Why do people that are Into rap and hip-hop even want a high-end audio system

I'd put power/money at the top.  The whole slave trade flourished as the thing that made the south viable economically.  Without it the region faltered, to say the least.  Slavery was a means to an end, and that end was the prize.  Slavery is long gone here but business still finds ways to ensure the rich keep getting richer and the poor stay down.

I just had one last comment. The assumption that a rap fan couldn't appreciate a high end system is extremely stereotypical and usually comes from the type of folks that I would consider way beneath me. The kind of folks that I don't even bother to engage in conversation with. It's audiophile snooty at its worst. It's what music is not about. The sad part about it all is that we would never hear each other's system or listen in the same room for various reasons I will not discuss on this thread. So to everyone, enjoy your music. People don't matter who you wouldn't care to have around you or your audio system as long as you enjoy what comes out your speakers. That is all that matters.  

Pete Seeger once said "it's very important to learn to talk to people you disagree with."   I think there's something to that.  That's what we  do here, right?

We're all equals, here and elsewhere. Be careful if there are people you consider "way beneath" yourself lest you wind up being the snob.

Not saying it in that way. I try to make it a point to be snobbish. I consider that kind of snobbery way beneath my standards.  I shouldn't go back and forward with the high brows in a nutshell.  Lol. Enjoy your music and this thread.  Happy listening.  

Right back atcha, brother.  BTW, I got to know a lot of classical musicians (students and professors) for many years at a large music school and they were mostly very real and very warm people.  Being a hick from the sticks I sometimes felt intimidated but that was my own doing entirely--no one ever really gave me reason to feel any less than anyone else there.  I'd go back there in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.