Upset Stomach

To our fellow visitors, have you seen the infomercial Hip Hop Abs? I come across it almost every weekend when I get up early in the morning. Now I do believe if you have a creative idea to make money, you should do what you can to follow through with it. After all it is the true essence of entrepreneurship, is it not?

Anyways, my question to you is, “do any of you feel that this Shaun T character has insulted our culture by using its name to make money?”

It brings up all sorts of other questions as well. For instance, are street dance moves and Hip Hop moves considered to be the same thing? What is truly a Hip Hop move anyway? I ask these questions because throughout the entire infomercial I don’t hear Hip Hop music. Instead (and you can correct me if I’m wrong) what I do hear is Dance and Pop music.

I’ve always felt that B-boys and B-girls are the only group in our culture that can give any of us the true answer to what a Hip Hop move is.

What does a 30yr old, 6’1″ character from Deptford, New Jersey, truly know about our Hip Hop culture? If he does know anything about it does he even give a damn? I just see some actor selling on TV like that Sham Wow character!

Hip Hop Abs is one of a few products from the BCM (Bloodsucking Corporate Machine) that goes by the name of Beachbody. This home fitness and weight-loss company was founded in L.A. in 1998. Now what does that tell you about their knowledge of our Hip Hop culture?

Is it me or does the infomercial target the suburban market only and not anywhere else? Should we all be upset about that? Or given the opportunity, would you do the same thing? Would you do it different?

If you did what Shaun T has done, and you knowing fully of our Hip Hop culture, would the initial question I started with be looked upon differently? If so, then why?

These are many questions that flow through my mind whenever I see the Hip Hop Abs infomercial. To a point it upsets me, but I can never be sure why. I do give props to Shaun T for making something of himself and possibly saving a lot of lives in the process. However, there’s a wrong in there somewhere, how else can I explain my upset stomach whenever I see Hip Hop Abs?

Ellen DeGeneres does the Hip Hop Abs workout