Well, here's one small anecdote that suggests the era of hip-hop might be ending and the age of Obama might be beginning. The streets around the Capitol right now are swamped with Obama T-shirt and tchotchke vendors. One of them was selling this poster of Obama leading a posse of civil rights icons:
As I paused to take in the poster, a black woman in front of me stopped, took one look at the poster and blurted out, "Now, what the hell is Tupac [far left] doing on there?"
Coates responds:
Only a two-dimensional caricature listens to Tupac, and
then decides to be a bad father. Only a two-dimensional caricature sees
the election of Obama and then says, "Hmmm, guess this means I can't
listen to Jeezy anymore." Only two-dimensional caricatures say, "Hmm,
got a black president, better pull my pants up."
In the real
world, where real people live, and breath real air, a multitude of
forces--cultural, social, economic, etc.--weigh on people. Barack Obama
will certainly change something about black culture. But anyone who's
spent any time around actual people should know better then to act like
they know what that is, or how it will play out. These guys are Skip
Bayless, telling you who's going to the Super Bowl next year.