Responding to Jonathan Landrum Jr of the Associate Press

It's just funny to read what some writers think about rap music. In particular was the article from Jonathan Landrum Jr of the AP. He noticed that rappers seem to go to jail alot. No kidding.

"It's a ritual that seems to play out at least once a year in the rap community: A top star faces a criminal charge, and more often than not, is locked up at the height of their wealth and fame."

Once a year? Let's be honest, I can't recall a year where several rappers weren't arrested, on trial, AND in jail since 1994. I might have missed a year, but the fact is that modern rappers are addicted to jail like a crack addict to the pipe. In this same article Landrum notes T.I., Gucci Mane, Soulja Boy, and Shawty Redd all had their time before the law in 2009 alone.

Landrum asks the question

"After all these years, why are hip-hop's top stars still finding themselves on the path to prison?"

It's not a new question. The situation is not new. Many have tried to address this for well over a decade, and not a stitch of headway has been made.

"Hopefully this isn't a cycle that next year from now we're seeing our top rappers in jail," Elliott Wilson, founder of the hip-hop Web site RapRadar.com, says. "Ultimately, it is a black eye to the culture I'm passionate about. Hopefully, the artists of tomorrow won't make the same mistakes as the ones of today."

Is he kidding? Las Vegas wouldn't take a bet that said at least 1, hell 3 - 5 rappers, will be in jail, arrested, and on trial next year. Or any year. Because that's what the minstrel show is about.

From almost the day that N.W.A. was presented with thier gangsta rap sub-genre, the music industry has seen green. Gangsta rap is a cash cow, an addiction that they have peddled - laughing all the way to the bank. With this one genre they get to promote the very worst stereotypes of African Americans, drug use, violence, violence against women, and illiteracy without a hint of social anger directed at them.

Before there was Gangsta rap, rappers DIDN'T get arrested and put in jail on a regular basis. It was UNCOMMON for rappers to do many of the crimes we see regularly performed by these minstrels now.

But it's the odd coincidence that when rap was promoting parties, fun, and social equality and justice under the law the entire music industry considered it a fad. It was not a recognized, legitamate form of music until AFTER gangsta rap was created and promoted to the full power of the music industry.

But the minstrels get the benefit of the doubt from reviews and news organizations. They are excused for their actions

"While rap is a genre borne of the gritty streets, and drugs and violence have long played a prominent role, many rap stars find themselves facing their greatest - and sometimes their first - legal hurdles after they become successes, like Lil Wayne."

Yes, rap was created in the Bronx. But it wasn't about violence, drugs (ie pro-drug use), or a glorification of living like a criminal hellbent on dying with as many toys as possible. In fact it was about the very opposite of all these things. So that excuse falls flat on it's face if you know anything about the history and origins of rap music.

Slick Rick, Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Remy Ma, Beanie Sigel, Shyne, Mystikal, C-Murder, Snopp Dogg, P. Diddy, Jay-Z, DMX, 50 Cent, the list goes on. Every single one of them had major legal troubles. Every one of them promote gangsta rap, and the worst of what rap can provide the masses. Only Jay-Z and P. Diddy have learned form their mistakes and moved (somewhat) in a different direction.

Perhaps Gucci Mane will add himself to the exceedingly short list of those that have learned

"Don't keep bumping your head against the wall," he says. "It's a serious situation. It's so many things that happens behind these walls. Think about how to avoid situations so you won't have to come in here." - Gucci Mane from Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he is currently serving a six-month term.

There is no surprise that modern day rappers are going to jail. They are minstrels for the music industry execs that pull their strings and look the other way as rappers violate one of the oldest rules of the street - "Don't get high on your supply".

The answer is not to excuse rappers for breaking the law. Nor is it to ignore the promotion of violence and drugs, or the sex fueled music videos. It's to recognize what modern rap is and what it does. A drug and addiction.

I don't feel proud of a person so stupid as to rise to fame because they are a criminal and can rhyme to a beat like any 6 year old can. Especially when that individual continues to live as if they are still a criminal on the streets, little better than a rabid wild dog. I also don't feel pity for a person to dumb to realize that they don't need to commit crimes when they have a bank account larger than many will earn in their lifetime, security, fame, and enough lawyers that they could avoid jail if they weren't so blatantly stupid and ignorant.

Rap music was, and can be again, a powerful voice of people and life that often is ignored and taken for granted. It is a vehicle that can be more than the sum of it's parts. It is not just one style or 1 image. It is more than just Black, or just the streets.

But rap today has been reduced to a simplistic, repeatative, droning, cacophony of minstrels pitching the whims of music industry execs like drug dealers on a street corner. Which shouldn't be a surprised as more often than not the "stars" of this "entertainment" form tend to be (former) dealers.

It leads me to this thought. Drug dealers are the scum of the earth. They peddle poison and death to anyone, including young kids, who has the money. Why, because we all know the how, have we as a society allowed this type of scum to become elevated to stardom and celebrity? These are by and large the very same kinds of criminal refuse you wouldn't let into your house or talk to your kids as they come home from school; yet people invite them into their homes via radio and music videos every day.

I don't question that modern rappers are prone, perhaps drawn, to go to jail. It's the natural consequence of being a criminal. What I don't understand, and hope to see change, is why anyone wants to support these minstrels any more than they would the crack dealer.