Dr. Boyce Video: What's Wrong With Hip Hop?

What's Wrong With Hip Hop? Click below and discuss this issue along with my esteemed guests in part one of a three part series.

I'm a huge fan of hip hop music. In fact, I didn't even start to like music until hip hop came along. I will continue to be a fan of hip hop music, but as a black scholar, I feel that part of my job is to ask questions that we may need to answer as a society.

The question for today is, "What's wrong with hip hop music?" Perhaps the question I've asked is presumptuous, because many of us don't see a problem at all. I've sat in the car for hours with my teenage daughters, listening to one song after another, each of them returning to basically the same themes: Money, sex, weapons or drugs.

One thing that must be made clear is that there's a difference between hip hop music as an art form vs. the commercialized version of hip hop that we hear on the radio. The difference is like comparing authentic Italian pizza to what you get from Dominoes. When something works well in the black community, corporate America commercializes and redistributes it, thus taking over that which once belonged to us. The dearth of black-owned companies in the music industry only makes the problem worse, since we end up being marketed a product that doesn't reflect the interests of our community. The final result is that our kids are being brainwashed with repetitive mantras of self-destruction, where the most vocally-talented boot legs are boosted to iconic and influential status. Lil Wayne, do you hear me?

I don't mean to pic on Lil Weezy, but I have to tell the truth. While I am one who can always appreciate even the most peculiar forms of hip hop, it's hard to see value in music where we ask the audience to repeat the phrase "I wish I could f*ck every girl in the world," especially in a community where HIV is killing thousands of black people every single year. Hip hop should be called "hip-nosis" because when you repeat a phrase in your head over and over again, it ultimately affects your subconscious in ways that control nearly everything you do. Hence, my problem with Weezy. I am hopeful that one day, he will use the massive power he's been given in a more socially-responsible way.

The panel that we've provided to discuss this topic was amazing. Chuck Creekmur is the founder of AllHipHop.com, the leading hip hop website in the world. Ayinde Jean-Baptiste is a speaker and activist with the 21st Century Foundation. Datwon Thomas is the Editorial Director at Vibe Magazine. Jewel Allison is an activist, spoken word artist,and author of the book, "Stealing Peace." Queon Martin is the creator of the documentary, "Bridging the Gap Between History and Hip Hop." I hope you enjoy the show and tune in for the next two segments.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.