I found the video about Jewish rapper Yitz "Y-Love" Jordan to be very unique. While rap music is more than just catchy tunes devised as a way of glorifying the street lifestyle, a black Jew hailing from Brooklyn is the last person that I would expect to be a practicing rap artist. I enjoyed watching the interview and Jordan struck me as a rather interesting person.
Jordan's music didn't strike me as anything that could be branded as political extremism. What lyrics I did hear seemed to simply recite stories from Jewish texts as a way of promoting life lessons and valuable morals. However, I would like to know what negative effects Jewish rap like Jordan's could have on impressionable youth. While I don't see his music as being very threatening from a political standpoint, I can imagine how music that allows for the easier memorization of sacred texts could lead individuals to become more interested in more conservative sects of Judaism. Another possible trend would be for ultra-orthodox who do advocate extremist ideologies to utilize this style of music in order to spread their beliefs that do negatively affect prospects for conflict resolution.
Ben,
ReplyDeleteI am with you in that I was a little thrown off with the videos perception of rap music. I didnt think of how it would be received like you did and that is an interesting thought.