In my life, I have taken part in a clear cultural juxtaposition. Growing up in a safe, east central Indiana community my whole life, I have identified some of my lifestyle with that of the hip/hop culture. I'm able to recite certain Lil' Wayne lyrics, I've danced behind the booties of women at parties to songs like "To the Window to the Wall" and have had friends throw their middle fingers at a camera for a profile shot. While I have taken part in this culture, I think about how I am the antithesis of what a consumer of hip/hop culture should be. But maybe I am the ideal consumer of hip/hop culture as it stands in our society today.
Money, women and earthly things are repeatedly ingrained into the lyrics of hip/hop songs that hit the mainstream. While I am the son of a Hamilton County school principal and person of Christian faith I STILL fall victim to the earthly and hollow lyrics of these songs. But maybe I find my male testosterone being channeled through hip/hop songs and maybe guys like Busta Rhymes know it. It's not the content of the music that they sell, it's the feeling of the music as it lets a person forget who he is and sends him on a trip down sin lane. I've fallen victim to the stupidity of such songs which lack depth and feast on the naive nature of our generation. Proudly though, I am becoming more aware of it.
Check out Reggie Watts' take on hip/hop. It's a parody that pokes fun at today's hip/hop:
WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQU22Ttpwc
Peace and Love,
Ben
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