Rap "Music"

Granted, I have more than a few pet peeves. But what I find worse than PDA and people who find themselves incredibly smart is rap music. Now, I find it debatable that this noise can even be called music. How can someone named Bow Wow (seriously...Bow Wow?) compare with the likes of Bruce Springsteen or Aerosmith?

To answer this question, I came up with the possibility that maybe their fame is derived from their amazing lyrics. So, I looked up what is the number one rap song right now (according to AOL music because, really, who can we trust to tell us what's number one than the Internet provider that constantly cuts out?). Apparently the number one rap song right now is called "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne. I'll just give you a little sample of the lyrics:

Shawty wanna thug
Bottles in the club
Shawty wanna hump
And ooo I like to touch ya lovely lady lumps

This is just a tiny portion of the song because I really didn't feel comfortable putting most of the lyrics on a school-checked blog. But you can look it up yourself and for now you get the point. Basically chauvinistic and violent undertones highlight the entire song. So I think we can rule out those amazing lyrics.

So maybe the real key to their success is that they're great dancing songs? Well, I know there are many people who would disagree with me, but I would not agree with that. Sure, the beat is usually fairly exposed in rap songs but it seems like every song sounds the same. There are no instrumentals and no real singing, just talking. Compare that to blues, jazz or rock and you'll find that it doesn't really compare. Hell, I'd rather dance to "Cotton-Eyed Joe."

So I guess the real question I have is why does this music appeal so much to the majority of those in my generation? First, there's the fact that the majority of kids in my school (the school that is predominately white...by a lot)seems to really enjoy this music. Honestly, how many of you know all about that "thugging?" Then, you have the black people who enjoy it. Obviously I don't know the first thing about being a minority, but it seems like music that promotes gangs and violence is the last thing that will create equality. But I do know the first thing about being a woman and as such I find these songs very offensive. The songs are usually very demeaning while featuring scantily clad women humping the air. Come on, this is the 21st century, shouldn't we be beyond this by now?