Chief Keef is teaching our kids all too well.... (Chief Keef has changed his name to Chief Queer for his 60 day jail sentence!)

KUDOS to James E. Causey from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for having the balls to write the truth about Chief Keef

Over the age of 25? Then the name Chief Keef doesn't ring a bell, does it? But this Chicago-based rapper, who glorifies violence, speaks for many young hip-hop heads in urban neighborhoods.

And we're losing a street battle with him and others, the street rappers, the drug dealers and the family members who don't have the best interests of our kids at heart.

Urban neighborhoods, in fact, are losing a generation of young men to senseless violence and incarceration.

When I hear rappers such as Keef glorifying all that with their filthy lyrics - and offering no solutions - it's apparent to me that they are part of the problem.

When kids can recite word-for-word the lyrics from Keef's hit "Don't Like" - words I won't subject you to - but then struggle to read, we have a serious problem.

Keef is only 17, and he made news last week when he was sentenced for violating probation on a gun charge. The violation was not the news; it was how he reacted when a Chicago judge sentenced him to 60 days in juvenile detention.

The rapper, who has tattoos on his neck, chest and arms and who was allegedly on house arrest when he taped his music videos, appeared to be frightened and regretful. Keef, whose real name is Kevin Cozart, begged for leniency.

"Give me one more chance to show you. I am a very good-hearted person. I have not picked up any more cases. That's not my life anymore," Keef said, before breaking into tears.

This doesn't sound very gangsta to me, and it definitely doesn't sound like the same person who put on Twitter when a rival rapper in Chicago was killed: "LOL, Little JoJo wanted to be just like us." It also doesn't seem like the same young man who pointed a firearm at police officers.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski, who deals with young people like this all the time, said Keef's reaction was not a surprise. He said there should be community outrage when Chicago has 500homicides and Milwaukee County has 101 homicides, as they did in 2012, and when most of the victims are black males. Borowski told me that he didn't know who Keef was, but he said the rapper didn't sound like someone kids ought to be looking up to.

Keef is not the main problem; he's just a kid himself. But the message should be that if you promote a certain lifestyle, chances are you will end up behind bars or worse.

Less than four days after being sentenced, Keef was being sued for child support by a middle-school student who claims he fathered her daughter in 2011. If true, the mother could have been in sixth grade when the child was conceived.

For those who believe that music, violent video games and media have no influence on our youths, I say wake up. If you don't know what your kids are listening to or watching, then you are living in denial.

Keef songs "Love Sosa" and "Don't Like" talk about many of the things we don't want our children exposed to: violence, guns, subjecting women to the "B" word, drugs and making fast money.

I speak at a lot of schools, and I hear too many young people aspiring to be the next big rapper or professional basketball player instead of striving to become the next doctor, engineer or chef.

Part of the reason is many young people don't realize that they can aspire to become a successful chef. Having more mentors involved in public education neighborhood programs would help.

Imagine what it would be like for a young 15-year-old who has a knack in the kitchen to hear from a Milwaukee Public Schools graduate who is making a living in that field.

When young people see what they can become - beyond their block or their neighborhood, then they can start to strive for more than what they see on TV or hear on the street.

But that's just part of the problem. In order to save our black and brown boys, we all have to be involved.

Right now, there are too many Chief Keefs tutoring our children. The Chief Keefs are winning.

Mentors can change the conversation and a child's outlook by being involved. Now that's what I like.

James E. Causey is a Journal Sentinel editorial writer, columnist and blogger. Email jcausey@jrn.com. Twitter: jecausey