‘State of the Culture’ is the show you turn on to hear unfiltered, unapologetic, gritty opinions in regards to topics within hip hop culture — whether you agree with what’s being said or not. Joe Budden, Remy Ma, Jinx, and Scottie Beam aren’t here to hold your hand in their debates and sugarcoat their words. They’re here to say what everyone else is afraid of saying, and do so with no hesitation. From talking about music, politics, sports and everything in between; the hosts are always with the shits. Welcome to ‘State of the Culture.’
Call it kismet or divine intervention. But, it feels like the mid-season premiere of “State of the Culture” came back with the shits at the perfect time. The year 2019 started with a flurry of f*ckery that is deserving of some dissection, starting with the MAGA attack against Jussie Smollett in Chicago. There’s some chatter on the internet about the Sundance documentary Leaving Neverland, which explores the child molestation claims levied against Michael Jackson a decade after his death. Does this mean cancel culture has reared its head yet again? Well, when it comes to veteran Twitter trolls like YesJulz, that would be a resounding hell yes. The controversial social media star ticked off all of Black Twitter after an offensive freestyle went viral. This is only the tip of the polar vortex iceberg folks (is that over yet, by the way?)
‘State of the Culture’ | The State of Hate (Full Episode)
Check out nine major highlights from the “State Of The Culture” mid-season premiere.
1) The Golden Child and Jinx Share the Same Birthday!
As you probably already know, Remy Ma is now a mama all over again. The rapper and her husband, Papoose, gave birth to a baby girl over the break and she’s just as precious as you’d imagine. The beautiful and no fuss bundle of joy shares the same birthday as Jinx, who got a personal call from Remy from the hospital to hear the news. That’s love!
2) Jussie Smollett’s Attack Says a Lot about the President’s Influence
Jinx put it best when he said that “MAGA Country is just a brand name for white supremacy.” The attack against Jussie Smollett in Chicago by MAGA supporters, which left the “Empire” star with bruises and a noose around his neck, brings to light the ugly hatred buried deep in the hearts of Trump supporters. Being that the crime was motivated by both racism and homophobia, it begs the question of support Black people have for folks in the community who are doubly marginalized. As far as Remy sees it, what happened to Jussie Smollett is happening to regular folks across the country every day, and those cases don’t always get the press they deserve. “[If the perpetrators] could do this to someone they know has a fanbase and it could come back to them, what are they doing to people who don’t have that voice?”
3) Joe Budden Has His Doubts When it Comes to Jussie’s Story
Though Jussie maintains the origin of story is 100% factual, Joe is side-eyeing some details of the story and because he’s Joe, we’re keeping it a buck. According to Reddit rumors, Jussie was attacked by the boyfriend of a man he was sleeping with and the MAGA story is just cover up. The panel shudders to think this could be a reality. But, stranger things have happened in Hollywood, as far as Joe sees it. “I’m not saying he wasn’t attacked. This is record industry 101 bullshit. Do not play with the fears of oppressed people cuz that’s what this sounds like to me.”
4) Pop Culture & Politics: The Perfect Mix or Clash Made in Hell?
Cardi B has been spreading her wings as a political influencer, and her millions of social media followers are taking notes. But, is celebrity involvement helping or harming the cause? Politicians tend to get major cool points for pop culture co-signs. But, the buck shouldn’t stop there. Scottie speaks from experience. “If you’re interested in what Cardi B is saying, double check her facts. I’m not saying she’s wrong, but read about it yourself,” the co-host said.
5) Know Your Politics This Year, Kids
I think we can all agree that in preparation for the 2020 elections, folks need to be well read on the policies each candidate supports and vote according to their best interests. 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris has gotten lots of press as a top Democratic contender who plans to go head-to-head with Donald Trump next fall. But, Remy is concerned about some stances Harris has taken on issues within the judicial system. “They said she was against one of the bills for police to wear body cameras. If you had the same views as me, and you know what these police officers are doing to people in our community, why would you be against that?” Scottie admits to voting for Barack Obama at 18 without doing her research on his policies. The longtime Chicago senator wooed voters with his charisma, much like Bill Clinton did with his saxophone, despite his long history of doling out hard sentences to non-violent offenders. In Jinx’s eyes, it’s not a mistake we can afford to make again. “We don’t need another politician, we need a civil servant.”
6) Cancel Culture Will Not Be Canceled any Time Soon, But Remy Ma Doesn’t Think It Solves a Thing
Cancel culture has naturally become the people’s justice, but Jinx feels folks on social media can be a little trigger-happy when choosing which celebrities to cancel. “It’s dispatched unjustly sometimes. You got a serial predator, yeah you might to remove some of his power and presence amongst most people. But, you got someone that makes a typo, says something insensitive, or cracks a joke that’s not that funny. Then, I don’t know if we canceling them.” He and Scottie also feel like there’s no permanence in canceling a celebrity anymore – just 24 hours of jokes and memes on the timeline at the offender’s expense before they’re no longer a topic. “The attacks on the person are less useful because they’re still out there doing them anyway,” they add. Remy Ma thinks cancel culture is both toxic and ineffective. “People’s lives are really being affected by this. There are children that are involved. In some instances, you could possibly be innocent,” she added.
7) Chris Brown Might Have a Little Too Much Dip On His Chip When It Comes to His New Merch
Breezy can’t seem to keep his name out of the headlines. But, this time it seems like he was unfairly targeted. The singer was falsely accused of rape by a French student in Paris, but released without charges. On top of gearing up to sue the student over the false accusations, he plans to release shirts with the phrase “This B*tch Lyin.’” The panel is calling a flag on the play… but, Remy will proudly sport Brown’s shirt. She said: “People use our emotions to make us feel a certain way, Rape is one of those topics. What happens to these women who use one of these topics that are so severe?” Joe would rather CB take the high road. He said, “We need men that have gone through things here to speak about it and show how they’ve grown from the experience.”
8) Instagram Live Beef Is For The Birds
What does it say about the state of hip hop when rappers are turning to IG Live to act out their beefs? It’s pretty much inconceivable to our panelists, but such is the music industry these days. Tory Lanez is gunning for the best rappers in the game through his string of beefs. While his talent has never been in question, his rollout of manufactured conflicts (including with Don Q, who Joe cites as one of his friends) might diminish them.
9) YesJulz’s Antics Have Expired
The party promoter turned rapper is in hot water for spitting a radio freestyle for Soulja Boy that took shots toward the black community. This isn’t the first time YesJulz has been dragged to the moon and back for racist, and insensitive posts on social media. Scottie has had personal conversations with some of Julz’s black friends. But, she feels these constant missteps will eventually mean that “her friends are going to be the reason she’s gonna get her ass beat.” I know you were probably thinking this would be a simmering hot topic. But, Joe cut this talking point short. “Her ass deflated ages ago. Why are we still sweating this chick?”
Watch “State of the Culture” on TV on Tuesday nights at 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT and on digital on Mondays at 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT! Check out where you can watch the REVOLT TV channel here.
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