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When I was 12, I tried listening to rap in an attempt to run with the cool crowd. I was still a dweeb. A couple years later I gave up. Since then, I've found that I can enjoy a few rap songs, but hate the genre as a whole. It mostly seems to be garbage, devoid of any value whatsoever -- musical, lyrical, moral, fun, pleasant, whatever.

Most of what I like is from the early 90s before Dre, Snoop, Tupac, Warren G, etc...before it went all "gangsta".

There are some exceptions. This may be the most recent rap song I like:

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It's got some decent musical value to it. I don't really know or particularly care what he's rapping about (something about how hip hop sucks but doesn't have to, and something about shooting people). The samples are used well, the vocals are done musically, the structure keeps me paying attention.

Then there's classics like these:

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Then there's 80s/early 90s pre-gangsta rap...

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and some in-between stuff:

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Does early almost-rap "R&B" count?

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Note: I can't listen to these right now to confirm that they're what I'm looking for. My computer needs to be rebooted or something.

I like hits from Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, 2LiveCrew, Young MC, The Fat Boys, and Biz Markie. I like a lot from The Beastie Boys.