Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Matches Made in Hell: Hip-Hop and Sports

Another one of my revelations here on this blog is that I am a huge rap music fan. It started back when I was 11 years old and the West Coast Rap (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eazy-E, Dogg Pound Gangsters, etc.) scene was on FIRE! For once there was rap music available to us that talked about low riders, palm trees, and lazy summer days. So for all of you that think that I'm just trying to hate on rappers in general you're wrong. I can appreciate rap music as much as anybody and here is my top five list of rappers all time


1. Tupac, 2. Dead Tupac, 3. Biggie Smalls, 4. Scarface, 5. Jay-Z. This list is inarguable and I defy you to say anything different! Anyway, rap music has contributed to a problem in many black communities that has stretched into professional sports.....Life is beginning to immitate art. Here are the reasons why I think that this match is ultimately made in hell.





Some people don't understand that "Thug Life" is not a realistic way to live if you're playing sports


Football players are probably the worst at this because of their inflated sense of toughness and ability to intimidate. In college for some reason is when many players think they're the most"thugged out." Never mind that many of these guys are pampered college students at a major university, they "ain't going to let no punk ass bitch stare at them that way." Frequently these dudes, yes dudes, get themselves in a ton of trouble. They end up stabbed, arrested, beat down, or in some cases kicked off the team. These guys don't ask themselves if it's worth it or if they should do something else, they just figure that in order to be thug, they can't back down. It's a stupid way of life.

Immaturity is rampant in hip-hop
Gold chains, 26 inch rims, fancy cars, big homes, a ton of girls.....these are all qualities that children think are a good idea. Wasting your money on things that are fleeting. These things can be re-posessed, taken away, or stolen. Good investments, smart business decisions, and saving money are not things that ever go out of style. Those in the hip hop culture often lack the foresight to see that all of the aforementioned things aren't really worth your time. These things are called luxuries for a reason. Some athletes aren't any different. They have the same women, cars, and homes as most rappers. Here's the problem. The life of a professional athlete isn't nearly as lucrative as a lot of rappers. Rappers can rap until they're old and gray. You can only dunk with authority until you're 36. There's a lot of living ahead of you, please be smart with the dough....

This is a short post, but I'll have more stuff up soon. I just started classes again and I've got a TON of stuff to discuss, thanks!

1 comment:

LeftLeaningLady said...

I agree with your post, but only to a degree. The one point that I think you are missing is that maturity comes with AGE. While there are those who are born with old souls (Tim Tebow comes to mind, but we will see) many of the kids in sports (college and early NFL/NBA/MLB) really are just kids, just as the young rappers are YOUNG. Of course, these are the people with the physical skills to perform the sports, but not the emotional maturity to deal with the bounty.

I am looking forward to your future posts. I have one up on the first weekend of college football.