Pretty much everybody I know listens to rap, and I've asked them these questions. I always get the same answers. They like it because they can dance to it, and because the rappers have nice clothes (what this has to do with how the music sounds, I don't know). I think that half of the reason kids listen to rap is because of the imagery. That's not to say that there isn't any rap of substance out there, because that's not true. But the most popular music seems to be a vehicle for other products. Rappers are constantly advertising shoes, cars, clothing brands, etc. And it's everywhere teenagers tend to be - MTV (and TV in general), Myspace, AIM Radio, in video games and movies about fast cars and guns...
Basically, they like rap because they're surrounded by it and eventually they just take a liking to it. If the corporations behind popular rap music wanted to switch to heavy metal, eventually it would be a major mainstream thing. It's all about presentation.
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