The matter of hip-hop style spelling and usage is a red herring - this is simply another expression of a variety of youth culture; i.e., a way of fashionable youth to define and assert itself against the older generation of what we used to call the Establishment. A lot of us old fogeys don't like it, but that means it's fulfilling its function (and, yes, I realize that many hip-hoppers or whatever they call themselves must be fast approaching oldfogeydom themselves, but that's their problem). It's supposed to vex and alienate old fuddy-duddies like you and me. No different in that respect from the jargon of hippies, beatniks, hepcats, cornerboys, etc., expect that it's gone a step further into spelling. (I hear that now they've even begun to spell 'doughnut' as 'donut'!!).

As for eubonics - again, a red herring. I don't think anyone influential is telling African-American youth that they don't need to have competence with standard English if they want to be successful within the aforementioned Establishment, are they?

On another matter - the relative 'success of Orientals'. Azizi's post on the subject is very insightful; I would just add that we shouldn't forget the effect of Confucian and related ethical systems, which emphasize obedience to authority, and the primacy of family, education, and government. Despite the various traumas of modern history in east Asia, these Confucian-based(?) outlooks seem to have persisted, and they do seem to provide a solid basis for a level of economic achievement in a society such as ours.