Siren

Well, for starters, look how it's making them act.

"Yo, I am so homie gangsta, I listen to rap and I am a black person trapped in a white body. Look at my bling, I am so hawt, dawgs."

Yeah, I'd say that's degrading to white people. Not being racist here, but if you're born white, you're WHITE. There is no "inner black". Stop being a poser.

As for it degrading women - YES. Have you listened to the lyrics, or do you just block out the numerous derogatory phrases? "Bitches", "hoes", and every word you can think of to mean either breasts or vagina.

Observe:

Male: Whatcha gonna do with all that junk
all that junk inside that trunk..

Female: I'ma get get get get you drunk
get you love drunk off my hump

Male: Whatcha gonna do with all that ass
all that ass inside your jeans

Female: I'ma make make make make you scream
make you scream make you scream
Coz of my humps my hump my hump my hump
my hump my hump my hump my lovely lady lumps

(Song by Black Eyed Peas - My Humps)

I don't even think I have to comment on this one (which is the first song to come to mind, I could do an extensive search on others, but people who are all like, "I LOVE RAP!!!!!!11one" won't listen to me anyways).

It doesn't matter if the women choose to, that makes them skanks who don't mind being objectified. Otherwise, it IS degrading to women. We are not sexual objects for men to OWN. *seething anger*

I am done, I am getting to angry to continue.

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"I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad... It's depressing." ~Tara from BtVS

Miroku4444

God another thing that pisses me off is when you hear that rap crap blasted at ear shattering limits comming from someones car. God its the most annoying thing ever. Its a wonder if they can hear.

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Siren

And there is so much bass, you can hear it reverberating through your entire body. And they're like, 3 houses away from you.

Rap = noise pollution.

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"I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad... It's depressing." ~Tara from BtVS

Meiwaku

I agree.

Rap in a sense is very hypocritical. The rappers themselves claim they do not degrade women, and then they go sing songs clearly degrading women and make videos that visually degrades women. And just because women allow themselves to be degraded in these video's doesn't make it ok all of a sudden.

I mean some girls may not care that their "rap wannabe" boyfriend calls them their bitch. But if my boyfriend ever called me a female dog I would crack him one across the face.

Rap and R & B all seem to portray women in the same light, and it always revolves around getting laid or sex of some kind. Songs about sex in general make me uncomfortable so listening to alot of rap really makes me uncomfortable. And the video's are enough to make me gag. Half naked woman jiggling their bums around. How much more degrading can you get? And I can tell you one thing those women who do that do not represent women on an epic scale. In fact they represent what Women are trying to get away from, we shun those types.

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Legend

there was a similar discussion over at another anime forum except that it was asking something different

here's my two cents: most rap are degrading to at least something, white guys, black guys, women, and even michael jackson. Can you really say it's degrading when most young folks I see act that way?? If they are given the chance to shake their assets with a star, you can wonder how many girls would say yes. SO, in a way it's degrading to women who are dignifed and NO to those who thinks bling-bling to da ching-ching is cool or whatever hip word is used now to be cool

As for how Rap sucks and stuff, I won't go into it, I'll just say in my winamp playlist there are one or two of songs which are truly good. AS FOR THE OTHERS, YOU CAN'T SPELL CRAP WITHOUT RAP!

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datapimp

Sure, it can be degrading just as any music can. Rock certainly did it's fair share and you had just as many people waving torches back in the day about the 'horrors of rock music' that we do now with rap. People will always dislike what they do not understand, a lot of these guys came up from the dirt ~ straight ghetto and they rose to what they are now with their music. I for one respect that, even if I don't dig the subject matter. If they what they rap about is degrading to women it's because that is what they grew up with, thats what the live with now and what is popular. Sure you can tell them to go make a rap album thats all cute and bubbly and praises jesus, but is that what it's about ? It's about their expression, their expiriences coming up and then living on top, not your reaction to it. As someone said earlier, if you want the subject matter to change the social climate has to change, right now sex and scandal sells so thats what they rap about...

Meiwaku

So if sex and scandal are what is selling, than all rappers who make songs about it are sell outs. Making a song a certain way just so it will sell more because that is what's selling essentially makes you a sell out. If you're not in the music for yourself and just in solely to make money then the music starts lacking and sounding that machine produced crap.

Sure people are in it for money, but they also love to make music and they don't go making little emo suicide poor me songs (aka Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Our Lady Peace, Hoobastank).

Lately it seems like, you've heard one rap song you've heard them all because they are all about the same thing and all sound the same. The only person who even sings rap I can tolerate is Eminem and that is because not all his songs are about sex, money, and being in a gang. And most rappers did not rise from the dirt I bet half of them didn't even grow up in poverty, they just want you to think they did so their music will sell. When I was younger rap actually used to be half decent (80's early 90's) there were alot more memorable rap songs then than now.

This whole rap movement is getting almost as pointless as the whole pop movement back 6 years ago when the Backstreet Boys and N'sync ruled the music industry (A sad time indeed). Then any stupid guy with a good singing voice made a boy band and it sold like hot cakes, it spawned a million annoying bands and a million gay songs. And they all copied each other. It got so bad that I didn't know what band sang what song when it came on the radio cause they all sounded the exact same. Then Rap became popular and I am noticing that alot of rappers are just starting to play all the same stuff and I can't tell the difference and any little I can rap wannabe is stepping up and making albums. When something becomes that easy to copy it's not worth it anymore. Same with this pop punk movement you can't tell any of the bands apart they all sound the same, whiny and annoying.

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Siren

It's true. They all sound the same. I used to listen to rap (shame on me), but it was a phase that did not last long. And even when I liked it, I was still very choosy about the songs I would actually listen to. Some of them were so violent and derogatory that I was just uncomfortable listening to them. And then pretty much all of them got that way... So same as Mei, the only rapper I can tolerate is Eminem, and even some of his songs push my limit.

I'm sure that's the last thing we need. e_e There are already Christian rappers, thank you very much, and I can hardly tolerate those. We don't need any more. It would be nice if the whole musical genre just died.

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"I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad... It's depressing." ~Tara from BtVS