JP wrote;
>The lineups for those silly concerts are filled with white altern-acts
>because those people are the Beasties social peers. If the band hung out
>with The Roots or Mystikal, don't you think that's who'd be playing the
>show?
Not to take issue with JP's main point about the Beasties not having
much influence w/in 90's black music, but to be fair to their booking policy
for the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, I do know-just from looking at my TFC CD I
have that they have had a fair share of black hip-hop artists on the bill.
To wit; A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-1, Biz Markie, Lee Perry and Mad Professor
and Robotiks band, De La Soul, The Fugees, Ben Harper are all on the TFC 3-CD
release from the '97 concert. Inside the booklet is a "Free-Tibet" rap
written by Chuck D. as well, (who I'm also pretty sure has played at least
one of the TFC's as well.)
I do think Neal has a pretty valid point about how powerful the
Beasties' influence has been in breaking various elements of hip-hop culture
into the white middle-class, their whole Grand Royal label-'zine-clothing
mini-empire is pretty good testament to that. But I'd also say that the
Beasties have been as much a rock as a rap act in this decade
MC Dan Bentele
