Blacks in the Music Industry

Today more than ever, the black population has been coming out as a large beneficiary from the music industry. Only a couple of decades ago blacks' music was considered low class pesent music but now it's playing on all the top radio stations and television channels. From performers like Rihanna to JayZ, black culture has no become synonymous with music. Nevertheless, like anything that become adapts mainstream popularity, hip-hop and rap have not gone without criticism.

As the black population gradually started to come into its own, music began to define the black culture as it did throughout the previous years during slavery as well. Music always came hand in hand with blacks not necessarily "African American." However, today the music is very different. Take The Temptations for example; they became one of the most famous music groups in the 60's and did so without talking about getting laid and dancing with "bitches" the way present day hip-hop artists and rappers do a lot of. Why has music changed so much in that time span? Some musicians say it's a way of counteracting the prejudice and troubles the black culture endured over the past year but personally I believe you can do that in a different way that doesn't involve grinding on a half-naked girl waving your pimp-cup in the air.


Musicians like Lil'Wayne do have rapping talent there is no doubt about that. The larger issue at hand is not the talent that these performers have, it's the way they are using that power to spread their music and what that music is saying. The audiences that listen to these performers' music and buy their $20.00 albums are usually white middle class living the suburbs who listen to lyrics like:

"Nothing left to do, but buy some shells for my glock
Why? so I can rob every known dope spot
I got 19 dollars and 50 cents up in my pocket with what?
With this automatic rocket
Gotta have it"

OR

"Sexy can I, visit you at work, when you're sliding down the pole, no panties no shirt"

somehow I believe that no matter who is listening to these lyrics chances are they definitely won't go buy a gun, rob a convenient store and shoot someone on their way out before heading to the strip club but chances are that they will develop some sort of lax consciousness about what those words actually mean.