Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

So as I was thinking what to post I came across this documentary called "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes." It's funny because I have seen this documentary at Scripps during the semester in which the topic of the Humanities Institute was documentary film. The director, Byron Hurt, also spoke about the film after it was screened which was really nice. Although Hurt is more concerned abouthip-hop's portrayal of gender and emphasis of hyper-masculinity, it is impossible for race not to be an issue. The below clip is 5 minutes from the film discussing violence. I guess my question is in the end of the clip, Hurt interviews people who say that hip-hop allows them to learn and experience different cultures. But I don't think this true about mainstream hip-hop. It seems to me that all mainstream hip-hop is about the same thing: sex, drugs, violence, women, gays,etc. I know that this is probably not the case for ALL hip-hop music but for me, a casual listener whose only exposure is to what can be heard on the radio, the portrayal that I would be getting of the other culture isn't very appealing. If were someone who took mainstream hip-hop at face value, then I guess I would be on edge when confronted by blacks. however, because of where I live, I don't take the music to be accurate depiction of black culture but what about people who live in the middle of the country and diversity within their community doesn't exist like it does in Los Angeles? In the case, mainstream hip-hop would perpetuate stereotypes as opposed dismantling them through exposure and education. The hyper-masculinity and the image of the gun are not the best symbols portraying one's culture.