I don’t often look to the O’Reily Factor for insight, but they might have a point courtesy of Dennis Miller. The former comedian was discussing the clip of Jay-Z and Young Jeezy performing ‘My President‘ in a DC nightclub the weekend before the Inauguration. Somewhere between to callow sniping and hypocritical complaints about ‘hate’ levied at Jeezy’s anti-Bush comments, Miller made the statement:
‘You’re looking at an obsolete model there because if the dinosaurs were done in by the asteroids, role models in the black community like that are about to be done in by a shooting star named Barack Obama.’
And he May be on to something. Hip-hop has a long and uncomfortable history in the role it plays inspiring the black community. Even at the highest echelons of pop stardom, artist stumble between massive commercial success and unsavory subject matter—which leads to PR circuses like the Congressional hearing on rap lyrics, but also left more than a few parents wondering if these are the best ‘heroes’ for their children.
It will be interesting to see if the dynamic changes in hip-hop, now that a black man has ascended beyond the streets, the stage and the boardroom. Nobody’s denying a place for hip-hop under an Obama administration. But will we get stuck with more MC Hammers than Nas’? Or Jim Jones? Will the black anti-hero in the grand tradition of NWA and Tupac be outdone by the true-hero of Obama? When the president is black, does anyone still care what color your Lambo is?
Related Reads:
Video :: Jay-Z ‘My President’ Freestyle
Obama and the Barack Pack:: A generation’ s chance to define itself
powerHouse Books x Yes We Can
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