Rap Music..

[71Charger500]

These are entire CDs I really like, though they may be too hard for you.   The LYRICS are expressions of what it's like to live in an oppressed community,.. and the "Beats" tend to be made in the digital medium rather then on a traditional "insterment".
If you can't relate that's fine, but if your a "Hater" as many folks replying to this thread obviously are, then that's your problem.  

    A lot of rap music is like that, and people don't like it because its something different than what they are used to.
Don't get me wrong, I can't stand most of the rap I hear, but that is main stream top 40 shit, if you want to hear real talent you have to look under the surface.  Good rap hasn't been played often on the radio since the 80's.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Yo, our brains are out to lunch
We buy our jewelry by the bunch
We can't sing or even play
Let's make a record anyway.

Then I guess you need me to remind you about the Roots, who have great players for every instrument in their combo, or the Gorillaz, with they're jazz flavored new CD with great bass lines and grooves.  Or all the funk artisits that create great songs that involve rapping.

and I don't need to remind you about the other 99% of the acts, right?

Thats incredible.  You hate rap  but you've heard 99% of the artists?  Impressive.

No, what is incredible is that you think by giving a couple examples of rap acts that actually play instruments or acts that are not rap acts but may occasionally use rap in a song, you think you're making a viable argument that somehow supports the notion that rap artists are good musicians.

Here's a free clue for you: Try dealing with the rule rather than the exception.

[Brock Samson]

 "Good Musicians" i don't think that's what this argument, err,.. discussion is about..
what exactly pisses you off about Rap then?..

[nh_mopar_fan]

"Good Musicians" i don't think that's what this argument, err,.. discussion is about..
what exactly pisses you off about Rap then?..

It seems to be for him. He's responding to my original response.

Frankly, I think 99% of it just is unlistenable. I'm with whoever said that it was as bad as the twangy country stuff.

[Ponch ®]

All this gangsta stuff is useless though. It just gets young people used to the idea of violence and crime.
(spoken like a true dad)

Here are some gangsta' lyrics:

"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"

"First time I shot her, I shot her in the side
hard to watch her suffer, but with the second shot she died"

"I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down"

1st one: similar to hung my head, Johnny Cash

2nd one: similar to millions of heavy metal songs and several sublime songs.

3rd one:  similar to Hey Joe, Jimi Hendrix made it famous but I don't know who originally wrote it.

Point is, these things are brought up in millions of songs, not just "gangsta" rap.

Here are some gangsta' lyrics:

"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"

"First time I shot her, I shot her in the side
hard to watch her suffer, but with the second shot she died"

"I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down"

  Hmm ....... Sounds like a very bad rip off of I shot the Sheriff......

WRONG! They are not similar to Johnny Cash songs. They ARE Johnny Cash songs.


No one ever accused him of inciting the youth towards violence or called his music crap because of it...

[Andrew]

Thats because Johnny Cash actually had talent.

[Ponch ®]

Thats because Johnny Cash actually had talent.

and rappers dont?

why. explain your rationale and I expect specific examples.


just like with any genre of music, for every talented artist, there are thousands of imitators and other talentless hacks.

[RD]

you know when i was a teenager i used to listen to "2 Live Crew" "too short" "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince" "Run DMC" "The Beastie Boys" and the list goes on.  Some of those lyrics are still in my memory like the "hey we want some pu55y" song by 2 Live Crew (I can recite it, but not here).  Rap used to be cool by the people my age when we were teens, but now it is just (c)rap.  I don't understand that.  I think there are other societal pushes and pulls that are causing a negative stigma to be placed upon all rap, which is sad.

For what its worth, the only really explicit rap that is done out there is made successful by the teens of parents who view it as off limits.  The teens and most adolescents stream to this music for its rebellious nature and anti-social sentiments.  Its just another means of antidisestablishmentarianism or nonconformity.  Then there are those who listen to it for its true merit.

Granted there are rap songs out there that have no merit, just like there are rock, country, jazz, "place genre here" that has the same instances.  Either way, rap music is lyrical poetry put to a musical rhythm or beat just like any other song.  To each their own.

[Afflyer]

Did someone mention the Blue Man Group?!   Now THERE is some talent!!!!!

Those guys are AWESOME!!!!

[Brock Samson]

i wonder if any of you folks lumping all rap togeather have actually listened to any Rap?.. not just heard it played but investigated an album,..
er,.. CD sorry,.. force of habit.. give an old Jedi a break allright?.. damn...
If dis-enfranchised inner-city youth of any race need to express their anger of being excluded from your country club don't be hatin them for it, after all "Stars" from other styles of music have some violent and sexist history too.

[Andrew]

Thats because Johnny Cash actually had talent.

and rappers dont?

why. explain your rationale and I expect specific examples.


just like with any genre of music, for every talented artist, there are thousands of imitators and other talentless hacks.

Rap is basically talking to a beat (I know what your about to say "no it isnt", yes it is, otherwise its called R&B) and talking to a beat requires no musical talent.

In order to become a (modern) rapper, you need to be able to do these things.

Count to 4, repeat.
Speak quickly.
Have something that to rap about, if you dont you can just make one up.


Yo Yo, I wenty to see ma ho, but she shot me down and said no.
So I pulled out my uzi and pop dat bitch one right there, just to show how much we care.
But some hater called the filth, but I didnt wanna kill her cos she was a MILF.
So I hop in ma new charger, cos if tha cops get me Il have to watch my back in da shower.
They roll round tha corner with the lights and and sirens blazin, but the sight they saw was fuckin amazin.
Ma blinged out charger with a 5.9 litre HEMI had overheated cos it was too heavy.
As da flames shot up into the sky, da fuzz came and got me, and maced me in da eye.
So now im in prison tell in the story of my oppression.


Im a gangsta rapper now, give me money.

[Ponch ®]

Rap is basically talking to a beat

ok, so "A boy named sue" and "Uneasy Rider" are crap as well.

[bull]

Let's argue about what's better, red or blue. Or which football team is best, or which brand of jeans, or Whirlpool or Fridgidair, or Home Depot or Lowe's. Who gives a crap. It's all opinion.

[Andrew]

red or blue.

It seems even red and blue have changed.
Im not sure if this is how it is in other places, but a few weeks ago on the news they did a bit on teenage gangs, and groups of people had called themselvs "crips" and "bloods" and they interviewed this 13 year old, and asked him what being a crip or blood ment to him, and he began talking about the colors red and blue, and basically whaty he said is its all about the colors, and how they hated the other group because they liked the other color better.

I found this really funny, there are groups of people out there willing to take a beating because of a color.

[Andrew]

Yo Yo, I wenty to see ma ho, but she shot me down and said no.
So I pulled out my uzi and pop dat bitch one right there, just to show how much we care.

ha ha, I guess you could call that rap a "hoedown"

[4402tuff4u]

That's what is great about being an American and living here - "choice and ingenuity". If you don't like the sound of it, switch the station. If you don't like what you see, switch channel. If you don't like how it taste's - don't eat it. Eat something else. Simple premise.  

[71Charger500]

Thats because Johnny Cash actually had talent.

and rappers dont?

why. explain your rationale and I expect specific examples.


just like with any genre of music, for every talented artist, there are thousands of imitators and other talentless hacks.

Rap is basically talking to a beat (I know what your about to say "no it isnt", yes it is, otherwise its called R&B) and talking to a beat requires no musical talent.

In order to become a (modern) rapper, you need to be able to do these things.

Count to 4, repeat.
Speak quickly.
Have something that to rap about, if you dont you can just make one up.


Yo Yo, I wenty to see ma ho, but she shot me down and said no.
So I pulled out my uzi and pop dat bitch one right there, just to show how much we care.
But some hater called the filth, but I didnt wanna kill her cos she was a MILF.
So I hop in ma new charger, cos if tha cops get me Il have to watch my back in da shower.
They roll round tha corner with the lights and and sirens blazin, but the sight they saw was fuckin amazin.
Ma blinged out charger with a 5.9 litre HEMI had overheated cos it was too heavy.
As da flames shot up into the sky, da fuzz came and got me, and maced me in da eye.
So now im in prison tell in the story of my oppression.


Im a gangsta rapper now, give me money.

Well if you were good at writing lyrics, you'd be a good rapper.  Also, R&B has nothing to do with rap.  It actually stands for rhythym and blues, and it hasnt actually been played on modern radio for quite some time.

Rap is all about lyrics.  Listen to Tupac.  He writes great stuff.  I can't say I can relate, cause I haven't been through half of what he has.
But I can respect his music and try and see where hes coming from, and enjoy a good groove all at the same time.

[71Charger500]

Yo, our brains are out to lunch
We buy our jewelry by the bunch
We can't sing or even play
Let's make a record anyway.

Then I guess you need me to remind you about the Roots, who have great players for every instrument in their combo, or the Gorillaz, with they're jazz flavored new CD with great bass lines and grooves.   Or all the funk artisits that create great songs that involve rapping.

and I don't need to remind you about the other 99% of the acts, right?

Thats incredible.   You hate rap   but you've heard 99% of the artists?   Impressive.

No, what is incredible is that you think by giving a couple examples of rap acts that actually play instruments or acts that are not rap acts but may occasionally use rap in a song, you think you're making a viable argument that somehow supports the notion that rap artists are good musicians.

Here's a free clue for you: Try dealing with the rule rather than the exception.

But thats the whole point:  There is no rule.  Some rappers are good musicians and some arent.  Some rock musicians are good, the majority arent.  The argument was that rap takes no talent.  To do it well it does.  If you're close-minded enough to think that no rappers are talented, or that all rap sucks, as the topic states, then you are very ignorant and I pity you.

[SeattleCharger]

We are talking about this WHY??     

[nh_mopar_fan]

Yo, our brains are out to lunch
We buy our jewelry by the bunch
We can't sing or even play
Let's make a record anyway.

Then I guess you need me to remind you about the Roots, who have great players for every instrument in their combo, or the Gorillaz, with they're jazz flavored new CD with great bass lines and grooves.  Or all the funk artisits that create great songs that involve rapping.

and I don't need to remind you about the other 99% of the acts, right?

Thats incredible.  You hate rap  but you've heard 99% of the artists?  Impressive.

No, what is incredible is that you think by giving a couple examples of rap acts that actually play instruments or acts that are not rap acts but may occasionally use rap in a song, you think you're making a viable argument that somehow supports the notion that rap artists are good musicians.

Here's a free clue for you: Try dealing with the rule rather than the exception.

But thats the whole point:  There is no rule.  Some rappers are good musicians and some arent.  Some rock musicians are good, the majority arent.  The argument was that rap takes no talent.  To do it well it does.  If you're close-minded enough to think that no rappers are talented, or that all rap sucks, as the topic states, then you are very ignorant and I pity you.

Most rappers don't play an instrument, do they? I said most, not some, most. Sure there are plenty of rock musicians that can't play. But, they are playing. Oh, and a turntable isn't an instrument.

You pity me? BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

How *will*  I sleep tonight?

[71Charger500]

Yo, our brains are out to lunch
We buy our jewelry by the bunch
We can't sing or even play
Let's make a record anyway.

Then I guess you need me to remind you about the Roots, who have great players for every instrument in their combo, or the Gorillaz, with they're jazz flavored new CD with great bass lines and grooves.   Or all the funk artisits that create great songs that involve rapping.

and I don't need to remind you about the other 99% of the acts, right?

Thats incredible.   You hate rap   but you've heard 99% of the artists?   Impressive.

No, what is incredible is that you think by giving a couple examples of rap acts that actually play instruments or acts that are not rap acts but may occasionally use rap in a song, you think you're making a viable argument that somehow supports the notion that rap artists are good musicians.

Here's a free clue for you: Try dealing with the rule rather than the exception.

But thats the whole point:   There is no rule.   Some rappers are good musicians and some arent.   Some rock musicians are good, the majority arent.   The argument was that rap takes no talent.   To do it well it does.   If you're close-minded enough to think that no rappers are talented, or that all rap sucks, as the topic states, then you are very ignorant and I pity you.

Most rappers don't play an instrument, do they? I said most, not some, most. Sure there are plenty of rock musicians that can't play. But, they are playing. Oh, and a turntable isn't an instrument.

You pity me? BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

How *will*   I sleep tonight?

Lets see you make a turntable sound decent.  Its alot harder than it seems.  Also, just because you don't play an instrument doesn't mean you don't have talent.  The statement "I pity you" wasn't supposed to effect you, but you are being ignorant.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Passing gas to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner is harder than it seems as well. That doesn't make your colon an instrument.

Give it a rest.

It did "effect" me.

I did laugh, didn't I?

[71Charger500]

Passing gas to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner is harder than it seems as well. That doesn't make your colon an instrument.

Give it a rest.

It did "effect" me.

I did laugh, didn't I?

Yes it is, but it has nothing to do with music.  You don't have to play an instrument to be musically talented, thats the whole point.

[Ponch ®]

Most rappers don't play an instrument, do they? I said most, not some, most. Sure there are plenty of rock musicians that can't play. But, they are playing. Oh, and a turntable isn't an instrument.

You pity me? BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

How *will*  I sleep tonight?

and I would say that the fact that most rappers dont play an instrument yet still manage to make some pretty good music says a lot about their talent. The early rappers and DJ's weren't spoiled white kids who could simply ask mom and daddy for a guitar (or got $10K for christmas from them )- so they made do with what they had: turntables and a microphone.

Sure, a lot of the music is sampled and isn't really theirs - but then again we might never have heard of Elvis  had it not been for his cover of "Hound Dog", the Beatles and the Stones made a career out of ripping off Chuck Berry, and Led Zeppelin's first 3 albums sound like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters tribute records, Aerosmith ripped off Led Zeppelin, and so on a so forth.

[Brock Samson]

  Hey you guys, I've spent time in the studio with rappers and their engineers and you'd be suprised the amount of technical musicality that's on those albums. Stop and really listen to some Mac Dre or sumpthin. or if you can't stand to listen a pissed off Brother, check out DJ Cam. That shouldn't offend you too much and you may hear some really sophisticated technical mastery, the equal of any guitar player.