Months ago, during an interview on Hot 97, Jay-Z claimed that hip-hop has done more for race relations that any social activist. He said it's hard for a White kid in middle America to believe the bigoted nonsense his parents teach him when he has a Busta Rhymes album in his cd player.
I dismissed Jay's claim because it seemed to me that hip-hop has mostly served to cement negative stereotypes about Blacks, not create more understanding amongst other races.
This weekend changed my mind a bit. I moved out of my Harlem apartment, and into a new place on 110th street, at the very edge of my neighborhood's border. My building seems to be made up of mostly White people, and my backyard is literally Central Park North (and I'm not being facetious - why would I?). The projects seem miles away, even though it's really only three blocks uptown.
I haven't met any people there who live hip-hop culture, like I do, and I've already had some Fresh Prince moments. For instance, after greeting one woman with a "What's good?", my Black friend had to translate that I was greeting her. Another guy complimented me on my "Roh-ca-Wear" shirt, until I explained that the label is (mis)pronounced as "Roc".
