(From AfroPunk.com)

When most people think about punk rock, images of sweaty thin white boys instantly come to mind- holding stead fast to the idea that punk music is reserved for the privileged white youth that exude bottled rage in the form of guitars, drums, mosh pits, drugs, piercings, and cheap alcohol.

But what happens when you’re old and black and are thirsty for an alternative punk audience to appreciate your music? As difficult as it is for younger black alternative bands to break through the punk rock scene, will older black rock musicians, who have built their career on their empowering lyrical content, true instrumentation, and a D.I.Y. model ever appeal to the iPod generation of black youth?

Or will their legacy live on solely through their majority white dedicated underground fans?

Take for example, black punk/ska band, Fishbone, who have been playing together for 31 years, and have maintained very little commercial success in the American music circuit, yet have been attributed for influencing mainstream bands such as No Doubt and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. When lead singer and frontman, Angelo Moore, was asked why he thinks his band never made commercial success, he said, “How come we’re playing all of this great music and intricate arrangements, singing about everything under the sun, and people want to throw you chicken change? If you singing about your pussy or dick to keep you in the nigga zone, they’ll just throw you money to keep you there and make it glorified.” Because the band has run into a number of financial pitfalls, Angelo has even started other start-up ventures such as a comic book collection which he promotes abroad to stay afloat…Read the rest at AfroPunk.com.

Words: Whitney Summer Boyd

Will legendary black rock bands ever hit mainstream success or gain the attention of a younger black audience? Who knows, but for now, let’s just enjoy their music.

For more, go here.

Take a look at a few of the nouveau rockstars in the gallery below:

Wendy Ho is on a tight budget, so stealing is her best option. But she doesn’t want your cell phone, makeup, or any other valuables you have. She just wants your purse, bitch. And maybe your boyfriend.

I have never seen or heard this chick before in my life, but Wendy Ho’s “Bitch, I Stole Your Purse” is one of the funniest things I’ve seen all week. Besides the funny lyrics, something about hood white girls always puts me in stitches. I hope this one sticks around.

NBC’s To Catch a Predator is such a guilty pleasure, even though it’s the same scenario every time: perv comes in, young decoy offers him some lemonade and cookies or whatever, then host Chris Hanson comes outta nowhere with some really snappy line and the perv gets all embarrassed, and later arrested.

But the real action comes when the situation goes one of two ways:

1. The dude acts all calm and has a BS conversation with Hanson, talking about how he wasn’t really gonna have sex with a kid, but, you know, he was just visiting or whatever.

2. Dude is familiar with the show, but apparently never thought he’d be on it, so he starts apologizing and pleading and feeling all sad and ashamed when he realizes that as soon as he walks out the door, the cops are gonna rag him up, and shit will steadily roll downhill for his whole sorry life from then on.

So imagine my delight when fellow GIANT staffer Kevin sent me this Predator highlights video. Some kid had a lot of time on their hands, and we’re so totally grateful for it. Check out the clip below.

While Asians occasionally break out in the American music scene, no African American in the history of Japanese enka (a style of music) has made any waves overseas. So, obviously, Pittsburgh-born enka singer Jero (born Jerome White, Jr. – save your jokes) is, like, a really big deal now.

Introduced to the Japanese folk music by his grandma, who was Japanese herself, Jero moved to Japan right after college in 2003 and started a music career. While you can’t help but giggle when you see this black guy, dressed like a b-boy, start singing Japanese slow jams, he’s actually pretty good. He’s like the Obama of Enka. Yes we can!

Some people have hit songs and tons of fame because they’re really good at singing. Some are just good at dancing. Others are just really good entertainers. Rihanna is one of those “others.”

Rihanna has the raw talent of being really cute and sweet and making America fall in love with her innocence. With the right backing (Jay-Z), girls like her can climb to the top of the pop culture mountain doing little more than holding a tune, staying in shape, and memorizing at least two dance sequences (that can be repeated throught a whole song or video, if necessary). That said, if Rihanna didn’t have the look or the right people, she wouldn’t have gotten very far in life. Unlike Britney Spears and Janet Jackson, she isn’t carried by her dancing, but instead by her serious loveability, and America was tricked into ignoring her lack of singing and dancing ability to the point where they’ve convinced themselves she can sing. But she can’t, and this high school video proves it.

This is not to say I or others will not continue to buy her albums. Because who DOESN’T love Rihanna?

Check out this utterly painful rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” Speaking of heroes, some kind soul really should have saved her from going on stage and trying to pull this shit off.

Plies hosted an open casting call for his new reality show “Bust It Baby,” and every shameless woman in America came ready to pop, lock, and drop it for the rapper’s attention. Unfortunately, most of the auditioning women just kind of make you throw up in your mouth a little instead. Wowawewa. Check out the video.

It’s kind of long (7 minutes), but you should at least watch it up to the part where one actually bends over and lets everyone know that Plies can feel free to “bussthatshitwideopen.” It’ll be a tough call deciding between her and the one who insists there isn’t anything (anything) she won’t do for Plies, considering she’s already doing everything for the locals, so this ho-pportunity is, like, a really big deal. I’m sure Plies is honored, but we are definitely not jealous.

Plies’ “Bust It Baby” Casting Day:

Missy Elliott‘s appeal is kind of funny. She’s not the best lyricist around, but her beats are always fun and ampy and her videos are one big shroomfest. None of that’s changed with “Ching-A-Ling”.

Check out the video below. Those damn kids are gone. They were cute while they lasted, but her new dancers are way fun. Shorts and striped knee socks, however, have not gone out of style for her. Good thing Missy can pretty much do whatever she wants, but the liberal-arts-university-educated part of me is a little put off by four Asians being the first thing you see in a video for a song that goes, “Ching ching…” SMH.

Check out Will Smith’s new hair (no, that’s not him on the S Curl box). I don’t know if it’s the receding hairline, or the fact that he’s no longer the freshest prince in terms of age, that makes it so ridiculous, but Jada definitely could have given him the heads up on his new curly half-fro.

In Smith’s defense, though, S-Curls were the shit in, like, 2001. But now, it just reminds me of this great clip from In Living Color: