Just take a look on greenamericatoday.org (formerly coopamerica.org): http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=229

To me I love the positivity of the lyrics. I was more upset that it took a Gap ad to get some positive hip hop in the mainstream media.

Maybe stereotype is not an appropriate term here, but to me, the “non threatening minority person selling White people stuff to White people” is an objectification. However to be perfectly honest I don’t know what history/conection the Gap has with minorities, hip hop, or the ‘hood, so I could be off base here.

What stereotype is Common portraying? Necktied rappers singing about peace? Is it a stereotype when Jon Heder of Napoleon Dynamite fame dances in a Gap ad, or when Janelle Monae (a singer) sings? What about when actors Rainn Wilson and Selma Blair perform for the Gap? I do not think that using a popular artist to sell a project is objectification simply because he is black and performing music that is about and from the hood.

Maybe I do not understand you definition of objectification, but Common is not being portrayed as an object, separate from his identity or humanity. He is not, imo, even playing a role like the white actors I mentioned seem to be. He is performing his craft.

The other was an initial impression that all but one of the players were “Obama-esque” – very lightskinned, with pretty facial features that did not imply any particular ethnicity. I was surprised at the earlier comment that it aired several years ago.

I find it weird and troubling that very dark-skinned people have become nearly invisible in popular culture since Obama’s election.

wow, that’s a pretty bold statement. and, i would say one that seems rather ignorant of common’s career. in fact, i would wholeheartedly disagree with this statement, “who name drops parts of impoverished urbanite culture (”the hood”) without actually mentioning any of the social dynamics of the area.” common is well versed with the social dynamics of the hood, and his music deals frequently with it.

let’s look about common’s statements about the hood:
– fell into the gap rockin the hood (sweatshirt reference)
– seeing peace in the streets when i stopped in the hood
– we going to keep it alive like hip hop in the hood
– it’s good when love don’t stop in the hood,

those all happen in the first 3rd of the commercial and clearly demonstrate that common, a guy who grew up in the south side of chicago, knows nothing about the hood or it’s dynamics, because if he did he would never talk about peace, love, or hip hop.

is it common’s fault that he and his music are marketable to a larger community?