Why is Hip Hop always dismissed?

I love Hip Hop music. I think it is one of the most interesting and diverse genres of music with its emphasis on storytelling and the mixtape arena. There is a lot more diversity in that one genre than most other genres and a lot more music coming out consistently. The mixtape scene is one of the most interesting with artists able to create work that can get word of mouth exposure easily and just lets them experiment. Personally I feel that the creativity in Hip Hop is a lot more raw and a lot richer than in other genres. It seems like it’s really only in Hip Hop where the artists still bother to stay in touch with fans and interact. Of course the main reason I like Hip Hop is the storytelling. Other genres just don’t have story telling as a factor at least not to the same extent. Quite often what passes for a story in say Rock can be reduced to a few lines with most of the story being implied and then a repeating chorus which adds nothing. Rather the songs seem to be about the emotion from an event, not telling the story of that event. There are only a few storytelling songs, The Hurricane being a notable example, that actually tell a story from beginning to end.

I get that not everybody likes Hip Hop….what I don’t get is why people keep attacking it. Are they just idiots? Perhaps, but I have to wonder if there is a strong correlation between people who dismiss Hip Hop and a complete inability to think critically. Hip Hop has a few things other genres don’t have that make it unique, has a strong associated culture and has been around for about 40 years or so. There is no indication that it is going anywhere. Yet people continually dismiss Hip Hop as nothing more than songs about killing people and bitches. Which is far from what the genre is limited to. So then, are these people simply willfully ignorant? The type of people who can’t be bothered looking into something before speaking authoritatively on it? Even at the Grammy Awards Hip Hop seems to be acknowledged without being taken seriously. It makes me sad to see my favorite type of music continually under attack and being dismissed but I have to step back and look at the people doing the attacking. Given it seems to be only shallow minded people who can’t think for themselves who do the attacking however, I guess I shouldn’t worry about it.