Letter to the Editor

No rock and roll honors for rappers

To the editor:

I am a diehard music fan, but many things bother me about this art form, especially rap. One of them includes people not writing their own music. All they do is sing the song. And these people are called musicians? All they are doing is writing lyrics.

This week the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted rapper Grandmaster Flash into this elite group. This upsets me because rap is neither rock and roll -- nor even music, for that matter. Rap consists of a beat made by a computer and some lyrics.

I guess it's just a sign of the times when many popular songs are about getting drunk, high or even talking about last night's sex.

If rappers wanted to make a Rap Hall of Fame, that would be fine. And even if they were in the Poetry Hall of Fame I would be happy. But talking about "getting tipsy and leaning back" is just a bunch of words put together to sell a lot of records.

Rappers don't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Period.

CHAD SLATEN, Kelso, Mo.