There's another thread about rap music floating around here that's been hit up be several people who feel the same way you do. But I think that you're getting the isht that MTV plays confused with the core of true hip-hop music. It's not about degrading women or pushing drugs or all that. As a poet and a lover of the written word, I am fascinated by seeing the ways in which the English language can be manipulated to produce the rhythms and effects that the true hip-hop lyricists can. Refer to the I HATE RAP thread for an example of what I'm talking about.    Welcome to Stormfront! :)