These articles seem to always miss the point. They are not talking about music at all. They are talking about lyrical content and the lives of some of the prominant practitioners of Rap. I have yet to hear a well thought out and relevant article on the music form itself.

This qoute sums up the complete misunderstanding :

'There are many people who do not feel that rap music is suitable for today�s youth. One of the most notable of these critics is Senator Carol Moseley Braun who openly opposes rap music and presided over the gangsta rap hearings in 1994. One of the criticisms made was placed in a Washington Post article; it read �Gangsta rap is evil. The bastard child of the vibrant art form hip-hop, gangsta and its mostly black and male practitioners celebrate and encourage hatred, substance abuse, brutality and misogyny�. This is an opinion held by most of the critics of rap music. They feel that it should be censored and kept away from their children.'

Had nothing to do with the music but in fact the content of the songs. There are numerous spoken word artists who use hiphop/rap music to communicate positive, enobling and conscious themes to uplift people. The art form is as valid as any other .