What is your opinion of this? I didn't write it but it makes sense
I think that it's important to first note that what white, suburban, teens are emulating - and imitating - is not "black culture" per se, but the rap/thug lifestyle that is identified with young black males. And the association of the thug life with young black males is a product of corporate marketers, who intentionally try to appeal to middle-class white boys. The marketers have been successful, as demonstrated by the fact that the largest consumer group of rap music is suburban, white male teenagers. Actual street life, that is, ghetto life or inner-city urban life, is devoid of the glamour depicted in videos. But the point of rap videos is not to faithfully document street life, but it is rather to sell music.
So, I believe it's helpful to understand that white teen boys are consumers of a product that is being successfully marketed to them. The next issue, of course, is why the lifestyle appeals to them.
Rap/Thug culture, as illustrated in various media, is dominated by three things: ostentatious wealth, power over others, and women. That is, thug culture glorifies being rich and showing it, the ability to exert power over others - violently if necessary, and, the constant sexual availability of willing women. Now, then, what teenage boy - questioning, awkward, anxious, striving for social position, wouldn't be drawn to such a lifestyle? Further, the thug life is really just an extreme expression of masculinity: in our culture, a successful man is one who is wealthy, powerful, and attractive to women. Rap culture appeals to all boys because it celebrates the logical extreme of how our society defines manhood.
White, middle-class youth tend to be a sheltered, homogenous group, with goals and expectations already created for them by their parents and schools. Teens are naturally rebellious, boys more so, and some rebel against the pre-fabricated nature of their lives, and they also act-out as a way of defining themselves. Thus the anti-authority message of rap appeals to them.
So, I believe it's helpful to understand that white teen boys are consumers of a product that is being successfully marketed to them. The next issue, of course, is why the lifestyle appeals to them.
Rap/Thug culture, as illustrated in various media, is dominated by three things: ostentatious wealth, power over others, and women. That is, thug culture glorifies being rich and showing it, the ability to exert power over others - violently if necessary, and, the constant sexual availability of willing women. Now, then, what teenage boy - questioning, awkward, anxious, striving for social position, wouldn't be drawn to such a lifestyle? Further, the thug life is really just an extreme expression of masculinity: in our culture, a successful man is one who is wealthy, powerful, and attractive to women. Rap culture appeals to all boys because it celebrates the logical extreme of how our society defines manhood.
White, middle-class youth tend to be a sheltered, homogenous group, with goals and expectations already created for them by their parents and schools. Teens are naturally rebellious, boys more so, and some rebel against the pre-fabricated nature of their lives, and they also act-out as a way of defining themselves. Thus the anti-authority message of rap appeals to them.