Question for Outkast fans

[LisaTx]

DD wants an Outkast CD for Christmas. Is Outkast appropriate for a 12 yo girl to listen to? If so, which album would you recommend? Are some more explicit than others?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Looks like that gangster rap stuff. Parental advisory on the site.

http://www.outkast.com/

http://www.2pac2k.de/outkast/



Sure would not like Chelsea having to get into this kind of stuff. I miss the days when parental warnings were not needed on records. I would not let my two adult kids play this garbage in my house.

I was going to link the lyrics but they would be filtered here and see no need. Sad.

 

[julie_yet]

I like some of their songs but I don't own any of their albums. They probably wouldn't be appropriate for your daughter.

 

[Blondie]

If they sell an edited version, go with that, but not all gangsta rap CD's come edited. Only problem with the edited version it's a bunch of "beeps" where the cuss words are. I just don't understand the need for all that cussing!

Bubba Sparxxx, Outkast, Ja'Rule, Eminem, Elephant Man...that's all my one son listens to. At least my almost 14 y.o. is branching out a little and is now listening to Linkin Park and a few other "rock" (is it still called rock?) bands and not just rap alone.

I've tried getting them interested in the Rolling Stones or The Who......ain't happening...."that's old!"

 

[LisaTx]

Thanks guys. I'm not sure where this request is coming from. She likes hip-hop dance, but she's never listened to this type of music. The last CD she asked for was Billy Joel.

OK I just asked her and she said she liked one of their songs. I don't think she'll be getting it though.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

She probably likes "Hey Ya." It's one of their songs that's getting a lot of airplay lately. It's pretty catchy.

 

[julie_yet]

I think I know what song of their's she likes. It's a new one they've been playing on the radio a lot. It's not what you would call rap.

*edited* LOL!! You got to it before me, Beth.

 

[battricia]

Outkast is NOT 'gangster rap'. Their new cd is VERY 'hip hop dance' style which is probably why she's interested in it. You should really think more about how responsible your daughter is and whether or not you think she can deal with this type of music, because some 12 year olds are much more mature in that they can handle hearing people swear and knowing when it is not an appropriate situation, and others can't. I'm a tiny bit disappointed in the way this thread has carried on. I feel as if people just jumped into the assumption that because Outkast swears in their album, they must be 'gangster rappers' and with that comes the assumption that they're all about going out and killing people, and gang violence, etc. I really hope that you could maybe go to a cd store and listen to a few songs there (most cd stores in the mall have a little station you can listen to the cd), before you completely shut out the idea of buying the cd, rather than listening to a few people in this thread that seem to be extremely biased towards the hip hop/rap culture.

 

[LisaTx]

Yes, Beth and Julie, that's the one she mentioned. I'll have to look up the lyrics.

 

[julie_yet]

.

 

[Blondie]

I really hope that you could maybe go to a cd store and listen to a few songs there (most cd stores in the mall have a little station you can listen to the cd), before you completely shut out the idea of buying the cd, rather than listening to a few people in this thread that seem to be extremely biased towards the hip hop/rap culture.

I'm not biased at all, I just call it like I see and hear it.

I also like "Hey Ya" it's got a retro feel to it, even if the video with all that green does make me a bit nauseated, LOL!

So they're not singing about killing people. How 'bout the first line of "Gangsta ****"? You're all a bunch of ****in' *******s Or the lines from "Bombs Over Baghdad" Don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang Don't even bang unless you plan to hit something

I rest my case. Sure, not all rap and hip hop is about killing one another etc....but a good majority of it is, and as a resposible parent, we have to take that into consideration.

 

[ducklite]

Outkast is more hip hop than rap, not gangsta rap. The new CD has an edited version. The problem with edited versions is that you can take out the "swear words" but the topic can still be very objectionable.

I never did understand why some artists feel the need to write music which degrades women and promotes violence. It's not cool, it just shows them to be the weakminded little pukes that they are. And it's not just rap or hip hop, a lot of rock is the same way.

In my home we had a "no sticker" rule until DS was 15, with a few exceptions where I had heard the CD and felt that it was more "PG-13" than "R". Even when he turned 15 I still retained the right to reject anything that I felt was objectionable, stickered or not.

Anne

 

[CBRorBust]

You should really think more about how responsible your daughter is and whether or not you think she can deal with this type of music, because some 12 year olds are much more mature in that they can handle hearing people swear and knowing when it is not an appropriate situation, and others can't.

I agree with this statement. I think that ANY music really depends on who is listening to it. I don't find Outkast offensive personally. I don't own any of their CD's, but they are defenitley NOT gangster rap. I can't even believe I just used that phrase "gangster rap" because it seems so stupid to me.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed in the way this thread has carried on. I feel as if people just jumped into the assumption that because Outkast swears in their album, they must be 'gangster rappers' and with that comes the assumption that they're all about going out and killing people, and gang violence, etc.

I agree with this too. HOWEVER, there are many different generations on this CB that have very different ideas of what good music is. I know the whole "my parents hated the stuff I listened to when I was growing up" spill has already been said multiple times on this board, but I guess it's case and point here.



MY advice to you, would be to buy her the single Hey Ya and see if that is what she was really after. The Outkast CD that she is wanting is actually 2 Disks. 1 disk for each members "solo project." They just released it as Outkast. I'm pretty sure that she is wanting the CD just for that track. There Problem Solved.

 

[dizneenut]

Outkast is definitely NOT "gangsta rap."
I really like the song Hey Ya and I also like the other song The Way You Move.

 

[ducklite]

If she just wants the CD for that one song, maybe you could buy her the CD single instead, save a little money and not worry about objectionable content?

Anne

 

[LisaTx]

I finally found the video on the net last night. I actually liked the retro feel and I can see why Chelsea likes it as well. It's got a good dance beat. There was a lot of green though. I don't have a problem with her listening to that particular song. In looking around last night, I didn't see any of their albums that I would be comfortable buying for Chelsea.

Originally posted by ducklite
I never did understand why some artists feel the need to write music which degrades women and promotes violence. It's not cool, it just shows them to be the weakminded little pukes that they are. And it's not just rap or hip hop, a lot of rock is the same way.
Anne

I totally agree with that, Anne. I don't buy much music and when I do it will not be from an artist or group with those values.

 

[CBRorBust]

I don't want to stir the pot again, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Outkast took home 6 Grammy Nominations this week.

That's pretty good for "gangster rap"

 

[preshi]

I just bought the 2 disc Speakerboxx/ Love ????, yesterday.

I personally wouldn't give it to a 12 year old or listen to it with my 4 yr old in the car. It's a great CD but I'm 25.

The Hey Ya song is on the Love CD whcih I haven't listened to yet cause it's too mellow sounding for the car but both discs had parental advisory for language and sexually explicit lyrics.

HTH

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

WOW - some pretty strong feelings on both sides.

I agree Outkast is definitely not gangsta rap - not even close. You can find the edited version usually at Walmart. Is it appropriate for a 12 yo - edited Outkast is. Andre does Hey Ya, dut it is a duel album with Big Boy who is a slightly more suggestive. So you might want to take a listen to his side too.

You can buy the Hey Ya single or maybe get a list of her current faves and do a little downloading. Add a picture or poster of her fave artist and viola - cool present.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I myself really like Outkast (see my dance comment at the end!), but when I picked up their new cd this past week, I was a little taken back to hear a song where the main lyrics were, "You think you sh-- don't stink" etc, etc. I did laugh at it for a few minutes, because I didn't expect that. There was also a talking bit a few songs before Hey Ya about a woman trying to find her panties after sleeping with a man the night before....

....so I don't know if it would be something I'd give to a 12 year old.