Don’t Blame Hip Hop
I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here but there may be a contingent of Halftime readers who feel differently about what I’m about to say. In the aftermath of the death of D-12 member Proof, there have been the outcries to stop the violence in hip hop and the standard rhetoric from the media on how hip hop culture has and will continue to lead to death and violence because of fabricated coastal rap “beefs’ and the like. As an educated hip hop head this type of blanket statement stuff just pisses me off. I am not naïve to the fact that some hip hop perpetuates the mentality that may lead to violence, but it’s not the root cause. Most of it is a reflection of the environment around them and the elements that helped create that environment. Granted, there have been more than a few hip hop artists that have passed away at a young age due to violence but don’t blame hip hop for that. To my knowledge no rap artist has ever killed another artist over anything. Biggie didn’t shoot Pac nor did 50 Cent take out Jam Master J. There lives were lost because of street shit.
If emcees were getting taken out after ciphers from rival rappers then we’d have something to debate. But that’s not the case. Instead what you have is the result of a bunch of street dudes becoming involved in anything be it sports, rap, or whatever. Some cats can’t let that mentality go because it’s all they know while others may change but are still unable to escape its pitfalls. People are quick to judge and point out how other genres don’t have this problem but fail to examine where these artists come from and their background. It’s like we all forget where we are and what problems still resonate in this country. This isn’t a utopia. Violence in the streets is a product of socioeconomic issues not music ones. You can’t take one common factor and run with it. The problem is a lot of people tend to equate black on black crime with ‘rap on rap’ crime and that’s where this issue gets twisted.
Blame the educational system for failing the youth and leaving them feeling like they have no alternatives, blame the government for not providing equal opportunity for jobs and adequate housing, blame the lack of quality parenting or blame the screwed up mentality that permeates way too many hoods about what it means to be a man because there aren’t enough role models, whatever you do leave hip hop out of it.
