Once again, hip-hop music has been discussed on Fox News, and once again, it's not viewed in a particularly flattering light. Of course, such is the consequence of surface critique, which is often employed by those seeking confirmation bias. Last night, on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, he sat down for a discussion with Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institute. The topic in question was moral hypocrisy in the mainstream, and it didn't take long for hip-hop to be dragged into the fray.
"We've got this whole trope now in rap music, all the major marquee rappers, Ice Cube, Jay-Z, Scarface," says Hanson. "It’s just rampant anti-Semitism. And we saw Lebron James, our national icon, retweeting the anti-Semitic tweet of a rapper with no consequences. So the American people are saying to themselves, ‘Wow, what are the rules?” Despite the fact that he's essentially questioning the character of three bonafide hip-hop legends, you've gotta respect his inclusion of Scarface as a marquee rapper. Still, it should be noted that James has since apologized for his action, likewise for 21 Savage, the song's original author.
The discussion continues, with Hanson claiming a sort of hypocrisy from the "left," stating "I think it's really dangerous throughout history when you have a group that sets themselves up as the arbiters of morality. We've seen it with the Catholic Church and the abuse problems, we saw that with the MeToo and the Hollywood Liberals like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey. They feel they're not subject to the same standards they demand of others."
In short, Hanson believes that these very same moral standards are being doled out selectively, rather than universally. Of course, there was certainly backlash when LeBron retweeted the 21 Savage lyrics, enough to prompt a public apology from the legendary ballplayer. Yet, by his estimation, the perceived outrage level was inconsistent. Of course, it's difficult to truly assess a proper level of credibility whenever hip-hop is discussed on Fox News, as one has to wonder how familiar the hosts and contributors are with the culture as a whole.