Why is there such snobbery towards Hip-Hop?

Doctor Glocktor

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Xartyve2 said:
Doctor Glocktor said:
Also, how the fuck does Chris Brown keep getting work?
Everyone hates Chris Brown, especially hip hop fans. We're as confused as to the continuing success of this guy as you are.
If that were true, Team Breezy wouldn't exist. Are you guys just gluttons for punishment, or what?
 

McNinja

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Hazy992 said:
TLDR; why are people so dismissive of Hip-Hop? It's a legitimate genre of music, and a legitimate art form.
Because mainstream hip-hop and rap are awful (i.e. what the radio plays and what most people hear). There is really no other way to describe it. Sure, there are indeed song good songs, but taken together those songs aren't a large percentage of the hip-hop/rap genre.

I don't like hip-hop (some combination of terrible beats and terrible lyrics, usually), but there are some songs I do like... well, not "like" persay, but songs that are actually worth being considered good by fans of the genre.
 

Jazoni89

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Xartyve2 said:
Doctor Glocktor said:
Also, how the fuck does Chris Brown keep getting work?
Everyone hates Chris Brown, especially hip hop fans. We're as confused as to the continuing success of this guy as you are.
Chris Brown was even worser when he was a teenager, than what he is now.

My Sister had his first Album, dear god that shit was like being Ear Raped! I was forced to listen to it every day five years ago.

I nearly had to have counselling sessions because of that album.

Feel my pain...
 
Sep 14, 2009
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i do like hip hop/rap quite a bit, i think its a type of music that hits different styles than what alot of other people are used to. plus people listen to music for different things, some listen to it to rock their face off, some for philosophical meaning, some just as white noise even.

plus for most escapist, if it doesn't involve a guitar/bass, or drums, they probably aren't going to listen to it or like it. just how it goes mostly.
 

Yopaz

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Jun 3, 2009
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Rap isn't as easy to get into. Melody is traded for beat in most cases and I believe a lot connect to melody rather than either lyrics or the pure sound of certain instruments. When people don't like it they tend to dismiss it as universal crap and thus it can't be music. Yeah, the world is annoying at times.

Now I like Tupac and Twista got a few good songs, but for the most part I don't like rap as a genre. I love rap when it is combined with other genres such as rock or punk. So rap combined with some heavy drums, awesome guitar solos and being screamed out in the style of punk is awesome. However rap does in most cases require some kind of talent so I have less against that than some horrible techno remixes out there...
 

Hazy992

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Aug 1, 2010
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Raven said:
Hazy992 said:
Raven said:
Hazy992 said:
Raven said:
Hazy992 said:
Raven said:
Hazy992 said:
I've noticed on here that people are saying 'I don't like it because o~f what they rap about, they all rap about the same thing', but this is incredibly naive. People are generalising hip-hop and ignoring all the truly great stuff out there. You wouldn't say all rock lyrics are the same so I don't know why its OK to do so for hip-hop.
Because behind every stereotype is an unconfortable truth... 90% of the hip-hop or rap music considered popular, is usually shallow and unintelligible. Sure hip-hop has produced a few diamonds in the past... You can't say as a genre it plays on its strengths all that well.
But again that's just the top 40 stuff. Its not representative of the entire rap scene and to say it is is just unfair
Except its not unfair. That's the most popular form of hip-hop... songs about Bitches, ho's, guns and gangstas.
You'll have to square with that I'm afraid. Real artists and fans who know what good music is don't feel insecure about what label their music is given. Just keep supporting the bands and artists you love and promote them and not try pursuade others that not all hip hop is crap. You will never convince the (opposing) mainstream otherwise...
Exactly, its the most POPULAR. It's not the genre's fault that the most popular songs are the worst examples of hip-hop. That's the fault of the record-buying public.
And its the fault of hip hop artists for choosing to produce what seems like a very large proportion of crap. You can't blame the record buying public for that.
A lot of this comes down to record labels as well. The big labels aren't gonna sign someone who's a bit out there as they're not willing to take the risk. They're gonna sign 50 Cent and Flo Rida as that gets them a quick buck. If record labels gave alternative artists a chance and actually got them some exposure then people's views of hip-hop would be vastly different.
Remind me again who signed 50 Cent to their record label?

Oh yeah Eminem and Dr Dre (both of which I have respect for).

Like it or not, its the artists who make the genre. I thought eminem was the freshest thing to happen to mainstream rap music in years, and he is still relevant and influential now. Yet he championed morons like 50 cent, who in turn dragged the entire rap scene lower in the eyes of the general public. You have to take the good with the bad. But artists like 50 and florida just end up popularising the bad at the expense of the good. Its them you should be mad at not people who might be put off by the first 10 rap records the radio plays them and decide not to delve deeper... id say it was fair enough they dismissed it.
Hey man, don't get me wrong I don't like 50 Cent and Flo Rida (in fact they piss me right off). And its not the fact that people don't like rap, you know each to their own, it's the snobbery and elitism that bothers me.
 

Hazy992

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Xartyve2 said:
Doctor Glocktor said:
Also, how the fuck does Chris Brown keep getting work?
Everyone hates Chris Brown, especially hip hop fans. We're as confused as to the continuing success of this guy as you are.
Is Chris Brown even hip hop?
 

minuialear

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Jazoni89 said:
Yes, us Brits take good music genres and turn them upside down, that's what we do best.
Fix'd.

Seriously though, "you Brits" think way too highly of your musical talents.
 

Cid Silverwing

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Jul 27, 2008
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Hip Hop isn't done right anymore. You have to work really hard to make your Hip Hop song enjoyable, which apparently no one had trouble with in the 90's. Now it's just all about *cough* dark-skinned individuals performing drive-by's in pimped cars gunning down scantily clad prostitutes.
 

USSR

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Oct 4, 2008
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Because the unforchunate majority of rappers are yelling PUSSY MONEY WEED.

Rap has a variety of artists, and I enjoy some rap.
But the stereotype stands and some people are silly to accept them.
 

FrostyChick

Little Miss Vampire.
Jul 13, 2010
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Because we don't have to like what you like.
You like hip-hop, I don't. End of discussion.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to listening to Linkin Park, these wrists aren't going to slit themselves.
/sarcasm
 

Slayer_2

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Volf99 said:
Hazy992 said:
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
The song has a purpose greater than simple shock value, it's trying to tell kids that the "gangsta" life isn't all fun and games, they're trying to re-educate North American youths who idolize such behaviour and lifestyles, due to other media sources.
 

CManator

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I tend to hate songs in any genre that involve a person spouting random bullshit just because it kinda fits the beat, and a lot of rap (not all) is based on that very premise. Bad lyrics can ruin an otherwise decent song. A lot of rappers seem to take themselves too seriously too. How many of those self proclaimed "Gangstaz" are just wannabe thugs looking for easy money? I don't know but I'd say around 90%.

Oddly enough, I like ICP because they clearly aren't trying to be taken seriously. They come across as cartoon characters iwith the whole dark carnival theme, and I'm ok with that. I liked Eminem before he got all serious and full of himself. Basically I hate when anybody is fixated on their own badassery (not limited to music) and again, that seems to be what the majority of rap, at least what I've heard, is about.

Ultimately though, I just find rap is a little to slow for my taste. I like music with a bit more energy. Rock, Metal, Techno, and the like tend to have a much better pace imo.

However, I'm not about to claim that it's not music or a legit art fom, nor will I judge others for liking it, it's just not for me.
 

Gxas

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Vigormortis said:
Gxas said:

The above are examples of Rap/Hip-Hop that I enjoy.
There is meaning, such deep meaning, behind the lyrics, and that is why I enjoy it.

When people hear "rap" or "hip-hop", usually, they think "top 40". This, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with people today.

The same goes for all genres though. I heard one girl say, "I don't like any band that is part of a genre with the word 'core' at the end of it." She then went on to listen to My Chemical Romance and Jimmy Eat World. Both of which are considered emo-core bands.

It is a preconceived notion based on other peoples' opinions on the matter which causes people to think, "Oh, there's a lot of people who don't like Fall Out Boy. I've never heard a song of theirs, but they must be terrible musicians. I'll just go listen to All Time Low."

People anger me.

(Did I lose track of my point?)
Good sir, I'd like to personally thank you for introducing me to Weerd Science. Can't believe I've not heard of them before.
Weerd Science is Josh Eppard, most well known as the first drummer for the band Coheed and Cambria. He is my hero and one of the most talented musicians alive today, in my eyes.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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The Diabolical Biz said:
Blablahb said:
Naeo said:
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.
Not quite. You can't comment on the musical skill needed to make metal. Neither can you call the surrounding culture low.

Rap and hiphop however, don't take a lot of musical skill to make. You don't need to play any instruments let alone master them, you don't have to understand how multiple melodies and themes combine, you don't need to be able to understand consonant and dissonant tones, etc etc.

And the culture surrounding it is just plain stupid. It is aimed at people who can not succeed in life, and thus exhaust the sparce resources they have on shallow things. And over time it's actually grown to take that for granted.

And quite frankly there's no dismissing those objections either, all men having to act all evil, stupid and tough even though you could probably lay them on their back in five minutes, and all women having to behave like cheap whores.
What a horrendously ill-informed post! Hip-Hop, it's innovative use of sampling, and the overall goal of weaving a background aimed to support, but overshadow the vocals is extremely difficult. If you had any idea what successful beat making entailed there is no way you would make some snide, elitist remark about musicality - this being spoken from the perspective of a great lover of Classical music as well as Hip-Hop. Also saying that 'it is aimed at people who cannot succeed in life' is such a stupid assertion that I cannot even begin to think where you conceived of something so offensive! Also that last bit about how there's 'no dismissing' your outrageous 'objections' is spoken exactly like someone who has never listened to anything approaching good Hip-Hop in their entire life.
Question: Does that apply to modern usage, at all? You don't see Led Zeppelin or Steppenwolf on the list of early metal bands these days, even though Led Zeppelin was considered heavy metal at the time, and Steppenwolf actually named the genre with a line in their song "Born to be Wild."

Edit: I quoted the wrong person; this was supposed to be in response to the guy who said I was wrong about Rap and Hip Hop being interchangeable terms in modern parlance. I'd fix it, but since The Escapist wouldn't send him a notification anyway, my best bet is just to hope he notices it. Anyway, not only do I not disagree with the quoted post, it's pretty much re-stating what I said earlier, but in a better way and with more elaboration.
 

Stephen Wo

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It's how Bieber is the face of modern pop to many. Lil' Wayne and 50 Cent are poster children to the genre. At least, that's how outsiders seem to view it. They dismiss it pretty quickly as drivel. I'll be honest, not a huge fan myself.

However, I have two albums sitting on my computer desk; I own both. They are: "The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas" and "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". I like Black Sheep, some of Eminem, and a lot of geekcore music. So I think its because of lumping and dismiss.