Accents are like spices. I find the basic English language to be fairly dull to listen to. Unlike Spanish or French, English has no free flow; there is little necessity for pitch variation like the Chinese and Indian languages have; and unlike some African languages, English has no strength or real umph. However, throw in an accent everything changes. Each syllable, each word, each phrase... syntax is spiced up.
I think slang can have the same effect; a certain amount of interest is brought to the spoken word when slang is introduced. I disagree with the argument that slang is not "proper" English. I'm not too sure why people are so against slang. Perhaps because slang usually originates from the lower socio-economic groups and works its way into the white suburban neighborhoods and before you know it middle aged men are admitting their co-workers they're phat [in this particular case perhaps they meant it with an f though...] while the elite snub their noses up only to jump on the bandwagon five minutes too late. New words are thought up, dictionaries grow, and languages change. But think about! The words that are commonplace for use now were at one time frowned upon. Different vocabulary is suitable in different situations. Sure, for now, speak "proper" English when you're going for a job interview at a major bank. But if you're in the hood for example, speaking "proper" English might not be the best way of communicating. Colloquial speech should not be looked down upon nor should speaking with an accent. Different doesn't equate to bad or inferior. Different is different.
Check out this article on changes in the Cockey dialect by Philip Hensher in The Independent:
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/philip_hensher/article307658.ece
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