"I could no longer nod my head to the misogyny or keep time to the vapid materialism of another rap song."

So says Washington Post writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker in an interesting piece that appeared in the newspaper yesterday. Parker concluded that she had to leave hip-hop behind and explains why. Her experiences with a genre she loves underscore the findings I discussed here not long ago.

I'm a white, middle class, fifty-something preacher. But in past years, I enjoyed rap music and have defended its legitimacy. Some fifteen years ago, in a conversation with friends, one woman, knowing what a music fan I am, asked if I thought rap music was around to stay. Before I could begin my answer, another person laughed dismissively and said, "Of course not." "No," I said, "I'm sure that it is around to stay. Like other musical genres that were once marginalized and brought into the mainstream, it'll stay as a stand-alone style and also be incorporated and fused with other styles." (Pardon my pride; I'm seldom so accurate a prophet!)

Rap and hip-hop's ascendancy was fine with me. I love it when tasty ingredients are added to our musical stew. Besides, I love hip-hop's energy, its innovative rhymes, and its rhythms.

But its ever-growing misogyny and materialism, traits it shares with much of today's guitar-driven rock, are destructive, making most of it un-listenable as well as a corrosive influence on the self-esteem and psychological well-being of young people.

Parker seems to agree with that assessment. Read all of her article.