Over the course of the last [four] decades, African-Americans have used rap as an expression of their disappointment in America's treatment of the people who built this country.
In order to express the feeling of frustration and defeat in the communities afflicted by violence and drug use, rappers use their lyrics to speak to their counterparts.
Rap is an effort to bring the world's attention to the adversity African-Americans face in their lives in a corrupted America.
Rap: The Cry of a Rebuked People, Willie Howard, Poverty & Prejudice: Media and Race (1999) p. 1 - 2.
Contrary to the commonly held notions of some people, what those who are currently living below the poverty threshold want most is not food stamps and government housing. Rather, what they truly desire is "a job, better connections to the rest of the world, a reduced threat of violence, and an end to the regular daily humiliations and disrespect that are too often the reality for poor people (Claire Melamed, What do poor people want? (2011)."