The unfortunate issue with Hip Hop these days is that it is a rich mans game. Unless your very young (with little life experience) the Hip Hop world expects you to be wealthy. I’ve been part of the Los Angeles underground Hip Hop community for over a decade, and know some extremely creative and interesting Hip Hop personalities with some innovative takes on the culture. What I’ve seen these talented individuals do, is temporarily abandon their music pursuits in order to build wealth or use a different entertainment gateway to reintroduce themselves to a more welcoming audience. As both a rapper and a fan, I haven’t lost hope, nor do I resent the current “Stars” dominating the culture. We just need to be patient and diligent, our voices will be heard. Hip Hop simply has fallen into some unhealthy patterns that will be corrected.