Just when you thought Hip Hop could not get more materialistic, we have Puff Daddy, P Diddy, the artist formally known as Puff Pastry or whatever he is going by this week, worshiping at the altar of capitalism, big time. Diddy reportedly spent about $360,000 on a sports car for his son's 16th birthday.

I am a 40-something-year-old educator, and I drive a 2007 Kia Sportage with three more years of payments! What does a 16-year-old, who cannot legally drive yet, need with a car that expensive?

Then what do we expect from a genre of music whose most popular themes celebrate mindless consumption and degrading images of women. And before you start throwing CD covers at me, I grew up with Hip Hop, but I’ve also seen its unfortunate decline from relative narrative into misogyny and materialism.

Back to Diddy. The car was presented at his sons My Super Sweet 16, featured on MTV. Let me pause for a mid-post rant: I have watched this My Super Sweet 16, and it is absolutely ridiculous. Expensive, lavish and over-the-top parties are given for spoiled, privileged children.

In Diddy's son’s defense, he was presented with a $10,000.00 check from his father, which he is donating to Haiti relief. Maybe he can monitor the relief efforts on the media system in his car?

This type of opulence used to be associated with the mainstream, but we are seeing more and more young black kids on My Super Sweet 16. I recently gave my nephew a $50 gift card, an outfit from Target and a store-bought cake when he turned 15, and he was lucky to get that much.

What have you done at 16 years old that deserves such an extravagant celebration? You are not in college. You haven't even graduated high school. You most likely don't do community service work. In fact, you don't pay bills, rent or taxes. Your most difficult decision is what shade of lipgloss you’re going to wear, or what sneakers to sport that day. Get a clue!

It is the nature of parents to want to do more for their children, and Diddy has a right to buy his son whatever he wants with his money. But what message are you sending your child, and are you prepared to sustain that sort of gifting? What is the kid going to expect when they turn 18 -- a personal concert starring Beyonce, along with a spoken word reading from President Obama?

This act is systemic of a much larger issue. I used to teach in the Atlanta University Center, and I saw similar behavior with some students attending Spelman, Morehouse and Clark-Atlanta University. The student parking lot looked like a Lexus dealership, while faculty parking looked more like "Bargain Bob's Discount Used Cars."

It is one thing to give your child reliable transportation, but it’s another thing to give them a Range Rover. I have students sporting the newest pair of designer sneakers and handbags but will not purchase textbooks for class. Somewhere our priorities became skewed.

It is natural for each generation to want to make things easier for the next generation. In our attempt to shield this generation, however, we have forgotten to pass on some of those important life lessons that made us resilient and successful. Things like work ethic, duty to others and commitment to education. Then we wonder why this narcissistic, lazy child does not want to learn anything.

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Professor Locs describes himself as an African American, gay, Southern male who has had an extensive career in higher education. His column appears each Wednesday. Click here to read his blog.
 

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