Should rap be considered music? Yes, or no and why??

[dragon wench]

[QUOTE=Caden]Maybe if you people didn't get so worked up everytime someone disagreed with the way you think, your opinions would be respected more easily.[/QUOTE]
I don't know exactly who you are referring to here, but if your comment is in response to Mah, you are way off base. He is easily one of the most reasonable and level-headed people on this forum.

I won't dispute that on occasion people here can become a little touchy, a little too quickly, but Mah is certainly not one of those individuals!

I would suggest you spend a little time getting to know people here before making such sweeping generalisations

[Dottie]

I think it is telling that while 13 people have voted "no" the arguments for that are so far limited to "I don't like it" and "it contain words"

Speaks loads about the human mind imo.

---

Regarding definitions: You could of course invent a personal language but what would be the point of that? It wont make you smarter, just more alone.

I would also like to point out that while you might like your personal language very much GB is an english speaking board.

[Cuchulain82]

[QUOTE=Caden]Maybe if you people didn't get so worked up everytime someone disagreed with the way you think, your opinions would be respected more easily.[/QUOTE]
Maybe if you used sound logic and responded thoughtfully respect would be more prevalent all around.

[giles337]

[QUOTE=Caden]Maybe if you people didn't get so worked up everytime someone disagreed with the way you think, your opinions would be respected more easily.[/QUOTE]

I don't think there is a lack of ease, for anyone here except maybe you, at respecting Mah's opinions...

[fable]

Let's give Caden the benefit of the doubt: his remarks are too vague, and could just as easily be referring to people who argued that rap wasn't music, as people who felt it was.

Caden, could you explain a bit?

[jopperm2]

[QUOTE=C Elegans]I don't understand this. How do you mean your heritage (or do you mean anyones heritage?) is (or is not) related to the question whether rap can be defined as music or not?
[/QUOTE]

The same way some people regard a new Florida law (that if we can hear your car stereo from 25 feet away you get fined) as rascist.

Of course rap is music. Some of it is great some of it is bad, like most forms of music(and any art really).

[Cuchulain82]

[QUOTE=jopperm2]The same way some people regard a new Florida law (that if we can hear your car stereo from 25 feet away you get fined) as rascist.[/QUOTE]
Jopp, doesn't that put a whole bunch of country music, good-ol-boy types at risk too? They play Country music pretty loud too, in my experience.

[The Great Uncle]

Rap itself = ****y
The music/harmonies of some rap = ok
The lyrics of some = quite good
The "beat" = sometimes ok
Rap, however = talkking fast and bein mongy...

[Chanak]

[QUOTE=Cuchulain82]Jopp, doesn't that put a whole bunch of country music, good-ol-boy types at risk too? They play Country music pretty loud too, in my experience.[/QUOTE]

This is a good point. I believe the problem is with overly loud music, which could be any kind of music. I'm not commenting on my support nor opposition of such a law - however, on the surface, it doesn't appear to be targeting anything in particular beyond loud music.

[Mulligan]

** Rap -Music, is about

** putting women,

** in passive positions,

** On Mtv. On Mtv, On Mtv...

Anybody remember this tune, from the CONSOLIDATED ??

Says a lot about rap, but modern rap & hip'hop has evolved, into caring for the world the same way STING does..Stupid poll, really...

Mulligan....

[Gauda]

[QUOTE=The Great Uncle]Rap itself = ****y
The music/harmonies of some rap = ok
The lyrics of some = quite good
The "beat" = sometimes ok
Rap, however = talkking fast and bein mongy...[/QUOTE]

First of, rap is absolutely music, and you can't really argue intellectually that it isn't. It's just as much music as rock, classic music, jazz, blues, metal, country and so on and so on, is. Everything that has a certain sense of rhythm can be defined as music, no whetever it is good music is another topic of discussion, but it's still music.

However, you really mean that the majority of lyrics in the hip-hop genre is 'quite good'? By what I've seen, the hip-hop lyrics disgust me, and is an insult to other greater writers. First of, they show a vocabulary that's basicly limited to some vague synonyms to the female sex, the female genitalia, ethnic black americans, and the environment they live in. Secondly, the content of the lyrics is pretty much limited to the same thing. And thirdly, they have no sense, what so ever of anything artistic, pretty much all the rhymes are put there, just to get a rhythm cliché, and doesn't really have a purpose.

Well, that's my two cents about the hip hop lyrics

[Lestat]

[QUOTE=Gauda]However, you really mean that the majority of lyrics in the hip-hop genre is 'quite good'? By what I've seen, the hip-hop lyrics disgust me, and is an insult to other greater writers. First of, they show a vocabulary that's basicly limited to some vague synonyms to the female sex, the female genitalia, ethnic black americans, and the environment they live in. Secondly, the content of the lyrics is pretty much limited to the same thing. And thirdly, they have no sense, what so ever of anything artistic, pretty much all the rhymes are put there, just to get a rhythm cliché, and doesn't really have a purpose.

Well, that's my two cents about the hip hop lyrics [/QUOTE]

Mulligan never stated that the majority of the lyrics is quite good, look what you quoted: "the lyrics of some = quite good" (my italics)

I agree with Mulligan, there are some good rap lyrics out there even if a lot of rap-lyrics are clearly MCP rubbish or overly raunchy. And even then some of those have at least the merit to be funny (I'm thinking of "Just don't bite it" by NWA for instance). And what's wrong about making music about your environment? That's what lots of socially engaged music does. Sounds better than another corny rock-ballad about unattainable love.

Anyway meaning is a highly overrated thing in music.

[Robnark]

[QUOTE=Lestat]Anyway meaning is a highly overrated thing in music.[/QUOTE]
word. I've been listening to some old Beck albums I've got, and it's gibberish. but it's still damn good music.

@Gauda: you make some reasonable generalisations about the hugely successful rappers, I admit. but I would suggest that a lot of it is simply playing up to the image that they're trying to project, just like all those godawful pop groups and their mass-produced ballads for hormonal youngsters.

I'm a big hip-hop fan, but I'm picky. and I'm certainly less than thrilled that the majority of hyper-successful modern rappers choose to act like phallocentric ****wits. but I choose to listen to artists with something to say (I haven't heard a politician come out with anything even approaching the insight that I've heard in a couple of tracks about gun crime), a sense of humor (The Adventures of the Lactating Man by Infinite Livez, for example) or, shock horror, a sense of something artistic (I can think of a some tracks that reference Krzysztof Kieslowski and William Burroughs, for a start).

and many more that just sound good, dammit.

so, if you're willing to ignore the poseurs that tend to get the publicity, you'll find plenty of artists that don't rely on cliché, but I can understand that a lot of people are put off. and it does a huge disservice to an incredibly diverse global genre.

[Chanak]

[QUOTE=Robnark]word. I've been listening to some old Beck albums I've got, and it's gibberish. but it's still damn good music.[/QUOTE]

Beck is excellent. Indeed, his lyrics are a twisting, turning ride - perhaps one can view his writing like Haiku. In any case, just listening to a few of his tunes years ago turned me into a fan of his music.