Poll: Rap, Because its about gangsters and hoes.

Sygmist

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Jul 15, 2010
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Wait...What said:
Vodka Dude said:
"My addiction makes me piss on floors, and go home with these scabby whores. I took too much LSD ..."

Yeah, Rehab is really deep.

Rap doesn't appeal to me. It's all about the same shit, drugs, whores, violence...

I'm sure some exists that isn't, I have yet to find it, and I don't really care to.
Why does something have to be deep to be good? Most rap i've heard is just about having fun and a good time. Although the point of rap is to dance to so i think lyrics kind of come second its the rhythm and beat that comes first :)
That's why I don't like most hip-hop. The only rapper that I've really enjoyed (and I mean really enjoyed) was Asheru and the Unspoken Heard. They've got some pretty good poetry, and actually have shit to say.
 

TehCookie

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Sep 16, 2008
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The majority is about the gangsta life and I hate any songs like that. Also I'm really picky when it comes down to hating rap musically, if the rap song has more than drums I'm usually fine with it. My brother likes rap and to prove there were some good rap songs he showed me Tupac and even though I liked the lyrics to the songs, I didn't like the composition. Add a piano or something something and I might change my mind.

I have a great hatred of drums from band class. I sat right in front of the snare drums and the drummers only knew how to play triple forte.
 

De Ronneman

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Dec 30, 2009
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Oldskool is truely better. Today everything is about getting rich or die trying. When it was still about equality and pain of being trodden on by society, it was absolutely awesome, because it told you something.

Same reason I like any kind of music: it shows emotion. So pretty much anything non-pop these days...

What happened to the days where the stones could still score number one hits, when a newcomer had to work to get on top, in stead of banging a producer and spending millions on marketing? This is not solely rap, but more musicindustry as a whole though.
 

KingGolem

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Jun 16, 2009
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My reasons for disliking rap are mainly two-fold:

One, it tends to support a backwards, barbarian culture that plagues our society, i.e. the "gangster" culture. Their disrespect for authority, promotion of drugs, violence, and prostitution, and even the damn fool way they dress make this culture worthy of condemnation, not celebration.

Two, it's just not a very good form of music. The general lack of musical variation through just repeating the same few notes ad nauseum makes it very difficult to write a rap song that I can bear to listen to.

Having said that, it is not impossible to make decent or even good rap. I've heard some of Will Smith's work, and that's pretty good. The Black Eyed Peas are technically rap as well (right? I suck at music genres...) and their work is fantastic and a joy to listen to.
 

Iron Mal

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Jun 4, 2008
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I'm aware that there are some talented rappers out there who do write meaningful songs and are skilled musicians, but we should all also be aware that these individuals are a minority.

I appologise if anyone takes offence to this next point but I can only think of one mainstream white rapper, just one.

And this really shows whenever I see white people who listen to/enjoy rap, most of who are chavs. If you are to believe what they say then popular past times amongst them are: getting absolutely wasted, smoking spliffs, going to raves and generally acting like tossers.

Again, I know that not all people who listen to rap are like this, but a greater majority are. When the people representing you are chavs who talk like they're honourary members of the Crips, then don't be too suprised that I'm not too eager about joining the rap collective.
 
Apr 5, 2009
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I don't like rap because the only talented person involved is the writer of the song. I've seen the so called 'old school' rap, when it was about deeper things and such, but a good 98% of it was still just talking to a beat.
 

Sunstrike

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Mar 29, 2010
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For me, the reason I don't like rap is a combination of the whole style/idealogy common to most of the rap I've seen (aka the gangsters thing) but MUCH more importantly, it just doesn't have enough musical complexity to hold my attention.

See this is coming from a lover of jazz and classical music, where it's not uncommon to have a base supporting melody, supporting harmony, main melody, counter melody, AND a counter counter melody, all of which being orchestrated to a variety of instruments and timbres. Every rap song I've ever heard only has a main melody with supporting baseline. It's just boring.

As an example of the good and interesting music I'm talking about. Make sure to listen through the whole thing, as the 2 or so minute introduction is much simpler than the rest of the piece.Unfortunately as it's youtube, this is not NEARLY the best version of this song that I've heard, but it's good enough to get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYF69nHzywI
 

Tourette

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Dec 19, 2009
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Rap gets a bad rap (excuse the pun) sometimes due to the stereotypes set by Gangsta Rap but there is a lot of meaningfull and intellectual Rap out there and yes, some of it is made by Gangsta Rappers.
 

Arcanite Ripper

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May 1, 2010
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Oh dear, this again?

Ahem...

-The shittiest turd is usually the one most noticeable.
-Most will sink to anything to get paid.
-The rebellious attitude that spawned such masterful poetry as Public Enemy or Nas has died
out with the opprotunic growth constantly expanding in the neighbourhoods that they (and our
new rappers) are living in. Most music is spoken from the heart's consent, after all.
-You can't argue with a winning forumla, since the only way that this new generation can spread
is with an audience.

All it ever will be is a sign of the times;
All rhymes that are mine are made to trade for that dime.
It's a sickness, but get-with-this since i'm getting paid,
My style and my rules is how I'll get made.

-A.R

Oh...It saddens me too on how these are the lyrics we once may have hold dear are reduced to, though the elitest-oldbeat of rap demographic who still can only support when the genre was evolving is still the minority in these debates. All I wish is that it wasn't taken so seriously on either side of the gate. They're just rhymes after all.

To bring us back to those times however (or introduce them for whoever's curious and forgiving enough,) I can share with you some of my favourite choices that still lurk around.

From what I remember, they're still safe-for-work enough.


Of course this doesn't make my name ironic...
 

Fetzenfisch

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Sep 11, 2009
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I just dont think looping stolen bits of music and talk fast into a microphone is music.
plus most people who like rap create such a deep dislike in me that i can nothing but look down on this subculture
 

Serafis

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Mar 24, 2010
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There are still some "conscience" rappers around that actually contribute something useful.

Also, good rap does have a lot of musical qualities to it, such as the use of rhythm and rhyme. The only thing good rap generally lacks is the sense of non-monotonistic melody, and even then it is only because the listener pervcieves this to be the case.

Here, a whole list of artists that use rap to do something useful on wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscious_hip_hop
 

Najos

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Aug 4, 2008
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Examples of rap/hip-hop that aren't all about bitches and hoes. Some of it actually has real meaning. Some of it is also pretty old, but I don't really pay much attention to music anymore.

Edit: Actually listen to Guns Are Drawn. Yes, it is about guns and fighting, but it isn't about the normal gang wars or anything.

 

blank0000

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Oct 3, 2007
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I saw a documentary on rap onces. IT brought up a good point about the genera having potential, but never really evolving.

I see rap as a good tool to mix with other music. Rapping seems like a lyrical style that should be applied to a song, maybe not the entire theme of it. For example, the Gorillaz use rap and hip hop all the time in their songs, but they mix it up and bring in new elements as well. Its a shame that Rapping is often associated with very violent themes, because it can be used to create some very interesting songs.
 

the Dept of Science

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Nov 9, 2009
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In 90% of cases where I see people hating on rap, they display at least some degree of ignorance, generally crass stereotyping.

First of all, different genres need to be assessed on different criteria. Saying that rap is bad singing and is based around repetative beats is not only wrong, but missing the point. It would be like criticising Mozart for his lack of guitar solos. Good rap is all about flow, complex rhymes, clever word play and storytelling ability. If you think that DJing is easy or boring, then look at this documentary on why you are wrong. Oh yea, and rap groups are increasingly using live bands. These guys currently work as Jimmy Fallon's house band.

Secondly, I realise, that songs primarily concerned with the issues of young, lower class black men are unlikely to strike a chord with those who frequent a videogames forum. I mean that would be like expecting Jay Z to be a big fan of Grizzly Bear. Oh wait. You can enjoy a peice of music regardless of subject matter. I don't see anyone complaining about, say, Nick Cave writing an a whole album of songs about murdering people, Big Black writing an album called "Songs About Fucking" or the Velvet Underground writing songs about taking lots of drugs. But somehow, when its in a rap song, it becomes offensive. I personally find, for example, NWA quite a refreshing change from all the angsty white guy music I listen to.
Oh yea, and I almost feel it goes without saying that nowhere near as much rap as most people claim is about "guns, bitches and bling", at least not the sort of rap that anyone actually into rap listens to. The first rap group that I got into (I'll admit, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, I would been on the side of the majority of this thread) was De La Soul, as their whole aestetic was the complete opposite to what I learned to expect from rap, with a jazz influenced sound and raps about everything from awkward first loves to surreal walks in the park, talking to animals. I sortof started at the left-field and worked my way right.
To summarise, there is a large amount of rap that is not about "guns, bitches and bling" and even if it is, that doesn't mean that its necessarily bad.

Thirdly, Sturgeons Law. Yea, there is a fairly large amount of rap which is shit. On the other hand, there is a large amount of any genre which is shit. Judging rap by 50 Cent is like judging fantasy novels by Stephanie Mayer, they may be popular (although, I don't really know anyone that listens to 50 Cent any more), but don't let them taint the genre as a whole.

Oh, and lastly, can people please stop saying that all good rap was released in the 80s/90s and since then its been crap, especially if you are going to hold up the Sugarhill Gang, MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice as your examples. Have you listened to the fish verse of Rappers Delight? I forgive you for missing it, because its about 6 minutes into that song, but its one of the most baffling things ever committed to tape; a narrative about going to a friends house and having to eat bad food out of politeness. Even though they allegedly coined the term "rap", they were by no means the first rap group. They were a largely manufactured group, to wring money out of rising rap scene. MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice released one decent song each, both of rap over barely edited samples of Superfreak and Under Pressure respectively and don't hold a candle to other rappers or groups of that era: Run DMC, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Eric B and Rakim, Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions, etc.
There's been plenty of good rap this side of the millenium. 5 of Metacritics Top 15 albums are rap, 10 of the top 50. And that doesn't take into account some worthy underground records that people here have recommended (Sage Francis' Personal Journals, Aesop Rock's Labour Days), but which didn't make it onto the metacritic rankings (weren't widely reviewed on initial release). While we may not have quite had something as good as say, Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Beastie Boys' Pauls Boutique or De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, we have had OutKast's Stankonia, Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner, Jay Z's the Blueprint, Kanye West's Late Registration and College Dropout, The Roots' Phrenology and Im sure plenty others which I have missed.

ps. "Retards attempting poetry" and "can't spell crap without rap" is not clever
 

Najos

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Aug 4, 2008
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blank0000 said:
I saw a documentary on rap onces. IT brought up a good point about the genera having potential, but never really evolving.

I see rap as a good tool to mix with other music. Rapping seems like a lyrical style that should be applied to a song, maybe not the entire theme of it. For example, the Gorillaz use rap and hip hop all the time in their songs, but they mix it up and bring in new elements as well. Its a shame that Rapping is often associated with very violent themes, because it can be used to create some very interesting songs.
I actually posted a video by Deltron 3030, which is three guys that all work on Gorillaz albums as well.
 

Danman1

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Mar 27, 2009
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enzilewulf said:
Now the title of this form is what I usually see on the Escapist. I have been here for less than a year. ( I think ) Now I on the other hand like a lot of rap. Not the shit like Little Wain and or Drake. I personally hate those rappers with a passion because its where people get the generalization that rap is only about gangsters, hoes, cash, and sex. Yet a lot of rap is about deeper pain like Rehab, Fort minor and some of Eminem. Now I am not trying to say O RAPZZ IZ DE SHIZZ. No I actually like a lot of metal. Yet this is what I am wondering Do you think all rap is about gangsters and hoes and ect or just because you don't like the Genera, or is it something else?

(Also please don't think this is a mad rant or anything I am just curious)
I'd have to agree with this. I don't listen to it a lot, but I don't classify it all as shallow bullshit. Just a lot of it.
 

TraderJimmy

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Apr 17, 2010
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It's not a rant, it has no coherent purpose ;).

I like rappers who are smart, or funny, or just catch me with something I'd not thought of, or have a sick sound. Or some who are just fun to listen to.

I like rappers from across the spectrum, Dizzee Rascal to Aesop Rock, Eminem to Blackalicious, and a load of old school stuff. Cypress Hill are fucking epic!

I really don't understand why rap gets such a bad ...itself. 'tis a fine genre, and some rappers double up as the best lyricists in popular culture.
 

AgDr_ODST

Cortana's guardian
Oct 22, 2009
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its mostly pick and choose artist wise for me. I enjoy the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fort Minor and classic artist in the genre like Biggie, 2Pac, and Ice Cube and I also like an up and coming artist by the name of Asher Roth but thats it. Although I may listen to one or two songs by others like 50 Cent and Lil Wayne thats it