The following clip comes from the Black Tree TV production that drew from a 2007 BET special that explored a number of issues surrounding the intersections between rap and hip hop, African American culture, and the broader American society. This section focuses on how black culture is presented to white culture in and through hip hop culture. Contributors bring to the table a number of interesting arguments, but they all agree that interpreting black culture only through hip hop is inaccurate and problematic.

discussion

What are the implications of white America’s interactions with African American hip hop culture? Should black media producers “care what white people think?”

In what ways does hip hop culture influence white perceptions of black masculinity? Of black femininity?