Hip Hop Community – Stop Running Your Own People Down

Like many people I listen to the radio when I drive.  I drive a lot and since I generally am going someplace pretty far I get the opportunity to get a good sampling of the current state of hip hop through a variety of Sirius and local stations.  I used to just listen for enjoyment but now my ear is tuned to what is actually being said on these records and after any 30 minute ride in the car I am both saddened and fearful of the world that black youth have to deal with.

Almost every radio station’s playlist consists of one song after another from rappers saying the exact same thing.

I have a bunch of money and you don’t. 

I have a lot of toys and you don’t.

I have a stable of women I just have sex with and move on. 

I am famous. 

I party at the club all night and throw my money around. 

I get my money by rappin’, slingin’ or pimpin’.

Did I forget to mention I have more money than everybody else?

It’s bad enough that too many rappers are saying the same thing, but the really sad part of it is how it is being said.  You can have a lot of women, but why do these beautiful black women have to be bitches and hoes?  You can have a lot of money, but why does a brother who doesn’t have get called weak or inadequate?  This constant running down of black women and black men on the radio is like a brainwashing of our entire community.  With driving beats preaching the same message over and over again 24-7 it is a no wonder that so many young brothers and sisters buy into this and imitate this behavior.  If I didn’t know better I would think that this is some kind of evil social experiment to see how many years it takes to break the psyche of a people. 

This cultural shift instigated and perpetuated by the music media corporation is ugly on the surface and it is leading to a deep cancer in the soul of the black community. The devaluing of women as sex objects to just have sex with and dispose of has to stop.  Rappers need to uplift sisters instead of just talking about how women are just nothing more than a “hit it and quit it” sport.  Some balance is in order in the music industry.  Sisters need to stand up for this and brothers need to support a change.  If hoes, drugs, money and bling are really all that we have to say as a people then black people are not worth living in a civilized society.  If we still have the creativity that is inherent in our souls we have to start showing it or else anyone listening to our message will be forced to believe that we are nothing but uncivilized savages.

Brothers of hip-hop, stop lying about all the money you have and running down other brothers who don’t have that kind of money.   If you have the money (Diddy, Jay-Z, etc.) rap about it.  For the 90% that are the rest of you – stop fronting.  You are just making it harder for the average brother who is forced to live up to unrealistic expectation set by the lies you are spitting.

Sisters of hip-hop, don’t fall into the trap setup by the media corporations.  When you fall into the hole and start rapping about how a man has to have money or he can’t be with you, you are turning yourself into a prostitute - denigrating yourself and all of the female fans who look up to you.  Stand up to your record label, fight for your own self-respect and fight for the self-respect of all women.