phigam
before u speak, let me throw you a clue.
If what you are saying that Jay Z did and what hip hop artists including Young Jeezy, Nas and a few others this past year are any indication, the hip hop culture may be about to experience a cultural re awakening and reclaiming it's voice of the people...especially in the places where it was born.
Obama can relate to the people and for many has energized the young to aspire for more because of his example.
Since you have been a bit 'slow' to find anything, let me leave you with something to chew on:
President Barack Obama will have his hands full dealing with the economic downturn, the Gaza Strip conflict, terrorist threats in Afghanistan and any number of relentlessly pressing matters.
But maybe he could spare a little time to help out hip-hop, too?
After all, Obama is not just the first African-American president. He is the first hip-hop president - the first one with Jay-Z and Kanye West on his iPod, the first one who speaks the culture’s language, the first one who embraces its mannerisms, from fist-bumping with his wife to throwing his hands in the air and waving like he just don’t care to Beyonce’s "Crazy in Love."
Though he admits he’s older than hip-hop culture, he clearly understands it. "What I’ve appreciated seeing in this hip-hop generation is how entrepreneurial they’ve been," Obama has said. "What I’m starting to see is (for rappers) to stretch out more to think about social responsibility and how they could impact the culture in a positive way and I hope that continues."
Will that hope be enough to persuade many rappers and their fans to look at the genre in a different way? Is that the change hip-hoppers can believe in?
Because the genre certainly needs some change. While sales of rock music dropped only 6.5 percent last year, hip-hop sales dropped nearly 20 percent, according to The Nielsen Company - part of an alarming trend for hip-hop.
In 2003, hip-hop was the third-most-popular type of music. By 2008, it had dropped to sixth, behind country and metal, only slightly ahead of gospel music. Over the past five years, hip-hop sales have fallen 57 percent, according to Nielsen.
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/artic...H0502/90120167
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