Brown Sista

I get what he’s saying…

But Monster’s Ball was a movie and that scene was about more than just sex (is it really 15 minutes long?) “Tip Drill” is a music video; there’s not much artistry to the look, the concept, the story… Sliding a credit card down the crack of a woman’s arse, unless it’s commenting on the National Deficit in an artistic fashion, then it isn’t artistic. It will be (and has been) viewed as sleazy, trashy, base, non-art, etc.

I kinda see where he’s coming from. Had his video had more of a story; perhaps being its own mini-Monster’s Ball then I wouldn’t be commenting. But his video just wasn’t artistic at all and that’s the line…

But who has been “King Of What Is and What Is Not Art” - I think just like movie writers are storytellers that rappers and singers are too. I am neither but I don’t want ANYONE telling me how to express myself. I have never thought that we should tone down our artistry for anyone. I am a 28 year old female that works a full time fianance job and is going to school to gte my masters, raising a 11 year old daughter and married a wonderful sometimes irritating man and if I want to her some violent, nasty music that is my business. And I monitor as much as I can what my 11 year old hears but I am not going to lock her up in a dungeon to keep her from knowing it’s out there. I let her know that no matter what the world has to offer you that you have to have self respect for yourself and be able to make your on decisions. For the kids that don’t have parents that is another ball game and I don’t have a solution for how you keep it out of their hands…

All in all everyone’s opinion about expression is going to be different and with that little thing called the constitution it is going to be hard to stop it.

There are some scenes in movies that are straight up unnecessary and the sex scene in Monster’s Ball was just that - unneccessary. For me, it did nothing to add to the story line.

I kind of understand what Nelly is saying. Afterall, where do we and when should we draw the line between raunchy explicit behavior and what some may consider or disguise as “art” :confused: Unfortunately for him, Nelly has received a lot of backlash from that one music video and that seems to be what most people associate him with. But, in all fairness, he is a mature intelligent individual and he chose to represent his artistry in that manner. So now he must deal with the consequences. You reap what you sow.

Essence on the other hand seemed to have jumped on the media band wagon in this race to “correct” the rap/hip-hop culture and the negative image some rappers represent. But i’m not sure if they are sincere in their efforrts. They are the same magazine that made a conscious choice to feature a piece on P Diddy and his dang on baby mama drama. As far as I’m concerned P Diddy and Nelly fall into the same category of men who use their money and power to degrade black women. For Essence it’s all about who’s hot at the moment…

I haven’t seen Halle’s Monster Balls movie, nor have I seen Nelly’s infamous video. But I’ve heard about both. I don’t see a double standard. Unless Halle regularly exploits graphic sex to boost her movie sales, Nelly doesn’t have a point. I’ve seen plenty of his videos with women half-clad or ***-out but I’ve only seen Halle’s assets displayed on film once.

Just my 2 cents - oh, and Happy Tuesday everyone!

Nelly made a song about *** and tittays (two things that a lot of people like), and made an accompanying video. The women showed up in droves to be bucked nekked for his video. Got paid. Chicks were flapping their “wings” in the club too.

Halle gets banged out by Thornton. And shows nipples on Swordfish. So I think she does exploit her gifts for her dollars.

You’ll never see a rapper on Essence…nor Oprah. And that’s what’s really sad.

I think the focus on Nelly is too harsh. The focus should be more on Viacom. They okayed it.

on some other-ness.

I remember when the sistas had words because Taye Diggs love interest was hardly ever “brown enough”.

I can’t remember the last brotha Halle had as her love interest. Somebody help me out.

I sort of agree with Nelly. I haven’t felt the same about Halle ever since. I do still like her but the standard I was held her up to is no longer. I know we can’t place people as being super-Human but that was just way over the top

Nelly is not in Essence Magazine because he is a whack *** rapper with weak lyrics with no substance.

I really agree with what everyone on here is saying. Yes I do believe there is a double standard when it comes to men and women and certain things they can do or cannot do. I didn’t think Spellman had the right to protest against Nelly coming to the school to for a bone marrow drive to his dying sister! I know feminist that didn’t belong to the school had something to do with it also, but his sister should not had to be punish over something that nelly and other rappers way before nelly had been doing. If they all wanted to confront nelly fine but they should not have sabotage his sister from getting help in the process, they could have saved that energy after her bone marrow drive. Now his sister is dead not that I’m blaming it all on the students/feminist because they probably couldn’t saved her but then again maybe they could if they tried to help. Another point was Nelly the first one to catch hell from those protesters plus other women and men? Like I said there were other rappers doin tip-drill like videos way befor nelly came on the scene. I didn’t see or hear too many people jumping on Luther “luke” Campbell or Tupac “I get around” Mystical “Shake your a** or Big Pimpin etc… all of those were just as bad as nelly sliding a credit-card through that ****** butt. Speaking of the ***** I wonder if Ms. Tipdrill herself was called out or women that degrades themselves in videos.

I think the only reason why Halle got an oscar was because she screwed a white man! Had that been a black man then she would not had got that oscar. I would not had play myself so cheap to get an stupid oscar. I do agree that she and other female actresses/singers black and white are giving a pass when their selling sex. But then again Nelly should look at it this way…Women are giving halle a pass just like men give other men a pass. Men are quick to call women hoes or ***** when they sleep around but call other guys players or give them a pound, so it’s only natural for women to give other women the benefit of the doubt. Hey that’s the F**** up way about the opposite sex.

off topic me too look what i just found :
http://literarydish.wordpress......ck-female/
it made me so proud to see a sister being recognize for her talent first then her beauty (cuz she fire!!!! okay???)
she is so well spoken and you know she is speaking from the heart not from some speech someone gave to her i love her

Why are these rappers so obsessed about getting on Oprah and on the cover of Essence Magazine? Those readers/viewers are not their audience.

If Monster’s Ball was a music video Halle’s head would be cut out of the frame so we could only see her *** and breasts, she’d be two shades lighter with a longer weave and the fact that she was a desperate lonely woman who’s child and husband just died wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t be about her pain, just her shaking, oily body parts.

I agree with so much of what you ladies are saying. Nelly should not be looking for validation from publications like Essence. 95% or more of Essence subscribers could care less about nelly before and after tip drill. Unfortunately people focus on the bad more than the good in this world. I understand that there is a double standard when it comes to movies and music and men and women. This is a conversation we will be having until all or at least a larger percentage of women and men set standards for themselves hopefully based on what they would want their children to see or do. I don’t know why Nelly would want his children to grow up and see him swiping a card down a girls arse. For that matter if I was Halle I wouldn’t want anyone seeing me in that sex scene. That movie being her big award winning hit just casts a shadow on her career to me. It seems to me the larger problem is that as women we only get upset when men are degrading us. We do not get upset when we degrade ourselves, when we degrade eachother. We need to look in the mirror at ourselves before we expect a man to look at us and automatically give us respect. Some women command respect. We can be beautiful, sexy, appealing without making ourselves look like *****. Until more of us believe that, start portraying that daily, and stop buying into women, images, products, and art that set us back from that goal we will never make progress on this topic.

Totally off topic! DARKSISTER I saw Alicia on 106 and she really is beautiful, down to earth, and well spoken. Love the new video and her CD is in my stereo as i sit here in blog world!

Good post Chad. Neither of them come out on top in the end IMO.

HALLE BERRY SOLD HERSELF OUT!!! She sold her soul in Monster’s Ball to win a tin trophy. It was way more than just “a sex scene.” It had more to do with degrading her as BW. Her husband was put to death, her son died, who else was left to take care of her? Who always comes to save the day in movies like this. The WM. Even Billy Bob Thorton’s father said it right in the movie when he said to her; “He is just like me. You ain’t a man until you split dark wood.” So for those of you who think, “it’s just a movie,” It’s never just a movie. It’s always a message behind that. WAKE THE HELL UP PEOPLE!
As far as Nelly’s TIP DRILL- that’s not art. If that is what you call art, then you need your head examined. That is just simple degrading. The women in the video are just as guilty because if it wasn’t for them, the video couldn’t been made. BW and BM need to wake the hell and quick trying to make a quick buck. They don’t realize that it is not always about money, but integrity. That’s why we are set back here in this country and will continue to be, as long as there are “Nelly’s” and “Halle Berry’s.”

I swear, black people don’t know how IGNORANT they sound when they talk about Halle Berry and that MONSTARS BALL sex scene. It was a movie….GET OVER IT!! People say “she was degrading herself” or “I couldn’t even watch ii because it was painful to watch”…..duh! It was supposed to be painful to watch! Which means she did her job. That scene was about one minute long, out of a 2 hour movie, and all people can think about is that scene, which goes to show where your minds are at. Halle potrayed a down-trotten black woman down on her luck looking for unconditional love, and was successful at doing so. She got that Oscar not because of a sex scene, but because she potrayed a character so far from herself, the same way got that Oscar for “Training Day”, because he potrayed a character so far from himself. That’s what acting is! Halle is NOT the first person to do a sex scene and will not be the last. I honastly think that black folks have more of a problem that she had the scene with a WHITE MAN, then the actual scene itself. Nelly shows that in his comment. I wish she would have NEVER did that scene, because black people will talk about that for the rest of her life. If she didn’t do the sex scene people will still come up with any reason WHY she did not deserve that oscar. Black people need to start getting more cultured, half of you probably have never studied the art of acting, yet have the nerve to critisize someone else. I have seen KERRY WASHINGTON in far more comprimising sex scenes (lesbien scens and all), and noone has anything to say about it. Which proves to me that people are just mad at HALLE BERRY and will HATE regardless.

Nelly sounds very hypocritical because I have seen him in many interviews praising HALLE, all in love with her and stuff, now he’s critisizing? Since when has it been okay for these rappers to start calling people out as if they owe them something. BOTH HALLE and OPRAH along with ESSENCE are more powerful then NELLY, so mabe he should think about learning his place before speaking.

Nelly must be feeling really left out

I too don’t understand the whole “Halle sold herself” or “degraded herself” in Monster’s Ball. We demand meaty, three-dimensional roles, but when a black actors gets it, we want to cry foul. IMO, the people who tend to cry foul about the sex scene are the ones who just viewed the movie to see it. Us folks who viewed Monster’s Ball to see a movie don’t seem to have a problem realizing the intentions and emotions behind it.

The black community is so double-minded on what is what that I don’t even want to hear any “advice” or “discussion” within it a lot of the time…

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0200005/ - Lee Daniels

let’s get real, if that sex scene had been w/ a black actor, no one would care….

that’s what the problem w/ Halle is. Every negroes wet dream ***** an [ugly] white man on screen, a [cute] white man in real life. Now she’s persona non grata!!!