Who was the intended audience for "Hip Hop Planet" by James McBride, and what was his purpose for writing it?

The intended audience for "Hip Hop Planet" by James McBride were the readers of National Geographic in April 2007 and also people, like McBride, who had dismissed hip hop as an art form. His purpose for writing it was to convince others to stop dismissing hip hop and to instead give it a try and learn to appreciate it.

In the article, McBride charts his understanding of hip hop from his first experience with it at...

The intended audience for "Hip Hop Planet" by James McBride were the readers of National Geographic in April 2007 and also people, like McBride, who had dismissed hip hop as an art form. His purpose for writing it was to convince others to stop dismissing hip hop and to instead give it a try and learn to appreciate it.

In the article, McBride charts his understanding of hip hop from his first experience with it at a party in Harlem, through years of avoiding it, and finally to a studied understanding of the cultural influence of the genre. He says that he left rap behind, avoided it and that "in doing so, [he] missed the most important cultural event in [his] lifetime."

After examining the people, the time, the music, and himself, McBride comes to appreciate hip hop. He says, "That is why, after 26 years, I have come to embrace this music I tried so hard to ignore." In order to help a reader understand his transition, the essay traces his journey from one impression of hip hop to this new, positive one. 

McBride likely wrote the article to convince people who thought as he once did. He wanted to demonstrate that hip hop has significant cultural value and shouldn't be dismissed. It is unknown whether he originally wrote the article for National Geographic or if he wrote it first and later sold it to the magazine.

As of 2017, National Geographic has a readership that is slightly more male than female, with 54.6 percent male readers. 52 percent of readers report being married, 65.6 percent report having a college degree, and the average household income of readers is $88,106. The magazine has more than 9,600,000 readers.