What does bias mean to you?

[R-Tistic]

I had to ask this question, because this is one of the main things that divide rap, especially between the Bay and LA, but I think the definition itself may throw people off and end up stirring things up. Maybe this will give some aid to the whole MISconception that LA doesn't like Bay area music and that we not "biased" in the negative way that they usually think.

Dictionary defintions of bias and biased...
A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.
A statistical sampling or testing error caused by systematically favoring some outcomes over others.
To influence in a particular, typically unfair direction; prejudice.

Now my question...what does it mean, to you, for someone to have a bias? Do you feel it's always a bad thing to have one, or are you always against it? Do you feel you are ever biased in any ways?

Personally, I feel that there are two different perspectives on what it means to have bias. The first one is the one that most people have, and the one that I definitely have just as most others do. This is when somebody may not attempt to be subjective or prejudice, but when they just favor whatever they grew up around or what they are used to more than they favor something else. This does not mean they aren't open to other things, but generally speaking, this is what they usually prefer. With music, this is how I feel I am about west coast rap, or even LA rap vs. Bay Area rap, and don't jump too quick if you didn't catch what I said. This means that I generally like more west coast rap than east coast, and generally more LA than Bay, only because I grew up in LA and that's what I heard most of the time...however, this NEVER means that I will like an LA artist, song, or album, more than a Bay or east coast one, ONLY because it comes from LA. This bias is only natural, and this is the reason most people around the nation prefer their regional music more than music they aren't exposed to as much. Therefore, when somebody from the south doesn't like an LA song, or somebody from NY doens't like a Down South song, it might not always be because they are "hatin", but because they aren't used to it, and even if they have an open ear, they just aren't gonna feel it as much as the people who prefer that style.

The second view I have on bias is what I think most people on here consider to be biased, which is basically when somebody may prefer something only because it relates to them, or because they are more used to it and they are close minded towards other things. This would be like if somebody asked me, "have you heard of Mac Mall?" and if I was like "nah, who's he?" and they said "he's a Bay Area rapper" and I'm like ahh hell nah, I don't give a fuck about him then, most Bay artists suck. This would also be as if somebody played me a song, and I was feelin it and asked "damn who's song is that?" and they were like "that's this down south rapper named Penny Poker" and I was like "oh he's from the south?? Damn.....I don't like this shit, I don't like down south music."

I feel that most people who tend to have an "LA bias" generally tend to be more like me, which is the 1st I described, and a lot of people in the south have more of that type of bias it seems. They like the music they grew up on the most, but if somethin is hot, they could care less about where it comes from, and they are usually open minded to any kind of music. However, most people in the Bay seem to look at LA as having that 2nd type of bias, meaning we hate somethin just because it comes from the Bay, and that's not the case in most situations if you ask me.

[ABN]

biased hmm to me biased(as far as hip hop is concerned)is when youŽre not willing to give someone a listen just for the simple fact that the artist in question is from such and such place. but it can also be that youŽre not willing to give an artist a fair chance just coz they got problems with such and such. i could come with a whole bunch of different things that bias means to me but it would turn into a fucking essay if i were to do that. iŽll drop by with some more thoughts on this tomorrow.

[Juronimo]

I haven't lived anywhere else but Southern California so yeah I bump a lot of west coast rap, specifically LA rap. Also, Public Enemy was what got me into rap in the first place and they're from NY so I like hiphop from anywhere but I do gravitate towards the west since I grew up here, I understand and can relate to the stories. I also feel west coast rap much more musically, I'm a musician, or at least I used to be so I have a greater appreciation for the musical elements of west coast hip hop, which in my ears, is more sophisticated.

I think bias comes into play if someone won't give someone a listen because of where the artist is from or because of their accent or how they rap. You'll see this bias if you encounter someone who came out here from New York and they won't give west coast rap the time of day because they have some narrow minded preconcieved notion of what "the real hip hop" is supposed to sound like. This is why you had songs like Tim Dog's Fuck Compton, Common's I Used To Love Her and Masta Ace's Slaughterhouse being made, where west coast cats felt shitted on, while east coast cats was feeling it. They thought the stories that were being told were fake and not real, while those of us that live out here know it's real and can relate to it.

I've been into this shit for a while so I've seen waves of bias come and go, towards many different styles of hip hop. I think that's to be expected.

When you shit on someone's music without giving it a chance, or because they have beef with your favorite rapper, that's when you're being biased.

[mrtonguetwista]

After I cash my paycheck I like to go out and bias (buy ass)

[Acgrundy]

its simple, plenty of people are biased.

biased because they will not listen to the bay, just simply because they are from the bay.  there is plenty of people here that do that.  or biased, as they will listen to, and dickride, everything that comes out on aftermath. 

I'm definately biased.  I won't check out plenty of rap that is not westcoast.  There is quite a few rappers outside the westcoast that I like, but I won't check anything from anyone outside of them, but I am biased towards the westcoast, as I will check out nearly every decently heard of release.  Not hardly anymore tho, cuz most everything sucks, so I check out less and less nowadays.  I'm biased towards individual rappers too.  I will check everything that drops from peeps like Jayo, tray deee, mc eiht, spice 1, e40, dj quik, celly cel, wc, etc.  and then their are peeps like 50 cent, nelly, ja rule, bonecrusher, yin yan twinz, lil jon, chingy, and plenty more mutha fuckas who's names I don't even know, who's albums I will never ever check out.  The only reason why I would even listen to a song is cause its got a westcoast artist featured.  and odds are I wouldn't like it.  The only other time I would hear these guys is if I heard them on the radio or saw them on mtv (both of which I rarely listen to/watch).  Or I have heard the shit at a bar/party, but I'm usually so fucked up that I don't even give a crap about the music. 

Everyone on this board has a bias somehow or another when it comes to rap.  Don't try and say R Tistic that you are not biased towards LA.  I'm biased towards the entire westcoast over any other area, and you are most definately biased towards LA.

[R-Tistic]

Everyone on this board has a bias somehow or another when it comes to rap.  Don't try and say R Tistic that you are not biased towards LA.  I'm biased towards the entire westcoast over any other area, and you are most definately biased towards LA.

As I said....I am biased towards LA in the way that I described for the first defintion, but not anywhere near how you said you are or as I said in the 2nd one. I go to school at Florida A&M...if I was biased I'd hate the fuck outta bein here, and I'd have a closed ear and never like anything that didn't come from LA. WIth me, it's just a lotta music from the south I just can't get into, but it's definitely some south music I will play just like it's west coast. I do play more west coast than anything else, because that's what I like most and because they don't hear it out here. But as far as me not givin them a chance to hear their music and all that, that's NEVER the case. And I like a whole lot of East Coast rap too, I just don't talk about it much on here because this is a west coast site. I don't even think I'm that biased towards LA in a bad way, because if I like somethin, I really don't care at all where it's from. I was playin The Federation album more than I was playin anything else from LA last year aside from Suga Free, because it was hot. So is that considered biased in your book, meanin I dickride LA and knock shit from the Bay or outside the west?

[oglocdogg]

its like the game n fifty cent situation like for instance if you dickridin game and someone say games new song better than fiftys when it blatantly isnt that to me is being biased beacause you know that it is but you say it isnt cus you dislike fifty. its sort of predjudice like if you int feelin suttin you wont try it in preference to suttin else

[Trauma-san]

You know bias is another name for the pan from left to right on a mix, too.


Anyways, yeah, I think everyone is biased, and yes it is usually an unfair preference someone has.. i.e. they have no concrete 'proof' that what they prefer is actually better, and thus can't concretely prove it.

For instance, say you see someone pouring a beer in a glass, and the foam runs up and over the top... well, you tell them that you prefer to pour it in with the glass sideways, because that way the foam doesn't bubble up as much, and you don't lose as much out and over the top... so you hold it to the side, do it, and prove that it doesn't waste as much beer that way.  That's a preference, but it's not unfair, because you can prove that it's true.

You can't prove that L.A. music is better than Bay area music... mainly because it's an opinion judgement.

I think you're right that it's natural for people to prefer their own kind.  Their own kind of food, their own kind of music, their own kind of people, their own RACE of people even, their own language, etc. 

As a matter of fact, I usually think people that do not have these inbred biases, have mental issues.  If you meet someone that wants to be black instead of white, or prefers being around black people when he's white, I think there's something goin' on there.  If you meet someone who grew up in brooklyn, but wants to move to L.A., there's a reason for that, somewhere.  Some kind of mental hangup, the most well balanced people are the ones with these biases, like l.a. cats who prefer l.a. style music, etc. 

It's good for ya

[T-Dub]

I get what your saying about the two different types of biases.  I think it's kind of natural to prefer the music of where you're from.  It's kinda like a sports team, unless you're a bandwagoner, the majority of the time you're going for your home team.  I prefer LA rap more than any other Hip Hop but it doesn't really matter where you're from for me.  If I'm feeling it, I'll support it.  Some music is more universal than others so it's going to be easier to appeal to a wider variety of people.  Then some music is more regional based.  As far as the Bay, it's still Cali, so it's still all good.  I don't really hate on music because of where they are from (if it's good, it's good regardless), but as far as searching for and finding new up and coming artists yeah I'm guilty of paying more attention to Cali.