'This whole hip-hop generation, it’s the devil'

Sports columnist Jason Whitlock is on a roll. Displaying no short supply of courage considering today's cultural and political landscape, the FoxSports.com commentator has penned a series of articles on the harm that modern hip-hop music is doing to society, and particularly to sports. Now I've always considered rap to be gangbanger music by definition, although considering my background, maybe I'm not the best judge.

Nevertheless, here's a sampling from Whitlock:

Although I believe the jury reached the only logical conclusion based on the trial, I’m highly disappointed Zimmerman was not held criminally responsible for following Martin, ignoring police instructions and shooting a 17-year-old kid after losing a fight his pursuit instigated. Zimmerman and the Sanford police force that initially bought Zimmerman’s explanation profiled Martin.

But they had an enthusiastic, unapologetic accomplice — N-word-addicted, gangsta rappers and the record companies that pay and promote them. They have branded young black boys and men within pop culture as criminal, violent and people to be feared. America is still a predominantly segregated society. We learn about each other through TV, the entertainment industry.

Thug rappers and their employers are partially to blame for Zimmerman seeing a black kid in a hoodie and immediately thinking “punk criminal.” The same group is also partially responsible for making young people think it’s cooler to pose as a wannabe thug than a wannabe scholar.

Whitlock spoke at length with Dahveed Nelson, considered one of the fathers of rap/hip-hop music. Nelson says of today's version: "This whole hip-hop generation, it’s the devil. It’s Satan. It’s hedonism. It’s the pursuit of pleasure. There’s no soul. They’ve captured our medium.”

In another column, Whitlock compares Jay-Z to Fiddler in "Roots". Ouch. That's the president's good friend he's talking about. I hope Whitlock hasn't made any mistakes on his taxes, that's for sure.

Anyway, it all makes for an interesting read.