THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110008
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 30 lines
Thank goodness for James Black's enlightening column on ``Gangster'' rap (Another view, Sept. 30). It was a moment of incredible apocalypse when I read his endorsement of this ``art form.''
Gangster rappers are educators! How silly of me not to notice. I realize now that the true mission of these societal missionaries is one of bringing to light the unpublished truth of the deterioration of our inner cities.
Honestly, I find it difficult to believe that anyone could come to the defense of such reprehensible garbage as espoused by these babbling villains. Doesn't Mr. Black see the true nature of the problem here? The problem is one of perception. The target audience for these malicious rantings is the impressionable inner-city youth. These kids are painfully aware of the problems and pitfalls that plague the streets.
When these rappers show themselves thumbing through rolls of $50 bills as wide as your wrists in their videos, does that make these youth feel like getting that entry-level position at Burger King? When these ``artists'' rhapsodize about these ``ills'' while driving $40,000 Mercedes and adorn themselves in stylish clothes, tons of gold jewelry and beautiful women, don't you think their message of enlightenment to ``societal ills'' gets a little lost?
K. W. VAN ARSDEL
Chesapeake, Oct. 1, 1996 by CNB