Hip Hop and Inequality: Searching for the "Real" Slim Shady By S ...

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

The Power of the Beat

There is always that “everyday student” on a college campus, in a high school, or at the mall who characteristically parades the heartbeat of youth trends with ease, casually uses up-to-date slang appropriately, pops hip fashions and accessories, and mixes the hottest music. He or she can be a trumpeting trendsetter, an old skool aficionado, and, inevitably, a popular target for observing what is important at the moment to our ever-changing youth culture. Youth culture from this vantage point is predictable in its unpredictability and, in that regard, utterly fascinating to observe. A few years ago, we spotted that “everyday student” on our campus, and he wore the now-classic version of the b-boy look—baggy denim jeans worn way below his buttocks, athletic gear, and Timberland boots, along with the requisite tattoos and moderately iced-out jewelry such as a platinum or platinum-like