re: "The secret meeting that changed rap music"

This has been making the rounds on Facebook and other sites. Seems worthy of commentary on a couple of levels.

Hello,

After more than 20 years, I've finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I've simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren't ready for. (Read the rest here)

First and foremost, I haven't found anything to corroborate this story after minutes and minutes of Googling. The way the story is retold makes it practically impossible to verify.

Second, the public seems to be divided on whether or not this is a true story. Some argue that the author's anonymity, poor grammar and spelling, and his (presumably) waiting 20 years to come forward all undermine his credibility. Others argue that similar such closed-door conspiracies have proven to be true, and that this story would certainly go a long way toward explaining why rap music has gone south (figuratively, not literally) in recent years.

Here's my take on the situation. The story is compelling and easy to believe. In 1991, West-coast gangsta rap had just started its ascent to the mainstream. Racial tensions on the West coast were peaking, and would erupt in violence following the 1992 acquittal of the officers involved in the Rodney King incident.

In 1991, rap was considered a "fringe" genre: sure, some people listened to it, but it was a very small number of people in the inner city--the kind of people who might engage in violent and/or criminal behavior, so middle-class white America didn't need to worry about it. However, in 1991, Billboard began using SoundScan to measure record sales. Prior to this, record sales reports were subject to massive skewing: record companies would essentially bribe record store owners in order to get the "sales figures" that they wanted. SoundScan, a point-of-scale system provided more accurate (some might say "objective") sales data. Furthermore, SoundScan allowed the industry to see who was buying what and where they were buying it. Turns out, rap's market share was about twice as much as theorized, and it was being bought mainly by--white teenagers in the suburbs!

All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working
round the clock to try to stop my concerts early, surely
Hip-Hop was never a problem in Harlem only in Boston
After it bothered the fathers of daughters startin to blossom
--Eminem, "White America"

Compare and contrast Billboard's Top 200 albums from March 18, 1991 (pre-SoundScan) and Top 200 albums from November 18, 1991 (post-SoundScan). In the first case, all of the top albums are clear-cut white, adult contemporary pop albums (with a few exceptions). By November, country music (!) topped the charts, followed closely by Ice Cube. Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses, and Nirvana (other dangerous music) round out the top 10.

Tricia Rose (and others) have written about the impact of massive media consolidation on the rap industry. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulated radio station ownership. Caps on station ownership were lifted, allowing corporations to own as many as eight stations in a major market. Media giant ClearChannel came out of the deal with more than 1,200 radio stations under its aegis; Rose notes that these stations reach an average of 100 million people, roughly a third of the US population (Hip-hop Wars, 19). Record label consolidation has had a similar effect: there are currently four (maybe only three?) major record labels (this number has shrunk since the 2008 publication date of Rose's book) that are responsible for the vast majority of the music we hear.

So a number of things happened in 1991 (coincidentally--or not--the year of this alleged meeting) and in the years immediately following that drastically impacted the music we hear.

Now, here's where the conspiracy might gain some traction. There are a few large companies that run private, for-profit prisons: Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), GEO Group, Management and Training Corporation (MTC), and LaSalle/Southwest. In general, these companies either buy prisons from the state, or construct new facilities and are under contract with the state. The theory is that the for-profit motivation will inspire these companies to do more with less in an effort to maximize profit. This translates into cost-cutting measures. One way to keep costs down is to avoid "high need" inmates: this applies not only to the most violent offenders, but also to those with health problems.

Five of eight private prisons serving Arizona did not accept inmates with “limited physical capacity and stamina” or severe physical illness or chronic conditions, according to the state’s analysis, issued last month. None took inmates with “high need” mental health conditions. Some inmates who became sick were “returned to state prisons due to an increase of their medical scores that exceeds contractual exclusions.” --from the New York Times

Private prisons thus thrive on small-time criminals, likely the sort "caused" by rap music. There is a more frightening provision in some of these contracts, though:

Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest operator of for-profit prisons, has sent letters recently to 48 states offering to buy up their prisons as a remedy for "challenging corrections budgets." In exchange, the company is asking for a 20-year management contract, plus an assurance that the prison would remain at least 90 percent full, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Huffington Post. --from the Huffington Post

So companies like CCA will help to alleviate state budget woes by purchasing the prisons and running them "more efficiently" on the condition that they have 90% occupancy rate of inmates who are not too dangerous and generally healthy...

The year is ninety-four, in my trunk is raw
In my rearview mirror is the motherfuckin law
Got two choices y'all, pull over the car or (hmm)
bounce on the Devil, put the pedal to the floor
And I ain't tryin to see no highway chase with Jake
Plus I got a few dollars, I can fight the case
So I, pull over to the side of the road
"Son do you know why I'm stoppin you for?"
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low
Or do I look like a mindreader sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo'?
"Well you was doin fifty-five in the fifty-four;
license and registration and step out of the car -
are you carryin a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are"
--Jay-Z, "99 Problems"

If the story were true, it wouldn't be the first time that the music industry bowed to corporate interests.