Behind The Mule: The Power Of The Hip Hop Echelon

The third and fourth wave of elites involved dramatic shifts in identity and economic background from old mulatto families to highly educated or skilled laborers who accumulated some wealth, however the childhood and economic background of most of Hip Hop’s echelon was far from it. Majority with the exception of Kanye West and Aubrey “Drake” Graham came from neighborhoods submerged in urban decay with families who were well below the poverty line. Most also came from broken homes with no father figure present and were a mixture of dark to medium to the lightest skin colors within the black race. To elaborate even further, each Hip Hopper within the higher echelon does not have a college education that they earned by actually attending a university

As the permanent underclass, opportunity for black advancement has been largely placed in moving the race forward collectively through politics and philanthropy. For the Hip Hop generation, particularly those that are still heavily emerged in the culture will disassociate from anyone who is not fighting the power for all blacks particularly those with the money. According to Michael C. Dawson from his book, Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African American Politics, many blacks are a part of the black utility heuristic, which places interest in what is best for the collective interest of the race. While it is still up for debate if the Hip Hop echelon has a case of linked fate because many of them have been accused of not seeing the relevance in what happens to the African American community, but their political interests show another

He has also generously donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children and Habitat for Humanity. Sean “Diddy” Combs ran the New York marathon to for kids suffering form HIV/AIDS while donating towards breast cancer research. Shawn “Jay Z” Carter donated one million to Hurricane Katrina victims while Andre “Dr. Dre” Young donated $35 million to the University of Southern California. Kendrick Lamar was named the 35th Senate District’s Generational Icon from the California Senate for his donations and commitment to improving the conditions for youth in his hometown of Compton. Onika “Nicki Minaj” Maraj donated $15,000 to a New York charity combating hunger and Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter held a benefit concert for his charity, The Carter Fund, which has after school programs for kids while donating $200,000 for a new playground, which had originally been destroyed by Hurricane