Off the Chizzle my Nizzle

It used to be cool to listen to rap music. There were boom boxes on shoulders, MTV raps, and KDAY. There was outrage (2 live crew) and rebellion. Parents hated it, and that's why kids in urban areas loved it.

Today rap has gone mainstream, up the social ladder, all the way to the boardroom.

Dieter Zetsche, the president and Chief Executive of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division is down with it.

When accepting an award for the new 300 he said, "Winning the Motor Trend Car of the Year award is huge for us, ... As Snoop Dogg would say, it's the shizzle."

So listening to rap music used to be fun in my youth. I'm not sure that its luster has faded because I am older or because the music is being quoted by people twice my age. In any case we better all be careful, because if rap music keeps moving up the ladder, no one will be able quote rappers without paying some type of royalty. Snoop could copyright fo shizzle, just as easily as Pat Riley copyrighted "three peat."

I guess this all makes sense. For years rappers have been promoting lifestyles that only themselves and CEO's can afford to live. I mean can anyone really afford to by the diamond earrings or the Chrysler 300 that was customized for snoop dog? So it seems that Dieter Zetsche is listening to music made for him. After all, if "fo shizzle" is copyrighted, only CEO's will be able to quote Snoop Dog anyway.