what has hip-hop really done for racism?

From Black Electorate: What has Hip-Hop really done for Racism? by Al-Tariq Ibn Shabazz.

Especially as someone who grew up on Public Enemy and KRS-ONE I still want to hold onto some of my optimism when it comes to thinking about the power of music to politically enlighten urban youth.

I can't help but think of Common's "I used to love H.E.R. (Hip-hop in its Essence and Reality)"

She didn't have a body but she started gettin thick quick
Did a couple of videos and became afrocentric
Out goes the weave, in goes the braids beads medallions
She was on that tip about, stoppin the violence
About my people she was teachin me
By not preachin to me but speakin to me
in a method that was leisurely, so easily I approached
She dug my rap, that's how we got close

But I also have to admit that Ibn Shabazz has a point. If it is true that “The sole purpose of racism is to support and ensure that the White majority and its ethnic subgroups continue to dominate and use Blacks as a means to produce wealth and power” then the music industry in general, and hip-hop in particular are more part of the problem than the solution, especially if you think about how economic power is exercised behind the scenes.

More sober thoughts on hip-hop's limitations from Planet Grenada:
yo! pbs raps
the revolution won't have a video