Music has changed from singing about feeling good and love to  animal-like temperments and behaviors. Although this phenomena exists today in all  genres of music rap is the most obvious.

Lately there\'s been talk about rap again, not about how it affects  society as a whole but just the Black segment. People who think rap is only heard  by Blacks better think again. This form of music is popular worldwide (rap  and heavy metal rap), meaning there\'s no community left untouched by it. If it\'s  considered destructive in the Black community it\'ll be destructive in  other communities.

I can remember as a teenager dancing to the fun sounds of rappers like  The Sugar Hill Gang, MC Hammer,and Roxanne Roxanne during the early 80s.  Not once did I think those goofy childlike lyrics would grow into it\'s current  mainstream form.

Yes, there have been times I asked myself what happened to rap to make  it so vicious,confrontational, sexually objectifying, and woman-hating when  the answer was present all along.

Lets be very clear, all rap is not the same. You have three kinds of  rap 1) the towncrier type that informs, 2) positive and uplifting, 3) and last  but not least, you have the sexually perverted and angry that depicts humanity  at it\'s worst. Unfortunately the first two seldom get airtime and is seen  as unprofitable which leads us to the bottom-line, MONEY-MAKER.

The number one reason sexually explicit and violent rap is encouraged,  yes encouraged by major music corporations, is it makes MONEY.  The nastier  and bloodier the better which translates to more sells. It\'s risque and  have successfully crossed over cultural borders because of it being risque,  which means more sells MORE MONEY.

Do you remember the poster children of vulgar rap 2 Live Crew? They set  the stage for rap\'s \"innocence loss\" thanks to a couple of do-gooders who  told international television audiences on literally hundreds of shows about  how horrible this obscure group were in Florida.

Consequences from introducing television viewers to 2 Live Crew were  twofold. 1)They gave exposure to this unknown group exposure they would\'ve never  gained under normal circumstances, thusly motivating teenagers to buy  their music and inspiring more artists to be like them.  2)When large corporations  saw the money that could be made from this controversial rap they rushed in and  changed the rapping scene forever,  what we hear today.

Just something to think about:  It has been said that music can have an undenialable affect on society,  remember the impact of music on the 60s & 70s? One can only imagine  what the after effects of this genre will be on interpersonal relationships, family  life, and politics in the future.

Could it be the acceptance of the present (roughrider) form of rap are  really signs of society\'s changing mores or do they represent a rebellion that  will soon fade?

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Regena English, the editor of The Leather Spinsters Newsletter for  Happily unmarried careerwomen, http://www.leatherspinsters.com. Get the  perfect Christmas presents for single women  http://leatherspinsters.com/catalog.html

© 2001-2004 Regena English. All Rights Reserved.