@vicar: Note that the thread was once about an article about China on Australian media (I guess - or is yahoo australia owned/controlled by yahoo, which is owned mostly by yanks? or is it? Who's running this show?). I thought the term 'fake news' needed to be clarified, regardless of who's using it. Then I strayed, like several previous; now everybody has to hear Americans talk about America, regardless of original topic.
Although the significance of subjects for discussion doesn't necessarily maintain nationalist borders, surely they must get tired of us once in a while.

@redjon: Agreed. There are worse things than bad hiphop - let the jerks shout, some medicines are more poison than cure. There's a thread on 'fake news', some versions of which carry a more respectable name in China.

'Fake news' seems to have 2 meanings: (1) lies, or anyway extraordinary distortions of fact; (2) the sort of thing you can read about the lives of actors in movie magazines, or about the Kardashians (whoever they are), but applied to political events or personalities (then there's (3), a combination of both). Probably best to be clear about the difference, and then try to get serious about who lies to whom, why, and when what is really important. The media are not the only ones at fault - way too many people have been believing the lies they want to believe, and persuading themselves that a lot of BS is important, for way too long ('conditioning' or 'indoctrination', if you want to take on a conspiracy theory with some value to it). The idea that it's all 'liberal' (Americanese - for non-Americans, read 'conservative'; or perhaps 'narrow conservative 2', as opposed to 'narrow conservative 1' (then there's 'libertarian', a conservatism hidden from itself' (i.e., far from 'anarchist')) aimed at Trump is inaccurate (many politicians' statements to the press produce it daily, in both forms). Trump's tweets as well.

I can't agree with Mr Pink's general point of view. However, calling hiphop 'poetry with a downbeat' sounds about right, and there's nothing wrong with that idea, or the idea of rhythmic/vocal improvisation

- the beat and vocal rhythms can be quite good, same with the poetry (a lot of which I think is not, in fact, very good, but I'm willing to let people show me I'm wrong).
But the thing is, hiphop overall DOES tend to lack musicality, and I see this as a deficiency.
The issues of violent racism and sexism brutality, usually with over-the-top machismo, are real, but not everywhere, and not necessary. Guys who are primarily excited about the chance to hear/say/sing/gesture tough things about guns, bitches, killing and so forth, and performers who cave in to, or actually believe in, this kind of crap, are a social disease - but the blame for its being there can't ALL be laid at the feet of the performers (tho they're not innocent). But none of it has to be there, and just because something comes from (or pretends to come from) the street doesn't make it a good idea.
Actually, the main reason I've never bothered to pay much serious attention to hiphop, besides all the ugly misuse of it that has gone on, is (1) the lack of musicality. I would not object if somebody told me that a second reason has to do with my no longer being young - but my age will not add MUSICAL brilliance where it doesn't exist.
Like I said, I haven't paid much serious attention, so I don't pretend to have any last words and would be happy to be shown to be wrong - just chill a bit with the constant righteous shouting of ME lyrics and let a few other things happen once in awhile.

Wonderful precursor to it all, now a few million years in the past: 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' - maybe more artists might go back and start again from there & take a different tack.

@tiger, kurtosis: Get your points, though it sounds more like unrepresentative bureaucratic Control and Surveillance than 'class' per se...but then, yeah...
kurtosis, I rely one cash, but the bank down the street keeps it for me until I need it - of course that's always been a matter of Surveillance and Control (fueling Class), but not to the degree of possibility that you describe.

Like Tony Soprano used to say, dismissively, when crap came down: "Eh, whaddaya gonna do."