Anti-War Protesters Rally In Federal Plaza
Expiration Date: An interview with Undateable’s Anne Coyle
Review: Revolution Brewing
Where Are You Going? Hyde Park Mural Asks Big Questions
Bookstores We Love: The Book Cellar
Ice Cube vs. Oprah. The ultimate Celebrity Death Match.
Just come on a little journey of the imagination with us for a minute. (It’s Friday. You ain’t got sh*t to do.)
Cube comes out swinging with a 40 oz. of Old English, a couple platinum records and a, uh, water pipe. The Big O’s throwing diamond earrings, toys meant for orphanages in Africa and a few of her “Favorite Things.” The tussle ends with 50 Cent and Ludacris on the assist, putting Oprah in a headlock until she shrieks like an audience member who just received a free Pontiac G-6.
What’s with all the hate of the Harpo guru? Cube told FHM Magazine that he has been involved in three projects pitched to Oprah but hasn’t ever been invited to her show. He claimed that Oprah has a problem with hip-hop – a sentiment that 50 Cent and Ludacris have publicly affirmed in recent interviews as well. Ludacris claims he was ignored when he came on the show to promote Crash, and 50 thinks the woman only caters to “older white women.”
Oprah went on the record with DJ Ed Lover in an interview on New York City radio station Power 105.1, where she promised she listens to hip hop jams such as “In Da Club” and loves Jay-Z, Kanye West and her BFF Mary J. Blige.
Chicagoist has seen an episode or two of "Oprah" in our day, and it’s pretty hard to ignore the sea of white, 30- or 40-something female faces that seem to populate the audience and become the proud recipients of goodie bags full of designer makeup, sheet sets, pajamas and cookware. We also know that Oprah didn’t make her piles of cash without a little marketing savvy. So it doesn’t take a genius to deduce that Oprah figured out her audience seemed to enjoy talking about the magic of the “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” rather than whether or not Ice Cube's mom cooked bacon today, and she ran with it.
Or maybe Oprah just hated Are We There Yet?
Photos via toddkelly.net and New York Newsday
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Chicagoist seen an episode or two of Oprah in our day, and it’s pretty hard to ignore the sea of white, 30- or 40-something female faces that seem to populate the audience and become the proud recipients of goodie bags full of designer makeup, sheet sets, pajamas and cookware.
Give me a break. Cube is an idiot. He is operating under the assumption that all African Americans like hip-hop. The main consumers of hip hop are white suburban teens. Many people--black, white, and latino alike--see the hip hop pursued by "artists" like Ice Cube as sophomoric, unintellgent, minstrel crap.
I am disappointed in Oprah for having to "promise" that she listens to lame hip hop artists in order to maintain "cred" with her detractors.
Lets face it--the hip hop of people like Cube is a product of a largely white multinational cutlrue industry that seeks to perpetuate animalistic stereotypes of African Americans for their own purposes.
I agree with most of your sentiment but think you're giving Oprah way too much credit. Last time I flipped through and caught Oprah she was drinking tequila with Matthew (romantic comedy) McConaughey to the screams of a bunch of neglected housewives. At least Ice Cube has several classic well respected records and one funny movie. She knows her demographic.
First, Cube isn't operating under that assumption. He's not saying that Oprah has to love hip hop because she's black. He's saying that she is biased against those involved with it. (I don't know how much truth there is to that, though.)
Second, Ice Cube, despite falling off quite a bit, still cannot be called "minstrel crap." Even his new album, Laugh Now Cry Later, has some serious insights about race and politics mixed in with the dumb club tracks. And then, of course, there are his first three solo albums, which are some of the hardest hitting rap albums of all time.
I am surprised that Oprah didn't have Cube on her show regarding his movie "All We There Yet" and his TV show "Black/White".
This story is like a week or two old
Well at least Ice cube use to be “hip hop” years ago, while 50 aka fiddy and Ludacris( aka Hey I’m gone use big words to call my self stupid) have always been minstrel rappers owned by corporate America who don’t care about “their’ people beyond selling/promoting mass stupidity for their financial gain. Too bad Oprah and recogznie commercial gansta crap rappers as oppose to Mos Def, Qwali, Common, Roots, etc, etc. And now even Kayne has become Puffy Jr.
Yea Oprah does cater to Americana and personally I can vision a world with out here, but as it’s not my utopia
At least she has created limited exposure for the brilliant and revolutionary works of Toni Morrison.
Oprah makes me embarassed to be a Chicagoan. What a self-involved bitch.
"This story is like a week or two old"
Oh crap. Chicagoist is going to have to fire our entire investigative reporting staff. I hate to disappoint our readers who come here for the most up-to-date, hard-hitting news.
disclaimer: I have no love whatsoever for Oprah-NONE...
But, maybe she (or better stated, her marketing savvy gurus) just doesn't want to have a bunch of guys on her show who feel it's acceptable to call women bitches and ho's in their music? Her biggest draw is women and it would be logical to think that such people would probably draw a decent amount of ire from her white and black female "cult of Oprah" followers.
Michelle, you're hired.
What irony - so, Ice Cube, who makes his money off of 12-30 year old white males, is critical of Oprah for making her money off of 30-50 year old white females.
But, maybe she (or better stated, her marketing savvy gurus) just doesn't want to have a bunch of guys on her show who feel it's acceptable to call women bitches and ho's in their music?
You'd think she'd want to have them on to confront them with that if she really gave a shit eh?
Probably why she had Chapelle on and patronized the crap out of him.
Hell even Terri Gross has had Ice Cube on her show and did in fact grill him about his past lyrical subject matter.
Dave Chappell deserves much more than what you call "patronizing". He deserves praise from Oprah, Terri Gross, and Ice Cub, none of who are on his level etc He is the only artists since Muhammad Ali who was willing to sacrifice his career and money for his progressive ideals
Dave Chappell deserves much more than what you call "patronizing".
yeah dude that's kind of the point.
RE aornasd | June 2, 2006 2:14 PM: "the hip hop pursued by "artists" like Ice Cube as sophomoric, unintellgent, minstrel crap."
What's "sophmoric" and "unintelligent" is to pontificate boorishly about stuff you know little to nothing about, except how the white media categorizes and negatively stereotypes ALL rap music. Cube has dealt about a lot of serious sociopolitical issues in his music (which is why he's one of the super icons of the golden age of hiphop) -- and it might do middle-aged white women (as well as all white people) some good to listen to it (as some do, though not in the %'s as much as blacks do).
There are "conciousness rappers", like the quintessential consciousness rap group Public Enemy and others that *never* did bitch-&-ho music. Or, why doesn't she have a golden age rapper like Sista Souljah on (who Bill Clinton manipulatively dissed and derailed to boost his sagging poll numbers back then)? She can contact someone like the very prominent hiphop journalist Davey D for references. Let Oprah get schooled and do her homework -- or put one of her office runners to work on it.