Oprah vs Hip Hop

An interesting element to the Hip Hop as African American empowerment, verse Hip Hop as a social reckoning debate, has been the public debate surrounding Oprah. It has been speculated for several years now as to whether Oprah is against Hip Hop rappers or not. Although she has come out publicly saying that she does like some Hip Hop and even has some on her ipod, debate has continued due to the lack of rappers on her show. As an advocate for African American success it would seem logical that Oprah would be more than willing tell the success stories of young black men from disadvantaged backgrounds that had made it big through music. However clearly this is not the case. I would speculate that perhaps Oprah views this cultural trend as a negative force for African American identity. Hip Hop culture often idealizes the staunch masculine identity, valuing violence, aggression, crime and disrespect for women. With more African American men in jail than in college, it is little wonder that Oprah may not want to promote these ideals on her show.