[kj] OT: Gangsta rap = ploy to populate private prisons for $?

[bongo]

a good plan if ever there was one...

more drugs less bombs!!!



"due to a lack of trained trumpeters, the end of the world has been
postponed indefinitely..."


On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 8:41 AM, Adam Helfer <Devacor at aol.com> wrote:


> Its been awhile since I read it, but I heard roughly the same thing about

> the hippy/music movement and the Beatles- an organized agenda to start and

> popularize  the drug culture..

>

> Adam

>

>

> On Apr 16, 2013, at 2:35 AM, bongo <humanhybrid666 at gmail.com> wrote:

>

> yeah i saw that last week... took the time to read it, interesting and

> plausible . . .

>

>

>

> "due to a lack of trained trumpeters, the end of the world has been

> postponed indefinitely..."

>

>

> On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 6:02 PM, Brendan Quinn <bq at soundgardener.co.nz>wrote:

>

>> Had this forwarded to me by my mate at work…won’t be news to some, but

>> thought some of you might like it. It’s about a supposed plan to promote

>> gangsta rap in order to generate $ from private prisons. Conspiracy theory

>> stuff for sure.****

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> 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.

>>

>> Sent from my iPhone

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