I wish to express my disappointment with the White House for its tasteless decision to invite Rapper Common to a poetry celebration hosted by the President and his wife. Pop music is aimed at the phenomenon of the masses, is industrially produced, and ultimately has to be described as the cult of the banal. ‘Rock’ is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects.
Rap music, in particular, has a beat with a downward deflection that is condescending in nature; apart from its profane lyrics it retains essential rhythmic elements of bragging (braggadocio), ritualised insult and toasting oneself. Rap, which developed into trends of violence and gratuitous sex, was largely influenced by Rock ’n Roll (slang for sex). Is this the kind of negative attitude the U.S. President wishes to impress on our youth today?