Need help with a school project- what do you think of rap?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2006-04-27 12:37am

And "My Humps" is so incomprehensibly bad, the first time I heard it I was staring gape-mouthed at the radio.

Lemme rub some salt in that wound; it originally wasn't going to be a single, but enough people actually thought it was a good song to where the record company was pressured to release it for radio play.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2006-04-27 12:42am

And while I'm at it, here's a pic of that bimbo Fergie wetting herself on stage:

Pick · Post by **Pick** » 2006-04-27 01:07am

Joe wrote:And while I'm at it, here's a pic of that bimbo Fergie wetting herself on stage:

Fucking. Gross.

Medic · Post by **Medic** » 2006-04-27 01:41am

Pick wrote:
Joe wrote:And while I'm at it, here's a pic of that bimbo Fergie wetting herself on stage:

Fucking. Gross.

How? Why? I think this is what I heard in the office the other day...

edit: and on the OP: my biggest problem with rap is that for whatever reason, everyone has a propensity to play it at shake-the-windows volume levels. 2nd, most bass lines in rap are simplistic and lacking, just fucking loud. 3rd, the lyrics are usually disgusting as someone pointed out.

On the other hand, some artists really do sing those lyrics like an instrument. Combined with all the drums and beats, I find that I can like a lot of rap on an individual basis, no different than rocke really for me.

Metatwaddle · Post by **Metatwaddle** » 2006-04-27 03:13am

I'm not a big fan of rap. I'm actually very picky about my music - I really prefer my music to have melody, harmony, rhythm and good lyrics, although I'll settle for three out of four (and of course I don't require lyrics for the classical music I listen to). Rap... well, rap only has one of those four. Also, my feminist side gets a little bit pissed at the constant references to bitches and hos and general disrespect towards women.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2006-04-27 04:51pm

The music i can take or leave, it's very formulatic (is that a word?). Just get an old 80's classic and talk very fast about how your life is so much better than the other guys.

What i positively loathe and detest about it is the culture that comes with it. A bunch of underfed over egoed wankers pulling on their dicks and claiming to be second coming, while "pimping" arround in their crappy ricer cars. I hate the fact that MTV has saw fit to champion this genre and force it down our throats. Turn on nearly any pop music channel and it'll be dominated by the likes of 50 Cent, Eminem, and the like. It's gotten so bad even so called "rock and Metal" channels like Kerrang! TV are having fucking Eminem hours.

There are rare occasions of rap being done well, Kanye West is a good example.

For the record, Male 25 from Northern Ireland.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2006-04-27 05:14pm

PFC Brungardt wrote:How? Why? I think this is what I heard in the office the other day...

How/why is it gross, or how/why did she piss herself? If it's the former, well, that's obvious, if it's the latter, well, a lot of women have weak bladders, and you can't fuck off to the toilets mid set. It's my understanding that Dave Grohl also suffers some fierce stage incontinence and has to wear a nappy/diaper.

Oh, and to "me too" the fucking My lumps song, I really really fundamentally hate it. It was on at least 3 times a shift for me when I worked in the Manchester Arndale centre. I would grind my teeth by the PSP peripherals while that piece of shit was on.. it was like "okay, so you're a slag...why are you singing about it? I hope you get cancer."

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2006-04-27 05:25pm

20, male UK.

I don't dislike rap music as a whole, i dislike Gansta rap For its egotism, its degredation of women and its simplicity.

Theres plenty of rap music out there which is good. Examples of which being, Jurassic 5 and Clouddead and CEX. These groups are excellent rap artists with actual musical talent. and not just an ability to speak about themselves with whilst rhyming fuck and duck.

DesertFly · Post by **DesertFly** » 2006-04-27 09:35pm

I like all music. Well, at least, there are representatives of every style of music that I enjoy listening to, and will in fact seek out and perhaps pay for. There are, of course, styles that I enjoy more than others, and styles that I have a harder time finding music that I enjoy. Among the styles that I have less fondness for are metal, country, and rap. I won't, and indeed it would be honest of me to come right out and say that I don't like rap. However, there is only a limited selection of it that I like, things that have more melody, harmony, and most important of all, creativity. I dislike formulaic music a great deal, which is part of the reason for my dislike of rap. Of course, the culture that it promotes also is horrific and incredibly depraved.

I'm male, American, 20.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2006-05-01 06:40am

I like 'old school' rap, you know, Ice-T, Ice-Cube, NWA and Public Enemy. Yes, it still had todays gratuitous glorification of the 'gangsta' culture, but not exclusively. They tried to push the message accross, while getting rich true, but without exploiting the genre to the point where it isn't even a form of expression anymore.

Ice-T's 'I'm Your Pusher', 'You Played Yourself' and 'The Tower' speak of real social concern and injustice. They try to warn the listeners of the dangers of the 'gangsta' culture without sounding preachy, or tootie-good-shoes, just being honest. Oh course then you have to balance this with some of his other songs 'O.G. Original Gangsta' and 'Money, Power, Women', but hey, no one's perfect.

Oh, and 'My Humps' fucking rules!

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-05-01 03:09pm

I hate, hate, hate rap. I have been known to walk out of stores that are playing it, especially if they're playing it loud.

Am I supposed to justify that opinion? Well, I suppose I could point out that I hate the idiotic bling-bling culture that it too often glorifies (the one thing I hate more than rap music is rap music videos). I could also point out that I expect to be able to sing along to music, and that normally involves a melody.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2006-05-01 03:53pm

'Rap' needs a 'c' on the front of it to show what it truly is.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2006-05-02 01:57pm

Qwerty, Can you like...post your report? I am actually interested in your conclusions. I'm not going to pick it apart or critique it or anything. Just sounds like a good read.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2006-05-02 04:41pm

Male, 21

I just think of it as another form of music and like all forms it has its good, its bad and its downright ugly. Unfortunately i'm hearing more and more of what i call downright ugly nowadays. It really falls flat on its face when the artist attempts to be 'real' yet when they get their first success the first thing they do is move out of 'the hood' and into a nice big mansion, kinda hard to treat them as 'real' then, not that many of the rappers are 'real' in the sense they think they are.

Shadow WarChief · Post by **Shadow WarChief** » 2006-05-02 05:43pm

Male 19.

I can listen to some of it without having my ears bleed, most of it however is pure shite.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2006-05-02 09:21pm

Chardok wrote:Qwerty, Can you like...post your report? I am actually interested in your conclusions. I'm not going to pick it apart or critique it or anything. Just sounds like a good read.

It's really not. I'll expound it into a proper essay, but in its present state it was a one-night job to meet the requirements.

my paper, which I wrote: Of the people surveyed, most did not have a problem with rap music as a musical format, although exceptions did exist. However, opinion was unanimous in the denouncement of the themes and lyrics expressed in the majority of rap music today. However, it is noteworthy that rock and roll's themes also took a while to hit the proper stride: compare "Maybellene" to "Yesterday", for instance.

I neglected to mention that dry lyrics about 50s teenage life are hardly comparable to gang life glorified in rap, although I do feel that way. I'll be sure to mention it in the essay version though.

Post by **Surlethe** » 2006-05-02 09:55pm

To be frank, my (albeit relatively uninformed) opinion is that rap which takes itself seriously is utter shit. I have no liking for brash, loud beats and people talking to those beats in badly-rhymed lyrics; it seems rap exists to annoy me, especially when pretentious assholes drive by who are playing the shit at full bore, and I can plainly hear it two cars away, with both sets of windows up, or on the other side of the street when I'm walking or biking.

EDIT: Male, 18, Indiana

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2006-05-02 11:38pm

Male 27 UK

I’m a part time French & Underground Hip-Hop club promoter & DJ so it’s fair to say I’m pretty damn keen on a some of the music that falls under the category of ‘rap’.

I can’t stand most of the rap that makes it into the charts and loathe ‘gangsta rap’ (atleast I hate the content of the rhymes & the general ‘gangsta’ culture which goes with the scene the beats are sometimes incredible) both for the malign influence it seems to have on some impressionable kids and also for the damage it’s done to the image of the rap genre, see Chardocks post on p1 for an example of this effect.

The stuff I’m into – eg. Akhenaton, NTM, Fonky Family, IAM, Freeman, Loco Locass, MC Solar, Saian Super Crew, Antilop SA, Keny Arkana, TTC, Disiz la Peste, Zebda, Le Peuple De L'Herbe, Mos Def, Guru, Danger Mouse, MFDoom, Eric B. & Rakim, Arsonists, RJD2, Roots Manuva, Big Daddy Kane, Jurassic 5, Aesop Rock, Self Scientific, De La Soul, DJ Honda, Herbaliser, Atmosphere, A Tribe Called Quest… Is to me atleast some of the most exciting and innovative music out there with both stuff that you need to sit down and listen to & stuff that goes down brilliantly in a club.

I’d also point out that we’ve never had any trouble at any of our nights which don’t attract any wannabe gangsta assholes because we don’t like or play gangsta rap, I also promote leftfield indie nights and whilst the hip-hop types dress worse they are similarly well behaved, massively better than punters at your average cheese night.

TheFeniX · Post by **TheFeniX** » 2006-05-03 02:02pm

Male - 24

I primarily listen to.... um... anything at this particular point in my life. It's funny because I've been listening to the Beatles more than anything lately (I stole my dad's greatest hits). But I also listen to Cusco, ES Posthumus, anything by John Williams, Hans Zimer, etc.

I was in high school once though. I can't stand what rap is now. It seems to be a race to see who can put out the most contrived shit the fastest. Just like most genres now: you get a bunch of crap, with one or two diamonds. I don't know what the diamond's are in the rap field though as I don't listen to rap or the radio. The only rap I hear is when I'm at a red-neck bar (I wish I was joking). There's nothing more comical than a bunch of 20-something in cowboy hats and boots, shaking their asses to Jay-Z (or whoever the fuck is singing now)

I miss "old school" rap. Back in the late/mid 90's you had Snoop Doggy Dog, Bone Thugs, and Coolie (among others). These guys did a little bit more than turn on a bass machine and talk into a mic about random shit. They told stories in a musical format, not just telling them in a rhyming fasion. If all my CDs hadn't been stolen 4 years ago, I would probably still pop in those CDs from time to time.

And yes: Gangsta's Paradise is probably the greatest rap song I've ever heard.

I'm confused about the attitude people are displaying towards rap though. I don't agree with all the violence these idiots advocate, but my parents would go on and on about how their parents claimed rock and roll was destroying society with its messages about drugs, fighting authority, and sex. They weren't as vocal about it, but I remember hearing stories about how "crap" from Kodachrome was "bleeped" out on the radio. As the conservatism continues to disappear, singers are going to get more vocal (no pun intended) about the messages they want to portray.

Daltonator · Post by **Daltonator** » 2006-05-04 12:00pm

Male, 25, US.

A lot of the mainstream rap these days is completely worthless in terms of musical originality or social discourse. It's all garbage that's been sampled from earlier, better songs. There is nearly nothing original or appealing about today's popular rap: it seems to be all about bling, 'ho's and cars. There is good stuff out there but I haven't heard it.

I like some of the more old-school stuff. Beastie Boys is a good example. Rap/rock fusion is good - see RunDMC doing "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith. "Baby Got Back". Back when it was fun, instead of this egotistical keeping-up-with-the-Joneses shit.

Dolla dolla bill, y'all.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2006-05-04 12:17pm

Male, 31, US

For me, Current rap is just garbage. Literally rehashs of the same theme, mostly overused beats and sadly...resampling of older better music to cover up their lack of anything new. Current rap of the mainstream seems to consist of bitches, ho's taking on the man, niggers and the general glorification of the hood life.

The older material at least tried, didn't enjoy rap, but I will say they tried. It at least had a beat, and comprehensible lyrics that wasn't whatever made up word they heard off the street.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-05-04 08:49pm

TheFeniX wrote:I'm confused about the attitude people are displaying towards rap though. I don't agree with all the violence these idiots advocate, but my parents would go on and on about how their parents claimed rock and roll was destroying society with its messages about drugs, fighting authority, and sex. They weren't as vocal about it, but I remember hearing stories about how "crap" from Kodachrome was "bleeped" out on the radio. As the conservatism continues to disappear, singers are going to get more vocal (no pun intended) about the messages they want to portray.

Nonsense. Critics were very vocal during the early rock era; many bands had to censor themselves when performing in certain venues as a result.

But the fact is that singing about sex, partying, and contempt for authority is hardly scandalous; teens have been known for doing all those things for a very long time, and most people agree that they will always do those things. That's not quite the same thing as glorifying the gangsta lifestyle.

Mr. T · Post by **Mr. T** » 2006-05-04 09:52pm

Male, 18, Canada

I like rap, but only some types/artists.

By far my two favourite rappers are Ludacris and Eminem. These two artists I think exemplify the best parts of rap as I shall explain. Both of them don't always take themselves very seriously and alot of their songs are genuinely fun and have an almost surreal comic-book feel to the lyrics (Ludacris's "Get Back" comes immediately to mind). Moreover they both use extremely clever and witty rhymes that are genuinely funny and perhaps most importantly their songs actaully tell a story alot of the time instead of other rappers where its "I smacked my ho" one second and then "I shot the bank teller dead" the other (note to rappers: We want to know more about the ho aside from the fact that you smacked her). Moreover very good rappers like Eminem can use lyrics to give you a sense of how they felt about a certain event in their lives and because some rappers can make the lyrics so expressive, the listener can often relate to the particular emotion even if they did not have the same experience. I'll also admit that their is also a certain "coolness" to the shock value of some of the lyrics in the sense that much of it is definitely very controversial, but controversy in music is always a good thing.

While it's true that Eminem/D12 or Ludacris can be violent, the violence is often clearly so cartoonish and exaggerated in nature that it's unlikely even the dumbest kid on the block wouldn't understand it is unrealistic.

Now that being said, their are artists that I do dislike and they can be summed up primarily as the 50 Cent type of rapper. 50 cent is probably a very good case study of what gangsta rap is (contrary to popular belief Eminem is not a gangsta rapper). I would be lying if I said I hated every single one of his songs, but alot of his songs simply aren't very good as they don't meet the qualifications for a "good" rap song that I outlined above. His rhymes are often uncreative and just plain bad, when he tries to be funny he doesn't succeed (in my opinion at least), and he rely's far too heavily on his life as a drug dealer and particularely his gun shot wounds. I really don't care that he was a drug dealer and I don't think that getting shot makes you cool as some of his fans believe (wouldn't a better gangster umm....not get shot

) which is why I don't like him as an artist, and this reasoning can be applied to alot of gangsta rappers. The one redeeming factor about 50 Cent is that his songs often have pretty good beats to them (Incidentally alot of those beats are made by Eminem and his mentor Dr. Dre which would explain why they don't suck).

Above all what I dislike about rap are a very visible minority of fans. Everyone on this forum knows what I'm talking about, and I dislike these wannabe gangsta's for the same reason alot of you do. However I think these fans give other rap fans such as myself a bad name and they can't be assumed to constitute the "average hip-hop fan". And at the very least...they're better than the Emo kids

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2006-05-05 05:30am

dates back to allen ginsberg, just like heavy metal...

to be exact, as a male 36 year old, in the US, I know that rap was really derrived from the influence of Jazz music on the early beat poets, speaking the words of the poems to the smoky muse of the jazz tempo.. the harlem rennisance and paris being strong inluences, it graduated with bob dylan, in the nineteen sixties, becomeing a powerful musical force, influencing the screaming lyrics of the punk rebellion, convexing into the soul of eighties where it has been known as Rap, it is however the same common pulse, the same poetry and blood. Ludacris, and Ice T should thank ginsberg and the BEAT-nics , the godfathers of rap.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2006-05-05 09:08am

Rap isn't music. Any idiot can talk over a drum beat.