Motts
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Quote:
You're exactly right. I was definitely generalizing. I definitely can't say that ALL rap is bad because that would be untruthful. I'm also not saying that none of them have talent...that would also be untrue. But like you said, the stuff that we get fed in the media, is not appealing for me personally.
My other point was that, just because rap isn't appealing for me, doesn't necessarily mean that it sucks. If I enjoy more listening to Metal, pop, or whatever, it's because either I like the sound, or I can relate to it better than rap. (I'm one of the few that listens to stuff because I like it and not because everyone else is listening to it) And with that, if I don't like rap, it doesn't make me racist...it just means that I don't like rap. Although, there are probably are some people who don't listen to certain musical genres because of racism...goes both ways.
I like a lot of beats and grooves that I have heard in some of the songs, but I just didn't dig the lyrics. But, as you stated, I probably haven't heard anything good. If you can recommend some "good" rap for listening, I'd be interested to hear it. Thanks for the comment.
| Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you're doing a lot of generalising. The stuff you describe is very prevalent in commercial rap (50 Cent and such), but that stuff is, in general, hardly cutting edge, well-composed or up to the same standard as good rap. Good rap can talk about anything. Rap is no more limited to talking about slappin' hoes than metal is limited to talking about Satan (for example). Also, most popular rap doesn't involve much lyrical complexity. It's impossible to deny the skill of a rapper who can write verse upon verse of lyrics full of multi-syllabic rhyming, alliteration, literary references and the like, let alone rapping those lyrics quickly and rhymically accurately. Speaking for myself, I listen for rhythm and flow in rap. When I concentrate a little I can certainly make out all the lyrics and usually enjoy them, but what I really want, before good lyrics, is good flow in the delivery of the lyrics. A lot of rappers sound angry, and spit out lyrics quickly and aggressively, and that can sound great. A lot of rappers are really chill sounding, and their lyrics seem to flow effortlessly. That's also great. As for beat making, that's a whole different story. Short, keyboard looped beats are, again, the stuff of crappy popular rap. There's even a song on RJD2's classic album Deadringer called F.H.H. with the following lines relating to both what I just said and something I said earlier (I've censored): (Note: The first line doesn't come out of nowhere and have no rhyme. The line before it rhymes, I just cut that part off in the quote. Same goes for the last line, which isn't left hanging in the song.) In any case, good rap albums combine artificially generated beats with samples, loops and all manner of other things (often including instruments, of course). Speaking for myself, I practically never listen to rap just for lyrical reasons. I *need* good music behind it or I can't stand listening, and yet there are tens of rap albums I have on regular rotation. Good sampling and beat making is as if not more difficult than good riff writing, for example. Basically, this goes back to something I said earlier in this thread. You don't dislike rap (yet). You dislike the rap you've heard. Judging from what you've said, you've only heard bad rap, and are more than justified for disliking that stuff. I did too. You wouldn't say all metal was bad if you'd only heard late-era Metallica, Korn and Cinderella, would you? |
You're exactly right. I was definitely generalizing. I definitely can't say that ALL rap is bad because that would be untruthful. I'm also not saying that none of them have talent...that would also be untrue. But like you said, the stuff that we get fed in the media, is not appealing for me personally.
My other point was that, just because rap isn't appealing for me, doesn't necessarily mean that it sucks. If I enjoy more listening to Metal, pop, or whatever, it's because either I like the sound, or I can relate to it better than rap. (I'm one of the few that listens to stuff because I like it and not because everyone else is listening to it) And with that, if I don't like rap, it doesn't make me racist...it just means that I don't like rap. Although, there are probably are some people who don't listen to certain musical genres because of racism...goes both ways.
I like a lot of beats and grooves that I have heard in some of the songs, but I just didn't dig the lyrics. But, as you stated, I probably haven't heard anything good. If you can recommend some "good" rap for listening, I'd be interested to hear it. Thanks for the comment.
