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If you listen to rap music on a regular basic you will notice the stark differences between rap lyrics and hip hop lyrics. It is widely known that rap came up from the streets where the artists would use their rhyming skills to tell the world about their sense of isolation and not being part of the American mainstream.

Hip hop lyrics from the same place, but this time it was middle class children who did not like how they were treated as their families moved into the suburbs and edge cities.

So what happened?

Along the way, hip hop went mainstream as it was cleaner and dance friendly. Hip hop lyrics made their way from the streets, to the clubs, to MTV and finally to the top of the music charts. Rap lyrics remained where they began, as the music of the down trodden and this gives emerging artists the freedom to experiment without worrying about their best camera angle.

You can still get a good rap album onto the charts with very little time on MTV.

How do rap artists maintain such complete control over their music:

1. Rap lyrics are seen as more raw so the artists can get away with more explicit and sensitive subjects. Whether it