Quote:
Originally Posted by k9870
The fast beats of some rap songs pump you up for a workout. But the gangsta rap culture pisses me off.
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Yeah, it's hard not to think about the negative cultural influence of rap whenever one listens to it. If rappers didn't keep trying to pass themselves off as real "gangstas" and blurring the lines between fantasy and reality (carrying guns, getting into "beefs" on record that lead to people actually getting shot), it might be easier to enjoy the music.
My attitude towards rap is that you just have to listen to it the way you would watch a gangster movie or play "GTA IV". When you do that, it can be great entertainment. Some rappers actually are really good at conveying vivid, cinematic imagery through their lyrics, and I dare say that some of them have skill with words that is easily on par with poetry. Plus, it's the only genre where the lyrics make references to gun brand names - that's always nice.
Also, if anyone wants to hear some really good rap, I recommend checking out 4th25 ("Fourth Quarter"). The rappers are all enlisted U.S. soldiers who are rapping about what it's like to serve in Iraq (and it's all based on their personal experience of being out on deployment). A good example of somebody doing something really cool and interesting with the genre - it's like a narrative war documentary put to hip-hop beats.