[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I've caught an episode or two of this "Def Poetry" series.

This crap is even worse than Vogon poetry.

[wideawake]

Most serious white students of black "street culture" blatantly kiss that "street culture"'s behind and accept all its assumptions as gospel.

Goldblatt is, therefore, something very special.

[wasp69]

I had the misfortune of watching about 30 seconds of this show one night. It was pure trash; all the bitching and whining and the down with whitey attitude. I wonder if anyone has bothered to tell these fools who are "keeping it real" that they have managed to go from being illiterate and wearing ill fitting clothes to.... Being illiterate and wearing ill fitting clothes. Then again, if anyone told them, would they even listen?

[Tax-chick]

Library list, Mark Goldblatt, "Africa Speaks"

[Petronski]

DEF? I thought for a moment he meant "Deutsche Emailwaren Fabrik."

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Def Comedy Jam was 99% unfunny, so I presume Def Poetry Jam to be 99% unpoetic.

[George Smiley]

"What's all this talk I hear about death poetry?"

...

[Made In The USA]

With so many good role models to follow as example, I'll never understand why there is such popularity with the lowest common denominator.

[Paradox]

Anyone remember the spoof of this stuff that Eddie Murphy did on SNL? He played in inmate named Tyrone Green and performed the following poem:

Dark and lonely on a summer's night 
Kill my landlord
Kill my landlord 
Watchdog barking 
Do he bite? 
Kill my landlord 
Kill my landlord 
Slip in his window
Break his neck 
Then his house 
I start to wreck 
Got no reason What the heck 
Kill my Landlord 
Kill my landlord 
C-I-L-L my l a n d l o r d

It was hilarious!

[sharktrager]

From a promo:

"Black people is poetic. We just do."

And, no, I am not making that up.

[jordan8]

As always with such things the real question is why does HBO put it on? Why do the elite push ghetto failure culture onto the culture in general? What's in it for them, besides money?