This thread dropped off five years ago--the world is much changed, but Rap, both the music form, and the cultural institution, are still with us, bigger than ever (or should I say, "Evah")--Yall may want to kill me for saying it, but it is way more popular than blues ever was(well, at least the kind of music folks think of as blues like Delta Blues or Chicago Blues), and has hung in there for way longer--Any thoughts as to why?