As white society is prone to do, it takes something perceived as a threat and then turns it into a commodity, a purchasable product. It happened with rock music, it happened with punk. Things start out as a movement by the people, but as soon as it becomes a threat to society it gets turned into something that can be discredited and bought and sold.
Let’s take hip-hop for example. It started out as a grass roots movement, but as it gained in popularity the powers that be (white society, lets face it, they have the money) were forced to find some way to nullify this assault on the established status quo of the general white populace. If they were to condemn the rap culture then it would only fuel the fire and popularity of the music, and they certainly couldn’t have “their pure suburban children be corrupted by something as vile as rap”. So what they did was buy it, they turned rap into a new market an item to be bought and sold. One could argue that that’s what happens when things become popular, it doesn’t mean that it’s a commodity. In short, yes it does. The instant music becomes popular and is pushed by a record company then the band has to conform to what the company needs and wants, and to what the advertisers need. This causes the group to shift slightly to be allowed to push the product, to be a more palatable spokesperson. The key thing here is that when something becomes popular people look to the media for direction in the subject. By doing so one allows the companies to direct and decide the direction that the music will take in the mainstream. As we all know if anything is true about most companies it is that they will use anything in their power to make money. If they control the accepted image of an entire culture* what does this mean?
This may sound racist but it’s not intended that way, popular black culture has been turned around designed by white marketing people using black focus groups that have already been exposed to the white “black” media and having the go ahead decided upon by the white label producers. Though I respect the more independent and black owned labels that produce “black music” (as much as a music can belong to a race) though it seems to achieve real monetary success one needs to adhere to the established white vision of black culture.
I won't even go into the damage that rap causes by only talking about getting money and sex, that's a whole other node
White vision you say? Yes, what you see on TV and hear on the radio is decided by white people. The black culture has been packaged and fed to a generation that has grown up and is letting their children grow up on, and be controlled by the same system of white controlled “blacksploitation”. Could I be wrong, maybe, am I not only able to write what I think based on my experiences and opinions? Is the above the way I see the black culture? For the most part yes, is that final and end all be all? No there are always exceptions…
*Don't believe me? look at most movies marketed to a black audience. The cast of characters are nothing but one stereotype after another playing one of 3 roles. Role one: the angry black person leading a life that will often get them killed or in jail. In feel good movies this character is usually saved by learning to behave like a good little cotton picker, much like role number two. Role number two: the upstanding member of the community who behaves exactly like a white yuppie. Role number three: anyone who may look different than, but behaves exactly the same as anyone from fat Albert.