Its Role and Importance in our Lives . Urban African-American youth have invented their own music. The music is often aggressive and rebellious, with confrontational lyrics about the hard, street-smart realities of life in urban ghettos. In its lyrics, rap is highly visual, presenting vivid graphic images. The language is the vernacular of ordinary people.
Some rap artists consider their work to be poetry.
Many of them write the poems first, then assemble the music around the words. Rap artistry often addresses the moral dilemmas faced by today's youth. Some rap lyrics have been attacked as obscene, bigoted and socially irresponsible. This led to the arrest of several record retailers and members of the group. It also fueled the controversy over labelling albums that contain explicit lyrics.