Rap music of the "gangsta" variety is degrading our society

I am not in favor of rap music and the gang culture that has emerged hand in hand with it. The true purpose of rap does not seem to be to create anything of beauty but instead to challenge, indeed, to pick a fight with the status quo of American society. In other words, it declares "we [i.e. the rappers] are going to say the most provoking things towards the status quo that we can imagine. What are YOU going to do about it?" While challenging the status quo is true of many forms of music, rap mu...