by Jon Tuccillo

Created on: November 13, 2009

More outrageous than rap music itself being considered outrageous is the notion that today's rap music is just too outrageous. "Rap", a word used to generalize a genre that spans myriad sub-genres, is a culture. The rap culture is typically stereotyped as being about one or more of the following things: the degradation of women, abusing alcohol and hard drugs, guns (and murdering with them), money, expensive cars. Did I forget any?

The thing that those who do not listen to rap might not understand is that mainstream rap is a completely different entity from the majority of rap. For every rapper who raps about murder and selling drugs there is another rapper that raps with entirely innocuous intentions. Take the rapper Lupe Fiasco, a well-known hip-hop/rap artist whose most popular song Kick, Push is about skateboarding. The radio might be playing some rap that could potentially be considered outrageous by some but that is hardly enough to be able to judge the entirety of rap by. I have a hard time even categorizing the majority of what is played on the radio as outrageous. In fact, I have a much better word for that music - garbage.

Am I outraged by a rapper who wants to rap about what sells? No. If there is someone that should be the focus of the outrage it is the general public who encourages the same old recycled, boring, and stale music by subscribing to THAT aspect of rap. I am not saying that today's rap is outrageous, I am saying that it is outrageous that people listen to it! There is an absurd amount of good rap that the majority of people will not hear because they are blanketed by the trash on the radio. Take your outrage out on the real source of it, people - yourselves.

Am I off topic a bit here? I'll get back on topic, then. Today's rap music is nowhere near too outrageous. If one wants to apply the title of outrageous to rap music they will have to apply it to just about every other aspect of our culture as well. Movies? Check. Extremely violent video games? Sure. Books with a plenitude of sex, drug use, and other so called "outrageous" behaviors? Absolutely. People in today's society are far too quick to label something they find off-putting as outrageous. I have a better idea. You think it's outrageous? Don't listen to it, don't watch it, or don't read it.

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