BUM RAP

In the 1940s it was Charlie Parker and bebop, now in the ‘80s it’s Run-D.M.C. and “hip-hop” causing all the commotion (“Can Rap Survive Gang War?,” by Patrick Goldstein, Aug. 24). Enough already! Stop blaming rap music for what happened at the Long Beach Arena.

I’ve been to numerous Run-D.M.C. concerts before, but never have I seen anything like what took place in that city. Run-D.M.C. has always been one of the more positive young music groups around--black or white. They stand for anti-racism, anti-drugs and anti-violence, so you can just abolish the notion that this socially expressive music instigates that type of behavior.

You didn’t need to be a “street person” or a member of the gang intellgence unit to identify the gangs that particular night. The evidence was written clearly on the front of their shirts--Long Beach city street numbers not L.A.

Please give credit where credit is due--point an accusing finger at the Long Beach Police Department for not doing its job and stop the “dis” (disrespect) on rap music for once and for all.

ANGELA V. WARD

Pasadena