In My Forty-Plus Years As A Music Writer ...

[andy-hughes]

… I have seen more than my fair share of classic songs butchered beyond redemption - but I wonder if anything is going to eclipse this!

[Theland]

Andy, It grates on my ears.
It is nothing more than fast talking, with violent misogynistic lyrics, and appears to be part of the gangsta culture imported from America.
That's just a few reasons.

[Mamyalynne]

Yellowman is more Reggae than Rap but then there is such an overlap in styles it really doesn't matter - you like or you don't.

I love some Reggae but not all by any means.

[Canary42]

How about this one.

[THECORBYLOON]

When do you listen to rap music, THELAND?

[tonyav]

Yep, thats pretty bad Canary.

[Theland]

Corby - By choice? Never!

[THECORBYLOON]

When have you been made to listen to it?

[tonyav]

How about this for a bad cover.

[THECORBYLOON]

Wonder when he's touring next?

[tonyav]

Never I hope.

[Theland]

When it pops up on a news programme, or as something incidental elsewhere. Why?

[THECORBYLOON]

I was wondering when and how often you had listened to the music you say you hate.

Is it not a reasonable question to ask?

[THECORBYLOON]

THELAND there are rappers who are Christians and there is also Christian rap.

Perhaps you should have a look on YouTube for some examples?

[Mozz71]

So, you hate it for it's "with violent misogynistic lyrics", but you never listened to it. So tell me, how do you know it's got violent misogynistic lyrics then? It sounds like you hate it because of what you've heard about it, not due to your own measured opinion. There is way more misogyny in modern R'n'B than there is in rap. Many rappers are devout Christians, Kanya West, Kendrick Lamar and Stormzy are all believers who have rapped about their beliefs in the past.

If you just said, "I don't like the sound of rap, it's not for me", I'd have accepted that without discussion, we all like and dislike different things, but your factually incorrect attempt at justifying your dislike of the genre strikes me that there's something more deep rooted about your stance, especially when you go on rants such as the one on New Year's Day, or your claim of it being "immigrant music".

[naomi24]

When immediately crying 'racist' at those who criticise our society for being multi-cultural, it seems to me that many of the critics unthinkingly fall into the trap of confusing multi-cultural with multi-coloured. Be it black, white, purple or green, I don’t have a problem with colour. I do however, have a problem with culture. Some cultures I simply do not like - the ‘gangsta rap’ culture is one of them - but that doesn’t make me ‘racist’. I think it’s a horrible, damaging culture that benefits no one. It’s as simple as that.

[andy-hughes]

As a sixty-plus white Englishman who has interacted with two black people over the course of forty-four years of work, and has never had any black friends ever, I understand that rap is not aimed at me as a target audience, but that doesn't make me as fearful of it as Theland seems to be.

If I was looking for threats to my safety and freedom, rap would be a long way down the list.

[Mozz71]

//Some cultures I simply do not like - the ‘gangsta rap’ culture is one of them - but that doesn’t make me ‘racist’. I think it’s a horrible, damaging culture that benefits no one. It’s as simple as that.//

Nobody has accused you of racism Naomi. It's not a culture that I understand too much of either, but I do appreciate that we are as far removed from the streets of Compton than it's possible to get. There are styles of music I dislike, and cultures I have little time for too. If you are racist Naomi, so am I. Quite frankly, so is everyone.

[Mozz71]

//As a sixty-plus white Englishman who has interacted with two black people over the course of forty-four years of work//

I was under the impression you've interviewed the great and the good (and quite likely, the awful and the bad). Have you never interviewed black artists, especially when you consider how influentian so many of them have been?