here is another "educational look" music blog.. this is the sequel/follow-up to the one i did with diana king's "shy guy" i'm not sure how many of these i will do but i want to make sure i show that songs mean more than meets the eye normally.. that is the whole point behind these- to show that music can be extremely educational in this entry i will take a very "stupid" or "silly" insane clown posse song and explain why its educational, with quotes from a sociology book ok if you're interested in this then first listen to this from the beginning to 3:28 then stop the song and read on below... ok.. everyone generally says icp is "stupid" or the worst band ever i don't really listen to icp anymore however i used to be a big fan as someone who was a big fan, my view is that they are the complete opposite of "stupid" ..for me, listening to them in the 90s, i found them to be creative geniuses they are extremely intelligent to a point that many people don't "get" them or they simply don't like the ideas they express.. for example: they are extremely against racism.. so if you are racist then you may be inclined to say "i hate icp" as opposed to "they diss racist people like me" now.. with that said.. let me explain this particular song about "the smog" this song is a humorous and hyperbolic (exaggerated) take on a thing called 'environmental racism' in icp's case, it would be environmental classism since they are white.. however seeing as how the vast majority of the neighborhoods they hung out at and lived in in inner-city detroit were black and hispanic.. we can still very safely call it environmental racism this song is about the living conditions the poor, black, and hispanic neighborhoods have to live in if a city needs to build a brand new trash dump, tell me- which side of the tracks do you think it'll end up on? here's the text i wanted to share from a sociology book: "Environmental racism is the disproportionate exposure of some racial groups to environmental toxic substances. Race is the strongest predictor of hazardous waste facility location in the country, even after adjustment for social class. Even before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, New Orleans was already struggling with environmental assaults that ranged from floodwaters to toxic debris. People of color were most vulnerable to these assaults. Katrina was among the deadliest and most devastating disasters in U.S. history. Although public attention has focused on rebuilding the Gulf Coast, a lesser known crisis of lethal debris lingers, left over from Hurricane Katrina. Nationally, three out of five African Americans and Latinos live in communities with abandoned toxic waste sites because of land use, housing patterns, and infrastructure development." ^this is literally straight out of one of my college textbooks so.. there you have it.. entry number two.. i explained to you that a song from insane clown posse that sounds like it has no relevance whatsoever to anything rooted in reality is actually a look at the effects of race and class inequality in our society just because they poke fun at these serious issues, does not mean what they're saying isn't important, relevant, or rooted in reality so i hope some of you are beginning to see where i'm going with this music is a relevant educational tool.. this silly icp song and my textbook are indeed saying the same things
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