The original West Coast gangsta rappers Ice-T and Niggaz With Attitude explained that inflammatory tracks such as Somebody Gotta Do It Pimpin’ Ain’t

The original West Coast gangsta rappers Ice-T and Niggaz With Attitude explained that inflammatory tracks such as “Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy)” and “Fuck Tha Police” (sic) were accurate depictions of what went on in South Central Los Angeles. All you need is to be able to pick up a microphone, or use a spray-can for graffiti, or just buy a record.”In black American culture, rap is the music and hip hop the wider lifestyle – the clothes, the movies, the women, the slang, the high-rollers wearing Gucci and drinking Cristal champagne and the lowly soldiers who live or die according to their expertise with rhyme or drug dealing.Hip hop has its violent and misogynist strains because it sprang from horrendous dysfunctions present in the black American ghetto. That is where its fascination lies.”It’s universal because it’s the music of urban environments,” says Nihal Arthanayake, a writer for Hip Hop Connection magazine “And every country has an urban environment Hip hop is about trying to make the most of limited means. It is the last dangerous music and the last music a parent can complain about. R

ap is the sound of harsh, unforgiving modernity and it is hard on the untrained ear. Its role as a soundtrack for the violence of the city streets was re-emphasised last week when Tim Westwood, the adio 1 DJ who is Britain’s premier exponent of rap on the airwaves, was shot in south London.
The death toll of rap artists – Tupac Shakur, Notorious BIG and scores of lesser talents – had already made it look like a deadly contact sport.ap articulates a fraught, contradictory lifestyle of spectacular wealth and violent death for wannabes both black and white. Middlesbrough already has.n Big games continue to appear on established channels, because the dedicated club channels have limited local audiences.AWAY GOALSTop clubs break away to form a European super-leaguen With the Premier League’s power curbed, English teams break away from the domestic league.n The likes of United, Arsenal and Chelsea revive previous efforts to set up a league consisting of Europe’s top teams.n Viewers are treated to regular clashes between the cream of British and European football.n Smaller clubs are left to make ends meet in a diminished domestic league.SCORE-DRAWThe OFT and Premier League reach a compromisen The Premier League continues to sell a chunk of games to one television company.n The RPC insists that other television companies are allowed to show selected live games, breaking BSkyB’s monopoly on live coverage and opening up far more choice for viewers.n The most successful clubs top up their income by selling the rest of their games; the smaller clubs continue to be provided for..

Smaller clubs struggle to compete.HOME WNClubs set up their own channelsn Manchester United already has MUTV, which has been showing matches from its Australian tour; the club broadcasts some of its home games on the channel.n Other clubs set up similar channels. The static and lop-sided league an OFT victory would create is in nobody’s interests.WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BG CLUBS: THE OPTONSREPLAYThe OFT’s complaint is rejectedn BSkyB’s existing deal with the Premier League continues until 2001.n Other media companies, possibly including Carlton and Lord Hollick’s United News & Media, compete with BSkyB for future rights.n The sale generates at least pounds 1bn for football.n The Premier League considers maximising its revenue by setting up its own television channel to show matches.SHOOT-OUTClubs are told to negotiate individuallyn Top sides sell their rights to media groups for at least pounds 40m a year.n Fans of Arsenal, for instance, are able to see all their games live.n Smaller clubs have more difficulty finding anyone willing to show their matches.n Wages and transfer fees are pushed even higher as top clubs multiply their revenue. Such a result could only hasten the transformation of the First Division into “Premiership Two”, putting even greater obstacles in the way of the small clubs beneath. With TV coverage splintered, that benefit to all its member clubs would be lost.The impact would also be felt lower down, since the Nationwide League’s collective deals would presumably be open to a similar challenge. What’s more, the successful marketing of the Premier League has been a key factor in fuelling football’s boom. Even the largest would regret it if the league became so hopelessly uncompetitive that fans lost interest.

However, the results would be disastrous not only for the smaller clubs in the Premier League. Televised football will never be the same again.MKE TCHERAssociate editor of the fanzine When Saturday ComesA victory for the OFT is superficially attractive because it would threaten Sky’s dominance of the TV market. That’s when the real Monopoly game will begin.MARTYN McFADDENEditor of A Love Supreme, the Sunderland fanzineReceived wisdom suggests that Sky is “a bad thing”, yet there is no denying that its presentation is crisp and their coverage insightful What they do, they do very well. Even pay-per-view solves problems for the fan that can’t get to that away game or can no longer afford to go to every match.But the ease of access to top-quality football provided by satellite TV has starved smaller clubs of an audience and the subsequent slimming- down of professional leagues removes a safety net for players.Whatever your stance, and am not a fan of Sky, one thing is clear. The door would be open for the flash marketing moguls to usher in a Euro or even world league that no fan in this country seems to want (just look at the paltry attendances and viewing figures for run-of-the-mill European games).

What chance would a local, none plc club like Middlesbrough have to compete? Even the miserly sums that at present trickle down to the third division could dry up. Fixtures would all be ratings related, the pressure would be for Man United to play Barcelona, Arsenal to play Juventus. The FA Cup, the Premier League, the Football League would struggle. The fat cats would get fatter tying up their exclusive deals to cable and satellite providers. The current set-up may not be perfect, but it’s the best we can hope for.ROBERT NCHOLSEditor of Fly Me to the Moon, the Middlesbrough fanzinet’s not that most football followers are keen supporters of the overpriced hype machine that is the Premier League, but you have to fear the anarchy that could follow a judgement against the present deal. A full house, home advantage and anything can happen.The dream’s still alive, just about But it’s getting fainter by the year. Take the element of chance out and you’re left with certainties Handy if you’re watching at home.