Jay-Z isn’t the final say on all things regarding black males, but he’s a celeb and celeb’s have influence. I was watching an interview he gave over the weekend where someone asked him about the significance of Obama being president. He said that the gangsta became irrelevant the minute that Obama won… that for years, kids from poorer backgrounds had pimps, d-boys, etc, to look up to… that there were no doctors or lawyers around b/c they moved out… but this was something higher to look at. Now, when teachers mentioned that you could become anything, even president, it wasn’t just hot air. It was true.

I believe there has been a change. But the only way to fully gauge how much of a change is to get out here, look around, and find examples. The news/media will forever give us bad examples. We can’t fully go off of them.