"Gangster Rap" gets more than its share of negative exposure today because its gotten so big. It has seeped into other styles of rap music, as the boasts have reached the mainstream. Would you say T.I. is gangster rap? probably not. but he speaks about some of the same things on some tracks. because of this, people who like to oppose the mainstream will bag on it for this reason alone. As more people start to turn against it, its obvious that they start to influence more and more people to turn on it. The music itself is not to blame for a "lack of lyricism" you see today. It has more to do with the uneducated state of most Americans, complicated metaphors and disconnected stories aren't held on to as well as something we all know and understand. Sex, cars, and women have always been a major part of nearly EVERY style of music. Gangster Rap didn't create the filth you see today, its simply the leader in today's society. If people stopped buying the CD's, than the rappers would move on to new material. No one is forcing a rapper to " belittle himself to rapping about guns and drugs just so brainwashed idiots will listen to his music?" That is a choice they make to be heard. Don't blame the genre, don't blame the lyricist. Blame the people who buy the music. But even with that said, who are you to say what styles of music should and should not prosper or be accepted?
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