This a fine line to walk. If one says that the "hip hop" culture infringes on a proper value system for youths, people jump down their throat, saying they aren't embracing cultures... worse yet, that they're racist. But here's my take. The role models that kids find in rappers are surely not the type that benefit any child in a positive matter. I have nothing against rap music as a whole. But, it's no hidden fact that rappers GENERALLY represent crime, poor social values, objectification of women, and so on.
Plenty of us just say "Eh, it's just music, what's it matter." Well, it matters alot to a 12 year-old in dire need of a father figure, since his dad is off banging his secretary and getting DUIs and his mom is porkin' the FedEx guy.
My step-cousin just graduated from her University where her son spent the first 3 years of his life. Since she's a lousy mother, or finds it doesn't matter, her son spent many hours of the day watching MTV. He didn't have many kids to play with, and she's irresponsible to begin with. He's now three years old and has a terrible mouth. He'll randomly blirt out "fuck off", "motherfucker", or other colorful phrases to one of the other young boys in the family. Surely he didn't get this from MTV alone. I'm sure he picked the best of it it up from her music.
Is this simply culture? Hell no. It's a horrible exploitation of pop culture. No parent (black or white) wants their kid hearing or speaking that crap, or having drastically skewed opinions of women and acceptable lifestyles.
Rap is highly formulated (as pretty much all of pop culture is) and rappers follow the same trends as long as they sell. Right now the same videos with some ugly fool surrounded by cars and skanks, rappin about how much they want his nuts and how he lives his life of gratuitous sex and money. Fine and dandy as music. But there are repercussions.
Kids find role models in rappers, sports stars (especially the thuggish ones), and the like. I've seen some serious effects first hand, and it ain't pretty.
Bill Cosby is a fantastic role model. Black males in general have had a hard time relating to educated balck role models. I've never understood it. I imagine it's because the constant barrage of Iversons, Nelly's, and Jay-Z's surely exceededs the exposure of the Bill Cosby's out there. Black men are far less likely to go to college. This isn't because of inherent disadvantages. It's simply because the percentage of black men who are raised to understand the fulfilment one gains from college is extremely low. The'll dub it as something "for white kids". Black females, on the other hand, are embracing it much more effectively. Voluntary segregation is also rampant... which is a major cause of this entire problem.
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Topic: Bill Cosby And The Black Community (Read 157 times)