As the months passed, rap music had definitely changed direction. I was
never a fan of it but even I could tell the difference. Rap acts that
talked about politics or harmless fun were quickly fading away as
gangster rap started dominating the airwaves. Only a few months had
passed since the meeting but I suspect that the ideas presented that day
had been successfully implemented. It was as if the order has been
given to all major label executives. The music was climbing the charts
and most companies when more than happy to capitalize on it. Each one
was churning out their very own gangster rap acts on an assembly line.
Everyone bought into it, consumers included. Violence and drug use
became a central theme in most rap music. I spoke to a few of my peers
in the industry to get their opinions on the new trend but was told
repeatedly that it was all about supply and demand. Sadly many of them
even expressed that the music reinforced their prejudice of minorities.
I
officially quit the music business in 1993 but my heart had already
left months before. I broke ties with the majority of my peers and
removed myself from this thing I had once loved. I took some time off,
returned to Europe for a few years, settled out of state, and lived a
“quiet” life away from the world of entertainment. As the years passed, I
managed to keep my secret, fearful of sharing it with the wrong person
but also a little ashamed of not having had the balls to blow the
whistle. But as rap got worse, my guilt grew. Fortunately, in the late
90’s, having the internet as a resource which wasn't at my disposal in
the early days made it easier for me to investigate what is now labeled
the prison industrial complex. Now that I have a greater understanding
of how private prisons operate, things make much more sense than they
ever have. I see how the criminalization of rap music played a big part
in promoting racial stereotypes and misguided so many impressionable
young minds into adopting these glorified criminal behaviors which often
lead to incarceration. Twenty years of guilt is a heavy load to carry
but the least I can do now is to share my story, hoping that fans of rap
music realize how they’ve been used for the past 2 decades. Although I
plan on remaining anonymous for obvious reasons, my goal now is to get
this information out to as many people as possible. Please help me
spread the word. Hopefully, others who attended the meeting back in 1991
will be inspired by this and tell their own stories. Most importantly,
if only one life has been touched by my story, I pray it makes the
weight of my guilt a little more tolerable.
