Letters

MORE THAN JUST MUSIC?

The hip-hop nation described in your cover story continues to grow [MUSIC, Feb. 8]. I am inspired by Lauryn Hill's music. When I have to get up at 5 a.m. and stand at the bus stop, I listen to her song Nothing Even Matters, and I am encouraged. A hip-hop nation is being formed by talented, beautiful and ambitious musicians. After 20 years, hip-hop still triggers artists to create on the basis of realistic truth. Hill is a part of my nation! TOMEKA HAYWARD Orangeburg, S.C.

Hip-hop may very well be the voice of the invisible, but what I hear just makes me miserable. REX BARRON Albuquerque, N.M.

It's about time that Middle America finally acknowledge hip-hop's impact on our society. This music and culture go beyond all the stereotypes that people hold. Hip-hop is only getting bigger. CHRISTOPHER CURRIE Detroit

Hip-hop is anti-intellectual, self-absorbed and void of inspiration. The music, which has barely moved beyond its foundations of anger, violence and misogyny, now wallows in materialism. Hip-hop needs to be more responsible. A people cannot progress so long as its icons persist in celebrating depravity. SUSAN MCWETHY Atlanta

You don't understand what rap is all about. It's about neither status nor history but the wish to belong. There are exceptionally talented black people who want to make sure they make it into the U.S.'s extremely nationalistic "hall of fame." The only means accessible to them is to create their own "music," which white people call hip-hop. RETO ZOPPI Mexico City

I suppose the times have passed me by, but I'm not convinced that America is so deeply influenced by the hip-hop culture that it can accurately be referred to as a hip-hop nation. For decades this country has been and will, I hope, always remain a bunny-hop nation. STEVE MOSLEY Cape Girardeau, Mo.

I understand why parents might believe that rap and hip-hop music could be a bad influence on today's youth. But I would urge them to read the lyric sheets and then decide whether the music is bad. There are positive rappers out there, such as Puff Daddy and Lauryn Hill, who rhyme about family values, childhood experiences and friendships. JESSICA GIARRUSSO, 12 Canton, N.Y.

Hip-hop nation? Forgive me, dad. I now know why you hated rock 'n' roll. JAMES S. BOMGARDNER Columbia, Md.

Wow! Your article on hip-hop was just amazing! You hit it right on the head. I appreciate the fact that hip-hop music and its importance are being recognized. I hope your report will help the older generation understand hip-hop for the first time and accept it. Hip-hop is the music of the present and the future. LAWRENCE CHUNG, 17 Burlington, Ont.

I don't understand how anyone can write the word hip-hop with a straight face--unless you're writing a children's book involving rabbits. DANIEL A. JENKINS Louisville, Ky.

REPRESENTATIVE BARR RESPONDS

In his column "Right Back At You," Jack E. White suggested that I am closely associated with the Council of Conservative Citizens, which he described as a "white-supremacist group" [DIVIDING LINE, Feb. 1]. As a former U.S. Attorney who has prosecuted white supremacists and racially motivated police violence, I find this charge offensive and absolutely inaccurate.