BedBunker – Concealed Gun Safe

I hope I don't have to explain why this fine product, the BedBunker concealed gun safe, might be of interest to various segments of the hip hop community!

From the press release:

"The BedBunker safe…replaces the box spring under a bed and is compatible with most standard twin, queen and king bed frames, and a lighter version is available for RVs. Two safe sections bolt together from the inside, which makes it virtually impossible to move once the two safe sections are bolted together in place….

"Product inventor/designer John Adrain conceived of the idea while looking for an improved gun storage solution with limited space available. "Traditional gun safes are very obvious to an intruder and can take up a big part of a room"…

"The safe can hold 35 rifles and 70 hand guns. You can nearly double the number of rifles if you put them in socks and double stack them."

Only 35 rifles? Guess I'll have to put mine in socks and double stack!

Woo hoo!!

MySpace: BedBunker Demo Video

[Photo courtesy PRNewsFoto/Heracles Research Corporation]

Although Young Buck says he didn’t do it, djs are responding to his alleged attack on a club dj who played The Game’s It’s Okay (One Blood) by refusing to play Young Buck’s music.  So far, some Atlanta radio stations have also joined in and there will certainly be more action on the way.

First, let me make clear that I’m incredibly happy about this development.  The violence of far too many hip hop artists and their associates, some of whom include djs, has kept hip hop from developing in a positive and productive manner.

Although I would like to see such action come from the writing community, anyone familiar with writers, especially in the mainstream media (that includes Vibe, XXL, etc.), knows that writers do not generally have each other’s backs.  In part, that’s due to the actions of editors and publishers who directly benefit from hip hop violence and keep writers in line when it comes to touchy subjects that might alienate advertisers.

But back to the djs because, as one dj stated regarding the Young Buck situation in relationship to hip hop as a whole:
We gotta do today what we can do to prevent any more negative sh*t in hip-hop. We’re already on the line now. DJ’s are the only thing keeping this balanced because the artists are out of control.

And, you know what?  He’s absolutely right.  No one else within hip hop is positioned to make the kind of change that club and radio djs can make if they are truly unified.

Everyone in the industry knows this, that’s why Young Buck immediately went into damage control and why BME sent out a Young Buck-free version of Lil Scrappy’s Money In The Bank mighty damn quick.

I know I tend to hope for too much when I see signs of organic political action in hip hop, as occurred with Jay-Z’s Cristal boycott which I initially mistook for a political maneuver, but that’s fine with me.  I’d rather live in the belief that individuals working together based on their self-interest can effect positive change in the world than simply accept the status quo and stack dollars.  The latter is a punk move, in my honest opinion.

In any case, such actions are long overdue and ProHipHop will support them whenever possible.

The Ave magazine takes a look at the loss of civil liberties since 9/11.

Also worth checking out:

A roundup of 9/11 links at Notes From A Different Kitchen.  [via The Rap Up]

Eskay pays respect to the innocent people who lost their lives.

I’ve been trying my best not to write about all the interesting stuff I’m finding on marketing and ad blogs that isn’t directly hip hop related but this ad about banks featuring a gun seemed close enough.  Like many striking images of ads, it arrives via Coloribus:

The entrance of the Mass Rapid Transportation transformed to resemble a bank, so that people will feel as if they are entering the lobby of a bank. As they enter the station, they will see a bank teller pointing a gun at them, communicating that a bank is robbing you with high interest.

I like this ad for a lot of reasons.  In particular, it’s a great twist on the bank robber concept and makes creative use of everyday movement through a physical space.

But it’s also an opportunity to start adding some nuances to my ongoing discussion of guns and marketing.  The reality is that I’m drawn to a wide range of gun references in art and media but the unwillingness of many in the hip hop blogging scene to do anything but dismiss critiques of gun images has put me in a position where I’ve generally taken a fairly hardline stance.

Why do I take that stance?  Because I’ve observed that the images and language we create and consume has a material impact on our lives and I’ve seen that both personally and on a much larger scale.  Given that shootings are becoming a mundane occurence in some sectors of hip hop, I think it’s incumbent on artists, media people and marketers to start considering the effects of what we do in a manner that goes beyond stacking bills.

To be honest, I find it incredibly strange that people involved in the arts and media (including marketers), who know how powerful music, language and images have been in their own lives, will dismiss the notion that music and art can have an actual material impact on the world.  It’s like, as soon as someone’s asked to take even limited responsibility for the effects of what they do, they start arguing that it’s all just fun, entertainment, i.e. not that important when we have larger issues to consider.

Although I feel that some artists and business people say such things because they don’t want anybody f*cking with their money, I have the feeling that some folks who dismiss my concerns really do believe what they’re saying.

However, I’m willing to leave the one-sided discussion behind if other folks are.  I’ve never advocated censorship, despite claims to the contrary.  I have always advocated responsibility for what one puts out in the world and responsibility for whom one associates with.  Often my concern has been not that someone thinks a particular image or statement is fine with them, but that they have to dismiss any possibility that words and images might have a negative impact on the world in order to remain comfortable with their own desires.

Such a discussion doesn’t need to happen here, though I’ll certainly keep posting on the topic.  I just think we, as hip hop writers, fans, business people and artists, need to up our game on breaking down the effects of our words and images and start finding more ways to creatively live with the contradictions in our lives.  I believe that if a critical mass can build within hip hop, one that does not present a one-sided kneejerk reaction to social issues but is also unwilling to evade responsibility, we can have a positive impact not only on hip hop but on society as a whole.

And if that leads to better music, it’s all to the good.