Okay, this one will probably get me labeled as a racist, but I really don�t care.

Simply put, contrary to the beliefs of many out there, rap is not music. Plain and simple. Bare in mind that I am a musician so I think I speak with some authority on this subject.

Music requires talent and skill. Rap, for the most part, requires neither. It does not take a lot of skill or talent for some insecure person to shout obscenities in a vaguely rhyming manner.

Don�t get me wrong, I have nothing against rap, per se. I do have something against those ignorant jackasses who play it so loud you can hear it five or six blocks away. Those jerks should be strangled with their speaker cords, but that is another rant.

In fact when rap first came out, I liked it. Back in the eighties when it was novel, not to mention original and creative. But then "gangsta rap" appeared and it all went to shit. Now almost any rap that comes out is in the "gangsta rap" mold, which means nothing creative or original. It is all the same. Nothing but insecure people shouting profanities. To call the wastes of oxygen who spew forth this crap artists is an insult to anyone who has taken the time and energy to develop an artistic skill.

The popularity of rap can be attributed to the herd like mentality of people. Black people listen to it because if they didn�t they would be branded race-traitors, uncle toms, oreos, etc. Non-blacks listen to it because it has been labeled cool. (And cool is yet another rant.) So in order to fit into the herd, people listen to rap. Of course, your average person is completely lacking in taste anyway. One has only to look at the popularity of reality tv to see that. But again that is another rant.