Is rap music becomming ignorant now?

Question

Those who actually listened to past rap and hip hop music...do you think today's rap music is becomming just so stupid?? I mean in the past the music actually had some meaning to it..like some messages. Now, most rap and hip hop artist talk about how much money they got, what they buy wit that money, sleeping with women, etc. I mean, a lil bit of the music is alright..but it sounds the same now. I only listen to R&B now.
What ya'll think?

And please...if you don't like rap or hip hop...don't come on here complaining that the music is stupid nd it should be banned...i want REAL opinions what people think of Rap and most Hip Hop music from 2000 to the present.
Thanks

Answer 1

I can remember the word my dad used to described the rock and roll i was listening to when it was important to me, before every band started sounding the same, "suggestive", and that was a light weight assessment compared to what Rap has evolved or "morphed" into.
I remember when hearing Hip Hop & Rap i first thought, Wow, and then the thugs took it over and in the name of free speech changed it to nothing more than sounds with an "Explicit Lyrics Label".
What happened to the creativity and the beautiful backup singers and the wonderful orchestrations and the standards that Motown and Soul Music had set. Now a days any 12 year old with a simple music editing program, a collection of the same old loops and lyrics filled with filth and violence, can be a millionaire.
Did anyone catch Rev. AL Sharpton's eloquint speech at the late great James Brown's funeral, where he called on Michael Jackson and all the others to lift the music back up to where it used to be, where grandmothers and their grandchildren can sit and listen to it together. A most profound statement.
Ignorant? Stupid? maybe. Redundant at best and contraversial for sure.
IMO.

Answer 2

I say mainstream rap music has gotten a lot more ignorant, especially within the last 5 years or so, but it started around '95 (personally, I think the beginning of rap music's decline directly coincides with the moment Master P came onto the scene, but that's just me). Since then, the mainstream media has been increasingly oversaturated by a lot of cookie-cutter emcees (if we can even call them emcees) and candy rappers who spout garbage because right now, they're the ones bringing their record companies the most money. Some, like me, might be old enough to remember this and some might not be, but back in the late 80's and early to mid 90's there was a lot of talent, variety and substance in rap. You could turn on the radio and hear conscious (as in socially/politically conscious), gangsta, old-school, jazz-infused, comical and storytelling styles of rap back to back in one sitting (or one car trip). THAT is what's sorely lacking in mainstream rap right now - talent, variety and substance. There's nothing to choose from anymore, kinda like going to McDonald's and seeing nothing but fries on the overhead menu.

There are still some good emcees out there who don't fit the "cookie-cutter" mold and have something positive to say, but unfortunately we rarely (if ever) see them in the mainstream media. A lot of the real emcees have been put on the backburner or are stuck in the underground circuit because for the most part, greedy record companies and good ol' Corporate America have flooded the market with whatever "trend du jour" makes them the most money (which, unfortunately, glorifies the negative/controversial). It's sad, but for the most part, neither the record companies nor the rappers do it for the love of the music anymore. It's all about that almighty dollar.

Good thing I was introduced to underground hip hop some years back. Otherwise, I'd still be sittin' here with "Midnight Marauders" on repeat, reminiscing about the good ol' days - lol.

Answer 3

I listened to it in the early 90s a little (I'm talking hardcore, I still listen to the pop rap on top 40 radio).. maybe not to the extent as others. The rap music I have issues with right now is those that are not creative in anyway but just someone else making money on the same beats with a little different lyrics about how rough life was , how much money they have ..(yawn) Some of what is coming out isn't even creative anymore .. with even the lyrics... I find that when it's creative, I tend to listen.. but some of this stuff coming out especially in the US south... retread 2000-2007

I think personally you can take say 3 rappers, take snippets out of their albums put it to a generic beat and be in top 10 on i-tunes without any them being in the studio anymore.

Answer 4

I agree...I listen to a lot of different music, but I remember in the 90's rap and hip hop, you could actually understand what they were rapping about, and different artists would rap about different things. I love LL Cool J, he always has a message in his songs and he rarely swears. Nowadays, you hear rap and hip hop on the radio from new artists..It's crazy, most of the time you hear a lot of swearing, money, sleeping around...it's bad, and almost every song that comes out is just like that. I'm not saying all, but the majority of it is.

Answer 5

yes, i believe so.
as you said, now people are only rapping about how much money they have and how much sex they get and their grillz and pimpin whereas early rap was much more message based.
by message based, i mean that they were angry at the government (and other issues affecting society at the time) and wanted their opinions heard and action to be taken. this is very similar to early punk music as well.
like much punk music today, rap has fallen away from that even though there is still much anger at the government (and other issues affecting the society).
the wording of your question is excellent because even if a person does not listen to the news, they could get what was going on in the world through music, and now - because there is none of that left - people are becoming ignorant of the world around them.

so, yes, rap is becoming ignorant.
not only that, but it has also been becoming more ignorant as singles come out...
and the sad thing is that if anybody tries to bring back the old rap style they would be outcasted because they're not rapping about petty conceited issues. they're rapping about problems that afflict the world but nobody wants to listen because they fear knowledge.


hopefully you enjoy my insight.

Answer 6

Rap used to be original. The first songs, and even the first decade of songs, had great topics. Now, over the past 5 years or so, it's all about the video, and how much bling you can get. In the rock world, that's called being a sell-out. So few of these have a true talent. And if it wasn't for the mixing and sampling, they'd probably have no career.

Answer 7

Rap/Hip Hop had a period pf creativity at its inception (i'm talking the Kurtis Blow/Fab 5 days), and then it had an interesting revival with stuff like Arrested Develpment, Diggable Planets, De La Soul, to a lesser extent Tribe Called Quest......and then it officially died with P Dangy or whatever his name is now.

Whatever was creative about it died ages ago...it's just bass driven crap. And the so called messages you're talking about usually strike me as pretentious dribblings from ignorant thugs. Call me crazy, but the I'm from the streets and the I'm the best MC ever crap got old around 1988.

Answer 8

I don't like it, but I respect people's opinions.
but that is exactly why I don't like rap anymore, I like meaningful lyrics. Now, they can get away with singing any lyrics, but if it's sung by someone popular and it's played over and over, it's a hit. It doesn't make sense... and I don't think it should be banned, i just think they could put a lot more thought and talent in making their music, but they know everyone is going to listen to it either way. It makes me feel like they're only in it for the money and the fame. Some of these people are talented, but they just waste it... and the gramar is killing me!

Answer 9

Whoa...whoa.. relax cracker jack, no longer all hip hop is like this and no longer all hip hop lovers are like this. I love hip hop however what you are speaking approximately is the rap crap that's shoved down those youngsters throats... that stuff is junk and such a lot the children who concentrate to these things have that Mentality and are younger and impresionalble. They dont recognise higher and simply wish to be cool and concentrate to whats pop.. I decide upon to hear hip hop with that means and is quite often shaped with wise lyrics and produced from truly song... if you happen to have been to perform a little reasearch you might have located there may be extra to hip hop then whats performed at the radio. Please concentrate to the next artis that i concentrate to love Sage Francis Sole Scarub Aesop Rock Alias The Grouch Songs from those artis are not anything just like the songs you relate hip hop to..those youngsters simply desire a brain of there possess and give up being so closed minded and expaned their minds to stuff that's confident

Answer 10

ya it is becoming stupid but i like 2 listen 2 it just for fun. rap and r&b are the only types of music i listen to