Heard Michel Martin’s Tell Me More for the first time today (and, I have to admit, I’m looking forward to tuning in again tomorrow). One segment had a local Md. House Delegate, Justin D. Ross, on to discuss his recent Post Op-Ed.
Ross, an admitted long-time fan of rap music, is calling for a boycott of all music that stereotypes Africa Americans or degrades women. Now, the battle against hip-hop (or at least, against bad hip-hop) is probably as old as the genre itself, but I can’t recall someone ever coming out against rap from such an interesting angle. Essentially, Ross blames the white audience (responsible for purchasing more than 70 percent of the rap music in this country according to one report) for bad rap.
Let’s be clear about what we — rap’s huge white audience — are becoming insensitive to: crime against black people, drugs being sold in black neighborhoods, black people being killed. I think this desensitization is partly responsible for the absence of discussion about the cruel fact that, according to a 2001 study by the Department of Health and Human Services, the leading killer of African Americans ages 15 to 34 is homicide. It may also help explain why you’ll seldom hear politicians talking about another awful statistic: According to the same study, African Americans are five times more likely than whites to be victims of homicide.
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I also wonder what would happen if rap artists started talking about selling dope in the suburbs, or shooting white people or beating down white men. Would rap’s comfortable white fans continue to consume it? I suspect the record companies wouldn’t even sell it.
I’m sure the guys over at Freakonomics would caution Ross about drawing conclusions from one study, but his assessment is nonetheless a sobering one. What are we saying about ourselves with our buying and listening habits? Is the market truly a reflection of our culture? Is this political gimmickry or legitimate concern? I don’t know, but it’s good reading…(or good listening) and good thinking. Read the op-ed for yourself and share your comments.