by Andy Heintz

Created on: August 11, 2008

I can no longer defend most of what passes for hip hop these days. Mainstream hip hop has come to glorify the some of the worst aspects of society. I do not live in the ghetto so I don't know if hip hop is an accurate reflection of ghetto life or if hip hops portrayal of ghetto culture is distorted. For the sake of people living in these areas I hope the answer is the latter. The one thing that can't be denied is that today's mainstream hip hop promotes a lifestyle that reduces human beings to materialistic nihilists who will do anything for the almighty dollar. That some people see this lifestyle as cool is mind boggling to me. Why have we Americans always been so quick to romanticize the criminal elements of society? From the Italian mafia to 50 Cent we have always had in affinity for gangsters. Scarface is like a cultural icon in this country. His face can be seen in rap videos and his posters can be found plastered on the walls of college fraternities. My question is why are we always allowing ourselves to be desensitized to the point where we not only condone, but embrace lifestyles that we should know are immoral?

It is my belief that hip-hop will do nothing but hold the ghetto down until the nihilistic elements of this art form are rejected by urban America. That being said, the rise of gangster rap cannot be solely blamed on urban America. It was the American public that allowed the gangsterization of hip hop to occur. It's amazing how easily we were seduced by Snoop Dogs silky smooth voice and Lil Wayne's clever lyrics. It is somewhat humorous and surreal to see the young suburban teen bumping Young Jeezy in her new Audi that daddy bought for her or the young teenage boy playing Lil John at a party he's throwing while his wealthy parents are out of town for the weekend in Hawaii. Gangster rap may have emerged out of the ghetto, but it has been embraced by much of suburban and corporate America.

What I also want to focus on is the affects "gangsta" rap is having on race relations in our country. There is no doubt that gangster rap has led some people to have a negative perception of African Americans. This is extremely unfair because most black people do not endorse the lifestyle enthusiastically promoted by gangster rappers. In fact many African Americans such as New York Times columnist Bob Herbert and actor Bill Cosby have denounced gangster rap. The gangster culture has also been adopted by white, Hispanic and Muslims in ghettos not only in America,

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