Bill Cosby just released a hip-hop album and although it would not win five mics from The Source, (do they still have enough operating capital to award mics?) it should be required listening for the hip-hop generation for these reasons:
- 1.Whether we agree with BIll Cosby’s approach and rhetoric, he does make very valid points about artists assuming responsibility for the music they put out and audiences demanding quality from the artists they support. With this effort, he is putting his money where his mouth is.
- Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency is not that bad (it’s just not that good either). It features three unknown rappers, but Cos had production assistance from Cedric “Ced Gee” Miller of the ’80s group, the Ultramagnetic MCs, who definitely had skills.
- Cosby has presented a well-thought out concept album that is intended to create dialogue and discussion. He even has town hall type meetings built in to the platform that he is promoting both on and offline. Why didn’t some young head think outside the box enough to come up with this?
- Contemporary artists might want to bite some of his concepts and re-package them in a way so that they might actually get played, listened to and heard.
- We really are in a “state of emergency” and any help in moving us out of it is welcome assistance! –stanley yorker