# Is prison full of aspiring rappers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472 "2011-08-20T22:07:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/21 "2011-08-22T04:18:01Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Rapping is seen by many impoverished youths as a way to “get out of the hood” and achieve riches and fame. Instead of doing it in a way that would require, you know, actual hard work and education. Yup. The “hood” is well known for its excellent schools and its ample opportunities for advancement. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/22 "2011-08-22T07:41:57Z")
I would have to say that they’ve achieved part of their dream (rap sheets–get it?) And seeing’s how the Internet doesn’t really exist & nobody will ever see this, I’m going to go out on a limb & be politically incorrect: “Rap” was birthed by an insurgence of a need for expression by inner city youth–no education, no jobs & little hope. They wore hand-me-down clothes (too big for them) hence Pants on the Ground. Not unlike the slaves’ singing in the fields. (Stop throwing stuff at me! I think I’m on to something here.) They’re both in code. Sly, smart innuendo. (The better stuff—because restraint speaks volumes.) Seeing’s how the majority of men in prison are black (why is that? is it because a white man could never pre-meditate cutting his wife’s head off because she slept with somebody else? or is it because a black man knows he better be armed—and in fear he fires the gun? I don’t know.) At any rate, the prison population sings their songs. I’ve never met anybody who didn’t have a story. And “they” are just telling their tales, set to music. written by a 60 yr old white woman ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/23 "2011-08-22T16:48:37Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > The fact that those two rappers haven’t been in prison has zero relevance to whether or not prison is full of aspirin rappers, mr. Rolleyes. True, but the implied question in the OP is whether it’s likely that someone is going to rap his way out of prison obscurity and into a record contract and fame. That really hasn’t happened, as far as I know, though as **Becky2844** notes above quite a few have gone the opposite route, like Lil’ Wayne. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/24 "2011-08-23T16:31:56Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Isn’t rap more popular among poor black men than among other demographic groups? And aren’t poor black men massively over-represented in prison populations? Plus it’s something you can do with no tools except your mind and mouth. Answer to your first question: No. It’s actually white youths that are the biggest consumers of rap music. Answer to your second question: Yes. they are 8-12% of the US Population, but 45-50% of the prison population. The reasons for that are numerous. Your last comment: You can write poetry. You can read and educate yourself. Seriously? Is your father P.W. Botha? I watch Locked Up, Lockdown, Locked Up Abroad, Jail, etc. The number of ersatz rappers is miniscule. IMHO, they are using their prison record as street cred if and when they are released, like Johnny Cash at Folsom. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/25 "2011-08-23T16:38:37Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I would have to say that they’ve achieved part of their dream (rap sheets–get it?) > And seeing’s how the Internet doesn’t really exist & nobody will ever see this, I’m going to go out on a limb & be politically incorrect: > “Rap” was birthed by an insurgence of a need for expression by inner city youth–no education, no jobs & little hope. They wore hand-me-down clothes (too big for them) hence Pants on the Ground. > Not unlike the slaves’ singing in the fields. (Stop throwing stuff at me! I think I’m on to something here.) They’re both in code. Sly, smart innuendo. (The better stuff—because restraint speaks volumes.) > Seeing’s how the majority of men in prison are black (why is that? is it because a white man could never pre-meditate cutting his wife’s head off because she slept with somebody else? or is it because a black man knows he better be armed—and in fear he fires the gun? I don’t know.) > At any rate, the prison population sings their songs. > I’ve never met anybody who didn’t have a story. And “they” are just telling their tales, set to music. > written by a 60 yr old white woman Threadjacker Alert! Sorry OP, but Betty needs to turn the time machine forward to **20** 11. Why are more black men in prison than whites? Lack of education Lack of nuclear family structure (from antebellum days to present) Lack of access to good lawyers before and after sentencing. Harsher sentences for blacks than whites (look at powdered cocaine possession - affluent white people vs crack cocaine - black people). Same drug, longer sentences for crack. How many white men on death row in the US have had their sentences overturned due to DNA showing that they were falsely accused and incarcerated? And about that crack about cutting one’s wife’s head off, I offer the following: John Wayne Gacy Ted Bundy Ed Gein Jeffrey Dahmer Green River Killer Top that…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/26 "2011-08-23T17:03:47Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Rapping is seen by many impoverished youths as a way to “get out of the hood” and achieve riches and fame. Instead of doing it in a way that would require, you know, actual hard work and education. Actually, I’m pretty sure that achieving riches and fame through rap requires a good deal of hard work. Also education - perhaps not formal education (I honestly don’t know which rappers went to college), but they need to know a great deal about their music, the state of the industry, the work of previous well-regarded rappers, and so on. I don’t care for the stuff personally, but I’d bet that most successful rappers (that is, the ones you’ve heard of) are fairly hard-working and talented people. Even the ones with mediocre critical reception or sales (recall that only the very best even get _noticed_ by most reviewers, or any sort of wide sales distribution). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/27 "2011-08-23T17:06:40Z")
Does aspirin come in wrappers? I’ve only seen them in plastic bottles. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472/28 "2011-08-23T18:59:02Z")
As the SNL bit [“Prose and Cons” with Eddie Murphy](http://www.hulu.com/watch/4168/saturday-night-live-prose-and-cons) (“C-I-L-L my land lord”) told us “If Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be doing time.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-prison-full-of-aspiring-rappers/593472.md?page=1)