Is African American rap culture dead?

Kitwana, B (2002) The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture. New York: Basic Civitas Books. Google Scholar. Lin, A (2006) Independent hip hop artists in Hong Kong: cultural capitalism, youth subcultural resistance, and alternative modes of cultural production. read more

Most of them being african american. If you mean in term of lyrically, sadly yes. The most of the songs that are getting air play are generally lyrically absurd. Degrading of women and leading to the downfall of the culture. Back then rap meant something revolutionary and the feeling of injustice against our fellow african american youth. read more

Today's rap music reflects its origin in the hip-hop culture of young, urban, working-class African-Americans, its roots in the African oral tradition, its function as the voice of an otherwise underrepresented group, and, as its popularity has grown, its commercialization and appropriation by the music industry. read more

I would have to say, at first, in the 70s and 80s, rap was a predominantly African-American culture. All the famous, notable rappers were groups like N.W.A, rappers like Tupac and Rakim, and other black artists. After the assimilation of Eminem, the Beastie Boys, and non-black rappers, rap started to become American culture. read more