In regards to hustling and gangs, Lemon, and others who are obviously not privy to hip-hop culture misunderstand the multiple iterations of words like “hustling” and the various ways that words within hip-hop take on multiple meanings when applied to life experiences across contexts. For every time that someone ignorant of the culture hears the word hustle in a rap and misreads it as drug dealing, executives, business people, and students within the culture take the term to mean work hard and accomplish goals. These goals include running successful businesses and also getting good grades. Along those same lines, being in a gang may not necessarily mean being in a group that inflicts violence or has a goal of engaging in criminal activity. In many instances, it means creating a group of like-minded individuals who work together to accomplish goals.
There are other points that Lemon discusses such as littering, using the N-word, pants sagging, and having children out of wedlock that I would love to elaborate upon, but that are also much more nuanced than how he presents them. While they may be an issue to certain extents within certain neighborhoods, they certainly do not define Black youth or Hip-hop culture, and do not merit an empty self serving tirade that was in poor taste and based on single anecdotes where multiple counterexamples exist.
I wish I had the to write more, but I must return to a meeting with my mentees who may be from single family homes, but come from structured families. They may go to underserved schools, but they embrace education. They don’t do drugs, but get stopped and frisked by police like they do.
Oh and we hustle and are in a gang. We hustle for good grades and academic accomplishments and are in a gang that supports what we hustle for. Team Takeover!!!!!! Science genius!!!!! Hustle hard or go home. We in the building!!!!!!
Article Appeared @http://www.kulturekritic.com/2013/07/men/dr-christopher-emdin-dissecting-the-venom-of-don-lemon/