It doesn't really matter why there is no epidemic, but let's just say it's more of a matter of crack not existing in this TL than going even further back to change the circumstances that made crack cocaine such a destructive force among inner-city black communities in the 80s.
What I'm interested in exploring is what African American culture (the hip hop subculture in particular) will look like by 2013. Also intriguing is American race relations as a whole. Would prejudice decrease in places like SoCal, Detroit, and DC if the local politicians and police departments hadn't lived through an unprecedented crime surge and flooded drug markets?