Is hip hop music harmless or vulgar?

There's been a lot of controversy over this whole rap music thing lately and I just wanted you guys' inputs. First there was this whole Don Imus situation, then there was Snoop Dogg in the tabloids, then Oprah discussed the problem with hip hop...

representative for 2 days on her show. So, is hiphop harmless poetry like some say, or is it vulgar music that sends a message to teens. Do we really need to change it?

Its such a shame that some songs are actually catchy, A while back I caught myself singing a song and as I said the words I began to wonder, if I don't speak like this and hate it when people talk like this, what am I doing by listening to this song??? I do think MOST hip hop songs are vulgar and not something I would like to expose my child to. It is very influencial on teens think about it, teens dressing up like rap stars and video girls and thinking that smoking weed is cool. I mean come on...it really does have to change drastically (which I dont think will happen very soon) so parents just have to step it up a notch and teach their kids good values ...

IMHO....If the words are vulgar / demeaning....YES....they aren't necessary to have good music, good comedy, or society in general....it's high time we ALL cleaned up our act, A - Z.

I guess it depends on the song and the lyrics. Some of it really IS harmless and, in some cases, even poetic. Not being a fan of hip hop myself, I can't say that I've heard many songs like that. I have, however, heard many that are full of demeaning and demoralizing terms and phrases and vulgar context.

All in all, it really depends on the individual's opinion of what's harmless and what isn't, whether they agree with the majority of society or not.