Don't Judge the Rap Book by Its Cover

They say not to judge a book by its cover, and, along with that, don't categorize a genre of music due to the stupidity of a rare few. In Brent Staples' article on Hip-Hop music, he talks about how Hip-Hop is growing increasingly dangerous and some of the rappers are promoting violence and drug use. However, I don't think you can correctly stereotype and entire genre of music just off of the actions a few artists or companies have condoned.
Brent Staples has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Chicago. He specializes in politics and culture and writes editorials for the New York Times. The article "How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed Its Fans" appeared on nytimes.com on May 12, 2005.
The article talks mainly about how rappers in the 1990's were turning the rap industry into a crime scene. The author gives specific examples of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. being shot to death by rival gangs. Later in the article, he speaks about, more recently, 50 Cent flaunting his run-ins with gun violence and even making it a point to make his CD, The Massacre, a violence based CD with a suggestive cover. However, what the author failed to address is the positive messages some of the rappers.
Although not entirely targeting the ghetto/inner city, Christian Rap was beginning to become popular during 1990's as well. However, this style of rap may not appeal to the inner city like Tupac and Biggie could. While some rappers may rap about violence and drug use, a lot of times it relates to their life and how they grew up. Kids in the inner city could relate to this, and, unfortunately, think that the way rappers behave/grew up is the way they need to grow up. The kids are the ones who chose to listen to their music because they can relate. There are also more rappers that inner city kids can relate to the rough lifestyle the city brings. Scott Mescudi, otherwise know Kid Cudi, is not as mainstream as a lot of the rappers out there (like 50 Cent or Eminem who was also mentioned in the article), but he promotes finding peace within yourself. In many of his songs, he talks about the negativity he has experienced in his life. Some of his songs are about how he went through hardcore drug problems. However, almost all of his songs revolve around being happy and living your life in positive ways.
The author really didn't seem to view the other side of the rap. While he detailed the actions of a few rappers, many who are in the industry don't rap about violence. Rap is often given a bad name because of the violence and drug use the rappers speak about. However, many of them don't intend for kids to follow in their footsteps. Just because they talk about their rough lives growing up doesn't mean they want others to be like them in that sense. Even Eminem, who the article portrays as a violence-promoting rapper, has made many songs about his lifestyle while telling kids not to follow him.
Overall, the author did a great job revealing the dark side of Hip-Hop/Rap but did not even scratch the surface of the positive side. In many ways, rap has positively inspired many to lead better lives. Don't give a genre of music a bad "rap" just because some of them can send the wrong message.