What an 11 year old told me - 5.31.2007.1

So I was having a conversation with the young son of a friend yesterday. We were speaking about Mind of Mencia which was on at the time. Mr. Carlos Mencia was having another good show, cracking up everyone in the room and then he mentioned that there are no love songs in rap, “except if you count ‘smack my ho’.” Truer words are rarely said.

But the part that caught my interest was what my friends’ son said. “Yeah, that why they created R&B.” Now that got the attention of both his mom and myself. We corrected him that R&B existed long before rap was even a concept in parties in the Bronx. [For those that have no idea, rap was created at house parties in the Bronx back around the late 70’s – early 80’s. In addition, rap was upbeat and about having fun not the current curse-laden repetitive trash.] But it had me wondering. Do kids today really think that R&B is a new form of music. That it’s an offshoot of rap meant to emphasize love songs and the like?

Could it be that the youth now have been so inundated with gansta rap that they have no appreciation or understanding of other forms of music? If that is true, then it’s a severely sad situation. The lack of school music programs seems to have helped limit the exposure kids get today, which equates to limiting the imagination and growth of the next couple of generations of kids. That is never a good thing for any nation.

Or am I just old now? I never equated 39 with ancient, as least not since I was 20. Perhaps this is a normal view and I just don’t get it anymore. I’m sure there are parents about my age out there, with kids around the early teens. What do your kids say?

This is what I think, what do you think?