c(rap)
This story about wannabe rappers shooting up a Dekalb County skating rink reminding me of the slip of paper handed to me when I paid for parking at last weekend’s Vibe Musicfest.
Translation: We know that a lot of you like to bring guns and knives to concerts. Be a pal and please leave them in the car tonight, won’t you?
I wish that hip-hop culture’s unending embrace of violence, machismo and materialism (the three cannot be separated) was more upsetting to more people than it is. Not that my upset means a damn thing anyway.
I gave up railing against it a few years ago when I started feeling like as your Average Middle Class White Guy, I couldn’t even try to make my point without being accused of racism. It seemed like “Love the sinner, hate the sin” didn’t translate well to “Love the gangsta, hate his overabundance of testosterone.”
It would be interesting to know whether the weapons factor varies greatly by rap group. Just can’t imagine large scale violence at a Digable Planets concert.