What Do Lil’ Wayne and Glenn Beck Have in Common? More Than You Think

David Segal draws similarities, in this weekend’s Week in Review, between rappers and talk-radio hosts. He notices that rappers and talk jocks — though they may occasionally take jabs at each other — all have giant egos, thrive off negative press and detractors, love starting rivalries and rely on verbal dexterity to earn their keep.

Oh, yeah and they both love bread and guns. From the New York Times:

Even beyond simple matters of style, rap and conservative talk radio share some DNA. Once you subtract gangsta rap’s enthusiasm for lawlessness — a major subtraction, to be sure — rap is among the most conservative genres of pop music. It exalts capitalism and entrepreneurship with a brio that is typically considered Republican. (Admiring references to Bill Gates are common in hip-hop.)

Rappers tend to be fans of the Second Amendment, though they rarely frame their affection for guns in constitutional terms. And rap has an opinion about human nature that is deeply conservative — namely, that criminals cannot be reformed. The difference is that gangsta rappers often identify themselves as the criminals, and are proud of their unreformability.

Related: Beef: Jay-Z Latest Rapper To Rip Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh.
“Call It Ludacris: The Kinship Between Talk Radio and Rap.”

Lil’ Wayne Photo from Rolling Stone.

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