I've read many posts in this thread, although not all of them. It's funny to see such close-mindedness in this forum. Perhaps people try to be open-minded, but in the end, everybody has prejudice inside of them. After being on this forum for so long, I know most of you have it in you to be more open-minded than this. Let me start off with my own bias. I can't stand country, I hate smooth jazz, and most classical absolutely bores me. Pop drives me crazy, despite the catchy beats. I like hip-hop. I like rap, also. I do not like rap containing ignorant lyrics.
Most people who do like rap with ignorant lyrics like it for multiple reasons. Some, unfortunate people can seriously relate to what plays on the radio. They go through these things everyday. It's their lifestyle. Although it's not a good one, and the radio promotes this youth culture, it's comfort for them. There is a subconscious peer pressure that draws the youth into mainstream hip-hop. This is the main reason why the genre gains so much popularity. Others don't care about the lyrics. Many people feel that beatmakers steal beats, and don't create real music. I disagree. Beatmakers who use samples know music. They find catchy parts of a song, record it, and repeat it. They add in drums, and sometimes add or delete certain instruments. They also often modify parts of the clip they took. Beatmakers sample at different extents, and some really put lots of effort into what they do. Most of their goals is to create something catchy, unlike many other genres.
The mainstream sub-genre of rap is merely one of several sub-genres. There are others, such as underground, old school, simply beats, and more, if I were to go into more complex, precise sub-genres. Of the hip-hop listeners, I'd say about 90% of them only listen to mainstream. Thus, this is what is played on the radio, this is what is most of you depict as hip-hop, and this is why there is so much bias against it. I agree with some of you. Mainstream rap encourages ignorance. Although the industry tries to hide it, it's true. Take former underground group, Little Brother, for example. Although just a rumor, it is believed that BET didn't play their video because it was
"too intelligent." Although they didn't admit it, what other context could it have been in? In comparison to videos they normally play? I have no idea.
Anyway, onto the other genres. Old school rap (See artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., classic Wu-Tang, etc.) is highly regarded by most veteran hip-hop listeners. It contains purpose, emotion, and culture, although not the most melodic beats or the most complex flows. I, personally dislike it. While I respect the emotion, it just isn't smooth and musical enough for me. I can't relate to the lyrics, either.
Some beatmakers (See RJD2, Nujabes, J Dilla (R.I.P.), Madlib, Fat Jon, etc.) create tracks with no intention of getting a rapper to speak over it. These songs usually tend to be more like a mix of electronica, trip hop, and sometimes downtempo and jazz. I tend to enjoy this genre more than jazz, as most of the music I have of it is jazzy, yet retains hip-hop qualities. It's great for casual listening, yet is probably the least listened sub-genre out of the four.
Underground hip-hop can be classified in many different ways, but I just like to think of it as anything other than the previous three. There are some thin lines between what is old school and what is underground, and there are some even finer lines between some mainstream/underground artists. This is the most diverse sub-genre of the four. Some rap about how screwed up their lives are (See Tech N9ne, Cage, Atmosphere, etc.). Others like to tell stories (Murs, Brother Ali, Tech N9ne, and nearly all underground rappers do it too. These two just stick out in my mind as great and easy to listen to.). Some talk about how good they are (Everyone, to some extent). Others just talk about anything on their minds (Also everyone). The diversity is really why I love this sub-genre.
I know some of you feel that you've tried to be open-minded towards hip-hop. In most cases, I disagree. The fault probably isn't yours, though. I've noticed that musical recommendations are some of the worst recommendations I've ever heard. People usually suggest and demote artists with no reasoning all. It's very similar to fanboyism when recommending other types of things. There is never an absolute best of anything. It all depends on each individual's tastes.
If you decide to feel more open-minded towards hip-hop and want to give a listen to all types of sub-genres of it, contact me. Try e-mailing me at
lazyaznboi@gmail.com or contact me through AIM at lazyaznboi206. Hope this has brought an enlightening influence upon some of you.
