Peter made an excellent point about LC reciting his stuff over a jazz backing. I think Leonard once discussed this in an interview where he said that he can relate to the idea of rap, having grown up in the Jewish culture with a long tradition of reciting holy texts in synagogues.I know many of Leonard´s intricate rhyming schemes are hardly suitable for a rapid "machine-gun" delivery, but still, I think a song like "Democracy", for instance, would make for a great rap version. Especially if some of the discarded verses - dealing with the all-too-frequent racial tensions between the Blacks and the Jews - were included. I´m looking forward to the day when we´ll hear say, Public Enemy, do Cohen´s or Dylan´s stuff. (Just think about it: Flavor Flav kickin´ "Subterranean Homesick Blues" or "Highway 61 Revisited" (complete with the police siren!)
) Or, if that sounds too far-fetched, how about the Beastie Boys? 
As for the idea of rap as "the music of the underdog" - well, don´t you think that Jews know a thing or two about disdain and rejection? I don´t mean to glorify suffering, it´s just that often an inferior position in the society brings out the best in any given culture.
Finally, as for the rap idiom: there´s always been more to it than nifty rhymes and tongue-twisting delivery. Such rap pioneers as Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets were, first and foremost, "spoken-word" artists, rather than witty´n´funny rhymers.
Karri
!!! ~ Karri 
, or one left over from a building long abandoned? I learned later that the building still functions as a venue and the marquee was, indeed, either current or very recent. I kicked myself for quite some time for not having been even more diligent than I thought I was already being regarding it [but obviously not diligent enough 
!]. It would be so thrilling for me to see them in person ~ I love that strength, rhythm, and syncopation in their voices and delivery 
JC Clarke definitely sounds like checking out. As for RHCP´s and Sizzla´s Dylan covers, I wasn´t aware of those. 
