To the Editor:
After reading Ilya Feoktistov's opinion, "The Mixed Message of Hip-Hop" (Sept. 27), I was taken aback and personally offended by Ilya's ignorant definition of "black culture."
While I think that the author's appreciation and admiration of hip-hop music are wonderful, he should have done more research to become better informed about what "black culture" actually is before writing an article about it.
Ilya lacks an understanding of the depth, broadness, and diversity of "black culture," yet he continues to speak about it in an authoritative manner because of his apparent understanding of blacks through the hip-hop lyrics that he listens too. Black people and their culture are not monolithic and it is ignorant to believe that one can become aware of the diverse cultures and experiences of blacks through a single medium like hip-hop music.
