Why is there such snobbery towards Hip-Hop?

[Stilkon]

I'm personally put off in a large way by the self glorification. The stance toward women is a big deal too, something i can't really set to one side.

...Pretty much this. I'm starting to get into rap, and I've noticed that it's the likes of Public Enemy and N.W.A.: guys who actually had something to say about their socioeconomic standing. These days rappers all seem to use the same messages (including "I am more famous/richer/tougher/well endowed than you).

That being said, why isn't there more philosophical rap? I mean like a rap equivalent of Tool, Meshuggah or TesseracT. I'd try it.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I think a lot of it comes from the douchbaggatry of most of the artists.

The personas they have usually consist of being in it for the money and trying to look cool, but failing horribly.

In addition, the talent required for that genre is far less than some.

 

[saruman31]

There are so few hip hop/rap songs that i like. I find them boring/dull and mean spirited. I guess the main reason is quite simple: i don`t like most people that represent it. On the other hand, i love reggae.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Now I know some rap has its problems, like Lil Wayne and 50 Cent being derogatory to women and the sheer idiocy of the Insane Clown Posse, but how can you lump that nonsense with the golden age rap of Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and the like or the more alternative stuff of Tyler The Creator or Immortal Technique? Hip-hop is a valid art form just like other genres of music.

Immortal Technique? Really? You call that the "golden age of rap"? Have you heard the song Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique? It's about rape/incest. smh

 

[Hazy992]

Now I know some rap has its problems, like Lil Wayne and 50 Cent being derogatory to women and the sheer idiocy of the Insane Clown Posse, but how can you lump that nonsense with the golden age rap of Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and the like or the more alternative stuff of Tyler The Creator or Immortal Technique? Hip-hop is a valid art form just like other genres of music.

Immortal Technique? Really? You call that the "golden age of rap"? Have you heard the song Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique? It's about rape/incest. smh

No I didn't call Immortal Technique Golden Age Hip-hop. I said Public Enemy etc were Golden Age and then talked about Immortal Technique's work (hence the 'or'). And yeah his work's close to the bone but its socially and politically charged.

 

[Robert Ewing]

I totally accept that rap and hip-hop are music. It seems stupid to me to suggest otherwise. But it's very niche on the grand scale of things. And while it is a tad successful, it still has masses of very unlikable points that make it impossible for it to be a much bigger hit than it already is.

Basically the culture behind it, and popular subject matters turn off a lot of would be fans... I mean I like a lot of rap, but I'd never ever find myself a die-hard fan of it. I hate the culture behind rap and hip-hop...

So don't get me wrong by thinking that I hate rap and hip-hop, because I don't... Rap has been douchey pretty much since it began, hip-hop started off cool, but is definitely more douchey... And this rapper culture is spreading to other genre's of black music as well. R&B seems to be going down the same path.

 

[Hazy992]

Also, listen to more international stuff. Some of my favourite hip-hop artists are French

I love French hip-hop too, no idea what they're saying but it's damn good. Same goes for Polish and Russian hip-hop.

Yeah one of my favourite Hip-hop groups is Hocus Pocus. They're French and they combine elements of funk, soul and jazz with rapping. You should check them out

 

[ztara]

That being said, why isn't there more philosophical rap? I mean like a rap equivalent of Tool, Meshuggah or TesseracT. I'd try it.

this guy.

edit: not the most hiphop song, but one of his with a good message

 

[Hazy992]

Ah to go back to the days of the Golden Age of Hip-Hop:

 

[Hazy992]

That being said, why isn't there more philosophical rap? I mean like a rap equivalent of Tool, Meshuggah or TesseracT. I'd try it.

this guy.

edit: not the most hiphop song, but one of his with a good message

Is this Grime? Cause I like Grime as well

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

BTW I'm not a Hip-Hop elitist or anything like that. I listen to loads of genres; Punk, Metal, Soul, Funk, Pop, Dubstep, D'n'B, Grime. If it sounds good I'll listen to it. It just annoys me that people are so harsh and dismissive of something I love so much.

TLDR; why are people so dismissive of Hip-Hop? It's a legitimate genre of music, and a legitimate art form.

I listen to quite a lot of rap too, as well as other genres, like techno, rock and metal. Like you say, if it sounds good I'll listen to it.

Eminem is my favourite. I also like the older stuff by black eyed peas, Flipsyde, some songs with Jay Z and Kanye West. Tupac.

Two swedish artists, Petter and Timbuktu.


So yeah, I like rap. I listen to it a lot. It's one of my three favourite genres with metal and techno.

I think that people may be dismissive towards it, because of how a lot of them makes music videos, with a lot of girls. It could probably also be because in rap they use words that aren't really real words, or slang, and they swear much. I like the swearing though.

 

[getofish]

Because for some reason people don't like change, its a genera were really any one can get into. A lot more then rock or something that is instrument based. now i'm not saying that makes it inferior but i can see how the mind set of "that guy is just rhyming with a beat behind him" can come off as "not real" music to some people.

 

[ztara]

Is this Grime? Cause I like Grime as well

i find it hard to keep a track on the labels. i thnk it could be. Hip hop with distorted guitars etc? all i know is he's awesome.

 

[Stilkon]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for showing me Akala.

Also, I looked up Immortal Technique. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Now I LOVE Hip-Hop, it's one of my favourite genres and I listen to it probably every day. So it frankly pisses me off when some people (and I must stress, SOME) start saying that rap isn't real music or that it isn't worth their time, thinking they're better than those that listen to it.

Now I know some rap has its problems, like Lil Wayne and 50 Cent being derogatory to women and the sheer idiocy of the Insane Clown Posse, but how can you lump that nonsense with the golden age rap of Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and the like or the more alternative stuff of Tyler The Creator or Immortal Technique? Hip-hop is a valid art form just like other genres of music.

I've even heard some people (including here on The Escapist) say that rap, by definition, isn't music at all! Webster defines music as 'vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony.' Hip-Hop clearly hits these criteria.

BTW I'm not a Hip-Hop elitist or anything like that. I listen to loads of genres; Punk, Metal, Soul, Funk, Pop, Dubstep, D'n'B, Grime. If it sounds good I'll listen to it. It just annoys me that people are so harsh and dismissive of something I love so much.

TLDR; why are people so dismissive of Hip-Hop? It's a legitimate genre of music, and a legitimate art form.

Possibly because of the modern hip-hop "artist"'s penchant for stealing (aka sampling) music from respected and well known/established artists and using it as their own. This denotes a lack of talent in that regard, esp. when they go and change up all the lyrics but keep the same beat/rhythm. It takes talent to cover a song in the genre of your choice (e.g. King of Pain by Sting covered by Mudvayne) but to steal the music and write your own lyrics on top of it just smacks of lack of talent.
Also that a good portion of modern hip-hop artists have ignorant or narrow world views and the subsequent rub-off on modern youth is one that makes me sad for the future.
I grew up with great hip-hop/rap artists who had real messages in their music, but today's artists have no message, just bragging rights.

 

[pppppppppppppppppp]

Meh, me and hip-hop are like Roger Ebert and videogames. I'm sure some of it is good, but it's not worth the effort to try to get into the genre. In the mean time, I'll hate on it because it makes me look cool in front of my hipster friends.

Yeah, I hate myself too. T_T

 

[Hazy992]

BTW I'm not a Hip-Hop elitist or anything like that. I listen to loads of genres; Punk, Metal, Soul, Funk, Pop, Dubstep, D'n'B, Grime. If it sounds good I'll listen to it. It just annoys me that people are so harsh and dismissive of something I love so much.

TLDR; why are people so dismissive of Hip-Hop? It's a legitimate genre of music, and a legitimate art form.

I listen to quite a lot of rap too, as well as other genres, like techno, rock and metal. Like you say, if it sounds good I'll listen to it.

Eminem is my favourite. I also like the older stuff by black eyed peas, Flipsyde, some songs with Jay Z and Kanye West. Tupac.

Two swedish artists, Petter and Timbuktu.


So yeah, I like rap. I listen to it a lot. It's one of my three favourite genres with metal and techno.

I think that people may be dismissive towards it, because of how a lot of them makes music videos, with a lot of girls. It could probably also be because in rap they use words that aren't really real words, or slang, and they swear much. I like the swearing though.

This is really good Europe and Japan are the best places to look for hip-hop these days

 

[Naeo]

It's the same reason people hate on metal (and within the metal community, the hate on the various sub-genres), drone, noise, pop, etc. Because they don't like it and often don't listen to a lot of it so they decide it's all the same and terrible and awful.

I generally don't like a lot of more popular rap/hip-hop of the modern age. I'll listen to some Public Enemy from time to time, Adult Swim's compilation albums are more or less pretty good (speaking of the rap/hip-hop ones specifically right now), sometimes I find myself listening to some I-20 or BoB's more rap-y stuff, and so on. I like some rap/hip-hop but don't listen to a whole lot of it. I'm often too busy listening to my doom metal, post-metal, post-rock, or other stuff that tends to be more melodic than the rap/hip-hop I'm familiar with, which is usually more up my alley.

 

[wooty]

I like some kinds of rap, I can handle certain rappers or songs with messages in them, I just cant stand this "gangsta" rap stuff. Its like I love Eminem and DrDre, but dont like it when they collaborate. I know it sounds weird, but it was that kind of gang mentality that killed Tupac and biggie smalls.

That and the rappers whos music vids have a fat guy surrounded by scantily clad barbie dolls, just comes off as pretentious and doesnt appeal to me.

 

[wooty]

I like some kinds of rap, I can handle certain rappers or songs with messages in them, I just cant stand this "gangsta" rap stuff. Its like I love Eminem and DrDre, but dont like it when they collaborate. I know it sounds weird, but it was that kind of gang mentality that killed Tupac and biggie smalls.

That and the rappers whos music vids have a fat guy surrounded by scantily clad barbie dolls, just comes off as pretentious and doesnt appeal to me.