[Tony Cox:] It's time again for your letters. And with me now is NEWS & NOTES editor Cory Turner. Hey, Cory.
[Cory Turner:] Hey, Tony, how you've been?
[Tony Cox:] I'm great. So what do we have this week?
[Cory Turner:] Well, our month-long hip-hop series has really been turning heads. As always, some people really seem to love it and some people don't. Listener Paul of Indianapolis cut right through the chase. He writes, yawn, hip-hop. I really missed the days of seeing black and Latino musicians playing guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, and even singing rather than, look at me, I'm so great, rappers and DJs. I'll wait until something new finally comes along and then young people will look at hip-hop as old news.
[Tony Cox:] You know, you're right, Paul, there's always something new coming along, and eventually, hip-hop may seem old school, too, but for now, there's no denying its power over our culture. And like it or not, hip-hop artists and their often complex messages mean a lot to a lot of people, not all of them kids.
[Cory Turner:] Tony, Gwen Moore of St. Louis, Missouri, is a fan of hip-hop and our series with one exception. She writes, first, I want to thank you for your intelligent series on hip-hop culture. However, I must take exception with Toni Blackman's defense of the use of the N-word and M-F word in rap lyrics.
[Tony Cox:] And for those of you who might have missed it, Toni was part of our global hip-hop roundtable on Monday. Here's what she had to say.
[Ms. Toni Blackman:] Certain words sound good in the mouth and this is not a rationale of [unintelligible] and forth. Like the MF word and certain words like I've been doing freestyle workshops for about 13 years, and I realize that the M-F word and the N word, they weren't even about disrespect or trying to appear to be hard, they were they make excellent pause words because they want cut the amount of time...
[Chideya:] It's better than um.
[Ms. Toni Blackman:] Yes.
[Cory Turner:] In response, Gwen Moore writes, surely, she could have come up with a better rationalization. The N-word probably feels good in the mouth of white racists. When I was growing up, I remember my elders asserting what's good to you, ain't always good for you.
[Tony Cox:] Words to the wise, Gwen. What else have we got, Cory?
[Cory Turner:] Well, this past Monday, we ran a story about subprime loan foreclosures. They have been going through the roof. Well, Kevin Astes of Baltimore, Maryland, wrote in with a little reality check. He's been a mortgage lender for 18 years and says, if the industry couldn't offer subprime loans to folks with bad credit, then an awful lot of people just wouldn't get loans. Plus, he says, he always makes it clear to his subprime customers that if they make their payments on time, they'll be able to refinance at a better rate.
[Tony Cox:] You know, lenders often do get a bad rep for subprime loans despite a strong, legitimate and growing market for them. But where the story gets complicated is when subprime loans become predatory, trapping folks into rates they can't afford and can't get out of without paying thousands and getting fees. I guess, the lesson here, Cory, is be careful what you sign up for. But I hear, we also got some mail from a really distant shore.
[Cory Turner:] You bet, Tony, we got a really nice note from Nikki Poupadopaloo. And Nikki, I hope I got that right. She was in Paris, as in Paris, France. She listens via the Internet and writes, I really do love NEWS & NOTES. Every day after work, I come home to my son, put on NEWS & NOTES and play. I love the topics you cover, I love the tone of the program and Farai had so much soul. Thanks for that, Nikki. We think she's got soul, too. And thanks to all who took the time to write us. If you want to drop us a note, just log on to npr.org and click contact us. It helps if you tell us where you're writing from and how you say your name. You can also leave us a voicemail at 202-408-1271. That's 202-408-1271.
[Tony Cox:] And don't forget our NEWS & VIEWS blog. You can post your comments there by going to NPR.orgNEWS&NOTES and clicking the NEWS & VIEWS blog link. Thanks, Cory.
[Cory Turner:] My pleasure, Tony.
[Tony Cox:] That's our show for today. Thanks for listening. To hear the show or subscribe to our podcast, visit NPR.orgNEWS&NOTES. NEWS & NOTES was created by NPR News and the African-American Public Radio Consortium. Tomorrow, a black congressman fights the Cherokee Nation. I'm Tony Cox. This is NEWS & NOTES.