I can't help but bring up the point on identification and media representation. You wanna blame the whole thing on rap and/or black culture? Fine, but don't forget that there are
plenty of people within our community that have been
dying for better portrayals in popular culture. We're so fucking marginalized within the media...."Ghetto" seems to be the only avenue where black entertainers can actually make a fucking living and become popular. This goes back to the first thing I talked about. Many of us DON'T WANT to see this ghetto filth every time we turn on the television, but the cards are stacked against us. I read a few years ago about Keke Palmer being dropped from her label, because some white business exec didn't find her to be selling enough sex. I believe that Fefe Dobson also had label problems because she refused to conform and "urbanize" herself. Seems like Nicki Minaj got the red carpet treatment though....
Some of these issues were discussed a bit in that
vanity fair topic. The gaf answer seemed to be "tough luck".