Sean Hannity meets KRS-One

This is a truly head-exploding example of what's wrong with cable news.

Hannity grills KRS in his usual right-wing fashion, which is perfectly fine, but wait until the clip gets past the one minute mark...




We have an intelligent, activist black man discussing "who has the power to define" racial discourse in one-third of the screen, and the other two-thirds ... "Country Grammar"??!

I've heard apologist arguments before about how the flash-bang visuals on Fox News are over-the-top but essentially apolitical and harmless. I say look at this clip. Dwarfing KRS-One with a Nelly video here works on a number of levels for the channel:

1) For practicality, it sexes up the image, just like the channel's gun-shot transitions. This way the segment's producers can slip in some shots of a few rap videhos.

That's obvious sensationalism, sure. BUT, pre-packaged with the sleaze, we get clear ideological messages:

2) The images tear down KRS as an artist and reduce hip-hop to the lowest common denominator. KRS-One's entire body of work goes against Nelly's antics, yet the channel suggests the two men are one in the same. "My Philosophy," "Hot in Herre," whatever. Same shit, different scary black man. KRS, Nelly, and all those other rappers get balled up into one homogenized mass -- and, consequently, the bullshit we hear on the radio becomes representative of the whole.

3) And, lastly, the images tear down KRS as a left-leaning figure. The visual comparison to Nelly taints everything that comes out of his mouth, given that Nelly would probably be the last person anyone on earth would go to for sociopolitical insight. KRS-One's blunt political views clearly won't jibe with most of Hannity's viewers, and, without having to shout a word, Hannity makes sure he stacks the deck against him from the beginning.

Classic.