Although African Americans are not in control of structural barriers like racial discrimination, and lack of employment opportunities, we are in control of certain aspects of our culture. It is vital to identify what aspects of our culture are hindering our progress as a community. Athletics, music, and street life are the three areas of urban black male culture that I want to focus on. One could make an argument that young black males have adopted the very ideals that have been used to oppress the black community. There are issues within all three areas that legitimize this idea.
Thelonious Monk
I wanted to start off with music considering the fact that it is the most powerful of the three areas. The majority of music we hear on the radio stems from some original form of black music. Music actually encourages young kids to go into street life, as well as athletics. Music has always been a large part of African American culture. Hip-Hop specifically, has been the voice of urban black males since the mid 80’s. At one point in time Hip Hop was anti-establishment. The people who created hip-hop were the ones not allowed within the establishment. Now you have descendants of the original wave of hip hop artists who have capitalized off the initial rise and success of hip hop, and used capitalism in order to progress financially on an individual basis. Hip-hop is still the voice of young African American males in America. The difference between now and then is that the number of voices which we are exposed to is very limited. This is due to the fact that African American males do not control their own voice. This is another issue I will be writing about in the next few weeks. It was mandatory for rap artists’ lyrics to make people think. Yes, there have always been exceptions, dance music, pop, different fads that come and go. But when you get down to it, a good hip hop song is supposed to paint a picture, and make you bob your head. You should come away feeling like you just learned some shit, even if what you leaned was a new dance. What these young black artists do not realize is that corporations are exploiting them, and have no concern over what message is sent out to the masses as long as it makes money. Music can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. 
Hip-Hop is my favorite form of music. Sad to say, the impact on the community is not always positive. The ideals we hear within hip-hop to a large degree reflect the white male dominant culture. Misogynistic lyrics, glorification of black on black violence, and an absence of intellectual/revolutionary lyrics that were prevalent in the 90s are the issues within hip hop that I am going to focus on.