> So for fear of being labeled a racist or some other
> derogatory term we can have no AMERICAN CULTURE centered
> around a set of principals that allows for the existence and
> acceptance of other cultures while expecting our people to
> live within a set of standards for an AMERICAN CULTURE?
> Maybe some artists can implement that message in their music
> instead of the usual nonsense. Then maybe it would be more
> real. Right now it's just for the money but the marketing of
> the music presents it in a false light and that is
> disingenuous.
American (sic) culture is an amalgamation of many cultures. Among the multiple influences that are non-British are the French at the time of the Revolutionary War, the Spanish and Mexicans in the 19th Century Southwest, and many native cultures. Later, the Irish, the Italians and the Germans exerted huge influence on America (Better said, "On the USA" as America to many is North And South America...) as well as more recent Latin American and Central European influences.
The USA has no single culture. There are significant differences based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic level, education and region. The language itself varies in cadence, inflection and vocabulary in different areas and among different strata of society. It's always been so. I think the nation will survive the assault of Hip Hop just as it survived the music of the flappers of the 20's and the crooners of the 40's and the ever-so-evil rock 'n' roll of the 50's. My goodness.
>
> Hip hop lost its real reason for existence years ago. Now
> it's just another form of music making money for the
> "artist" (laughable) and the labels who pimp out the poor
> schmuck for their own benefit. I think this is hip hop's
> biggest let down and what makes intolerable for just as many
> people who enjoy it. But in Chicago you'd think the whole
> world revolves around it based on the redundancy of songs on
> Power, B96, Kiss and WGCI.
And based on the huge ratings these stations get. Hip Hop is the CHR of today, even in Minneapolis. It sure beats Ms. Spears, the Backstreet Boys and the monotonous pop alternative stuff that is even more formulaic than you accuse Hip Hop of being.
Music has always been a means of making money... right back to the troubadours nearly a millennium ago who sang the news in exchange for a coin, a morsel of food or some other thing of value. There is nothing wrong with making money off one's talents, and you make it seem like doing so is a sell out.