Black man's world?

Culture | Hip hop doesn’t just dominate urban youth culture; it’s also the music of choice attracting suburban white—and Christian—kids | Anthony Bradley

Justin Klein, 23, is dressed like many other white residents of affluent St. Louis suburbs: blue jeans, a pair of tan Timberlands, and a black Ecko sweatshirt. But he also wears a blue bandana and loves to freestyle rap.

His best friend Jonathan White, also 23, looks typical as well in his blue jeans, crisp polo shirt, and black leather jacket. But his life is so immersed in hip hop that he dropped out of college after his sophomore year and moved to Las Vegas for private instruction in the art of hip-hop dance.

The musical tastes of Mr. White and Mr. Klein are neither unusual nor uncommon. Hip hop rules urban youth culture in America—but it is also wildly popular among white suburban kids. Forbes reported that whites purchase nearly 80 percent of all music produced by the $1.5 billion hip-hop industry. Hip hop, not rock, is king in a lot of affluent areas where many suburban kids are bored and privately live highly self-sabotaging lives.