Music

Hip Hop has gotten some pretty bad press over the years.  

The first exposure I had to hip hop that I can personally remember was in 1987 when my 8 year-old brother brought home a bootlegged tape of the Disco 3 a.k.a. the Fat Boys' Crushin' album.  He brought his cassette player into the kitchen and promptly blasted the Fat Boys' "Protect Yourself / My Nuts" for the whole family to hear.  He thought it was hilarious.   I was six years old at the time and giggled profusely.  My mother was furious at both of us, but more so at Prince Markie Dee, Buff Love the Human Beat Box, and Kool Rock Ski.

The above anecdote may indeed be a digression, but it points to the fact that someti...