It's not a fad -- that incessant, primitive beat is here to stay, and whether or not hip-hop music appeals to mass society is no longer relevant. 
Hip-hop/rap has become the voice of black teen-agers and
young adults. It has emerged as a definitive vehicle for all forms of expression in the black community, but also has been embraced by listeners from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. 
Rap is from the streets, but that urban sound can be heard in every corner of the hinterlands. Colleges and universities offer classes that use rap lyrics and music as poetry. Scholars study the provocative lyrics, the poetic form of rap rhymes and the street-wise style. They claim it is the
voice of the world's disenfranchised and often focus more on the message than the messenger.
But the message is only as cool as the crew rhyming it. MC
Hammer has dropped off the radar, LL Cool J's not so cool  these days, and some of the biggies -- Tupac Shakur and  Notorious B.I.G. -- are no longer on the rap planet. 
Yet rap and hip-hop is still relatively young, and most of its
performers are even younger. Most of rap music's success
stories haven't reached age 40. 
 And hip-hop is no longer confined to the 'hood. It's a product, and like any other successful product, the style, the look and  attitude have become hot American exports. 
Baggy pants, thumping bass and taggin' -- graffiti -- are means of  hip-hop self-expression around the globe. Rap artists are rhyming in Cuba, Denmark, New Zealand and
Russia. Young people have gravitated to hip-hop as a way to  channel anger and express themselves. 
No one can deny that rap and hip-hop music is accessible, but it  brings with it a truck-load of emotional baggage. 
Undoubtedly, hip-hop has an in-your-face sexuality. Some
antagonists say lyrics are deliberately offensive and obscene, and playing it remains controversial at some radio stations. 
We still expect changes in  African American culture in the coming XXI century.               

Today it is not even the lyrics - the majority of which are unpolitical  - but simply the Belarusan language of the songs that are the main instrument working for a renaissance of the Belarusan culture and nation. This explains the hostility of the current regime. The government understands that, if Belarusan songs become accessible to a larger public - even if it's just via a few video clips - this might induce many to put up resistance.
One can hear the claims about no future for Belarussian folk music. Today this issue seems for the most people rather contraversial, as soon as the Belarussian cultural identity is somehow lost. People are sick and tired of proving to the rest of the world that they belong to some
definite ethnithity. But still the artists of Belarus add greatly to the struggle and inspiration of their fellows by preserving the Belarussian cultural heritage in their productions.
Music is the the soul of the nation therefore while speculating about its future in Belarus one can't but admit the importance of further development of folk traditions. And there is something to be done here.
First there should be some appropriate education at schools, i. e . special studies in Belarussian folklore, excursions to museums, attending concerts, etc
Today some of the critisists see the future of Belarussian music in its application in modern rock. Some contemporary bands already make use of traditional tunes in their songs and the effect is really great. "Kryvy", a Belarussian rock band, on return from their European round tour got a nice response from public and invitations  from thess countries to come againand again. The original mixture of ethnic musical traditions and modern beats creates peculiar atmosphere and gets the young  people closer to the national culture, as well the world's.