Even to my untrained ear, modern "rap" is pretty much the same, and the reason the thugs like to blast it is to annoy those who aren't in the "thug" lifestyle.
They seem to have a permanent chip on their shoulders, because "the man" is keeping them down, and now they're empowered by having a Black man in the oval office.
Personally I like Foreigner myself, as they have a pretty decent array of songs, from some good old rock, to the beautiful ballads.
I have "Jukebox Hero" as a ringtone for my best friend who likes to do kareoke on the weekends, and I have "Waiting for a Girl Like You" as my wifes ringtone.
I do also have very ecclectic tastes in all forms of real music though....classical to certain types of New Age , heavier metal (not industrial stuff though like Nightwish) and a lot of 70's progressive rock (Rick Wakeman anyone?)
I'll tell you one thing that really chaps my buns though...all the current rap that has to "sample" really good songs.
The one that made me almost sick to my stomach was some rap crap that used "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner.
You call using autotune and sampling talent?
I have to disagree, I call it derivative crap