Having a favorite member of the Wu Tang Clan gets you "mad cred"

The guys next door listen to a lot of rap music. I've slowly become acclimated to rap music over the years as it has gained popularity. It doesn't inspire the automatic repudiation that it used to evoke in me and which is still invokes in my father. I've actually come to appreciate it as a musical genre, to a certain extent. At the very least I can see the appeal of a distinctly urban street sound. I have no idea what the names of these artists are or the songs. I don't like all of them and there are one or two that grate on my nerves, typically due to the lyrics. I'm not crazy about the lyrics. Gangsta rap in particular seems to glorify misogyny and racism, using a lot of unneccessary obscenities and violent metaphor, trying to evoke the metaphorical ghosts of N.W.A. But I'm not that interested in that aspect of it. I'm not street. I'm not sure I've ever even passed through a ghetto. I've lived mostly in rural areas, no street gangs to be heard of. So the lyrics, to me, are out of context. But even some of the more reprehensible songs are supported by what, to me, sounds like good music. Good rhythms, good beats. Good sound. And the lyrics, no matter how inane, abusive, or vulgar, just coast along on the music. I think that's why I've developed a passing fondness for the artist known as RZA. It's music. Quite clearly and brilliantly music. The lyrical talents of the artists don't always match the...

Well, now they cranked it way up. That's just rude.