What is wrong with a Rapper Crow?

I have kept up with the discussion, in regard to the rapper premise of Crow 4, for some time now. It seems many of the fans, concerned about this premise, feel that The Crow stories apply to only one sector of the population. Also, some have voiced concerns over the abundance of rap music that would be involved and their dislike for it. I can fully understand a person not being a fan of a certain music style. I know many people, like myself, who are not fans of the current music used in the Crow movies, or of rap. However, the music blends in very well with the images and themes of the movies. This enables us to enjoy the music more so than if we were to just pick up a CD and start listening. I think a lot of the fears being voiced by fans, at this point, are coming from false assumptions. The biggest false assumption, that I have seen being voiced, is that The Crow is only for persons who are gothic and into hard core alternative and rock music. These fans are also under the supposition that Gothic means you are white, dress in all black and usually don a trench coat. We need to look at Gothic from two perspectives, as a lifestyle and as a style of story. These two perspectives are pertinent to this debate. In reference to lifestyle, Gothic, in its simplest form, is a way of life that is non-conforming to that of the "establishment". However, the gothic look of all black clothing and a trench coat has become so fashionable in movies and as the favored dress of the general public, that it has become THE "establishment". So to claim that this style of dress signifies Gothic, is easily debatable. As for style of story, Gothic is defined as: "Of or pertaining to a style of fiction that emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and/or desolate". The rapper story line fits right in with this definition. What many of the fans, who are crying afoul, are missing is that gangster rap sprouted from the same seeds from which alternative music originated. Gangster rap bleeds pain, sorrow and frustration as well as rage and anger. To compare a gangster or hard-core rap song to an offering by Will Smith is like comparing the song "Deadsouls" by NIN with "Oops, I Did It Again" by Britney Spears. Gangster rap songs contain the same elements that the early alternative music embraced before it became the "establishment". Hard-core rap is every bit as dark and foreboding as any alternative rock song out today. These rappers speak of fighting the establishment, the pain of watching their people commit genocide, growing up in killing fields that are suppose to be neighborhoods, and the overall gloom that the future holds. There is one final conjecture that I would like to address. Since the character in the movie is a gangster rapper, many feel his death is going to be a result of his lifestyle, not a death of someone innocent. I can understand this, given the way the media has portrayed these artists. Innocence is not a word that is usually associated with rappers. However, just as with any other entertainers, a negative depiction does not mean that they are bad or that they are not innocent. It will be up to the writers to ensure that the story allows the audience to feel emotion for this person. Overall, it appears to me that there are a lot of nervous white kids out there that think their visual platform is being taken away from them. That fear, in my opinion, is unwarranted. We are all the same, when it comes down to it. All races have their "Gothics". Those that feel alienated by the rest of society. The movie 'Blade' proved that a black character could be the focus of what has always been a white-dominated "Gothic" story line, vampires, and be successful. The movie was not only a financial success, but also a fan and critic success. I think we need to get off the Gothic/alternative high horse. We have become guilty of making assumptions and negative comments such as those that have been leveled at a lot of Crow fans for years. You would think that we would know, from experience, how wrong these assumptions and comments are and not do the same to others. The world of The Crow is big enough to tell the story of all the Gothics out there. We just have to be open-minded enough to allow it.