A New York rapper has spoken out against the violence and misogyny which dominates much hip-hop culture, declaring people such as 50 Cent "fake-ass gangstas".
Controversial independent artist NYOil has declared the current generation of hip-hoppers as having failed to honour the memory of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King. Somewhat paradoxically, he has also called for hip-hop's proponents of bling and booty to be lynched.NYOil has garnered significant notoriety with his track 'Y'all Should Get Lynched', which has been downloaded over 10,000 times from his web site. In it, he raps, "Because Martin Luther King died for you to act like this/This is the best you can come up with?"
He believes many of today's hip-hop idols espouse negative messages to their impressionable young audiences. He tells 'The Guardian' newspaper, "It makes me mad when I see kids who don't care about education, for whom mediocrity is all. We have to take some of the responsibility: every song you hear tells you about this woman's a ho, or he's selling this drug, or I'm going to shoot you if you don't do that."
Whilst he remains an independent artist, he has received support from hip-hop purists, such as pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, 'Paradise' Grey of X-Clan and Maryum Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali.
