Without a doubt, hip-hop owned the music portion of SXSW. Big names in rap and R& B acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Erykah Badu, T.I., Future, B.o.B, Pusha T, Trinidad James and other artists performed memorable shows during the festival.
However, when it comes to cultural advancements that extend beyond music, hip-hop culture continue to be light-years behind.
While blacks are the No. 1 users of social media sites and apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, there has yet to be a young black under 40 to create a similar model.
In comparison, Kevin Systrom (creator of Instagram, 27); Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook, 28); and Jack Dorsey (creator of Twitter, 36) are all under 40 and have created companies that are worth billions of dollars.
When it comes to who will be the next Mark Zuckerberg, blacks who are a part of the hip-hop generation have been absent from the discussion. During my trip to Austin, Texas, this past week, young blacks were more likely to hand out CDs of music than a business card promoting their new app or website at SXSW.
Many young blacks continue to see music as the only viable option for mainstream achievement. While personal accountability plays a role, these young blacks shouldn’t be blamed for aspirations of being the next Kendrick Lamar instead of Mark Zuckerberg.
