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“I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream…” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For many babies of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s – the collective Hip-Hop era – the American Dream that Dr. King so eloquently spoke of back in 1963 has often been just that – a dream. As inner cities swelter with rising rates of violence, unemployment, and despair, it sometimes seems as if we haven’t “overcome” much at all in the nearly 42 years since his tragic assassination.

And yet, for some, Hip-Hop symoblizes – both literally and figuratively – the attainment of the American Dream, and the ultimate “rage against the machine” method for using what we’ve got to get what we want. In fact, it has been said that Hip-Hop music and culture have created more young, Black millionaire Americans than any other industries in our history. Coupled with serving as the voice box of the streets, Hip-Hop plus wealth equals power in 2012.

Rapper Black Thought of the legendary Roots crew has surely seen his life change dramatically in the 25 years since the inception of his critically-acclaimed rap group. His humble, early rap days in Philly are a far cry from where his longevity and success in rap have landed him as of late. AllHipHop.com spent the evening at the lovely home of the self-proclaimed “hometown hero” MC (along with the talented young duo that make up his newly co-signed group, The Wurxs), and asked if he thinks Hip-Hop is Dr. King’s dream personified – and at what costs?:

Want more Black Thought? Check back all this week for a daily dose of wise thoughts from one of the illest MCs alive! And hear more from The Wurxs!