How many believe Hip Hop & Rap?

Question

...finally found it's place at the bottom of the garbage heap where it belongs? About time this untalented form of so called music meets it's demise. How say you public?

Oh and yeah, I am versed in many many years of trained musical theory and many insturments, so I can say from a PROFESSIONAL and EDUCATED stand point, rap and hip hop have NO musical talent needed; rather more of a sound enegineering qualification.

I love the posts that so try in vain to make rap and hip hop reflect talent...it doesn't, sorry. No arguement you make will support it as an art. It's a system devoid of talent, it relies on other's musical ability. Lyrical, it means nothing more than RHYME (Correspondence of terminal sounds of words or of lines of verse.). You might like it or love it but it's not an art, it's not representitive of any culture, no drumnbeats(like that ignorant post about african drum beats...honestly, please educate yourself before replying) making it cultural, harmony is basd upon English folk, upon a gutteral four beat syncopation...basically, just give it up. Rap, hip hop is talentless, classless and basically, commercially driven product, not music. Nothing more, nothing less. For all those that don't get it, I'm saying Hip hop and rap is about corporate MONEY, not music.

Answer 1

I'm with you on that one!!! Hi Hop is just plain stupid. As for RAP, except for the fact that it should start with a capital "C", it's simply noise pollution, made by people (?..) with no Musical sense whatsoever, using idiotic rhymes ( "look at me, man, I'm soooo good, I can make Monday rhyme with.... erm.... Tuesday, or...erm... Friday! Maybe I should record that!....).
I've been a musician for about 25 years, and, in my mind, all Instruments were created to play melodious notes, just like microphones were invented to amplify intelligent words; not Grade 1 "poetry"...
If there was a tax on stupidity, "rapers" simply could not afford to live... or they'd end up in jail !!! But then again, that's where they belong, and that's where they all end up anyway, isn't it?..
I guess that's what happens to OXYGEN THIEVES....
(Phew! I feel better now!)
JLB.

Answer 2

I would agree that a lot, if not of the majority of rap (which is an element of the culture of hip hop by the way) is total garbage. Obviously most of the music is crap, and they things they rap about are ridiculous. The music of mainstream rap and r&b is a big formula, and the public has been becoming aware of this in recent years.
However, I have been finding some really great rap in the past couple years through friends. Some of these guys are using really innovative techniques to create some amazing sounds. Shock G's newest album uses a Fender Rhodes throughout and I am just blown away by it (and I am saying this as a semi-professional jazz musician with a good deal of theory and instrument training). A lot of them are really saying something with their lyrics as well. It become very introspective and beautiful when the music comes from a more sincere place than all that gangsta crap.
I think the music has tons of potential. It's been somewhat corrupted by the "gansta" movement over the past 15+ years, but more and more people seem to be turning to the more positive, introspective, sincere stuff that does seem to be involved in having a big shift in consciousness for many.

Answer 3

So African and tribal drums are garbage? I am sure as a stuck up EDUCATED PROFESSIONAL you would disagree with that. Rap mimics many of these rhythms, its the voice of a generation, speaks of experiences that may be different than yours. Maybe your EDUCATED PROFESSIONAL self should research deeper into the history of rap and underground rap. Not all rap is the junk they play on the radio, much of it reflects the voice of the disenfranchised and the rhythm of the street.

And how can you say it takes no talent? I would love to see the average person sit down in front of fruity loops and produce a beat. Maybe your EDUCATED PROFESSIONAL self should un-nail yourself from your cross and go back to school. The fact that you would even say something like this proves you are not educated or professional.

Answer 4

In its earliest begginings it was a way for the poor who had limited resources to express themselves about the political and social injustices they faced. It was more about the rhyme than the rythem. (mostly went unrecorded though)

Somewhere along the line somebody took it, stripped it of its meaning, commercialized it and used it to make sales by using shock value and reinforcing sterotypes. There were a few here and there who were able to throw in a meaningful rhyme or 2 in the middle of the crap they were commissioned to sell...

but ultimatly what we hear every day ont he radio and see on tv is is just part of the marketing machine. A reflection of the commercialized pigeon-holed garbage we see in so many other things in life.

If you look deep enough underground though, you will see a few people here and there who are true artists, but they arent the ones getting the deals.

Answer 5

it's not jus about the production...maybe u never listened to REAL hip hop before, u've jus heard that garbage that gets played on the radio. and yea, most of the "artists" that u see on bet and mtv and whatnot don't have too much talent. but maybe if u listened to some of Mos Def's music, or artists like The Roots or Talib Kweli or Nas or Blackstar or K-OS or Little Brother or Lupe Fiasco or Madlib or SlumVillage or Jean Grae or Hi-Tek (i can go on forever) or even some underground artists, maybe u'd change your opinion. they actually have a message for people. there's a lot of good, talented hip hop artists out there that jus dont get air play cuz they're not cut and packaged to fit the mold of what the public wants. but listen to the lyrics of some of the artists i've mentioned, and u'll see that what they're saying is pure poetry. their lyrics can tell more about the human condition than what u hear on radio and tv these days. and don't just listen to the production, LISTEN TO THE WORDS. don't pass off hip hop as garbage unless u've experience all aspects of it, not jus what u've seen. dig deeper in the culture and u'll understand.

---a fan of TRUE HIP HOP

Answer 6

Where's the Melody?

My new goal in life is to be a Hip Hop / Rap video Director.

1. Rent a mansion with a big pool of course
2. Rent a couple exotic cars - park them in front of the mansion
3. Get some fake bling (you can't tell it is fake on a video
4. Get some super hot chicks in bikinis to dance around the rappers while they rap
5. Film them in slow motion around the pool, around the house, and around the cars
6. Have the hottest of the bikini clad babes get in and out of the car and film it in slow motion.

Answer 7

i will admit that rap has become more about money and getting rich but if you read the lyrics from real rap artists like 2pac, Nas, DMX, & a few others its all poetry, so how can you say their is no talent needed?

Answer 8

i disagree w/ u
musical talent is indeed needed
also,
all the new stuff and pop artists who refer to themselves as 'rappers' have contributed to the downfall of rap and hip hop
hip hop is not only music, its a way of life
if u listened to classic rap or just good rappers u would see things clear
for example, take some time and listen to 2pac, nas, biggie, rakim, krs-one...
stuff like that
u might learn something

Answer 9

i think that rap has it's place in the world. i love all kinds of music and i consider rap a part of that. it isn't the same as other types of music with instruments but it isn't supposed to be. it's just about good beats to chill out to. why all the hating on it.

Answer 10

I think it's definetly dieing.It had a great run but it's over they ran out of thug things to say.Rap lovers will never admit to it but it's dead.