Rap As a Political Analogy?

clipped from www.theprometheusinstitute.org

American rap music answers this question by starkly eschewing politics. Rappers, next to drug dealers, are perhaps the most despised figures among American politicians, and no change in that status quo is expected anytime soon. From a continual rain of financial sanctions from the FCC to endless homiletic denunciations from moralizing politicians and pundits, rappers face astounding levels of political flack that would even make Larry Flint blush. Not even liberals will go on record defending the likes of Ludacris, 'Lil Wayne, or even Kanye West.

But instead of depending on representation from existing politicians, rappers have long exalted the representation of "dead presidents" in the form of cold hard cash. As we've noted previously, support for free market capitalism is one of the most universal themes in modern rap. As the free market has allowed them to experience the lavish appreciation of their talents, the hip-hop culture has lionized bootstrapping entrepreneurship.

This clipped piece from an article by Matt Harrison, writing for a famous Libertarian think tank, uses rap as possibly the most famous free market/capitalization proponents in the world. Who needs political candidates to represent you, when your version of the American Dream lies in how much you make? It's interesting.

The American Dream is not without its faults. The American Dream is the "traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity." We often see today that material prosperity creates social inequality, and democracy threatening the possibility of material prosperity (by regulating commerce).

So we come to a crossroads in society. Choices have to be made. Free market or popular regulation? Open rights and expression or social stability? Powerful economic growth or an equal distribution of wealth?

Well, if you ask Nas or Jay-Z, they'd certainly say that the government doesn't need to tell us how to live. Only that cash money baby. And I can bet there are a lot of people out there who feel that way as well.