[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally posted by Todd R How is it that a guy who can't sing, can't play an instrument, and samples other people's work be called a musician?

Well lauryn hill is considered hip hop and her newest album is totally not about any of that, and her voice is amazing.

I guess you may just be refering to rappers, but they are not musicians, they are rappers/producers/lyricists, its different hehe.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly It's not "simply" producing a note or sample that makes someone a musician, it's the ability to arrange them into music.

Exactly. That's why most of these "rappers" are not musicians.

 

[huangwan]

Well, I like hip hop. And have for a long long time. I probably got my first taste back in '71 or so when a group called the 'Last Poets' came to my attention as a teenager. It was poetry with great drumming and instrumentals in the background. And it was about me! And that indeed was very rare. It made me think about how things had come to be. It was great to dance to, and it presented a totally different perspective of black history - they were kind of radical. It made me sit up Friday nights 'til 2:00 a.m trying to tune in 1 hour black radio shows in NY, DC, Nashville to hear more. And it was rare that I did, 'cause this kind of music wasn't even mainstream black...

And in 1973 when Gil Scott-Heron went commercial and released 'Winter in America' I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. This is a plug

- if you haven't heard him, please try him. It's poetry to great music.

You guys are on the right track, I just thought I'd add a little early perspective to the tryst. I agree with the 'trash' and 'hype' threads. It's the same way in all genres. But like all genres, there's usually music available for whatever mood you happen to be in. Sometimes I like social commentary and sometimes I just need a good beat. Sometimes that beat needs to have real instruments, sometimes a couple of synthesizers and drums are fine. Sometimes I enjoy something new with an old R&B sample.

Anyway, yeah, hip hop is music that has become generally accepted and therefore expanded in all directions. This discussion reminds me of the same stuff they asked about jazz(no, I wasn't around then) and rock and roll. It seems that if the question is being asked . . . it's actually already answered.

**Disclaimer** I do not speak for all black people. Just me.

Just saw this your experiences mirror mine. I met Umar Bin Hassan at a show he was doing in SD and had the opportunity to talk with him for a bit. I had one question that had been bugging me for years, What is up with "Gash Man". It turns out it was about the crazy guy that lived upstairs from him in NY. We had a laugh he seemed like a genuinely cool guy.