Why does Rap music have such a bad reputation?

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That is true....sadly I have talked to some black people who are into rock/metal who sometimes even get stigma from their families because their into so called 'white music' there's one I still talk to on facebook because the metal forum we where on was done away with so some of us made a facebook group.....and yeah a while back encouraged him to pursue music he likes and now he's pretty much a metalhead. But yeah its just weird...I mean it was mainly due to african americans we have rock music...like with all the psychedelic rock in the 60's in england that was all heavily influenced by blues music that was mostly played by black musicians because they had a respect for it a lot of americans did not, like Pink Floyd created their name I believe from a couple blues bands Syd Barrett enjoyed. A lot of popular white artists back then where playing bluesy music but they where more stealing it than making music influenced by it out of respect. I took a couple music history courses in college and yeah its crazy how much racial tensions and crap was even involved in music...and I guess still is.

But yeah I don't dislike rap as a style of art...I just dislike the degrading nasty crap that is popular these days for the most part. So its mostly the current popular lyrical content that bothers me certainly not the style itself.

I haven't listened to a huge amount of metal, but these sort of lyrics/themes are why I don't quite understand the comparison to rap. Violence in metal lyrics tends to be so over the top that I can't take it seriously; also, I haven't heard much that is directed at specific groups of people (womyn, cops). What I've heard is more like "f**k everybody" and indiscriminate killing spree-type stuff, which doesn't bother me because it seems like nothing more than symbolism of alienation and anger. Of course, I can't understand all of the lyrics in metal, so maybe I shouldn't put too much stock in what I've heard.

Rap tends to seem more specific and realistic. I haven't heard of any metal musicians acting out their lyrics, whereas several rappers have been involved in the sort of criminal activity they rap about.

Another difference between rap and rock or metal is that, if people don't like the lyrics of the latter, they can still listen to the music. Since rap usually just has the same little musical sample repeating endlessly, and sometimes nothing but a repeating beat, that option isn't really there unless the listener is really into repetition.