I have a hard time listening to Young Jeezy. His glorification of drug dealing and violence places in me in the position of active encourager. Not only do his stories not repulse me, but I go out of my way to hear them.

I had this conversation with a friend not too long ago and he insisted that buying an album from someone like Lil Wayne was not a sign of support for the sorts of things Lil Wayne raps about because: (1) he is not currently selling drugs, shooting people, etc.; (2) this is a form of creative expression and I am supporting a finished work of art, in whole, not exclusively or primarily the lyrical content; (3) Lil Wayne and similar rappers are just sharing the experiences of their youth or of impoverished urban living and are not necessarily condoning it. My primary argument was that since there are any number of alternatives to rappers who primarily promote drug dealing, violence, and misogyny, to choose someone like Lil Wayne over a more "conscious" rapper (I hate the phrase) is a sign of support for their art but is also a fairly clear acceptance of their subject matter. As repulsive as I think some Biggie songs can be, he's still on my iTunes.

The popularity of violent or misogynistic artists disincentives lyrical diversity in the hip-hop marketplace. It becomes clear what sells and what doesn't and certainly record labels are aware of as much. Further, we see a disproportionate allocation of resources going to these artists. At the end of the day, the new 50 Cent record will always be pushed harder than the newest Roots album and huge name producers like DJ Kahled are never going to work with people like Rhymefest. From a financial standpoint, it is surely a smart move. Gangster rap has long found an accepting and spend-happy home in suburban white kids and their dollar vote has consistently gone for the more upsetting elements and artists in the genre. Three 6 Mafia have released some good songs, but I think it's indisputable that they move records on their lyrical content and image. This is one reason why that reality TV show featuring them living in the suburbs was supposed to be so outrageous.

I'm a white male and I can't help but feel guilty when I listen to old 2Pac songs or someone like Birdman. A lot of popular music has voyeuristic appeal. Bands like Guns 'N Roses and the Misfits staked their career on it, but there was always a sense that these were more like rowdy kids with a microphone than actual menaces. No one in the Misfits ever killed anyone and the most brutal act of violence associated with the band is this video of Danzig getting knocked the fuck out.. The same can't be said for an artist like T.I. He has committed a lot of the crimes he raps about, although the nature and extent of those crimes are likely exaggerated. Regardless, the stigma surrounding acts like selling coke in the projects or killing snitches is far more damning than that associated with getting into bar fights or being pre-occupied with death and sex. Combine that with the defacto racial segregation produced by class privilege and I think we wind up with a bunch of white dudes listening to music about a lifestyle they would never live, people they'd never associate with, powerful displays of violence and sexual prowess they've only fantasized about, and all told by a guy that they'd probably cross the street to avoid. So I can't help but feel a bit guilty, as if I'm encouraging something for my immediate entertainment, fully conscious of its destructive nature and the implicit hypocrisy of accepting something coming through my speakers that I would never be OK with in the newspaper.

So I really do have mixed feelings about Young Jeezy, but maybe not that mixed. He's a talented rapper and when he's being human, like in "Talk To 'Em," or just boasting about how sweet he is with that trademarked delivery and self-produced laugh track, like in "I Luv It," he's actually pretty charming. His snowman alias aside, Jeezy comes across as someone pretty psyched that he isn't living the hellish and dangerous life that has become the primary subject of his raps. That doesn't make his choice of subject matter any more comfortable with me, but it makes him, as an artist, much less offensive.

"Circulate" is a brilliant track off the latest Jeezy album and it offers a pretty good argument that he doesn't need to rap about selling drugs to write a good song. That is, of course, something I'm completely down with.