Had to weigh in, considering my M.M., and my PhD work in Musicology.
It's really disheartening to see the perceptions of rap and hip-hop still so skewed in 2012, with adults slinging around the extremely sophomoric 'you can't spell crap without rap' phrase. The truth of the matter is hip-hop and rap are as varied and wide with subgenres as every other genre of music, perhaps with the exception of electronic and metal. There is literally hip-hop for everyone. Moms, frat boys, the educated and erudite, and the lowest common denominator are all catered to within the genre. To consider the genre as a whole and speak about it with such a tone is unfortunate. To listen to people speak about it as bad poetry is also very unfortunate, considering again, almost every genre is rife with lyricists without as much as a clue as to what constitutes a good text for a song.
To weigh in, personally, I am most aurally offended by Country / Western music. When considering the genres, I like to think about their evolution from their original forms. Country is the genre that has strayed farthest from its roots, and become the true music of the braindead. With lyrics like, "I'm like fire, you're gasoline; I'm no good for you, you're no good for me." I don't understand how anyone can criticize a rapper and laud the country musician with text like that, other than simple racism.
Regardless, If I may quote a t-shirt I saw recently, "The S*** You Hate Don't Make You Special."
