Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis isn’t shy about voicing his opinion. The New Orleans native was instrumental in getting Confederate statues removed in his hometown. Now he’s speaking out about something he feels is even more damaging to the Black community – rap music.
Marsalis, who is the first jazz musician to receive a Pulitzer Prize, served up an honest opinion about rap during a recent interview with Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post.
“My words are not that powerful. I started saying in 1985 I don’t think we should have a music talking about ni***rs and b*tches and hoes,” the jazz legend said. “It had no impact. I’ve said it. I’ve repeated it. I still repeat it.”
“To me, that’s more damaging than a statue of Robert E. Lee,” Marsalis continued.
Marsalis was brutal in his opinion about rap music and its destructive impact on his community as he continued speaking to The Washington Post reporter.
“I feel that that’s much more of a racial issue than taking Robert E. Lee’s statue down,” he continued. “There’s more n****rs in that [music] than there is in Robert E. Lee’s statue.”
The musician pointed out that minstrel shows were long ago pointed out as racist, but now rap music does the same amount of damage and possibly even more. The language in rap music is often violent and derogatory towards other Blacks and particularly demeaning towards women.
“It’s just like the toll the minstrel show took on black folks and on white folks,” he stated. “Now, all this ‘n****r this,’ ‘b*tch that,’ ‘hoe that,’ that’s just a fact at this point.”
Marsalis is a highly decorated and respected musician. He received the National Medal of the Arts and the National Humanities Medal. He also is an NEA Jazz Master. He is very well regarded in the music industry and in the Black community as well.
He got quite a lot of blowback regarding his comments. Marsalis took to Facebook to further explain himself. The jazz legend did not back down.
“At 56, I’m pretty sure I will not be alive when our country and the world (of all races and persuasions) no longer accepts being entertained by the pathology of Black Americans and others who choose to publicly humiliate themselves for the appetites of those who don’t share the same ongoing history and challenges,” he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.
His comments about rap music should be heard. He’s right. The language doesn’t do any favors to those who listen to the music. Instead, it feeds into a culture of violence and disrespect.
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Source: Daily Wire
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