Positively Bad

Not only did Geoff Boucher’s article on the so-called “positive rap” movement completely miss the point (“No Gangs. No Guns. No Sale?,” Feb. 4), but so did every letter printed in response to it.

It’s not about kids rejecting “positive” music. Most of these so-called “positive” artists (Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, Black Eyed Peas) spend an absurd amount of time rapping about just how “underground” they are, what extraordinary rhyming skills they possess, and little else.

2Pac. Biggie. Eminem. These men will go down in history, not because they pandered to heathens or glorified violence, but because they were brilliant artists who wrote classic songs that made people feel something. And when a “positive” artist does the same thing (i.e. Outkast, Mos Def), they sell too.

Kids are not rejecting “positive” music. They’re simply rejecting bad music.

STEVE BAGATOURIAN

Irvine