When the cast of the Academy Award winning movie, Crash, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss the movie, rapper/ actor, Ludacris’ comments were heavily edited. That’s no surprise… Ms. Winfrey has taken a strong public stance against Hip-Hop music and only consented to his being on the show because he was coming on as an actor. In the May issue of GQ, Ludacris gets to tell his side of the story, and what he says really makes sense. He remembers feeling like he was in the home of someone who didn’t want him there. The clincher, though, is that he questions Oprah’s willingness to interview comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle while she refuses to allow rappers to come on her show unless they are coming to discuss a professional venture not involved with their music. The comedians speak in the same type of language about the same subject matter as many rappers do. The only difference is that they use another mode of expression.
A couple of weeks ago, Karrine Steffans appeared on Oprah's show as a part of a show titled ‘Stupid Girls’ that discussed the imagery of women in popular culture and featured an interview with Pink, who called attention to the issue with her most recent single. Ms. Steffans, dubbed “Superhead” (and not because she’s smart) by some of hip-hop’s elite, made a living during the 90’s as a video vixen, behind-the-scenes prostitute and porn actress. Last year, she gained mainstream notoriety by releasing a tell-all book on her life with the who’s who of hip-hop. In the book, entitled Confessions of a Video Vixen, she detailed her sexual exploits with rappers, singers and athletes, stirring mixed feelings among the hip-hop community.
I bet Luda wishes he could have done that GQ interview after the “Stupid Girls” Episode aired. From what I hear, he’s even more upset now that Oprah’s willing to give platform to a former prostitute and perpetuator of those lyrics she criticizes.
Posted by Nafi Saboor on April 21, 2006 3:48 PM
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