The problem with this article is that Cassy seems to be outraged by the sex in the song and I feel it’s not the problem. Sex is normal, people have it, it should be talked about. Us as a country need to feel comfortable about it. It’s just the way women are portrayed in the sexual rap songs where there’s a problem. And I’ve heard plenty of feminists talk about it.

As well as if you looked at many black programs and BET (I hate BET but they have brought it up), there has been discussions between women, men and children about how mainstream rap affect kids, black kids especially. If you read magazines like Essence and Sister 2 Sister, they’ve talked about how black women are portrayed in the videos.

It’s not that our society is quiet on it, it’s just that people don’t pay attention. And then in my opinion, the reason people shouldn’t be talking so badly about rap music is because most people obviously don’t understand the history of it. What it was and how major companies and corporations ruined it. That’s why I personally hate people who don’t listen to rap being outraged on it because they usually don’t know what they’re talking about.

I might be more inclined to take you seriously if you condemned all forms of hate and bigotry – against races, against genders, against occupations. Because you’re right – the skinhead “music” is indeed disgusting. So is Eminem. And by contrast, there is a small minority of rap that at the least, isn’t quite so bad.

But the lyrics quoted by Cassy illustrate the point perfectly. Where is the outrage?

Fuckin skinheads.

Cassy seemed to only point out the degrading mainstream rap which isn’t even hip-hop. It’s hip-pop. Artists like Tupac talked about how hard it was in LA, talked about the girl who was raped at 12 and died a prostitute, talked about how much he admired his mom, talked about the woman he loved but she ended up dying in the hood with AIDS. Artists like Bone Thugz N Harmony talked about poverty, about how hard it was to live in the ghetto, talked about being misunderstood. Salt ‘N’ Pepa talked about female empowerment while Afrikan Bimbaataa was a rapper than wanted to make peace in his neighborhood.

You guys probably never bothered to look for underground hip-hop, never bothered to understand where many of the rappers from the 80′s and 90′s were coming from, how hard thug life was, how hard living in poverty was. Yes rappers today have ruined that and turned it into just another way to make money but before it meant something and I would wish you guys didn’t diss the culture I do admire a lot. Quit listening to Ludacris (even though he did make a couple positive songs himself). Quit listening to the Ying Yang Twins, Soulja Boy, Lil’ Wayne (but listen to his underground mixtapes), etc. etc. They ruined the rap culture along with MTV and record companies that ruin the culture of hip-hop along with other music genres as well.

It really annoys me when people judge something they don’t even dig down deep to listen too. And BTW, feminists have talked and complained about how degrading rap is, espcially black feminists.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,500104,00.html

Cassy’s conclusions are pretty obvious. What puzzles me is why the feminist types aren’t more up-in-arms about it. They’re all over Rush Limbaugh for suggesting that women don’t belong in military combat, but they cheer and applaud the likes of Eminem…one of the worst misogynists I’ve ever heard. I’m a guy (and because I’ve been taught to respect women and see them as equals)…and I’m completely disgusted by the lyrics.

It just fuels my perception that the entire genre is worthless. I’m sure someone could point to exceptions, but it seems more and more like rap is always about something destructive – slapping women around, rape, casual sex, killing police officers, hurting people of other races for no reason…

It also is very troubling to me that this sort of “music” (again, it doesn’t really qualify) is so closely associated with young black males…one of the most at-risk demographics in the entire US, who commit a share of violent crimes far out of proportion to their numbers. Especially against other black people, most of whom are simply trying to make something of their lives.

Course, young men of other races are getting drawn to this garbage of late as well, aren’t they?

Rap music makes me miss the big hair 80’s metal bands a whole lot more. Who’d have thought that Poison and Motley Crue would turn out to be more wholesome than Ludacris and E-40.

Yeah, really. Back then I never dreamed I’d see the day when Megadeth and Metallica didn’t seem so bad. Any of the stuff they sing about seems tame now, doesn’t it?