Hip-Hop has become a melting pot of cultures and races, with many transformation and changes throughout the culture in order to make a profit. Hip-Hop has collaborated with R&B, rock, metal, gospel, and even country music.
The culture itself has also spread worldwide, causing a massive increase in artists’ album sales and all-out popularity. Rappers usually set the trends on what is popular to wear and how to talk, and they pretty much have control on the entire culture.
For example, few people outside of New York wore Air Force Ones until Jay-Z wore them in his videos, but then they became a cultural phenomenon when Nelly made a song about them.
The extreme sport of skateboarding is beginning to have the same effect on the culture.
Let us get our facts straight; skateboarding was a major part of the hip-hop culture when graffiti and Backpackers were in style. However, it was not acceptable to skate in public places just as it was unacceptable to graffiti the sides of buildings and subway cars. Recently, these two popular street-based subcultures began to mesh into one culture.
Artists such as Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes and newcomer Lupe Fiasco are leading the way for self-proclaimed skater rappers and are setting new trends. More and more black skaters from the hood are starting to emerge, and a few have even gone pro. An increasing number of rappers are using skaters in their videos, another form of artistic expression of how opposite cultures have meshed. Thanks to the popularity of these artists, the cultures have become multi-million dollar businesses. Not only will they make a lot of people rich, but more people will become accepting and learn about different cultures.