Michael Eric Dyson Quotes

He was not hip-hop's most gifted emcee. Still, Shakur may be the most influential and compelling rapper of them all, he was more than the sum of his artistic parts.

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I have to constantly negotiate the tension between past neighborhood and present neighborhood.

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Gangsta rap often reaches higher than its ugliest, lowest common denominator, misogyny, violence, materialism and sexual transgression are not its exclusive domain. At its best, this music draws attention to complex dimensions of ghetto life ignored by most Americans. Indeed, gangsta rap's in-your-face style may do more to force America to confront crucial social problems than a million sermons or political speeches.

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It is very important for me to deliver my message to students and faculty at this great institution of American society because it is the ideas and thoughts of these young people that are going to shape society in the future.

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The writer's gift can make us see ourselves and our morals differently than our reality suggests.

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