Well I starting this thread out aggressively due to my neighbors insistance that I listen to their bling bling, I shot her in the head music at all hours. So my apologies again for my opening comments. What I can take away from the thread is :

1) there are other forms of rap music that are not the violent form, and have social positive messages.

2) the commercial interests from a host of companies promote the "shock value version for commercial reasons"

3) Much like modern art most people have strong opinions. Like modern art, it is not going to disappear because some of us find much of it offensive.

4) My local police need to enforce the "noise" laws.

I will never like the music only because it doe not appeal to me. I relate it to modern art. I love art - all kinds of art from the great masters to the modern masters. Jackson Pollock presses my buttons but Dali's painting "baby eating rat" I despise even though I love most of his other works. Why? why does anyone like or dislike anything? Others believe the painting is one of his best for reasons that I don't understand. I believe Dali painted it purely for the "shock value", Likewise I feel many of the rap artists try to out shock one another for reason number two.

However paintings and other music that I do not like, I can easily avoid by not looking for them. However, with the ganster rap that I also dispise, I cannot escape from it. Hence my opening comments out of frustration.

It has been a very interesting discussion.