On the elevator ride to my office this morning, there was a millennial on his way to work listening to a very loud song on his headphones (he had removed them when he got on). I said "Who are you listening to?" He replied, "That would be "Young Thug.""
He smiled, departed the elevator and wished me a good day as he headed to his job at Merrill Lynch.
Times have really changed. Or have they?
I mean it's nice that music is universal, knows no colors, etc. But I can't help but believe that this young man is enjoying "code switching" of a different nature. He can listen to all the rap he wants as long as he checks it at the door.
We are used to living in two worlds, however, I just wonder what the "suits and ties" would think if they knew what he was doing before he logged onto his computer?
I will believe things have truly changed when I see a young Black man on the elevator going to his job at Merrill Lynch.
I ride the same elevator every day and I can't count that I've seen even one.
1 comment:
Not a chance! Hip Hop is mainly used by young up and coming White corporate Americans as a stress buster and exercise aid. I seriously doubt the message or words of the plight are even heard and certainly not absorbed in the mind of vast majority. It makes for good walking to work rhythm. It's a beat that energizes for what promises to be a stress-filled day of learning how to stay a leg up and one day be "the boss man." If the message of Urban Hip Hop was being heard, we wouldn't have the continued biases and prejudices in the workplace. The "young mister or missus" steps off of the elevator into the corporate workplace and the urban American music beat is forgotten until the elevator ride and walk home. When Young Thug is heard through elevator Muzak - then and only then - will the Hip Hop music be truly heard and the Racial Divide Bridging begins.
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