Organized Stream of Consciousness

If you haven't guessed, I am a big fan of hip-hop/rap music. This music genre is one that has definitely gained a reputation for promoting sex and violence. In fact, one may be led to believe that every rapper is a weapon carrying pimp or even that inner cities like New York and Compton are filled with hustlers and gangstas. Now I cannot claim to have grown up in "the ghetto" or to possess a lot of "street knowledge". However, I would say it is a good assumption that not only are inner cities not filled to the brim with these drug dealers and killers, but many of these rappers who claim to be such people may not really be so "thug". In fact, if rappers made good on all of their claims and boasts record companies would have to make studios in prisons in order to make more records.

It is clear to me that many of these claims are made in the name of entertainment. Just as actors take on new personas when they film a movie, there are artists who take on a different persona when they rap. It is a great idea too, because it sells records. Nobody wants to hear rap music about a desk job, that just isn't exciting. It is commonly said that the biggest market for rap music is white suburban kids. White suburban kids find stories of the thug life exciting. It is a life entirely different from the one they live, and as a result it is incredibly intriguing.

There isn't really a deep message hidden within this post, it is more of an observation to be shared. Perhaps this observation is one that is perfectly obvious to you, and I am a simpleton who just figured out what you have always known. And if that is true, I offer my congratulations. But then again, a blog can allow me to simply make observations without any clear, underlying meaning. So rappers are entertainers who may not really be thugs, okay. What's the point? Well, there isn't one. This is more of a focused stream of consciousness post than anything else. How else can I explain the transition from rappers to what I can do as a blogger? I can't, but I don't care. Nor do I have to, because unlike publications, I answer to nobody. Of course I don't make any money and clearly not many people visit this blog. But maybe someday that will change. And hopefully at that time I will still be able to grab my computer and shift from topic to topic with no reservation. Otherwise I'll be giving up on why I blog in the first place.