I would answer the 3 questions with:

1) basketball and football though (and other mass US sports)
2) golf is 'spensive though
3) see 1)

1. Thats racist
2. What micro said.
3. What micro said.

10k barrier of entry yo.

Poker is already the everymans game. Golf absolutely was not.

To nobody in particular:

There are more than a few rappers of non-European lineage that seem to be doing well financially. Perhaps their songs should encourage youngsters to play golf or poker instead of killing each other, reppin' whores and dealing drugs.

Social change? Profit? You choose Mr. DrDreRapperPottyMouthFiddyButthole...

Just sayin'.

P.S. And pull your pant up. You look like an idiot.

About a million reasons why, but it's difficult to start when you're young. Kids are encouraged by their parents from a very early age to be active and play sports, and if they show aptitude, are pushed by parents, teachers, friends, coaches etc. Those same kids can't legally play poker until they're 18-21, and when they are of age, there aren't many who are encouraged by their support system to get out there and learn to construct their ranges like Ivey.

btw this won't be an issue with my future child. I'm currently working on finding the most analytical girl that I can stomach intercourse with and impregnating her. If you've seen the Marinovich Project, it'll be something like that.

Did you write this in 1989 and just get around to posting it?

My point exactly Bones. 25 or so years later, that particular genre/lifestyle is more violent and repulsive than it was "back in the day". And getting worse.

25 years ago was back in the Ice T cop killer bloods vs. crips crackademic days and were much worse, especially in black neighborhoods. I was working on Compton and South Central LA a lot in those days and still do sometimes and can tell you it's much much better down there now.

Geographical relocation FTW!

Nah. Anyway, you can take microbet out of the hood, but you can't take the hood out of microbet.

Took me 3 hours to listen to these songs cause I played the first one ten times

Love ya Slacker but I agree with Bones that you dont seem to know what youre talking about. Violent gangsta rappers make up a much smaller % of rap than they used to. And people just rap about what they see and live. If you dont want poor inner city kids rapping about drugs and violence then you need to make sure they dont grow in that environment.

And im not sure why you interjecting race into what's a socioeconomic issue. Google eminem, machine gun kelly, yelawolf, or one of hundreds+ other hardcore rappers of "european lineage".

Yeah Slacker! Don't hate tha playa, hate tha game my *****.

Nice choice of music micro (I could live without the Grateful Dead tho). I've been rediscovering the Beatles lately, Rubber Soul is such a great record.

Here's one I found recently in this thread in The Lounge. Cracking live version of a really great song on the Arsenio Hall show. Arsenio's reaction at the end is just awesome.

Like this track from them too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V5VkMqM07s

I hope the theme to the music was noticed and it's relevance to the discussion. If not, I'll just point it out since I'm off to bed. People of European descent write lots of violent/anti-social lyrics too (especially that Beatles song).

Oh, and I remember liking that Living Colour album when it came out - before some of you were born.

Micro's posts have pretty must summed up everything I want to say.

Slacker,

How much rap do you listen to these days? It's wayyyyy less violent than late 80s/early 90s, and prob 90% of violence that is mentioned couldn't be construed as a literal threat or statement of something that actually happened.

Take it to CarMax and see what offer they make. They will buy cars on the spot. You pay for the convenience, but it sounds like they are reasonable enough.

Why don't writers of gritty crime novels or Nabokov with Lolita get the same treatment as "gangster" rappers like Kool G Rap or Rakim? Seems a double standard to me. Some of these guys are incredible story tellers, witty and poetic. What I've been listening to while playing recently. One of my favrite producers (9th Wonder).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...B7788189D46384 (can't figure out how to imbed a playlist)

Too Short aint got **** on John Updike.

Because no one reads. Especially true that troubled youth are not reading Nabokov. Everyone once in a while a book gets to be a fraction as well known as a popular song or cat video and, depending on the subject matter, it can end up being quite controversial. (50 Shades of Gray, The Da Vinci Code, or all-time controversy Catcher in the Rye)

Movies and video games are certainly widely criticized for being bad influences. Even in rap, has anyone been criticized for their lyrics more than Eminem? And, of course, there has been plenty of criticism of lyrics from white artists from metal, punk, rock and roll, and country (Hank Williams Jr.).

word