[HoneyBadger]

Rap, whether you happen to like it or not, is a field of music from which a great deal of innovation comes. Personally, I don't listen to it for pleasure very often, but I do keep an eye on the directions it goes in and I pay attention to the best artists. As someone or other probably said, art doesn't have to be nice. It's got value because it's art. Not that I'm saying all rap is art, just like I wouldn't consider all country-western music to be art, or whichever genre you happen to like best. I do strongly believe, however, that if enough music of a given type is being made-whatever the process-some of it's going to be very good. It seems to be human nature. Good music is as close as anything to being universal.
James Brown seems to have been a deeply flawed person-just like the rest of us-and he also made the world richer and better. I personally like his music (probably, I admit, because he is an innovator and a legend as much as for the music's merits) and I can't fault anyone for giving of themselves to the world, which if you're an artist, you'll understand that he did.