You guys...I'm going to be so honest. It's going to take a while for this magazine to get started LOL. I already made the flyer, but it's taking a while to get engagement with it, so I don't have a filmmaker to interview just yet. In the meantime, I'm going to try and write some articles for the blog. There are a few trends I wanted to discuss with you guys, so those will be coming out soon! 🙂‍↕️

Filmmakers Needed for Interviews! 📹✨

     Hey everyone! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm currently working on my first magazine! For my project, one of the things I want to focus on is interviewing a filmmaker! Here's a flyer I made for context! 

    As a creative, I decided to take on a slightly bigger project, and I feel really good about it! I'm getting my interview questions ready, still deciding the layout of the magazine, and I'm trying to find people to interview so I can highlight other POC artists. I want to talk to people about their stories with art and how they grew over the years. For this issue, I want to interview three types of artists: a visual artist, a musician, and a filmmaker. So far, I thankfully have a visual artist and a musician I'll be interviewing; all that's left is me finding a filmmaker. So, this is why I made the flyer! 

    I felt I might as well post it here also. So, if anyone is a filmmaker, meets all of the requirements listed, and is interested, please reach out to me on my TikTok account. You guys can also contact me using the forum at the bottom left of the site; either way is fine with me! When I finally choose who I'll be interviewing, I'll discuss the interview process with you and show the questions I'll be asking. Anyway, thanks for hearing me out, and I'll be sure to update you all soon! 

LINKS: /[◉"]＼_・)

• TikTok ☆

Creativity & Magazine Plans!

     

(This is completely unrelated to the article, but it was one of the videos I found when I was learning how to make my magazine. You guys should still check this out!)

    Hey everyone! I wanted to talk about my future plans for the blog! 

    I don't think I ever mentioned it on the website, but I plan on making a magazine connected to the blog. I don't have a solid idea of what the magazine would be about, but I want music to be involved in some way. I wanted to take the first few months to get used to blogging and see how I felt about it before doing other projects. Right now, I feel everything's okay; I like having a social media presence, I like coming up with writing ideas and sharing them (even though I only have three official articles right now), and I like the fact that I gave myself the space to be creative. Honestly, having this much support makes me want to dive even deeper into my artistry...and I feel comfortable enough to pursue a different project now! 

    At first, I didn't know exactly what I wanted the magazine to be; I didn't know what I wanted it to represent, and I didn't know what theme I would give it. So, the idea of making the magazine stayed in the back of my mind for a while. I took the time to focus on my social media, hopefully getting some engagement, and I worried about the legal matters of the website. I think around that time, I started getting ideas on what I wanted to do. I won't share the theme right now, because I haven't started working on the magazine yet (so technically, nothing is official), but I will tell you that this first issue means a lot to me. I'm going to put a lot of time and effort into what I'm making, and I'm beyond excited for it. During my time off, I was reading other magazines, seeing what other publications have done, and I noticed how much attention was dedicated to the project. So, I want to give that same, if not more, care and dedication. I'm going to be getting out of my comfort zone; I'm going to be taking photos of myself/getting back into photography, interviewing people, designing a semi-serious project, and doing most of the work myself. On the outside, it sounds like a lot to do and exhausting, but it's something that I look forward to doing. As anti-social as I am, I look forward to interviewing people, and as shy as I am, I'm excited to make that magazine cover and take multiple other photos for the sake of the project. I guess everything feels so good because it gives me full creative control, and it's a new challenge that doesn't sound so draining. I hate to bring the mood down, but it's been a while since I was this excited about something. Taking the time to actually invest in my hobbies is a fun thing to do, and before this point, I wasn't able to do that. Everything aside, I want this project to do well, and I want people to see it. 

    Anyway, that's all I wanted to say for today. I want to find artists to interview, so I'll be posting a flyer soon on my TikTok for anyone who's interested. I think I just wanted to ramble today because my last few posts have just been announcements and serious stuff; I felt like the blog needed to get more lighthearted again LMAO. Seriously, I'll be sure to update you guys another time, and thanks for listening! 

Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, & Terms and Conditions!

     Hey everyone! I wanted to go ahead and make another announcement. 

• We now have Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms and Conditions pages for the blog. I know the likelihood of anyone reading it is super low, but it's nice to have. Also, I learned, if you want to have a (serious) blog, those pages are required. So I'm glad I got it done. If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll be able to read them if you'd like. I used a template for all of them for anyone wondering. 
• Now that I've handled the legal matters for the blog, I can relax LMAO. No, seriously, I feel good knowing I can just focus on creating again. There will definitely be an article coming out soon. 
• This is random, but I'm thinking of making a logo for the website. It's just an idea, so I'm not entirely sure if I'll go through with it. I'll talk more about that another time! 
• I'm still working on ideas for the magazine, and it's still in the works. It's going to take a while for it to be released, but I wanted to let you guys know I'm getting closer to the goal. 

    Anyway, that's all I had to tell you guys. I'll be sure to update you soon! <(￣︶￣)>

Updates for 11/4/25 ☆

     Hey everyone! I'm currently working on the legal parts of the website (finalizing it basically), and it's honestly so irritating, but I know it needs to be done. I think once I'm finally done with the website, I'll have more creative freedom and more time to write, so I can stop stressing out. 

(So, for anyone wondering why I haven't made anything, I'm working on the behind-the-scenes stuff.)

Anyway, once I get the serious parts of the website done, I'll be able to dedicate myself fully to the blog. So I can't wait lmao. Also, I'm working on some more projects to show you guys, but I think that's everything. I'll update you guys again soon! 
(* ^ ω ^)

November Announcements! ☆

     Hey everyone! I hope you guys are doing well. I just have a few announcements to share for this month: 

1. The new album of the month is Throwing Bows by Monaleo! I was thinking of what I wanted the album to be for this month, but I remembered she released a new album recently. I wanted to listen to that, but I realized I never listened to Throwing Bows, so I did last night. Dude, almost every song from that album is stuck in my head. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement. So, with this being said, I felt it was best to make this album of the month. Also, if you haven't listened to it yet, this is me pushing you guys to LMAO. 
2. There is a new film of the month for the BSF Monthly showcase! For this month, I picked a documentary that highlights the community of black skaters and talks about finding people with similar interests. I would love for you guys to check it out! Also, if you just like skating, I'd recommend watching it anyway. The production is really nice, and I feel the film deserves more attention. 
3. I made a playlist on YouTube for the previous - and future - films of the BSF Monthly showcase. I'll link it down below in case anyone wants to binge the film or missed the film from October. 
4. I will continue to write some stuff for the blog, and along with this, come up with some ideas for the magazine I plan on making. Don't get me wrong, the magazine won't be available any time soon. However, it's just nice to plan and find my style. Plus, I think it'll be worth it in the end. I'll give more updates on the magazine another time. 

    Anyway, I think that's it for the announcements of the month. More projects and articles will be coming soon, of course. In case something changes, I'll update you guys in the future. Enjoy yourselves with the album and short film this month! ★

☆ BSF Monthly Watchlist: The Playlist ☆

Here's the playlist I made for the BSF Monthly movies! Check it out if you want to binge or watch a previous featured film! 

Chapter 1: Watches

 Poster was made on Canva!

(None of these photos are mine)

    When I finally got a sense of my style, I started to get used to the pieces of clothing I liked and what type of style fit me the most. Overall, I’d say my fashion journey is doing okay. Do I have my “dream closet?” No, but I have a better idea of what I want, and I’m slowly working towards that goal. Honestly, I think I’m doing well. I’m carrying myself a bit better, I put more time into my appearance, and now I’m finally wearing what I want to wear. However, there was a problem; I found a lot of my outfits to be a bit bland. Yeah, I could match colors pretty well and find clothes that were comfortable and stylish, but my outfits were still uninteresting. After looking for fashion inspiration online, I realized what the problem was. I lacked accessories. At the end of the day, my outfit was never going to look cool to me because I was just wearing clothes, not accessories. When getting into fashion, you’ll quickly learn that accessories can always elevate an outfit. Accessories can make an outfit slightly bolder, more colorful, stylish, or whatever word you’d like to use. Accessories don’t necessarily make the outfit; they add the finishing touches. Even so, I know not everyone can just buy a bunch of accessories at once, so we’re going to start small. We can build our collection from the ground up, and today, I wanted to start with watches.  

    Now, before we start, I actually used to wear a watch all the time. Through my high school years, I had a Series 3 rose gold Apple Watch that my parents got for me. I would always change the band because when my style changed, the watch did too. However, a year after I graduated, I decided to get an Android phone. So, naturally, I couldn’t use the watch anymore. It’s still sitting on my shelf right now, actually. Now, we could discuss how Apple makes it difficult for people to leave the “ecosystem,” but that’s a conversation for another day. The point is, I missed wearing a watch. A long time had passed before I started thinking about watches again, though, but I think I know what happened. I started getting into fashion - my type of fashion - studying the styles I liked, and seeing how streetwear looked in different eras. During my research, one of the main things I noticed was that people in the 80s and 90s would always have something on their wrist, usually a watch. I mean, streetwear aside, traditional watches used to be popular in every fashion community. Some watches come in various styles, colors, sizes, and bands, each designed for a specific type of person. So, don’t feel like you have to get a watch with a certain style. Find a watch that you like. Also, I’m not saying dress like someone would in the 90s. I’m saying there’s nothing wrong with keeping up older fashion styles. 

    Another thing, watches don’t have to be expensive. You don’t need an expensive watch to “look cool.” I know there are popular brands like Rolex and…okay, I’ll be honest. I don’t know that many brands. My point is, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars for the sake of fashion. The other day, when I went out to buy my first watch, I didn’t plan on spending more than $20. Which ended up working out for me, because I found a nice watch that fit my style and was $11. Places like thrift stores, JCPenney, Walmart, and Depop have super affordable watches that are also nice to wear. There’s no need to be ashamed of affordability; watches are for everyone. 

However, I realized I haven’t actually talked about watches yet, just my history with them. Why should you wear a watch anyway? First of all, and I cannot stress this enough, watches look cool. Look, you can’t tell me that every single watch is ugly. As I mentioned before, there are so many kinds of watches with different colors and styles. I feel everyone is bound to find a watch that fits them. Another thing about watches is that they can elevate your style. Having something on your wrist, such as a watch, can make your outfit more interesting and stylish. Lastly, watches are just useful. Seriously, style aside, it’s convenient to just look at your wrist and know the time. You don’t have to constantly pull out your phone every time someone asks you, “What time is it?” Sometimes you have to reach into your pocket or your bag when you could just look at your wrist. There, less time is spent! Style doesn’t have to only focus on looks; comfort and convenience can also be considered. Also, I know having a watch doesn’t make that big of a difference, but little details like the ones I described can make subtle changes to an outfit. Plus, the more subtle changes you make to an outfit, the more your appearance will become fully elevated. 

    Now, I know I just rambled about watches for a few minutes, but you don’t actually have to wear a watch. Some people don’t even like wearing watches, thinking they’re a bit bulky or don’t look nice. Some people don’t like the way watches feel on their wrists, so I understand there’s a sensory aspect to it. That’s completely fine. My intention in writing this was not to force you to wear a watch anyway. My point in saying all of this was to show that accessories can help upgrade your style a little bit, starting with adding stuff on your wrist. Watches might not be for you, but maybe wristbands, bracelets, or copper bands are. When I was researching accessories in different eras, people in the 90s weren’t just wearing watches; they had a lot of accessories on their wrists. People who are into fashion today still have accessories on their wrists that aren’t watches. However, watches are the most popular, and I recently bought one. So, that’s why I decided to write about them. This journal is mostly for me to document ways that I upgraded my own style, potentially sharing them with others…but my style is not your style. If you feel watches aren’t for you, don’t wear them. Still, I have to admit it was fun to talk about watches. Thank you all for listening! 

- CD ★

    Hi!!! I'm currently working on the first journal entry for the fashion journal...it might take a little while for me to make, but I just wanted to let you guys know it was happening. Also, I'll mostly be talking about MY experiences with fashion while also trying to encourage people to elevate their style. So for the journal, my style of writing will be a bit different. 

    That's all I wanted to let you know. I'll give more updates soon! (⌒▽⌒)☆

Fashion & Writer's Block: Some Announcements

    Hi everyone! Sorry, I've been gone for a while. I wanted to talk to you guys about some things. I have a few announcements! 

    First of all, I hope you all enjoyed my first two pieces (How Hating Rap is Anti-Black and When Did You Fall in Love with Hip-Hop). It took a while to write both of those, and I appreciate the love they received. Honestly, I'm realizing all of my essays might take a while for me to make. I always expect to finish everything I write in one day, but that's never the case lol. I also have more projects coming up for this blog that I wanted to talk about today. 

    In my older piece, I talked about being introduced to different subcultures such as skateboarding culture and graffiti. Something I didn't mention was that it also introduced me to different types of fashion, mostly streetwear. After I graduated high school, I've been trying to upgrade my style, get more inspiration, and find pieces that fit who I am. Lately, I've been able to put more time into my style and discover things that I'm into, so I want to talk about them on the blog as well. I plan on making a new page, specifically for fashion. For right now, I named the page "CD's Fashion Journal," but I feel it's too basic...but also, I can't come up with anything else. That might just be the official name LMAO. If the name changes, you guys will be the first to know. I think making a space to talk about fashion will fully encourage me to start taking my style seriously instead of just daydreaming. I say that because the amount of times I've made Pinterest boards and vision boards dedicated to fashion? The amount of times I've simply dreamed about having my "dream closet," but not actually contributing to MAKING the dream closet? Yeah, I don't find it surprising that I want to change that. I hope I don't say this too much, but I think doing this will give me the opportunity to explore my passions more. I personally think it'll be fun! However, I don't want to get too excited because I haven't actually written anything for the fashion journal yet. Right now, it's just an idea and it'll take a while to make it official. 

    Also, another reason I've been gone is because I've been working on my social media pages lol. I've been on TikTok to be more specific. I originally thought I wasn't going to keep TikTok for long, but I ended up liking that app the most. If anything, I hated Instagram more than I expected. Now, it's so hard to get numbers and attention on Instagram, it's not even funny anymore. The algorithm completely sucks. Anyway, I've been making my slideshows on there and trying to get more people to come to the blog. So far, it's been working really well (and if you're here from TikTok, welcome to the blog). To be completely honest, TikTok will probably be one of the main platforms I'm on aside from the actual blog itself. I think I'll also keep doing the slideshows on my TikTok page too, they were fun to make. 

    Anyway, I think that's everything. Again, I'm sorry for being gone for so long. I'll try to give the blog some love too instead of just TikTok lol. Thank you guys for listening! ★

"When Did You Fall in Love with Hip-Hop?" by CD

 Context: The question is a quote from the movie Brown Sugar (2002)

    For me to make a blog partially dedicated to rap music and hip-hop culture, the very least I could do is share my story with it. What made me fall in love with hip-hop? Why do I like it so much? What is so good about hip-hop that I feel the need to write about it? At first, I intended to talk about my first experience with hip-hop, how I listened to my dad playing good kid, m.A.A.d city in his car, and it was my first time hearing it. I could also talk about how playing so many video games introduced me to rap as well…or how rap has been my favorite genre since I was a little kid. Even though those moments contributed to it, it’s not what made me fall in love with hip-hop. Actually, I didn’t fall in love with hip-hop until my senior year of high school. When I was a bit younger, I had an uncle who was constantly collecting movies until the day he died. I vividly remember him having bags and boxes full of DVDs, movies of all genres, and all decades. So, when he passed, his movie collection stayed at my dad’s house. My dad would take a movie to watch occasionally, but for the most part, his collection was untouched. After a while, my parents were unsure of what to do with his things, possibly giving stuff away or putting things in storage. I think at that point, I decided to take a few of his movies, one of them being Straight Outta Compton (2015). 

    If I’m being honest, I feel a bit foolish to say a movie made me fall in love with hip-hop, but it’s partially true. It was a movie about N.W.A and their rise to fame. We could also discuss how the movie is partially inaccurate and disrespects Eazy-E, but that’s an essay for another time. The movie was great at teaching people the history of the group and inspired me to research more about them. Now, when I become interested in topics, I like learning as much about them as I can. That’s when everything else happened; I started watching video essays, interviews, searching for magazines, reading about them, and listening to some of their music. Needless to say, they quickly became my favorite rap group. However, it wasn’t just N.W.A that I liked. Learning about N.W.A ended up introducing me to other artists from the ‘80s and ‘90s. It went from N.W.A to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, then DJ Quik, then Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy, De La Soul, E-40, Nas, Roxanne Shante, and eventually, I was only listening to hip-hop for the sake of my research. It didn’t take me long to figure out it was no longer research; I was fully invested in rap music. Hearing so many forms of poetry, being introduced to different subcultures in rap, and listening to different instrumentals? It made me feel emotions I never felt with other genres before. Not to mention this was before I started listening to newer rappers and hearing more modern versions of rap music. I started listening to albums by Doechii, Tyler, The Creator, and Kendrick Lamar, learning how everyone has a different way of presenting their art and poetry. Honestly, I hope everyone has a genre of music that gives them that same feeling. I want everyone to have a music genre that they love learning about and listening to. It’s just for me; that genre is hip-hop…and maybe I like it a bit too much. I remember sitting in my anatomy class, listening to Eazy-E on the school laptop. Thinking about it now, I don’t know how N.W.A’s music made it through the guidelines lol. 

My little research period also helped me realize something: hip-hop was deeply tied to a lot of the video games I played. Games like Grand Theft Auto V and San Andreas, Watch Dogs 2, and Skate 3 would have their own radio stations that I would have on repeat every time I turned on my console. Then, movies that I would watch, like Brown Sugar, Black Panther, and recently Straight Outta Compton, would have a mostly hip-hop soundtrack. Before I realized it, most of my interests involved rap music in some way, shape, or form. Additionally, learning about hip-hop culture introduced me to subcultures, such as graffiti and skateboarding culture. The culture quickly became a part of my life, and in simpler terms, I love it so much that I feel the need to constantly discuss it. There are so many things that I love that I haven’t written about yet. Along with that, there are so many things I haven’t discovered that I would probably love to write about. I felt that making this blog would allow me to do those things: talking about the hip-hop that I know and finding new parts of the culture to talk about. The only difference is now, I’ll potentially have an audience who shares similar interests. I would love to thank everyone for the support I got on my first essay. I didn’t know at the time that I would make an entire blog as a result; I just knew I wanted people to hear what I had to say, and I appreciate you guys very much. Thankfully, the website is up and running, but I want to use this blog as an opportunity to pursue my interests, while giving you all the opportunity to read about them. I would love to have your support in my mini blog journey, and hopefully, I can give you guys entertainment in return. Needless to say, I’m proud of this blog and can’t wait for what else comes next! 

- CD ★

Announcement for 10/11/25 ☆

 Hey! I have a few announcements for today, and I wanted to share with you guys! 

1. I finally posted a slideshow on my Instagram and TikTok (recently made that account too), so I could bring more people to the blog. I don't know if I'll keep TikTok as of right now, so I didn't link it to the website (yet). Let's hope for the best honestly lol. 

2. I added a new tab on the website titled "BSF Monthly" (Black Short Films), which will be dedicated to showing short films - maybe even longer - made by black creatives. I got this idea because I was on TikTok, going through my old saves, and found a short film that I never took the time to watch. In simpler words, I saved it and forgot. When I actually did watch the movie today, I ended up enjoying it and wanted to share it with someone...But I don't know anyone personally who is into that specific thing. Not to mention the short film that I watched came out a year ago. So I thought, "Why not just show it on the website?" considering I plan on discussing movies and TV in the future anyway. So now we have BSF Monthly lmao! I'll finish up decorating the page, and I'll make sure to put the film in there tomorrow...and after that, I'll try to find a new film every month to put in that section. So be on the lookout for that, please!

3. I also have a mini piece that is coming out tomorrow! It'll be a small essay of me talking about how I started getting into hip-hop culture and my small history with it. It's not as long as my first piece, but it's still something I wanted to share. So yes, there are a couple of things happening tomorrow to be on the lookout for. 🤭

Anyway, I think those are all the announcements for today! I'll be sure to update soon. 

Announcement for 10/8/25 ☆

     Hey! I hope everyone is doing good. I have a few announcements to share with everyone: 

1. I am happy to announce that I officially bought the ".com" domain, so the site is finally mine. I successfully bought my little spot on the internet. Also, the new name of the website is www.cdthenet.com instead of "blogspot.com" 😌

2. We will not be having a session on Skate 6 Radio for a few weeks. I want to get more attention for the blog before I establish everything else. I also want to change my schedule for the sessions anyway. 

3. I want to take some time to start writing again because I only have one essay on here. I've been doing everything BUT writing, so I want to take some time for myself...like get my creative juices going or something lol! 

    That's it for right now. I'll be sure to update you guys another time! ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

Update for 10/3/25 ☆

     Hey everyone! First off, I am happy to announce that the first essay, How Hating Rap is Anti-Black,  has been released, and I would love for you guys to check it out. Second, I want everyone to know that I'm still working on a few things for the blog. Considering we just finished making the radio station and the schedule, I want to plan a few music events soon...so I'll be working on planning more things. I'm having a lot of fun with all of this; I'll be honest, lol! I'll be adding another tab at the top of the website named "Events" where we can plan digital music events (most likely the end of this year and next year). I'll give more updates soon, but other than that, that's everything I have to tell you! XD

- Side Note: The first listening session for Skate 6 Radio will be this Tuesday from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM CST. See you guys there! 

How Hating Rap is Anti-Black: A Quick Discussion

 

    As someone who recently started reading and listening to discussions of music, I couldn’t help but notice a certain pattern. When it comes to the discussion of rap & hip-hop, I’ve noticed the music and artists are more criticized and sometimes disrespected compared to artists in other genres. I kept wondering why this was the case for a while until I came across a YouTuber named who is isaiah? (Please check him out.) He made a video discussing people going out of their way to take the rap verses out of pop songs and upload them as a “No rap version” on YouTube, and how weird some of the comments were on those videos. He was also explaining how some of the comments either came across as racist or simply were, also talking about how taking out the rap verses can be racially motivated, but I want to go even further. I want to explain how deeply disliking rap music as a whole can be anti-black. I also want to thank him for sparking this topic. 

    Now, obviously, simply not liking rap isn’t inherently racist. It can even be as simple as music taste and preference. Not to mention, there are several genres of music that people can’t get themselves to enjoy for various reasons. I’ll even use myself as an example. I can’t get myself to listen to a lot of country music because I don’t like the sound of a lot of country songs. Some people simply don’t like the sound of rap music, and that is okay. Maybe some of the instrumentals aren’t for you, or you don't like heavy lyricism. However, that is not the problem. The problem is when people go out of their way to prove that they don’t like rap music or go out of their way to explain why they don’t like it using phrases such as: 

• “I listen to everything but rap.” Depending on the tone being used, this isn’t always a bad statement. Maybe someone’s asking about your music taste, and this is how you respond. However, tone does matter. Expressing an almost disgust towards hip-hop is a bit concerning. 
• “Rap is violent.” or “Rap is inappropriate.” I hope I don’t have to explain why those are bad statements. 
• “I didn’t like rap until I listened to K-pop.” Which is a very…unique thing to say and will be discussed later. 
• “Rap isn’t real music/art.” Again, it will be discussed later. 
• “All they rap about is guns/money/women/violence/sex/literally any other highly stereotypical thing.” By “they,” you already know who people are referring to, letting you know someone’s thought process when those words are said. 

    Again, simply not liking rap is one thing and is absolutely fine, but it becomes a problem when someone goes out of their way to say they hate it or uses phrases like these to explain themselves. The reason this is a problem is because it’s not needed. Simply saying you don’t like rap is enough. Simply saying I don’t like country music is enough. There’s no need for me to say something like “I don’t like country because all they sing about is beer/women/trucks.” It’s an unfair generalization, no matter how much you think the statement is true. It’s also just foolish to say. 

    Now, are there rappers that talk about violence, sex, money, drugs, women, and everything else in between? Yes. Absolutely. Of course. As much as I love N.W.A., Insane Clown Posse, Freddie Dredd, and DJ Quik, I can’t deny that they talk about violent things in their music. However, not only are there several other rappers that don’t talk about those things, but rappers aren’t the only ones who do it. To make it seem as if rappers are the only violent ones in music is an inherently racist opinion. Another thing that bothers me is that a lot of people will dislike rap for being violent or disturbing, but will listen to something like Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People or Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish with no issue (nothing is wrong with either of those songs, just using them as examples). Is it that rap is too violent, or do you just not like who is saying the words? 

    The “only rappers talk about drugs and sex” is also an invalid statement because once again, they aren’t the only ones that do it. Not to mention, this is also an unfair generalization. Acting as if rap is the only genre that talks about drugs and/or sex when we have artists such as Jhené Aiko, Summer Walker, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande (especially the Positions album), SZA, H.E.R., and The Internet is a very idiotic take (love all of their music by the way). If I were to give specific examples from each artist, this essay would be longer than it already is. However, I encourage you to listen to some of their music to prove my point. Also, again, there are several artists in the music space that don’t discuss these things. 

    Also, to say that you didn’t like rap until you were introduced to K-pop says a lot, considering a lot of K-pop music is inspired by black artists and black culture. One of the main examples that comes to mind is Tinashe and her impact on a lot of current K-pop girl groups. I will link a video of someone discussing the topic way better than I can if anyone is interested. Along with this, a lot of famous rappers in K-pop groups have talked about their inspiration coming from black artists. A couple of examples include RM from BTS with his interview with Billboard and discussing how Nas and Drake had inspired him. He even discussed how hearing Drake rap and sing in his songs gave him inspiration as an artist. We could also use Jennie from BLACKPINK talking about her and her group members being inspired by TLC, and even doing karaoke in a car with James Corden. Additionally, several well-known K-pop songs sound similar to popular songs by black artists, as well as certain Korean rappers having similar cadences to black rappers in the U.S. My point is, liking Korean rap is fine; however, it’s okay to admit that Korean rappers have used or even stolen ideas from black culture. 

    Lastly, to say that rap isn’t real music or art is a highly unintelligent statement. As I am writing this, I tried to research different opinions. Why do people think rap isn’t considered art? One of the main reasons I am seeing is that there is a lack of melody in a lot of rap songs. Of course, there were other opinions I read online, but they came across as disrespectful and will not be discussed. I want to say that rapping alone is considered an art. Something I want to remind people when it comes to this is that rap is poetry. If we want to look at it simply, all rappers are poets. It doesn’t matter how serious or silly the words are, nor does it matter who is saying them. All rappers are poets. Poetry alone is a form of art. Along with this, many rappers have the skill of saying their words a certain way over an instrumental, calling this a flow and cadence. Having a flow that sounds nice over an instrumental can always be considered a melody. If someone were to rap over an instrumental by just talking or using their regular speaking voice, it wouldn’t sound as appealing. Similar to singers, rappers have to adjust their voices, just not as much. Also, just because someone isn’t singing or using high notes doesn’t mean there’s no melody at all. Whether you think so or not, almost every song has a melody, even if a traditional singer is not involved.

    Now I understand that rap isn’t perfect. It never was. As much as I love rap, no one can deny there are themes of misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, violence against women, objectification, and many more topics we haven’t touched on. Especially coming from older hip-hop and male rappers. However, that is not the majority of hip-hop, and I think we are all aware of that. When it comes to people who despise rap and justify their reasoning, I see a lot of them generalize the genre. I also see a lot of them making it seem as if these are the only topics discussed in rap as a whole. To say this downplays a lot of rappers who don’t talk about these things, and the rappers who even uplift the community. It’s unfair to say rap isn’t real music/art when we have artists with introspective views such as Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, J.Cole, Mac Miller (may he rest in peace), and that’s just naming the “new age” rappers. It’s unfair to say rap is violent when we had rappers like Queen Latifah, who was promoting unity in the black community, Left Eye from TLC (may she rest in peace as well), who promoted self-love, safe sex, and confidence, or even De La Soul, who gave a more playful feeling to hip-hop. Lastly, yes, some rappers did talk about violent things, such as N.W.A. As much as I enjoy their music, a lot of the lyrics are questionable to say the least. However, they were also known for shedding light on police brutality and racial profiling, which is sadly still relevant today. Their music alone was a protest, whether we want to admit that or not. 

    Before I finish, I want to make it known that my intention in writing this was not to convince you to listen to rap music. As I mentioned earlier, if you don’t like rap music, that is completely fine. My point in making this essay was to convince people to stop hating hip-hop so much. No matter how much you hate it, you can’t deny that hip-hop has been - and still is - incredibly influential. Along with this, I wanted to show how deeply disliking hip-hop to the extent that we explained can be anti-black because those opinions tend to put the black community into a box, whether it’s intentional or not. I know this statement is constantly repeated, but black people are not a monolith. This statement also goes for hip-hop and rap music. Not every rapper is the same, and not every rapper talks about the same things. To talk online as if all rappers are the same, knowing the majority of rappers are black, is a racist mentality. My intention in writing this was to give more awareness and hopefully change some people’s way of thinking. If you decided to listen to rap music as a result, that is great too. If no one could tell already, rap is one of my favorite genres in music, so seeing the genre being disrespected for no good reason and not being treated as real art upsets me. In the future, I want people to treat rap as an art form and as real music, just like any other genre. Finally, to those who read all the way through, thank you for listening to what I had to say. Rap music for life, y’all! LMAO 

- CD ★

☆ SOURCES ☆ - Click for more info!

• "The Pop "It Girl" who has been here the entire time." by Camryn Suzanne (YouTube Video)
• "Why KPop Loves Tinashe" by naomi cannibal (YouTube Video) 
• "Girl Group BLACKPINK on How They Were Inspired By TLC & Sing "No Scrubs" | April 2023 | TLC-Army.com" by Supernova Leon (YouTube Video) 
  
• "RM Reveals the Influence Drake & Eminem Had on Him, How BTS Used to Be ‘Mocked’" by Gil Kaufman (Article) 
  
• "Rap Music Isn’t Music" by Chase March (Article)  

☆ BONUS SOURCE (FOR FUN :) ☆

This also gives more insight into the K-pop discussion. Again, thank you guys so much for listening. <3

Update for 9/30/25 ☆

     Hey everyone!!! Sorry I haven't been that active on here. I'm still trying to make accounts and be a bit more social. My attention will come back to the blog soon. I'm just finalizing a few things. 

1. I was finally able to find a platform for my "radio station" and listening parties. I'm working on making a schedule to host throughout the week. 

2. I'm finishing up the anti-blackness in rap piece and will be posting it later on this week. 

    But in the meantime, I'll try to post on Bluesky and become a bit more active. Thank you guys for your patience with me! 🤭

Update for 9/27/25 ☆

     Hi everyone!!! Now that the blog has finally launched, I wanted to let everybody know that my first essay will be posted here soon. It's going to be about anti-blackness in hip-hop. I noticed a while ago how much disrespect the genre was getting, and I wrote about it a while ago- super excited! XD 

Also, I'm thinking of making another social media to get some traction for the blog, but I'm not too sure yet. I'll be sure to give updates later. 🙂‍↕️

WELCOME TO THE BLOG!

    Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog! This took me a little while to make, but I’m glad it’s finally finished (honestly, the hardest part was the visuals of the website). I wanted to make my own website because I originally made a Tumblr and a Substack. I would talk about my interests, mostly hip-hop culture, and I would notice no one really saw it. Not to mention that Tumblr is a more white space. It didn’t take me long to realize why no one was going to read my work. I also tried making a Substack, but I didn’t like the feeling of the website…it also felt weirdly empty on there. So, with this being said, I wanted to try crafting my own space where I can talk about things freely, and thankfully, it worked. In this blog, I’ll be writing discussions about hip-hop culture, gaming, movies, TV shows, and other topics relating to black culture. If anyone is interested, be sure to follow CD THE NET! 

- CD ★

MY SOCIALS: 

• Tumblr ☆
• Bluesky ☆