All Art Is Not Healthy Art

If you are someone who has followed my work you will discern that though I am an 80's baby, adolescent of the 90's, and young man of the 2000's, who heavily enjoyed pop culture during many of those years (predominately mainstream rap and hip-hop) I am no longer much of an advocate, if any, of pop culture (especially mainstream rap and hip-hop; which will take prominent focus over other genres of pop music for the majority of this book). To a degree, hip hop culture has done some good in producing jobs and careers. This culture has become a conduit for many people to obtain a higher quality lifestyle which they might not have been able to procure by taking another career path. Taking this all into consideration, does mainstream rap and hip hop do much good for masses of people outside of those influential cohorts who 'run the game'? Has it positively revolutionized the stereotypes and general image of Afrikan people (and other non-Afrikan people who participate in or consider themselves a part of the culture)? Does it attract a global healthy respect from people outside of the culture? Has it contributed to a collective improvement for Afrikan people in regards to political and economic power, higher educational attainment, effective legal entrepreneurship, advancement of healthy wellbeing, higher life-expectancy, etc.? Is it to be considered an innocuous form of art or something else? As a passionate professional counselor and scientist of human behavior, I plan to explore a variety of rap lines, images, and interviews from prominent entertainers throughout various eras of pop-culture and address many of these questions, and more. I have been trained to use an amalgamation of analytical and philosophical skills to treat and improve the behaviors of human beings. I believe this book is needed because when I look at mainstream pop culture and listen to many of its musical offerings, I personally notice an existential moratorium of healthy human psychological and behavioral growth and evolution. I have wondered if pop culture is a dangerous art or something else. With that said, let's use my soulful and clinical skills to take a look at rap lines (lyrics), pop culture, mental health, and wellbeing.