Street Cred

Ever since I revealed to my readers that I have a certain reputation in the hip-hop community, I've been stopped many times by people who say, "Hey! Crapples! How can I get more street cred with the rappers in my neighborhood?"

In response, I thought I'd publish a few useful tips. I'll start with the basics:

1 - Right from the beginning, let your hip hop associates know that you're there to keep it on the down-low. That tends to ease their nerves and it establishes your good intentions.

2 - Reach into their world. For example, if you're talking about music with a "playa" or "gangsta" (note: many times it's appropriate to delete or modify the last letter of a word when talking to members of the hip hop community) instead of talking about bands that you're interested in, try to open your mind to some of his artists. Drop the names of Vanilla Ice, Hootie, Blondie, Markie Mark, or some other popular rap musicians. You'll be surprised how often a little courtesy like this will lead you into a real nice heart-to-heart.

3 - The third suggestion might be the most powerful of all: Never underestimate the power of a home baked batch of cookies.

Finally, be sincere. If they start to suspect that you're insincere about your intentions, it can get crunk in the hizzle before you even know what happened.