John Sutherland says rap is poetry: 'And those words (I would particularly point to those composed – often spontaneously) by Shakur, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg – can legitimately take their place in what we regard as poetry, not music. The antics of the some of the performers may disgust us (but no more than, say, Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson) but it's a voice, and words, that should be listened to before easy conclusions are drawn.'