(c)RAP

I'm gonna have a little rant here about rap while I still can (more on that later...). I, personally, am no great fan of rap. I feel it is taken over the music industry with pointless songs that only a few people can understand, and that all sound exactly the same. (most) Rap takes absolutely no skill to create, I mean, I could make a rap song sitting here right now and probably make millions, but that's just the point, it is too easy to make rap songs. Theres also this kind of new rap, that i'm calling softrap, that people like Rihanna and Alesha are singing. Softrap is basically slow rap, sung by a woman (not sexist), that sounds exaclty the same as the last softrap single to come out, except maybe a little more repetitve.
Anyway. The reason why soon I won't be able to comment of rap is because I feel that it is dying out (). More and more bands like Elbow and such are bringing in this type of music that is full of originality and proper instruments like piano, strins and brass, and it seems that the sea of rap has been parted. I'm sure at least one of the members on here enjoy rap, which is fine. As long as everybody else can put on a radio station and hear something original, non-repetitive and full of life.
I was bored. So I thought I would get that out of my system. No, i'm not an grumpy old man, i'm actually quite young.... (and grumpy)

Gimme your views, i'd be interested to see what everybody else thinks.

I see your point but rap is never going to disappear ( I dont get it at all, never have, never will). It may become less popular but music tastes and styles change. Until recently the british charts were dominated by Simon Cowells plastic product. Prior to that there was Brit Pop. Now the next thing is coming on stream. People have had enough of tat and are looking for something with a bit more depth again. This too will fade to be replaced by something else. It just makes it harder to search out the gems when the default setting at the time is cr*p.

Your right, and it saddens me . I do believe that classical instruments are being used more and more now though. A few years ago it was all guitars, now it's hard to find a band that hasn't used piano or strings at some point.

Eh, certainly not my cup of tea, but to each his/her own, ya know?

There are tons of people out there with horrible taste in music. And not just rap.

I love rap. Suprised? I think it's wonderful. It's music of rhythm, drive and feeling - I can't say no to that! I've recently been getting into Public Enemy, and Chuck D... he's a triplet master. As for newer stuff... I for one can't wait for Dre's new album which is meant to be coming out this year...

But hey, if it ain't all y'all's cuppa tea

Dabamash wrote:

As long as everybody else can put on a radio station and hear something original, non-repetitive and full of life.

By which you mean rap is repetitive and neither original or full of life? You really are listening to the wrong rap music then. Or are you writing off a whole genre of music on the strength of two or three artists?

Each to their own and all that, but by ignoring hip hop you really are missing out on some of the best, most exciting music being made at the moment... especially in the UK.

As I said, most rap music bores me to death, some is actually vaugely catchy. It's rare though. Tbh I don't actively search out rap, so maybe I am missing out.

Misspelt Yoof wrote:

Each to their own and all that, but by ignoring hip hop you really are missing out on some of the best, most exciting music being made at the moment... especially in the UK.

Agreed. Some really interesting stuff is coming out of Britain and has been for several years now. The main reason I'm not more into rap is because I can't always relate to it - I'm a white chick from the 'burbs, y'know, and I'm not here to strike any poses. But not all rap is gangsta rap so you have to look around for what's out there. And there are many artists in rap/hip hop that are pushing the envelope creatively, which I always appreciate.

I quite like Kanye West. Just thought I should bring that up....

There's a huge difference between 'rap' and 'hip-hop' and if you're able to identify which one is which, you'll realize that a lot of rap is as you said, crap, but hip-hop does have a lot of meaningful lyrics written and is actually worth the time to listen to. Most of the time whenever I hear a new rap song, I know to never take it seriously because a lot of the lyrics are meaningless and are only meant to have very little depth to it compared to what hip-hop artists write for their music. I love hip-hop. They don't need a lot of instrumental to help make their point like bands do. All they need is a beat and allow their lyrics to grab the listener. I imagine it's a lot harder than what it perceives to be.

I was going to point that out to Misspelt, but cba. I agree though. Even though Hip Hop isn't my cup of tea, I find it a whole lot better than rap.

At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I preferred rap and hip hop twenty-odd years ago when it had a bit of energy to it. Then Snoop Moggy Frogg came along and suddenly everyone's got that bored-sounding drawl.

I still hear it today in the likes of Kanye West and Timbaland... they sound like they're working on the tills at Tesco.

"Have ya gotta clubcard? Yeah, I gotta clubcard. Have ya got ya own bags? Yeah, I got my own bags."

Until they stick a couple of Duracell up their collective arses I'm sticking to Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane and Eric B & Rakim... and UK hip hop, which I've always preferred anyway (plug plug, my Elbow vs Dizzee Rascal mashup is on another thread somewhere, plug plug)

Snoop Moggy Frogg, heh heh...I love it! And hey, lee, feel free to plug away on the mashup - it's good stuff!

I would even go as far as to say "it's gooooood Shiiiit"

ukkonen wrote:

There's a huge difference between 'rap' and 'hip-hop'

What's the difference? I always thought that "rap" was to hip-hop, what "singing" is to 'guitar-music'. Or am I wrong?

....yes

Dabamash wrote:

....yes

In which case...

Misspelt Yoof wrote:

What's the difference?

What? between singing and guitar music? That's easy, singing is a sound that comes out of your mouth and is used in all forms of music. guitar music comes out of a guitar.

Hip hop: is a cultural movement that began among urban African American and Latino youth in New York.

Rap: music that features spoken lyrics, often reflecting current social or political issues, over a background of sampled sounds or scratched records

Misspelt Yoof wrote:

ukkonen wrote:

There's a huge difference between 'rap' and 'hip-hop'

What's the difference? I always thought that "rap" was to hip-hop, what "singing" is to 'guitar-music'. Or am I wrong?

To make it the easiest to understand without getting overly complicated about it. The biggest difference is the lyrics. Rap music has a tendency to glorify numerous things (drugs, sex, violence, etc.) and it's rarely anything that comes from the heart unless they really do believe that the lyrics they specifically write are actually coming from the heart. I really doubt it, though. Most of the time with hip-hop, there are real life experiences and it's a lot more personal than the stereotypical guns, violences, drugs, and sex depicted in most rap music. It sounds more like poetry or prose than random words put together in order to create a catchy hook that really doesn't make sense. I think that's the most noticeable difference between the two, but if you'd like some examples of the big differences, I can pull some up for you with the lyrics. And the other difference is the beat of the music and how it sounds, but that's not as noticeable as the lyrics are.

I think it's also important to note that hip-hop can be, and often is, instrumental; a la DJ Shadow, The X-Ecutioners, Unkle, RJD2... all great, inspired music IMO.

ukkonen wrote:

To make it the easiest to understand without getting overly complicated about it. The biggest difference is the lyrics. Rap music has a tendency to glorify numerous things (drugs, sex, violence, etc.) and it's rarely anything that comes from the heart unless they really do believe that the lyrics they specifically write are actually coming from the heart. I really doubt it, though. Most of the time with hip-hop, there are real life experiences and it's a lot more personal than the stereotypical guns, violences, drugs, and sex depicted in most rap music. It sounds more like poetry or prose than random words put together in order to create a catchy hook that really doesn't make sense. I think that's the most noticeable difference between the two, but if you'd like some examples of the big differences, I can pull some up for you with the lyrics. And the other difference is the beat of the music and how it sounds, but that's not as noticeable as the lyrics are.

So, 50 Cent is 'rap' but not 'hip-hop'? That's not true.

Quote :

The term rap is sometimes used synonymously with hip hop music, though it originally referred only to rapping itself.

As far as I can tell the only difference between 'rap' and 'hip hop' is whether you like it or not. Unless when you refer to 'rap' you mean Gangsta Rap?

Wikipedia solves all!!

"Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, one of the elements of hip hop music and culture."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rap

"Hip hop (also spelled hip-hop or hiphop) is both a cultural movement and a genre of music ... The four historic "elements" of hip hop are: [rapping], DJing, [graffiti], and [breakdancing]."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music

So there you have it people - hip hop is the genre is question, rap is an element of it - the vocals.

jonny wrote:

So there you have it people - hip hop is the genre is question, rap is an element of it - the vocals.

Misspelt Yoof wrote:

I always thought that "rap" was to hip-hop, what "singing" is to 'guitar-music'.

So that then, yeah?

Anyway, share your love of hip hop. Who should I be listening to that I don't already?

Moved this to the hole, as it's more about rap than elbow

ChrissieInFL wrote:

The main reason I'm not more into rap is because I can't always relate to it - I'm a white chick from the 'burbs.....

Oh hell!!! On the same wavelength again. Honest I'm not trying to freak you out.

I'm essentially a white, middle class, middle age, grumpy old git from the suburbs of Manchester. Rap came along and I just didn't get it. F**k! I struggled to understand punk at the time! Whilst everyone else in my class was getting in to The Sex Pistols, Sham 69, The Buzzcocks and so on I was still ploughing my own furrow listening to Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, PInk Floyd, Zep, The Who and so on.

I caught up eventually but it took some time.

Still don't 'get' rap and hip hop though