Black youth are viewed as innately inclined to violent behavior. The lyrics and images of hip-hop are used as proof of such a claim. Well, as strong and pungent as hip-hop is, as offensive as it can be, it is still art. The suffering masses that concern hard-core rappers are almost exclusively the black ghetto poor. According to many gangsta griots, the sources of this suffering are economic inequality, police brutality and white racism.
Moral ambiguity is at the heart of hard-core rap s struggle with evil.
When it comes to dealing with that idea, hard-core rappers are treated far differently by critics than are the creators of gangster films. In The Godfather, for example, Francis Ford Coppola s characters pay lip service to a code of respect, loyalty and honor. Still, they are ruthless murderers. Coppola is considered a brilliant artist and his characters memorable creations. We must not be prisoners of our present circumstances, of current events.