Does Rap qualify as music?

Question

Definition of music:
The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony.
Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony.
A musical composition.
A musical accompaniment.
An aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound.

I happy to be contested on this, but I need to be convinced. Rap itself, isn't actually melodious - most of the time it is a string of monotonous, strung togther words which don't actually contain identifiable "notes".

Please don't take this too seriously - it's only music... or is it?

Deidre: see note above about not taking this too seriously.

Some great responses...cheers.

LemonsLuver: Cool the jets, your angst on racism isn't appropriate in this question.

kristijay99: It's been a while since my music BA, but I'm surprised by your answer!

Artpoz: In your words, all music is questionable, so why is this question so "stupid?"

Also see my notes on this...

Answer 1

Urban Poetry
Not music

Answer 2

I say yes. Don't take my responses too seriously either, but really it's obviously deliberately inflammatory, despite your saying otherwise.

That definition said the arrangement of sounds so as to produce a continuous...evococative composition. Melody and harmony were -examples- of sounds being arranged in time, but it didn't say they were the -only- ones.

"notes" themselves are complete abstractions. Math and melody are processed by the same part of the brain, I believe, so if you think of a note as a number, then there's really an infinite number of notes that almost never get used on purpose :)

But as usual, the real answer is blowing in the wind; what you or anyone else finds pleasant changes from day to day, like the stock market. Rap is all about bent definitions. Music is language of the soul, and there's lots of different souls need expressing in the world. I hope you are convinced and can put this one down and relax. Too much stress is not good for you, it causes decreased circulation to your organs, speeding up aging all around.

Answer 3

Rap is most definitely music. Rap can be aesthetically pleasing and harmonious, plus it tells a story. Not all rap sounds good, but not all classical, pop, country, etc sounds good. Some rap is raunchy, but if you don't like it then don't listen to it. You probably can't feel rap, so therefore you want to categorize it as not being music. I wonder how you would have categorized the old songs that the slaves would sing in order to communicate with each other. Would that have been aesthetically pleasing to you or just bothersome? Don't knock what you know nothing about!

Answer 4

It is a vocal composition and it is arranging sound....

It may not have a harmony or melody but it expresses an artists thoughts and feelings just like any classical piece of music...

There are notes, melody's and harmony's that come together throughtout a rap song. They might not be aesthetically pleasing all the time, but they are still considered harmonic and melodic...

Answer 5

I believe it is music. Or at the very least, an art form. I've written a couple rap songs, and it was just as challenging to me as writing more traditional music, if not moreso. And if you listen to rap, you can hear a distinctive beat, along with a difinitive bass line, and usually some other synth sounds to accompany, and the voice goes ontop of that. Sounds to me like the makings of music. Whether or not you appreciate it for what it is, that's objectionable, but I believe it IS music.

On a side-note, I disagree with the girl who answered above me, I think you don't have to LOVE all genres, you just have to respect them for what they are, and appreciate them. Like you should with people, do so also with your music.

Answer 6

I have always disliked Rap because I felt and still feel it is NOT music even though those who rap insist it is. More often than not, the lyrics, which are made up as the rapper goes along, demonstrate a clever wit and an ability to use rhyme in a unique way. However, this does NOT qualify as music. Rappers masquerade as musicians.

Chow.

Answer 7

Well they do it with beats in behind them, I suppose if you took the music from behind them it could be defined as spoken word. but the do it rythmically, so just because the melody doesnt have a huge range doesnt mean it isnt technically music. Also that definition of music was probably formed a long time ago, have you ever thought that rap has literally redefined music?

Answer 8

It's music, just more primal in nature. Way back a long time ago, just think how we used to jump around the fire beating drums mouthing hunting and war stories. I think people are drawn to it because it sparks that primal portion of the brain, I think some people don't like it because they can not relate to the message. If one of your peers were to come up with a pretty good rap song that had a message that you could relate to, you might find that you enjoy that particular rap song.

Answer 9

Incredibly, yes, I didn't think so either until I got into the Rage Against the Machine albums in the mid 90's, and I'm an old Hendrix fan.
And for a voice so bad it's good try The Fall.

Answer 10

Personally I say no, it's not music, it's just chanting really.. the 'melody' is usually exactly the same as the last chant, only the words seem to change and they are not sung. Sometimes they incorporate the chanting with a true song, normally a good oldie, but that makes a melody with chanting added.

Rap is Crap, not music - to my ears anyway.

Answer 11

Yes it is a form of music, cause if you listen in the background they all usually have some sort of melodic sound forming a beat to which they seem to express their string of monotonous, strung together words.