So I finally took my headphones off, leaving behind the tales of riches and debauchery from Easy E, UGK, T.I. and Biggie Smalls, and I realized something: We are in an economic recession.I also realized Easy E died from AIDS a while ago. One half of rap duo UGK (Pimp C) died from lean mixing with sleep apnea. T.I. is going to jail for a year for buying automatic weapons, and Biggie Smalls was murdered 12 years ago.Yet listening to these men is one of the most fun and escapist things I have ever come across. I know it’s puerile and maybe even sort of patronizing, but falling into this world when real life is getting too heavy can be a fantastic escape.This is interesting, especially considering that most of these rappers speak at least somewhat autobiographically. That is what has kept rap alive for so long, as Lil’ Wayne points out on his mix tape “Dedication 2.” It makes the art and the music interesting, and very few rappers have been able to break away from autobiographical verses and still be successful.Usually, these stories are ones of redemption and of climbing a personal Everest. Rap, in most cases, is about swimming against the current and making it to the other side.My father doesn’t understand rap. He always asks why I like to hear people boast and brag.I like rap because it is just that — boasting and bragging.It’s a celebration of self-empowerment.It’s pure escapism.I could listen to nothing but my older Death Cab for Cutie albums and my Modest Mouse or Wolf Parade or “fill in emotional indie band here,” and they have a time and a place.But when times are crappy, throwing on some tight beats and some braggy lyrics can make the day seem that much brighter.As I’ve quoted before, Eminem explains he raps for “anyone who’s ever been through shit in their lives / ‘til they sit and the cry at night, wishin they’d die / ‘til they throw on a rap record, and they sit and they vibe.”Because rap is about escapism, more so than other forms of music.This is why it will flourish during these tumultuous times.A prevailing train of thought exists, especially among pretentious college students, that escapism is worth less than “true art.”Tolstoy gave three criteria for what makes art. One of them is that the work must be “important,” but he does not define what importance is.In times like these, with everything crashing down around us with the velocity of a fallen 747, what is important is changing.We need to escape from our lives sometimes, and rap is one perfect gateway.And that is why it will flourish during the recession.Even while I realize most of the MCs spitting and the DJs spinning probably don’t have it as good as they like to boast and brag about, that boasting and bragging brings them ever closer.And it brings us ever closer.There really isn’t much more one can ask for from art.Travis Andrews is a 21-year-old English major from Metairie.—-Contact Travis Andrews at [email protected]