my final words on the Nick Cannon thing

Last night I made some very loud, angry statements about Nick Cannon's promotional stunts for his forthcoming album, White People Party Music. I thought the title of the album was offensive, much in the way it would be if a white rapper named their album Black People Party Music, but I never thought much of Mr. Cannon to begin with so I let it go. Then I saw he'd dressed-up in whiteface and spoke in a "surfer" voice to further promote the album, and that offended me. As I stated earlier, I spoke very critically of Mr. Cannon and used foul, unintelligent words to do so, though nothing racially degrading as I don't use such language. The worst I said was "Fuck Mr. Mariah Carey", which I think is funnier than it is offensive, though it could be said that I'm denouncing his manhood. In retrospect, I shouldn't have said any of that. Instead I should have articulated my thoughts clearly without rambling angrily. So...

Simply put, it's extremely offensive the way white actors used to dress in blackface to portray stereotypes of black people, most commonly so the studios didn't need to hire black actors to play the roles in question. Of course, exceptions will be mentioned, like Robert Downey, Jr.'s character from Tropic Thunder, it being a twisted parody of Hollywood tropes and stereotypes, but in general, it's racist and wrong. On the other hand, black comedians like Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle dressed in whiteface but always had intelligence and nuance behind their actions, making them funny and something to think about. Even the Wayans Brothers, while not displaying the same depth as Eddie or Dave, still made people laugh. But Nick Cannon is simply mocking white people to sell his record. How is that any better than the long history of white actors dressing in blackface and stealing black actors' work?

This is the internet, and once you say something here it doesn't disappear, no matter what you do. With that said, I regret not having thought through my statements. Regardless, what is done is done. I don't delete my comments so I'll have to live with it, though I'm okay with it as I know I didn't call Mr. Cannon anything offensive or terrible, ala anything racially motivated. If he's offended by being called Mr. Mariah Carey, he's just going to have to bring that up with the whole world. Besides, his album is going to flop and no one will remember it in two weeks.

Yes, I'm still alive.

Just wanted to check in since it's been forever since I updated the blog. I'm more about Twitter these days, though I haven't done much there in recent times. Anyway, I'm reading Marc Wedidenbaum's book on Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II for the 33 1/3 book series, hoping by some stroke of luck my proposal is somehow accepted out of the 410 submitted, looking for work and planning stuff. I may be compiling a very interesting compilation soon. It would be a free release, though it would include printable packaging and hopefully liner notes. Won't say more for now though, as I'm waiting for the delivery or the goods. There is another, rather similar compilation I'm also looking to work on, but I've gotta knock on some doors and get back on the case regarding it. Okay, I'll be back, see you soon!


Dave3