Hip-hop is primarily a black tradition, created by and representative of urban minorities. Yet a majority of its music buyers are suburban whites. Why?
Learn more about hip-hop's white audience in Tavis Smiley's discussions with KRS-One, Heavy D, Master P, and others.
White people can relate because the beats are good and hypnotic. And of course its not talking about them its like we are the "other" (black people), its okay to peer at us through the glass like animals as long as they are not to close.
not that this "through the glass" practice doesn't exist and isn't primary, but I just want to bring up that it's not the only way for a white audience to connect with and appreciate the music...
There are certainly ways in which I will never be able to connect with or understand what I hear, but there are plenty of ways in which I can connect, relate, understand, and progressively sympathize, whether it's a recognition of empowerment, a recognition of hardship, or a silly admiration of wealth...
and on the purely musical/formal/artistic level there is all sorts of appreciation...
There are plenty of white rappers, white DJs, white hip hop heads, and others running labels and making moves (take PBW of Stones Throw) who aren't there to exoticize and poke sticks through a cage...
The same goes for plenty of listeners, but it's hard to speak for the ones out there buying Get Rich or Die Trying and nothing else...
since the jazz age, white people have tapped into black music. most western pop derives from african folk in some way.
i'm not an expert on the history of all this, but i know that since the 20s, black musicians have always been associated with "cool." think about miles davis. he's probably just as famous for being "cool" as for being one of america's greatest composers.
whether it's the looking glass effect or not, black people have been the arbiters of pop music for a century, and they're still doing it.
