something I said and ran with it. When I saw the story I had to laugh about it. After all it was the New York Post, so it was pretty much what you'd expect. But then that story went all over the place. The blogs repeated it exactly as it was in Page Six.
No one bothered to pick up my book, turn to the correct page, and actually read that passage to check the quote. How hard can that be? Since when did newspapers start hiring people who didn't give a f*** enough to read the real source? Apparently it was too much work, since supposedly trustworthy newspapers ran stories that were totally inaccurate. It even made the Times of India! The media world has gotten so viral, that bullshit just spreads, and spreads and spreads!
The whole mess got me thinking about the bigger picture and wondering whether y'all are as worried as I am about what's been going down in the media world lately. It's also why I'm glad to have platforms like this HuffPost blog and TheMostAccess.com. I want people to hear what's up directly from me, the horse's mouth. As consumers of news we need to take back some credibility in life.
In my own small way I'll do my part by giving you, the readers, my own raw, uncut truth. That's why I wrote my life story, and that's why I write this column. I can't help it when people cut and paste my words to their own sites and take my thoughts out of context. I know there are always gonna be some people who don't want to hear the whole message. That's what happened with my last post and it'll probably happen with this one too. But at least now you're gonna know where to look.
Right here and right now we can have a conversation that's real.
Jermaine Dupri, who was named the most successful R&B producer of all time by the Guinness World Records 2007, is a Grammy-award winning music producer, president of Island Urban Records and author of Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a Music Mogul (Atria, October 2007). For more information about this blogger, click here.
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I appreciate the honesty you give here, Mr. Dupri, as well as your music (I love your remixes of Jagged Edge's "Where The Party At" and Dem Franchise Boyz "I Think They Like It"). There are a lot of fakers and posers out there and it's nice to see you aren't one of those types. As far as the MSM, I have a theory on how it changed and partly devolved into the morass seen today in such places as TMZ and Fox News, but first...so
For the longest time it seemed like news reporting was pretty straightforward and honest. I think that changed in sometime in the mid-nineties for a couple of reasons. One, news organizations started using more and more of the newest technologies which probably was quite an expense. Two, corporations started seeing the value and potential profitability of having their own news organizations to run. That meant it became more of a money game, one dependent on the success of the media outlets they controlled. Ratings are an indicator of how successful those outlets are. Generally, the MSM is extremely dependent on ratings. The higher the ratings, the more a media outlet can charge for advertising rates during peak periods, which could also mean high profit.
Here's where I believe the MSM went off the deep end. In order to get higher ratings, each media outlet had to differentiate itself from its competition. That meant each one had to have it's own "angle" or "spin" on a story so that it would keep consumer interest. Once that style showed profitability the MSM adopted it. Spin is now everywhere in the MSM and probably the music biz as well. The MSM has become a dog-eat-dog world as a result.
I think the only way the MSM will straighten up is if there is a huge outcry against its tabloid nature. Unless there is a real, concerted, united effort by those affected by the tabloid/spin/angle nature to change that, however, it may not happen any time soon.
The Truth will ring true in everyone's heart and it matters not from whose lips it begins it's echo or how it finds it's way to each of us. Speak the Truth and you will be free. Belief is from experience, not idle gossip or desperate needs for fame, judgment or attention. Own your truth about your weaker moments and take responsibilty for the effects and they no longer enslave you with shame or blame. Live your Truth and love without condition and then whatever else is said or written has little meaning or influence. The Truth awakens you to a different world unaffected by lies and greed and indifferent to the fact they they exist without you and are not a part of you.
Well, society-wise, this all started about 1963.
Assassinations tend to lend themselves to 'untruths', and 'known unknowns'.
Then came Tricky Dick
You would not believe how shocked everyone was about Nixon's taping of conversations and such.
It seems absolutely quaint now, huh....wel
And, it all went downhill from there.
The kids who were in school during this time watched the whole scenario play out.
"Never trust anyone over 30."
"Question Authority" (oh, you were BRAVE to put that one on your backpack)
Now, as adults, we find out that our own peers went at this from the 'other side' and have been making hay with this little trip of the brainpan that seems so easy to control.
(I refer you to Orwell's 1984 for particulars).
Now - we all 'get it', and sullen, sobering thoughts make for anger and again - disgust at the situation politicians have placed us as a country and a people.
They've used up their bag of tricks.
We've seen the man behind the curtain.
And, we're not going to take anymore of this.
"Speak truth to power"
"If the people lead, the leaders will follow"
"Think globally, act locally"
Whatup JD? Kinda funny, i just stepped out the pad to cop the new GQ mag with Kanye and decided to grab Young, Rich and Dangerous while I was at Chapters, only to come home to recieve an email notification to this post.
However, I didn't purchase the book because I wanted to clarify the garbage thats spewed by the media. I just wanted to know the story behind your career.
I have to agree, todays media seems to be so focused on sensationlizing everything. Its like the public isnt satisfied with reality anymore, so the media has to blow everything out of proportion and make things controversial in order to stay relevant. You can probably thank "reality" television for some of that desensitizing.
Sure I like to know whats generally going on with my favorite musicians. But being a serious music head, i've never cared for the gossip. If the music is dope, im happy. I'm not one of the many that live vicariously through their celebrity icons. Its a sad state when people ain't bold enough to acheive their own goals and see celebrity lives as a medium to *pretend* as opposed to a medium to *inspire*.
Getting back to the topic at hand, I'm personally one of the publicists for a Billionaire internet/e
A trend I'm seeing more and more lately is big celebrities and public figures (including the CEO i do PR for) is having their own blogs. Though many will still only take this at face value, at least it provides some contrast to the one-sidedness of the media and lets people know that celebs are REAL people too.
Most people find satisfaction in reading or viewing items that corroborate their biases. The audience for most news shows skews white and older.
This group of viewers by and large detest hip hop and the videos that sell it across their cable channels, and they are fearful of its Black fans and its influence on their own white grandchildren.
So comparisons between drug dealers and rap enterpreneurs are welcome there, as is every single instance of rich Black men, such as rap artists or athletes, getting hobbled by ther authorities and brought to heel. Feeds the fear, feeds the hatred, feeds the desire for their punishment. Not so hard to figure out.
Let me just say that if you go around communicating the 'raw uncut' truth anywhere, including on the web, you can get somewhere in the world only by being VERY VERY careful about what raw & uncut truths you communicate.
Get a little more explicit about "invisible" glass walls of underground repression, you get the explicit response of "Wha????" and the comprehensive response that the powers that pee will prevent ANY such challenge, coercively as well as manipulatively, even if discreetly in any case.
What you're describing, Mr Dupri, is indeed a massive problem confronting not only celebrity & entertainment media, but business, political & foreign affairs reportage as well. And it isn't confined to "legitimate" news outlets unquestioningly repeating unverified blog sources & slurs.
As I'm sure you know, in the lead up "justification" to the Iraq War, Judith Miller of the NY Times repeatedly quoted unnamed sources (Chalabi, Curveball etc) who were proven to be outrageous liars. She was in turn then quoted by the Bush Administration as verification that their claims about WMDs, Iraq-alQeda connection, were true. So, a series of total fabrications, primarily from 2 Iraqi ex-pat conmen, get repeated verbatim in the Times, the rest of the media then quotes Miller & so does the US government. And the lies become causus belli. It seems any lie repeated often enough, despite its provenance, eventually gains the appearance of truth.
Modern US media now too often abandons its role as sceptical, fact-checking gate-keepers & investigators, in favour of a partisan/ sensationalist fact-free rumour mongering dressed up as journalism. The Washington Post's pseudo-reportage of Obama ("despite denials") being a secret Muslim, is merely the latest incarnation in this type of despicable drive-by journalism.
See Davis Sweet's Profile
I'm curious as to the motivation behind running not just false stories but clearly concocted stories. Somebody has to decide to create a lie and publish it. What can they possibly gain? Is it specifically to hurt the subject (and, if so, why?)? Is it a commercial thing, like "sister company (whoever) isn't selling enough of this artist, so we have to generate some controversy for them?" Is it some kind of illness? Is any-old-os
Hello Mr. Dupri,
I know you've heard all the usual answers to your questions about why the media is so full of bullshit, so I'm going to briefly describe a possible scientific explanation--which makes sense to me.
Have you ever heard of "mirror" neurons? Here is a link which explains them:
http://en.
These little buggers are why we are who we are--copycats. Yes, the entire race of homo-sapiens are just walking, talking, copycat machines. Our entire realities are formed basically from what we see other people doing. There is no such thing as "truth" in the media, unless we're talking about reports on scientific investigations that adhere strictly to the rules of science.
I know you're an artist, and you probably think there's more to life than just science--and I agree, but we can't escape what our brains are, which are just amazingly complex, intricate copying machines. Original thought is possible, but it will always be based on previous experiences. Original thought is just a new "combination" of unoriginal thoughts, in other words. Just like Rap Music is an outgrowth of earlier musical forms.
The best answer is the answer you've already proposed: just keep telling us your truth, in the best way you can, and others will read it, their mirror neurons will absorb it and process it, and you will have influenced thousands of human brains, whether they like it or not.
Instead of repeating the lie, over and over, until people believe it, let's just keep repeating the truth, and the truth will eventually set us all free.
"Free at last, free at last... thank God almighty, we are FREE at last."
I'm sure you know who said that. Looking forward to your next column on HuffPost.
I think, ultimately, the fault lies within the viewers. We could turn off the bullshit. We could refuse to watch Fox News or MSNBC or CNN and stop our feet till we're blue in the face. But we won't. We can't. Our society has become complacent, sitting on their piles of gold in lives not of luxury, but of complacency. On 9/11, when we were given a real window to change our stars, a real cultural upheaval, a time where we could put deleterious consumerism behind us and start forging together as PEOPLE, rather than a collection of target demographics, we were told that the way to be patriotic was to keep shoppin'.
We can change this, people. Be the change you want to see in the world. Turn off the damn TV. Christmas, the epicenter of decadence in our society, is looming around the corner. I, for one, have instructed my loved ones to donate to charity or their favorite political campaigns in lieu of getting me a present. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, people.. I'M TRYING TO GET ALL OF US TO DO THE SAME.
The more we suckle on the teat of Corporate America, the more starved we become. The more we sit around, doing NOTHING to change the horrible course we're barreling down, the more momentum this slippery sled gains. Journalists don't give a shit what you mean, Jermaine. They want to get people's attention. Wal-Mart isn't looking for the next Edward Murrow to advertise on, they're looking for the next Bill O'Reilly, the next Keith Olbermann (I'm sorry, I love the guy, but he's the liberal incarnation of BillO).
So what do we do? Wean ourselves from Wal-Mart. Put the wallet's away this holiday season. If you're religious and you want to do something for Jesus, volunteer at a food bank, give money to charity. Since when has "thou shalt turn into greedy bastards on the 12th month" moved into the lexicon of socioreligious tenets?
Infotainment sources are always saying something about some celebrity, and even when they are right about some celebritites messed-up life, to the listening public it doesn't matter. If the music is good then the artist can go ahead and be eccentric and neurotic and whatever. Like Michael Jackson--to most people he's truly wierd, but his music is widely loved as well.
Speaking of MUSIC:
What music do the Republicans listen to,
John Phillip Sousa's WAR MARCHES?
By the way, Sousa was a Portuguese IMMIGRANT!!
So we shouldn't be listening to his music
anyway, yes? Hahahaha.
I lack back-ground info. I have no idea about what he said (wrote, I mean), guess I was supposed to, but have no clue. What bad happened to you, friend?
[Wo]ndering whether y'all are as worried as I am about what's been going down in the media world lately.'
BEEN there for years, sir. Media has failed to serve the people for a number of years. I think its related to media consolidation; they 'recite' the words their 'bosses,' BIG business' want us to hear.
Its EXTREMELY troubling, and if you can get it out to those who may not have noticed, well, I for one will be grateful.
My two cents is this. Sadly. It's all about the dollar bill. Ratings trump truth. Newspapers are dying on the vine as Drudge report grows and grows. Drudge himself recently said he doesn't care what source the material is from - that's for the users to discern, not him. But he also admits to not being a journalist or a newsman. He's a dude making big bucks off a website who spends his whole day clipping and pasting what he thinks is interesting. I think the only solace for guys like you, who are in the public eye and want to "keep it real" is that most of us "thinking" people out here, regardless of political affiliation take everything with a grain of salt and check the source material before running around quoting it as fact. As for the ignorants who believe everything they read - what can you do man? Just write a song about it, drop it top 10 and get the last laugh.
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