I am a five letter word and I am a fruit. Take the first letter out and I am a crime, take out the first and second letter and I am a animal, take out the first and last letter and I am a type of music. What am I.

Why this works

The riddle cleverly plays on the transformations of the word "grape." It starts as a five-letter fruit. When you remove the first letter 'g,' you get "rape," which is indeed a crime. By taking away both the first and second letters, you are left with "ape," an animal. Finally, if you drop the first and last letters of "grape," you get "rap," which is a genre of music. Each step demonstrates how the original word morphs into different meanings, showcasing the fun of wordplay!