The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music & Destroyed a Generation

The following post is from hiphopisread.com

""The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation"


Posted by Ivan at 1:34 PM

This anonymous letter landed in my inbox about a minute ago:



Hello,



After more than 20 years, I've finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I've simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren't ready for.



Between the late 80's and early 90’s, I was what you may call a “decision maker” with one of the more established company in the music industry. I came from Europe in the early 80’s and quickly established myself in the business. The industry was different back then. Since technology and media weren’t accessible to people like they are today, the industry had more control over the public and had the means to influence them anyway it wanted. This may explain why in early 1991, I was invited to attend a closed door meeting with a small group of music business insiders to discuss rap music’s new direction. Little did I know that we would be asked to participate in one of the most unethical and destructive business practice I’ve ever seen.



The meeting was held at a private residence on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I remember about 25 to 30 people being there, most of them familiar faces. Speaking to those I knew, we joked about the theme of the meeting as many of us did not care for rap music and failed to see the purpose of being invited to a private gathering to discuss its future. Among the attendees was a small group of unfamiliar faces who stayed to themselves and made no attempt to socialize beyond their circle. Based on their behavior and formal appearances, they didn't seem to be in our industry. Our casual chatter was interrupted when we were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement preventing us from publicly discussing the information presented during the meeting. Needless to say, this intrigued and in some cases disturbed many of us. The agreement was only a page long but very clear on the matter and consequences which stated that violating the terms would result in job termination. We asked several people what this meeting was about and the reason for such secrecy but couldn't find anyone who had answers for us. A few people refused to sign and walked out. No one stopped them. I was tempted to follow but curiosity got the best of me. A man who was part of the “unfamiliar” group collected the agreements from us.



Quickly after the meeting began, one of my industry colleagues (who shall remain nameless like everyone else) thanked us for attending. He then gave the floor to a man who only introduced himself by first name and gave no further details about his personal background. I think he was the owner of the residence but it was never confirmed. He briefly praised all of us for the success we had achieved in our industry and congratulated us for being selected as part of this small group of “decision makers”. At this point I begin to feel slightly uncomfortable at the strangeness of this gathering. The subject quickly changed as the speaker went on to tell us that the respective companies we represented had invested in a very profitable industry which could become even more rewarding with our active involvement. He explained that the companies we work for had invested millions into the building of privately owned prisons and that our positions of influence in the music industry would actually impact the profitability of these investments. I remember many of us in the group immediately looking at each other in confusion. At the time, I didn’t know what a private prison was but I wasn't the only one. Sure enough, someone asked what these prisons were and what any of this had to do with us. We were told that these prisons were built by privately owned companies who received funding from the government based on the number of inmates. The more inmates, the more money the government would pay these prisons. It was also made clear to us that since these prisons are privately owned, as they become publicly traded, we’d be able to buy shares. Most of us were taken back by this. Again, a couple of people asked what this had to do with us. At this point, my industry colleague who had first opened the meeting took the floor again and answered our questions. He told us that since our employers had become silent investors in this prison business, it was now in their interest to make sure that these prisons remained filled. Our job would be to help make this happen by marketing music which promotes criminal behavior, rap being the music of choice. He assured us that this would be a great situation for us because rap music was becoming an increasingly profitable market for our companies, and as employee, we’d also be able to buy personal stocks in these prisons. Immediately, silence came over the room. You could have heard a pin drop. I remember looking around to make sure I wasn't dreaming and saw half of the people with dropped jaws. My daze was interrupted when someone shouted, “Is this a f****** joke?” At this point things became chaotic. Two of the men who were part of the “unfamiliar” group grabbed the man who shouted out and attempted to remove him from the house. A few of us, myself included, tried to intervene. One of them pulled out a gun and we all backed off. They separated us from the crowd and all four of us were escorted outside. My industry colleague who had opened the meeting earlier hurried out to meet us and reminded us that we had signed agreement and would suffer the consequences of speaking about this publicly or even with those who attended the meeting. I asked him why he was involved with something this corrupt and he replied that it was bigger than the music business and nothing we’d want to challenge without risking consequences. We all protested and as he walked back into the house I remember word for word the last thing he said, “It’s out of my hands now. Remember you signed an agreement.” He then closed the door behind him. The men rushed us to our cars and actually watched until we drove off.



A million things were going through my mind as I drove away and I eventually decided to pull over and park on a side street in order to collect my thoughts. I replayed everything in my mind repeatedly and it all seemed very surreal to me. I was angry with myself for not having taken a more active role in questioning what had been presented to us. I'd like to believe the shock of it all is what suspended my better nature. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to calm myself enough to make it home. I didn't talk or call anyone that night. The next day back at the office, I was visibly out of it but blamed it on being under the weather. No one else in my department had been invited to the meeting and I felt a sense of guilt for not being able to share what I had witnessed. I thought about contacting the 3 others who wear kicked out of the house but I didn't remember their names and thought that tracking them down would probably bring unwanted attention. I considered speaking out publicly at the risk of losing my job but I realized I’d probably be jeopardizing more than my job and I wasn't willing to risk anything happening to my family. I thought about those men with guns and wondered who they were? I had been told that this was bigger than the music business and all I could do was let my imagination run free. There were no answers and no one to talk to. I tried to do a little bit of research on private prisons but didn’t uncover anything about the music business’ involvement. However, the information I did find confirmed how dangerous this prison business really was. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Eventually, it was as if the meeting had never taken place. It all seemed surreal. I became more reclusive and stopped going to any industry events unless professionally obligated to do so. On two occasions, I found myself attending the same function as my former colleague. Both times, our eyes met but nothing more was exchanged.



As the months passed, rap music had definitely changed direction. I was never a fan of it but even I could tell the difference. Rap acts that talked about politics or harmless fun were quickly fading away as gangster rap started dominating the airwaves. Only a few months had passed since the meeting but I suspect that the ideas presented that day had been successfully implemented. It was as if the order has been given to all major label executives. The music was climbing the charts and most companies when more than happy to capitalize on it. Each one was churning out their very own gangster rap acts on an assembly line. Everyone bought into it, consumers included. Violence and drug use became a central theme in most rap music. I spoke to a few of my peers in the industry to get their opinions on the new trend but was told repeatedly that it was all about supply and demand. Sadly many of them even expressed that the music reinforced their prejudice of minorities.



I officially quit the music business in 1993 but my heart had already left months before. I broke ties with the majority of my peers and removed myself from this thing I had once loved. I took some time off, returned to Europe for a few years, settled out of state, and lived a “quiet” life away from the world of entertainment. As the years passed, I managed to keep my secret, fearful of sharing it with the wrong person but also a little ashamed of not having had the balls to blow the whistle. But as rap got worse, my guilt grew. Fortunately, in the late 90’s, having the internet as a resource which wasn't at my disposal in the early days made it easier for me to investigate what is now labeled the prison industrial complex. Now that I have a greater understanding of how private prisons operate, things make much more sense than they ever have. I see how the criminalization of rap music played a big part in promoting racial stereotypes and misguided so many impressionable young minds into adopting these glorified criminal behaviors which often lead to incarceration. Twenty years of guilt is a heavy load to carry but the least I can do now is to share my story, hoping that fans of rap music realize how they’ve been used for the past 2 decades. Although I plan on remaining anonymous for obvious reasons, my goal now is to get this information out to as many people as possible. Please help me spread the word. Hopefully, others who attended the meeting back in 1991 will be inspired by this and tell their own stories. Most importantly, if only one life has been touched by my story, I pray it makes the weight of my guilt a little more tolerable.



Thank you."

The State of Music

I grew up in the 1970’s on music by Glady’s Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, The Spinners, The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, The Jackson 5, and so many other R&B artists. Listening to the music, you felt it. It had heart and soul that you just connected with. When I got older my mother bought me my first record player, and the first 45 that I got was Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” I played the mess out that 45. I’ve always been the type of person who just loves music. If it sounds good to my ear, I’m into it.


I was driving home with my daughter one day and I’m flipping through the channels and then all of a sudden I said to her, “I feel sorry for your generation, because a majority of the music on the radio sucks.” All the music on the radio is monotonous. It all sounds the same, but every once in a while I’ll hear something that actually sounds good. Old R&B from the 1990’s on back I have no problem with, its some of this new R&B, but the problem I have with it is most of it has no heart and soul like R&B started out having. I’ve had to go online and find artist who are absolutely getting no airplay on the radio, and I’ve said, “This is where the heart of R&B is hiding.” The artists are online, but you have go and find them. Finding such artist as Jaguar, Janelle Monae, Lizz Wright, Myaisha, and I’m still on the look out for others, has given me hope that the heart of R&B is still alive.

What needs to be brought back is talent.  When the artist actually had the voice, and the talent, not just a look, and when you go to buy the album the only thing you like on it is what you heard playing on the radio and possibly one more track.  I've bought music like this and was highly upset, that the artist couldn't do any better than what they just put out here for people to buy.  I want to hear music that touched and opened the heart. It just made you melt. Music that when you played it you could feel it radiate through you because that's how good the music is.  I'm not even going to touch Hip Hop music.  I gave up on that back in the 90's.

I just find that now I listen to some new R&B, the old school music still touches me and has me saying to my daughter, "you don't know nothing about this!"  I then embarass her in the car singing and dancing a little while at a stop light.  I find now that I listen to soft rock, country, classical when I don't want to hear nothing else.  I love music, but I don't like the fact that the music has been butchered with monotonous tones being played over and over, through synthesised music instead of real instruments. Song by artist who all sound the same, coming out of the cookie cutter factory while some TRUE artist who deserve the exposure do not get it.  And maybe that's how they want it considering the fact that from what I've been hearing and reading a artist has to damn near sell their soul in order to be recognized and be put into the public eye.

Bottom line of it all is that I miss the good music.  You all can keep the cookie cutter artist I'm in search of discovering the REAL talent.

Watch Your Children

There is a book that all psychologist go by to determine how severe a mental illness is.  These codes that they use come from a book called the DSM-IV, which means Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Fourth Edition.  This book covers disorders from Personality, Sexuality, Eating, Impulse-Control, Anxiety, and the list goes on.  This book is used on both children and adults.   In the DSM-IV, Pedaphilia is listed as a mental illness. According to DSM-IV online it is listed as:

Psychiatric Disorders

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Pedophilia

Category
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Paraphilias and Sexual Disorders







Etiology
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A large percentage of individuals with this disorder were sexually abused as children, although the vast majority of adults who were abused do not develop pedophilia or pedophilic behaviors. There is also those who argue pedophilia results from feelings of inadequacy with same age peers, and therefore a transfer of sexual urges to children.

Symptoms
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This disorder is characterized by either intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child (typically age 13 or younger). To be considered for this diagnosis, the individual must be at least 16 years old and at least 5 years older than the child.

Treatment
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Treatment typically involves intensive psychotherapy to work on deep rooted issues concerning sexuality, feelings of self, and often childhood abuse. Medical treatments such as ‘chemical castration’ (which is actually a hormone medication which reduces testosterone and therefore sexual urges) have been investigated with very mixed results.

Prognosis
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Prognosis varies, although it is typically good if the individual has insight into his behaviors and his own childhood issues. Combined with an antisocial personality (which is usually what is seen on the news or in movies), however, treatment prognosis declines, sometimes significantly.

http://allpsych.com/disorders/paraphilias/pedophilia.html

Well, it absolutely shocked me to hear that in 2013 the DSM-IV was to remove Pedophilia from their book, which means that it no longer makes this as a mental illness.  Regardless of them removing this from the DSM-IV, it is still a mental illness of someone messing with a child under the age of 18 years.

Here are some articles:

The Pedophilia Debate Continues--And DSM Is Changed Again


Are Mental Health Professionals Working to Normalize Pedophilia? (Just like Homosexuality in 1973)

Attempts to Normalize & Decriminalize Pedophilia

Its already happening in some countries

overseas

                                                   
                                           Breaking news - Pedophile scandal in Lithuania

                                            

Pedophilia a growing problem throughout Europe

These are some sick individuals, and as I said to people when  I first heard this was, "These people have been doing this uncover, now they just want to make a law to make it legal."  I'm not just talking about your average "Joe" out here but you have some uncover politicians, judges, entertainment persons as well. 

I was made aware of this subject first through an article a friend sent me on this being legal in Denmark, and then I heard it again through a lecture by Dr. Umar Johnson, who is a Psychologist informing parents about how the public schools get paid to label children ADHD when there is really nothing wrong with them.  Now, to hear from a Psychologist that they are about to make Pedophilia legal by taking it out of the DSM-IV is something you should sit up and pay attention to, along with the fact of what is happening to our children in public school.

Watch your children people.