Perry,
In his New York Times column on Thursday (Nov. 10,
2005), David Brooks described the plight, world-view
and violent rage of the young men who have rioted in
France for almost two weeks. He related that many of
them have adopted a modified form of American hip-hop
and gangsta rap music and how it fuels their
bitterness, hopelessness and self-destruction. He
ends his column, however, with a paragraph about
American students and their attitudes toward gangsta
rap. He suggests that the music and the lifestyle
associated with it are like a game that most of these
students will abandon when they go off to college.
Unfortunately, while they play this game, too many of
these mostly middle-class students with media and
market influence, romanticize the rapper's lifestyle.
They unwittingly make it a vague measure of macho
"authenticity," especially to millions of young black
males.
I responded to the column with a letter and it is
published today in the Times.
Best regards
David
The New York Times
November 12, 2005
Gangsta Gottabes
To the Editor:
David Brooks concludes ("Gangsta, in French," column,
Nov. 10) that in the United States, gangsta rap, with
its menacing lyrics about crime, racism and misogyny,
is like a game that can be discarded by most students
as they head off to college.
Not long ago, that would have described racial
division, but more and more, it describes class
division.
This new class division has caused some interesting
behavior, especially among middle-class black youth.
Most have never been a part of the lifestyle depicted
in gangsta rap, yet they are often expected (or feel
obligated) to represent what the rappers are saying.
There have always been class differences among
African-Americans, but in the past, segregation didn't
permit us much physical distance. Unlike the gangsta
wannabes today, 50 years ago even civil rights
fighters adhered to behavioral limits.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't feel a need
to use the language of prison gangs to garner "street"
legitimacy with black folk.
David L. Evans
Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 10, 2005