BAY AREA
Hip-hop trends spread to suburbia
Lyrics, dance moves too explicit for some parents

Simone Sebastian, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, March 17, 2006

Don't let 7-year-old Nicholas Johnstone's blond hair, green eyes and middle-class upbringing fool you. This Berkeleyite may be from the 'burbs, but shorty can bust a rhyme and knows a hot track when he hears one.

Raised near the base of the Berkeley hills, Nicholas' favorite artist is rapper 50 Cent. The first-grader makes up his own lyrics, raps along with hip-hop radio and even mimics the limp walk fashioned by early rappers.