"The Black Church and Hip Hop"

Is it conceivable that the genre of "Hip Hop" music has superseded the power and influence of the Black Church?  Are Jay-Z, Wiz, Rick Ross, Lil' Wayne and Nas the "new" prophets?  The sad answer is a resounding "YES!"  In the midst of the billions of dollars of profits they are reaping off of the backs of poor little black children who are too ignorant to separate "business and fantasy" from "reality", our youth are falling deeper and deeper into a "moral abyss."

Why can't our kids see that these puppeteers are creating a "new normal" seeded in perversion, immorality and pornography.  How is it that an entire generation of men have been anesthetized to the degradation and dehumanization of women in rap videos, interviews and award shows?  Even more unbelievable is how these young women women have marginalized themselves all for the sake of being seen as a "bitch" or a "hoe" in the latest video or sacrificed to the highest bidder at the next "after party?"

I hold these music icons responsible for not communicating to their legions of followers that what they do is not real.  It's just "entertainment!"  They should say, "I go home to my multi-million dollar estate, driving my Bugatti or Maybach with my wife and kids and you, my friend, catch the bus back to the hood!" The cynicism is real. It is too painful to watch. The lure is so powerful, I am amazed that the entire "world" has been mesmerized by its seduction..even the church!

Now the church has been acting like an "innocent bystander" for far too long as the veritable bully beats the living daylights out of its little brother!  Stop fading back into the crowd and step up and defend your sibling. You are the Big Brother.  You have been in the game a long time.  You have entered the ring many times and won by a knockout out; even a TKO.  But now, the church resembles the punch drunk boxer who has stayed in the game too long.  The one who can't remember his name and struggles to put his mouthpiece back in after he has been knocked to the mat.  Can you hear the referee counting the church out?  Or will she get up, take a breath and dig deep in the recesses of her soul and go the distance?  The church's response in this battle will go a long way in determining a significant part of her legacy in the earth.

What are your thoughts?