Gangsta Caprese
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
I’m not sure exactly what to say about the Cooking With Coolio web series, because against my better judgment, I’m linking it here for those of you who aren’t easily offended. I’ll be honest–I thought it was a lot of fun. But then again, I like Coolio–well, except for his response to Weird Al Yankovoic’s “Amish Paradise” spoof–but, other than that, he seems like a reasonably cool guy. (For those of you who are having a hard time placing him, you might remember him as the rapper with the braids that stuck out of his head at weird angles, and who had a big hit in 1995/6 with “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Incidentally, this was the same period that I was studying in Italy for a semester. I really cannot describe the effect of seeing a club full of affluent white European and American students, all singing “Gangsta’s Paradise” in unison and waving their fists around vaguely. Followed by the macarena. But I digress.)
So, anyway, yes, he’s a rap star, and he embraces a great deal of that lifestyle. And yes, most of the webisodes are riddled with profanity. (Though not the one I linked, which features him cooking for a young boy.) And it is certainly true that some people would find the presence of the often scantily clad “Sauce Girls” to be a trifle misogynistic. I’m not going to ding him for pulling spices out of small plastic bags, since I do that too, though I’m a bit less mysterious and showy about it. But then again, I don’t call myself the Ghetto Gourmet, nor do I yell, “Shaka Zulu,” when I cook. Not yet, anyway. That could change.
But still, the concept is cute, and in a weird way–if cleaned up a bit for a family audience (like the linked episode)–I think it could actually be a good thing for boys. I mean, what we really have is a successful black man, who is at least somewhat cool (hence the name), cooking healthy meals (and advocating for them). Not only do I like that in the setting-good-nutritional-examples-to-fight-obesity way (he makes things like salad caprese and sauteed spinach), but also in the breaking-stereotypes-for-boys way.
Am I going a bit far too justify my enjoyment of fluff video? Perhaps, but it is Friday, after all. And I still think I’m on to something here. Shaka Zulu, y’all!!
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