By Brandon Perkins

According to all too many people, the only things hip hop inspires are violence and misogyny. Sure, even CNN is quick to tow the old school’s party line, providing a voice for the voiceless (the CNN of the streets, even), but anything less than two decades old is decried as a handbook for hustlers and thugs. One listen to Jay-Z’s “Heart of the City” might change that.

The Bobby “Blue” Bland-sampling song from 2001’s The Blueprint (and most recently the trailer for the film American Gangster), “Heart of the City” is one of the most uplifting pieces of pop-culture, strike that, art in contemporary times. Simultaneously shrugging off doubters (“Sensitive thugs/Y’all need hugs”), pushing for further success (“If the record’s two mil/I’m just trying to move three”) and appreciating life’s …