Black Culture Discussion Thread

[trynafeelmink]

I'm not going to blame alcohol selling on hiphop that would be ridiculous, but we gonna sit here & act as if Diddy, 50 or Jay having liquor and constantly promoting it doesn't lead to more people drinking it?

We can't pick & choose when entertainers are influential or not

 

[Present]

Of course, entertainers are influential - to those who are influenced by entertainers.

People promote goods and services to make profits for themselves.

It's called marketing and advertising.

They owe us nothing.

This guy ain't promoting car repair scams for nothing

 

[finessence]

People drink and smoke because they want to. Not because of celebrities.

 

[finessence]

Of course, entertainers are influential - to those who are influenced by entertainers.

People promote goods and services to make profits for themselves.

It's called marketing and advertising.

They owe us nothing.

This guy ain't promoting car repair scams for nothing

The ARMY promotes joining the service and benefits….. but never specify that you may never even survive to reap said benefits!

Those commercials never show people getting their leg getting blown off by a landmine

 

[finessence]

“Wealthy” Tom Selleck out here promoting reverse mortgages.
They got this man who’s made millions of dollars, out here promoting giving your home away.

Why would Tom Selleck ever need to take out a reverse mortgage? He down bad like that?

No. Media is all propaganda and they prey on the weak. Tom Selleck out here promoting elderly abuse

I wish it would be illegal for public companies to have the comment sections of YouTube closed

 

[Raji Lowenthal]

I'm not going to blame alcohol selling on hiphop that would be ridiculous, but we gonna sit here & act as if Diddy, 50 or Jay having liquor and constantly promoting it doesn't lead to more people drinking it?

We can't pick & choose when entertainers are influential or not

Of course it does. They hire people that look like you or me to get them to relate to the brand. Brands pay them so they can get paid. Ciroc for ex.

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

I'm not going to blame alcohol selling on hiphop that would be ridiculous, but we gonna sit here & act as if Diddy, 50 or Jay having liquor and constantly promoting it doesn't lead to more people drinking it?

We can't pick & choose when entertainers are influential or not

If the general argument is that alcohol is promoted and advertised too much, then I 100% agree.

But I don’t think that Black people are drinking MORE because of Diddy, Jay, etc. They have influence in the brand or type ppl may buy, but I highly doubt there’s any correlation to the amount a specific demographic drinks.

 

[Raji Lowenthal]

If the general argument is that alcohol is promoted and advertised too much, then I 100% agree.

But I don’t think that Black people are drinking MORE because of Diddy, Jay, etc. They have influence in the brand or type ppl may buy, but I highly doubt there’s any correlation to the amount a specific demographic drinks.

Black people might not be drinking more but the brands are selling more which is what they trying to do.

If alcohol is promoted and advertised too much but people aren't drinking more because of it, what's wrong with them celebs getting they're bread up?

 

[Present]

TBH a person's peer group has significantly more influence/impact on them than any celebrity/entertainer ever would.

Folks don't even want to play certain music they love around their friends.

 

[TSCQ]

 

[HankHill]

I'm not going to blame alcohol selling on hiphop that would be ridiculous, but we gonna sit here & act as if Diddy, 50 or Jay having liquor and constantly promoting it doesn't lead to more people drinking it?

We can't pick & choose when entertainers are influential or not

Whats the issue? Diddy promoting Ciroc made more people want to drink Ciroc. If he didn't, folks would still drink Vodka. You think Black people only drink Circoc, Casamigos Henny and Dusse?

 

[trynafeelmink]

fam i'm not going through this anymore if ya'll refuse to see CLEARLY how black celebrities have a direct impact on the trends in the black community then so be it

 

[Present]

What would happen to the black community if black celebrities/rappers/artists agreed to endorse going to the gym, fasting/eating healthy, drinking water, and living a drug/alcohol-free life?

 

[young safari]

^^ They can but their music wouldn't be promoted by the people in charge, the "gatekeepers" Ice Cube was talking about

 

[tokes99]

What would happen to the black community if black celebrities/rappers/artists agreed to endorse going to the gym, fasting/eating healthy, drinking water, and living a drug/alcohol-free life?

maybe more folk would hop on the wave, the the superficialness of ig is kinda an example as there people that have gained decent compensation, influence, & status, via promoting all the above and some have shifted to being more health conscious (and the younger cohorts are actually much less into drinking & drugging) but most people ain’t going…because that stuff can be difficult & isn’t sexy, on the front end at least.

it’s undeniable that athletes, entertainers, celebrities, people of stature, etc. have influence and set trends that the masses eventually follow, that being the case the much the ‘negativity’ that many are critical of is rooted in some natural appeal to our indulgences, be it convenience, status, entertainment, distraction, etc., so it’s debatable how & what would change if the incentives don’t change as well

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

What would happen to the black community if black celebrities/rappers/artists agreed to endorse going to the gym, fasting/eating healthy, drinking water, and living a drug/alcohol-free life?

I think the impact would be negligible if those endorsements don't include significant investment into Black neighborhoods to provide affordable healthy food, gyms, substance abuse treatment, etc.

General health and socioeconomic status have a direct link. Celebrity influence means nothing if you can't even get to a grocery store that sells decent produce.

 

[HankHill]

As far as brand marketing goes, we have a lot of Black Celebrities that promote healthy lifestyles.

Will and Jaden are promoting water. Steph Curry was promoting Brita filters and Subway. Rick Ross was even promoting CrossFit at one point, but still shows himself working out on his IG.

People still complained because, they “don’t have the time and money to workout and eat healthy” like these celebrities.

Just like with alcohol, if people want to partake they will and vice versa. Endorsing is only one part of the equation.

 

[Present]

It's sad we even having this conversation.

Can't imagine our ancestors looking down on us complaining about what a Black celebrity got going on

Watkins ought to be ashamed of himself.

 

[HankHill]

If the Black celebrity collective only endorsed alcohol, he'd have a point. If your uncles and cousins were alcoholics because of celebs and not because they were depressed or out of work, he'd have a point. None of that is true though.

Diddy ran a marathon with a mohawk to raise money for kids then told ****** vote or die. This was before Ciroc. If folks only chose to drink, but not participate in the former, thats a reflection on them not rappers.

 

[Quincy McCall]

A colleague of mine from Florida-- I don't share all of her sentiments, but wonder where the thread sits when it comes to Pan-africanism?

As there are various forms of Pan-africanism. I can't really relate to the kind that rejects electoralism or the history of African Americans being tied to our overall history, but I do wonder about our political goals (regardless of whether the American experiment fails or not)

 

[Mark Antony]

Y’all really downplaying the ***** that is life in the name of celebrity. (Not saying they don’t have influence)

 

[Mark Antony]

A colleague of mine from Florida-- I don't share all of her sentiments, but wonder where the thread sits when it comes to Pan-africanism?

As there are various forms of Pan-africanism. I can't really relate to the kind that rejects electoralism or the history of African Americans being tied to our overall history, but I do wonder about our political goals (regardless of whether the American experiment fails or not)

Semi-related, but I feel I never hear much about pan Africanism from Africans.

 

[Quincy McCall]

Semi-related, but I feel I never hear much about pan Africanism from Africans.

This too... I'm not very well-versed, but it's part of our political-sphere

 

[gry60]

Semi-related, but I feel I never hear much about pan Africanism from Africans.

Get Nigerians and Ghanaians to argue about jollof rice, and you'll see why pan-Africanism stops at the Atlantic coast.

 

[Mark Antony]

I bet. I’m just curious, you have this giant continent with various cultures, beliefs etc and folks over here are just like “Africa!”