Will Smith: Rap Needs A Makeover

(andPOP) - Tonight, actor-rapper Will Smith will be hosting the BET Awards alongside his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. It will be a star-studded night of revelry with the biggest names in music - Mariah Carey, Ciara, John Legend, Missy Elliot, just to name a few ? all hitting the stage at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. But Smith doesn't simply want to draw attention to the year's hottest black entertainers. He's also got a message for the show's artists and audience: the impact of U.S. black culture is felt all around the world, with celebrity rappers being role models for today's youth.

"The kids that are making these trends, making these songs, don't understand the level of effect that black Americans have around the world," Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press. " ... Black Americans are so elevated, it's almost worship."

Smith said he first noticed the trend while touring a village in Mozambique. He was surprised to find the name of slain rapper Tupac Shakur scrawled across a shack. When he asked the African children why it was there, "they were saying we want to dress like you dress, wear all the things you wear, talk how you talk," he recalled.

Smith has brought up an important issue. But it's clear that the children of Mozambique are not the only ones who look up to American rappers and who crave to imitate their way of life. Just take a walk on the streets of any major North American city and you'll see mini-Eminems and mini-50 Cents everywhere ? teens wearing G-unit wifebeaters strutting down the street, bling flashing off necks, fingers, and ears.

Rappers are like royalty to today's youth. So what happens when these rappers glorify violence, sexism, and drug use in their songs? Suddenly, it's cool to have been shot five times like The Game ? or nine times if you're 50. The more the better.

While I don't deny that rap is infectious and hip hop is great music to dance to, it also can't be denied that the genre doesn't exactly have much depth. When was the last time you listened to a rap hit that had any sort of significant meaning? 50 Cent's latest top 10 offering consists of him telling the ladies to "go shake that thang, yeah work that thang; let me see it go up and down." Yeah, sure, I'll get right on that. The kids who idolize these rap stars are only getting the impression that guns are cool and a woman's sole asset is her ass.

Rap needs a makeover, and it looks like the "Fresh Prince" is on to something. Smith, one rare artist who doesn't have so much as a parking ticket to his name, believes that youth strive for the gangster lifestyle because it's "the image of survivors. What I'm trying to present and what a lot of other artists are presenting is a different approach to survival and a more sound approach to survival. It's a more long-term approach based on intellect and skills that can't be taken away from you: The smartest dude survives the best.

"It's real important to have balance of the imagery. Yes, there are people who fire guns in the street, but there's also doctors who go to work in those areas to feed their children."