1. Improves race relations!!! Bullshit. All it does is make white kids (who buy up to 70% of rap music) sink to the level of urban blacks in terms of dress, language, attitude, values, command of the English language, and education. I guess he is right, in his own, twisted way... If everybody acts like a "hustla", "pimp", "ho", "bitch", and "g", and other words they use that, of course I can't mention, everybody gets along.
2. (rap)...is insprational!!! Simmons mentions the story of Run-DMC's voter registration drive. Simmons claims RunDMC's message is one of " Empower yourselves, resist some of the temptation on the street, go to school, and go to church..." While RunDMC was one of raps most 'positive' groups, as far as messages go, that's not saying much. A look at their lyrics proves this to be a little bit of a strech, especially if one goes by their big hits: a remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way", (a story about getting girls) "My adidas", (ode to the sneaker) "It's Tricky", (it's hard to rock a rhyme!) "Peter Piper" (frivolous "nursery rhap") "Mary Mary" (troubles with a girl)and "Down with the King". ("King" meaning God; but other than that, no real message)
RunDMC are harmless, non-threatening, and pioneers in the genre, this is true. But Simmons is embellishing--using revisionist history on O' Reilly, who has not done his homework--and O' Reilly takes him for granted.
And by the way, who said voter registration is automatically a good thing? especially if it is done in urban, Democrat strongholds. How do you think the kids will regiser? Who do you think they will vote for? What do you think they will vote for? How do the voters come to their decision of party affiliation? What information are they given? Is it biased, or fair? My guess is that the artists themselves have no answers to these questions.
3. (rap)... has spawned a "poetry" movement! "Bowel movement" is a more accurate term for Simmons'/HBO's "Def Poetry Jam"--a far left-wing, radical, PC, anti-establishment excuse to promote the typical left-wing, radical, PC, anti-establishment politics/agenda. Throw in disgusting language, perversion, violence, (and all the other stuff you'd find on HBO) to "keep it real", and you have an idea of what it is. It's not art. It's not poetry, it's HBO! 'Just an excuse to talk about violence, sex...the same old stuff found in rap. What is the excuse for the profanity? Simmons explains:
"what they talk about -- you may be offended by the profanity and the words, but the profanity is in the condition and the suffering in their communities...
" I'm not buyin' it, are you?