That's only 3 people and they have all come up as entertainers first. Why entertainers first?
I agree that hip hop is packed with sophistication and cultural consciousness, but hordes of young wealthy teens listen to rap music almost exclusively as entertainment. They often don't parse the emotional and powerful context of the lyrics - as they are often tied to racial, social, and financial issues they have never had to deal with. They often listen to it as outsiders in that regard.
By prefacing his posts with lyrics, Ben is focusing on the good parts of rap music - hustle and determination - as opposed traditional media which very rarely does that. In that regard he is "legitimizing" rap in the eyes of many people, or at least opening up their eyes and mind in a positive manner.
Excluding entertainers - if you look at CEOs, executives, tech startups - I think what he's saying is extremely evident. It's also especially strange how few there are considering how influential hip hop culture is in current youth culture, and how influential African American culture has been in the history of America.
Are investors rational decision makers? or gate keepers? It's hard to say in a system he so eloquently and accurately described in the first few paragraphs, and where so few companies actually get funded.
I agree that hip hop is packed with sophistication and cultural consciousness, but hordes of young wealthy teens listen to rap music almost exclusively as entertainment. They often don't parse the emotional and powerful context of the lyrics - as they are often tied to racial, social, and financial issues they have never had to deal with. They often listen to it as outsiders in that regard.
By prefacing his posts with lyrics, Ben is focusing on the good parts of rap music - hustle and determination - as opposed traditional media which very rarely does that. In that regard he is "legitimizing" rap in the eyes of many people, or at least opening up their eyes and mind in a positive manner.
Excluding entertainers - if you look at CEOs, executives, tech startups - I think what he's saying is extremely evident. It's also especially strange how few there are considering how influential hip hop culture is in current youth culture, and how influential African American culture has been in the history of America.
Are investors rational decision makers? or gate keepers? It's hard to say in a system he so eloquently and accurately described in the first few paragraphs, and where so few companies actually get funded.