Now clearly the National Review isn’t the best place for existential ruminations on hip hop*, but NRO writer Mark Hemingway gave it a whirl this afternoon, arguing that the inauguration of Barack Obama represents the end of hip hop culture:

Well, here’s one small anecdote that suggests the era of hip-hop might be ending and the age of Obama might be beginning. The streets around the Capitol right now are swamped with Obama T-shirt and tchotchke vendors. One of them was selling this poster of Obama leading a posse of civil rights icons:

As I paused to take in the poster, a black woman in front of me stopped, took one look at the poster and blurted out, “Now, what the hell is Tupac [far left] doing on there?”

And here is the poster in question:

As far as I can spot, in addition to Tupac, the poster also includes Muhammad Ali and Bob Marley. (Wondering if Obama marks the end of boxing culture, as well? Rastafarianism?)

But to Hemingway’s point…seriously? I suppose, when you define hip hop culture as encompassing, and only encompassing, fatherlessness and mysogony, then, yeah, sure, the rise of Obama and the Obama family as role models may (hopefully) promote an end to those unpleasant things.

But…that’s not hip hop culture. As far as I know, as far as I’ve seen it to be…

Is hip hop to blame for a pudgy white dude’s (totally pudgy) misconception of hip hop as nothing more than the promotion of disfunctional black families? I don’t know, but I don’t think so.

Nevertheless, and beyond stupidity at The Corner, watching hip hop digest Barack Obama over the next four-to-eight years is going to be big.

* (Imagining Bill Buckley breaking down Luda and American Gangster gives a certain thrill)