Although the trend in rap/hip-hop/black music towards gangsta-rism existed before, once Eminem hit it big it became the only subgenre promoted in mainstream entertainment. Eminem's success gave the white middle-aged music industry gatekeepers permission to embrace the most vile, misogynist, materialistic, stereotypical anthems and artists. These usually one-hit wonders are shoved down our throats on the radio, television, and movies(how did "Hard to be a Pimp" win an Oscar? black teenagers weren't voting). A casual listener would be surprised that any African Americans were making music about other subjects besides bling, grillz, hoes, and coke.

Media and critics promote these artists over more thoughtful rappers, singers, and bands. T.I., The Clipse, and Mike Jones are praised as REAL while The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli and similar artists are dismissed as soft and bourgie. By mostly white guys living in lily white suburbs, college towns, and hipster hoods.

From what I've read, it sounds like female soldiers are involved in all the most dangerous combat activities as male soldiers in Iraq. House-to-house searches(that often end up in shootouts), looking for mines, driving the most dangerous roads, etc. Women seem to be as much at risk of injury and death as men in this war, their lower numbers as a proportion of the military have hidden this truth. The non-combat designation is a screen to deny women promotions, raises, and recognition they deserve. Also they are still kept from joining special forces and other specialized divisions that could advance their careers in the military after the war.

The so-called 'womens work' support jobs like food service is done by "independent contractors" hired by Blackwater and Halliburton, not female soldiers.

I'm not sure if voting for Sanjaya is subversive or the point of most his voters. I agree with Ann Powers, he's a cute guy and not any worse than 90% of commercial pop singers of the last 20 years(Paula Abdul judging singers?).

The popularity and discussion of AI among adults can be attributed to one main reason: its one of the few things you can talk about with anybody at work, the grocery store, the gym, etc. anymore. No real controversies and no expertise necessary. Every other topic of the day is going to rile somebody and music(and pop culture in general) is so fragmented nobody knows the same songs anymore. Everybody hates something others are passionate about(George Bush, Hillary Clinton, rap music, country music). AI is just a dumb, inocuous, apolitical* show that everybody can learn a enough about to form an opinion without even watching the show. Talking about the weather gets old, family can be touchy, the internet made keeping up with sports too hard.

And to the letter writers who keep writing in "Why is Salon posting this garbage? You should post more about the War." Why do you read these lighter articles in the first place and then take the time to write the letter?

*If it has any politics at all, its that Christians and Gays, City people and Country people, rock and hiphop, etc of all races/economics can sing together on stage and watch the same show at home.

Like all fads/hot trends/pop trivialities, right-wing talk radio has peaked. As with professional wrestling, hair metal, boy bands, Porky's movies, at some point the audience stops growing, gets tired of the sameness, and/or grows up and out of following the fad. Advertisers and the rest of world sees the remaining audience as old, yet immature losers and the content as annoying and an easy target for ridicule.

Due to the enduring appeal of its politics, the rabid audience kept wingnut radio going longer than its natural life. Its obvious Limbaugh etc already see the end coming and are trying to extend their careers another year by blaming liberal censorship and the bogeyman Fairness Doctrine. While their ex-followers and the ads for "male enhancement" move to blogs and podcasts.

Would Don Imus or 50 Cent et al. have careers at all if white media corporations hadn't chosen them to fill their respective roles? Imus to say "what old white men really think" and 50 Cent to say "what old white men think Blacks are".

Gangsta rap is not forced into our conciousness by African American mega-media corporations, because they don't exist! (BET is owned by MTV/Viacom) The remaining independent black radio stations are low powered AM and more likely to play oldies or gospel. Teenage rappers surely don't have the resources, no matter how much coke they deal or women they pimp in their neighborhood*.

In the early nineties, white corporate media(record companies, TV, movies, magazines) discovered that gangsta rap(shooting, pimping, dealing, spending) was the easiest way to sell hip-hop to white males. And it sold, especially as older white men adopted gangsta to show they were "still down".

In the late eighties, mainstream hip-hop had room for the Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, Salt n Pepa, DeLa Soul and NWA. Only NWA would have received a major label contract in the last 15 years. Fortunately recent sales charts show that gangsta rap's appeal is finally dying out.

*according the boasts in their raps, most are kids with a minimal vocal gift, just saying what the white masters at the record company tell them.

Who gets the blame for Imus and gangsta rap?

Without corporate media sponsorship and promotion both Imus and gangsta rap would be as popular and culturally relevant as Norwegian death metal.

And last I checked those boardrooms, programmers, A&R reps, etc were nearly all white, male and over 40. Richard Parsons can't be blamed for all media misogyny(he could do better though).