[redwitch]

I'm totally in Russ's corner -- probably in my corner, actually. I like rap. Not all of it, but a lot of it. I introduced my daughter to it when she was 12 -- I couldn't stand the bubblegum, technopop and emo music she was blasting. I actually felt rap had more rhythm and definitely had more to say than some of the stuff she was listening to.

When rap first started, it was more a way of getting underground news out to those who understood the language than a big business. Today, it is a HUGE business. Even 50 Cent admitted that he changed once he started rapping and making money at it -- he's now into health foods, no drugs, etc. This from a gangbanger who'd been shot several times. Eminem went from a woman-hating, mother-despising punk to a doting father and tells it all in his lyrics. Read the lyrics to Tupak's songs. There is so much feeling in it.

My favorite music is blues -- I can listen to a good harp (harmonica) for hours. I plead guilty to running away from polka and a mezzo soprano can literally bring me to tears (the high notes HURT!!!). I've reached the point where I'm sick of the 50s and 60s -- have just heard too dang much of it since moving here.

I'm not advocating that any of you change and decide to like rap, but I do think it's a shame to so actively dislike a music form that has been around so long, actually does have some good rhythm and some great wordsmiths that you would not frequent a store that plays it or quit an exercise group because it is used to get people moving. If you want to give it a chance, read the lyrics. You might be surprised what is actually being said by some of the rappers today. If possible, find tracks of just the music and you might discover there is a rhythm and beat to it.