Geraldo Raps Hip Hop As Negative Influence

Geraldo

Veteran newsman Geraldo Rivera took aim at rap culture during a half-hour Q&A with the Huffington Post Live  and host Josh Zepps.

As Rivera was sharing his political views, he changed tac and said "Hip-hop has done more damage to black and brown people than racism in the last 10 years,"

"When you find the youngster -- a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx or a black kid from Harlem who has succeeded in life other than being the one-tenth of one-tenth of one percent that make it in the music business -- that's been a success in life walking around with his pants around his ass and with visible tattoos...it is this whole ethos," he said.

Rivera then singled out Def Jam records co-founder Russell Simmons. "I love Russell Simmons, he's a dear friend of mine. I admire his business acumen," Rivera noted. "At some point, those guys have to cop to the fact that by encouraging this distinctive culture that is removed from the mainstream, they have encouraged people to be so different from the mainstream that they can't participate other than, you know, the racks in the garment center and those entry-level jobs. And I lament it. I really do. I think that it has been very destructive culturally."