Is Pop Music Killing Music 2 From Rachel..... "Firstly I think your analogy about regurgitated food is stupid and irrelevant. Thats like me arguing why do you hate songs that have been done before? You don't hate recipes that have been repeated! (Coincidently that galantine looks yummy.) Secondly how do you know what the majority of modern rap is about? When was the last time you listened to 50 cent? I think I can safely presume you never have because he really was a poor disadvantaged black youth. His mum was a cocaine dealer who died when he was 8 and his dad left soon after. Like you he hates wannabe gangstas who lie about their history of crime and drugs. And yes of course policemen and nurses are essential in society; nobody's saying they aren't! But similarly I believe that rappers and singers have a purpose - to entertain us. I think you're wrong, if Jay-Z died millions would care. He's sold over 17 million albums worldwide, which is more than I can say for your taste... I mean how many albums has Mastodon sold? About 5" Excellent comeback Rachel, I'll try to answer a few points. I like watching music television, and I will happily watch all types of music, therefore I see quite a lot of hip hop/rap. I was watching a gig featuring Linkin Park and Jay-z last week when I was struck by two things, firstly, why has poor old Chester been relegated to LP's sidelines ? And secondly, this touching, gentle lyric sung by the aforementioned Jay-z.... "If you havin girl problems I feel bad for you son I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". Nice. How about this from the song 'Bring It On'....... "Aiyyo we pattin down pussy from Sugarhill to the Shark Bar, Fuck a bitch D in the marked car, We got the bad bitches gaspin for air in Aspen, Searchin for aspirin when I ask then, we swing" Or this from 'Real Niggaz'..... "Real niggaz do real things, On the road to riches and diamond rings, Real niggaz do real things, Bustin my toast off the roof drinkin 90 proof til spring." Or this from the song 'Threat'..... "Yo once a pimp gets threats That's right, that's the - the that's, that's threats them And I'm serious about mine, I'm so sin-surr And I, nigga I'll kill ya, I'll chop ya up Put ya inside the mattress like drug money nigga Yeah, I done told you niggaz 9 or 10 times stop fuckin with me I done told you niggaz9 albums, stop fuckin with me I done told you niggazThe 9 on me, stop fuckin with me You niggaz must got 9 lives9th wonder Put that knife in ya, take a little bit of life from ya Am I frightenin ya? Shall I continue? I put the gun to ya, I let it sing you a song I let it hum to ya, the other one sing along Now it's a duet, and you wet, when you check outthe technique from the 2 tecs and I don't need two lips To blow this like a trumpet you dumb shit This is a un-usual musical I conductin You lookin at the black Warren Buffett so all critics can duck sic I don't care if you C. Delores Tuck-it Or you Bill O'Reilly, you only rylin me up For three years, they had me peein out of a cup Now they bout to free me up, whatchu think I'm gon' be, what? Rehabilitated, man I still feel hatred I'm young black and rich so they wanna strip me naked, but You never had me like Christina Aguiler-y But catch me down the Westside, drivin like Halle Berry Or the FDR, in the seat of my car Screamin out the sunroof death to y'all You can't kill me, I live forever through these bars I put the wolves on ya, I put a price on your head The whole hood'll want ya, you startin to look like bread I send them boys at ya, I ain't talkin bout Feds Nigga them body-snatchers, nigga you heard what I said" He's not a very easy character to defend is he ? No, I don't hate recipes that have been done before, but I salute individuality, I don't want to visit somewhere different and have the same food from the same chain. Most modern rap has the McDonald's viewpoint, everyone is saying the same old thing. New and exciting rap is coming from the UK, acts like Dizzie Rascal, Monie Love, Mikey J (great name by the way, he should go far), Begotten Sun and especially The Streets are once again showing that rap can be interesting and relevant. Also, look out for the new act Tony Wilson has signed (he of Joy Divsion fame), they're called Raw T, I heard them on R4 of all places and they sound really good. I don't often equate popularity with good taste, high record sales are not the best indicator of great music, they are though a good indicator of powerful marketing and global companies pushing their particular acts. Britney Spears has achieved awesome record sales, but you'd be hard pressed to find many people that think she's a better singer than, Aretha Fraklin for example. Mastodon are never going to be Westlife, and thank the Lord for that, although they may yet become a large act in the metal genre. My proudest moment as a music buyer came when I ordered an album in HMV (The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium) and the shop bloke said............ "Blimey, 48 people have ordered this." "What, in Leeds ?" I asked. "No, in the whole country," he said.