Good Hustlers Always Know When the Game's Changing

"For the future of hip hop, all that glitters is not gold teeth" is an article written by the Daily News writer Stanley Crouch. The article focuses mainly on the evolution of hip hop. He claims, and I agree with his claim, that a culture that was once about dance beats and rhymes,now prides itself on "personal, social, and criminal corruption." Since I have been about 12 years old, I have loved rap music. Even so, I sometimes wander how the hip hop culture has gotten to be as extreme as it is. Lets take a look at the values of rap: murder, assault sex (rape), drug use and trafficking, vandalism, grand theft auto, robbery, gun possesion, materialism, baggy clothing (as if to conceal weapons or drugs), and the list goes on and on. Why, then, is rap so appealing to this generation? This is a complex answer that starts with the home environment. When young people are exposed to such music, then they believe that it is normal and thus, they gain a tolerance for it. As hip hop has gotten more and more mainstream, more people have started to see it as an "ok" way to live... and perpetuating it even more. Even older people these days are getting big rims and loud stereo systems. Another reason for its popularity, in my opinion, is that it serves as a subcultures identity (black/hip hop) and the middle to upperclass kids envy the hard way of life. Furthermore, by listening to this music they now have something in common and feel apart of the subculture.....