First, from my experience, this "sizable segment
of the population" has dwindled. Most of the people
that I know who used to listen to rap listen to
something else now, leaving rap to the lowest of the low:
the street thugs and the like ("respectable medium of
expression??" Come on!). Second, ever hear of the phrase
"acting white?" I am white (just in case you didn't
notice, I'm not orange) and I still am the object of such
comments... Third, this stupid East Side-West Side crap is
stupid, and in no other genre has any sort of division
resulted in deaths (at least not to my knowledge). You
don't see LeAnn Rimes trying to stab Trisha Yearwood or
the Dixie Chicks with a knife, do you? Fourth, as for
Erik's slippery slope argument, it's just absurd. As
much as you would hate to admit it, Sylvia Plath and
Jane Austen have a place in academics and should be
brought up sporadicly. There is so much music of better
quality anyway that rap should only be used as a _very_
last resort (_way_ after John Tesh).
JAK