Kid chooses rap over college? What have we done?

This week a story broke out of Pennsylvania. There is a young man by the name of Jay Harris. He was a stand out wide reciever who earned a full scholarship to Div.1/Big 10, Michigan State University. He could have chosen to major in what ever he wanted and had the university set him up for life. Well instead of being an incoming freshman in the fall, he has decided to be a struggling rapper looking for a record deal.

Now don't get me wrong. Rapping isn't the same as it was 20 years ago. If you get the right deal, talent is an option. Doubt me? Youtube Chief Keef or Trinidad James just to name a few. But for every one of these characters who hit the "lottery", there are another 5000 struggling to fund their rap careers by dealing dope on the streets.

So what happened? Why are so many of our young men choosing what they think is an easier route of "writing rhymes" instead of writing essays? The myth that their are more black men in jail than college has been dispelled, but is it too little too late. Has this generation been lost to the fantasy of street life over the promises that education will afford them? Do they really believe that a life of chasing the success of Jay-Z is more viable than the path that many of us have chosen? The answer more times than not now is "yes" and its our fault. We dig into why.