The thing that will always get me upset about social media is people tend to take tweets and Facebook posts as news rather than researching to find out the truth. People, more often than not, will get a link from someone and won’t take a few seconds to look up to see if the information is correct. This week I got a Facebook message about Angelina Jolie and her double mastectomy. The story at the time seemed true but until I saw it reported in other media, I was hesitant to repeat the information.

A few minutes ago I was listening to a Los Angeles radio station. For the past ten minutes, the radio host was bemoaning the state of hip-hop music. He specifically talked about a young man who was on the verge of a promising football career. I believe the radio host said the student had a full scholarship to Michigan State University. The student decided not to take the scholarship because he wanted to be a rapper. Actually, let me fill in something that puts the story in a better perspective. The student put some of his budding artistic expressions on YouTube and the lyrics were so misogynistic and ‘hateful’ that he lost the scholarship. The host blamed the likes of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and others for ruining the youth of America, making them ignorant because of the bad nature of rap and hip-hop. Oh, let me add, according to the radio host and his engineer whom he was talking to, both had an extensive career in the music industry working with hip-hop and rap acts. In their opinion, the young student had no chance at becoming an artist and believed the student should have stayed in school. I’ll get back to that a bit later.

This is where the story takes an odd turn. Near the end of the second segment, the radio host mentioned the large amount of money, $70 million dollars, donated to USC by Dr. Dre. The host kept going on about how important it was that the money was given, because it was given for a program to promote engineering in the music field. While he didn’t come out and say Dr. Dre was a role model, he repeatedly said the money given by Dr. Dre was an exception to the rule of positive news from the hip-hop music community. I must include the host did say Dr. Dre was one of the founders of gangsta rap.

Are there negative images and lyrics in hip-hop today? Of course there are. The music landscape today isn’t the same as it was in the 80s, or the 90s or in the 00s. Hip-hop has had detractors since it formed and continues to have people willing to denounce the whole music and lifestyle completely and without nuance. I’m surprised the host didn’t see the irony in condemning Lil Wayne and Jay-Z for lyrics and style while praising Dr. Dre. If you want it on the real, Dr. Dre just gave money to a high end college and in the eyes of the host it erased any negatives about the artist. While the host was freely criticizing the lyrics of current rap artists, did he take a few minutes to listen to the music Dr. Dre put out? Did the host realize (and I’m sure he did since he claimed to be so knowledgeable about the music industry) Dr. Dre was responsible for putting Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent on the map? Did he not realize that because of NWA, which gave us the west coast gangsta sound, was influential in the music not played by artists whom he has issues with?

Here is the more telling question about the rant the host gave; he could have made the same criticism of Dr. Dre ten or fifteen years ago, but if he had done so back then, would it have an impact on his thinking now? See, he’s praising Dr. Dre now because he gave money to USC, because he’s selling an expensive line of headphone, because he is now a success story in the eyes of many, but the host wants to gloss over the gangsta rap past of Dr. Dre. The irony to me is he wants to criticize Jay-Z and Common (yes he did think too kindly of Common) for lyrics and content of their music, yet Jay-Z is going down a path similar to what Dr. Dre has done. Jay-Z is becoming a businessman, just like 50 Cent has, just like Puffy has. The host wanted to condemn the whole music genre for teaching ignorance to the masses yet he chose to use an example of praise in the form of Dr. Dre, even though had it been a few years earlier he probably would have put Dr. Dre in the same negative light.

As far as the student who didn’t get the football scholarship and decided to try it as a rapper, the host could be right that the guy has no shot as a rapper, but I’m a bit troubled with the outrage he showed at the student. He didn’t get an academic scholarship for school, he got one for football. The host said the kid had promise for a pro career, but he is a high school kid. The host may disapprove of him trying his luck as a rapper, but show me where being a football player is a guarantee? Yes, there are thousands of wanna be rappers but there are just as many wanna be football players out there. The radio host can’t say that one path or the other is best for the kid. If anything, both careers are long shots. Can the host guarantee the kid will get good grades in college? Can he guarantee he won’t get a career ending injury in college? Can he guarantee he can make it to the pros? He can’t see the future and guarantee the student would have a secure future as a football player.

Think of it this way; who would have thought in the mid 90s that Ice-T would be playing a cop on a TV show for almost 10 years, that Ice Cube would star in FAMILY movies and TV shows and Dr. Dre would have millions of dollars to donate to USC. If you asked commentators of the time they probably would have predicted all three would be dead or in jail. Don’t look at artist today and be quick to dismiss them.