Lately in popular media rap and hip-hop has come under fire. Many times in our nation's history rap has been linked to violence. In 1988 it was N.W.A’s "Straight Outta Compton," and today it is Waka Flocka Flame.

In the clip above Mika Brzezinski, an anchor on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," blames the racist chants of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter of University of Oklahoma on a singular rapper, Waka Flocka Flame, who has performed for the fraternity before. She goes on to insinuate that rap is where white kids are learning racial slurs and they are simply repeating what they hear.

Going along with Brzezinski’s logic you could also say no one ever thought about sex until Elvis Presley’s hips were broadcast on national TV. I’m not saying that I endorse using the N-word in music, but I am saying that her reaction is ridiculous and irresponsible as a journalist.

What mainstream media is not covering when it comes to rap are the benefits it has on our society. Some artists are anti-violence. Groups such as A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul were actively against the violent direction hip-hop was moving in.

Take Kendrick Lamar, 28, he was recently misinterpreted on Fox News as promoting violence against the police. The lyrics, “And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, N---- I'm at the preacher's door, My knees gettin' weak and my gun might blow but we gon' be alright,” were cherry-picked because they have an animosity toward police and the word gun in the same verse.

Lamar is saying two entirely separate phrases. He's saying he thinks police are out to get him and other black Americans, and in the second line is saying he has inner struggles and has contemplated suicide. Lamar uses his art to bring larger issues that we face as a society to light. By doing this he makes them easier and more acceptable to talk and have a wider discussion.

Many rappers also double as community organizers, activists or figures of the black American population. This trend is becoming more and more prevalent within the hip-hop community.

In 2013 Drake, 28, donated a recording studio to a Philadelphia high school. In the same vein, Chance the Rapper, a 22-year-old Chicago native, has used his success to create a continuous series of open mic nights. The open mic’s are to promote Chicago’s high school students to express themselves creatively and to give them a space to showcase their talents.

In a more outspoken activist way Killer Mike, 40, of Run the Jewels, an elder statesman of hip-hop has been on CNN and "Real Time with Bill Maher" multiple times. On all of the occasions he speaks about the struggles he and many face as African-American men. He also asks the nation to push their comfort boundaries in a hope that it will alleviate racial and other tensions.

See Killer Mike on CNN here, feel free to jump to 9 minutes in for his final point: Killer Mike on Pushing Boundaries

So, I say that as human beings we follow in the words of Killer Mike, “(We should push) ourselves past the barriers of comfort we hold ... (understanding) that the world is not just (our) perspective.”