Why is there such snobbery towards Hip-Hop?

Jatyu

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Sep 1, 2010
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Couple years ago, I found a nerd centric podcast, that played music in between segments. There was a nice mix of vgm remixes, parodies and other genres simply based on video games, comics tv shows etc.

Then, they played a song of the "nerdcore" genre, and I was all like "UGH... Shitty rap music."
but then I heard the following track:

And then I was hooked.

Yeah I still think alot of mainstream rap is absolute crap, and the content is horrendous, but every genre of music cover a ton of different styles and artists. So before you write off all rap music based on people like 50c, just try listening to what's out there, you might find something good.
 

Epic Fail 1977

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Dec 14, 2010
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I must admit that, to my "uneducated" ears, rap and hip hop music sound like a right load of crap. I mean there are no notes, unless they're sampled from someone else's song, and WTF is with the lyrics? Most songs deal with universal things like love, loss, and so on. But hip hop? As far as I can tell, hip hop is a bunch of random rhyming words which, on the rare occasion that they make any sense at all, are mostly just about me me me me me (i.e. the person singing).
 

smithy_2045

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Jan 30, 2008
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Hazy992 said:
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.
Poetry, which is essentially what rap is, isn't music. Artistically valid, yes, music, no.
 

jawakiller

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Jan 14, 2011
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Because it's cheap entertainment that everyone feels they could do, given the opportunity. Hip-hop, that is. Rap I think people dislike due to the shallowness of the content mixed with the superior attitude that the artists give off.

That said, I listen to Hollywood Undead and don't give a fuck if you don't like them.


But I also listen to metal and rock so I can't say I only like that kind of music.
 

Nazulu

They will not take our Fluids
Jun 5, 2008
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It's probably because of all the popular rap that have lyrics that are so foul with drugs, sex and violence. So just idiots generalising. Then there are the people who say it's not music because it's not in their interest, or some how convinced themselves that no hip-hop/rap song has a melody (which is a load of shit).

Also, Insane Clown Posse did pretty well at the beginning of their career, and I liked how they played the crazy villains so it's not fucking nonsence!
 

Gloomsta

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Oct 27, 2011
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HeatproofShAdOw said:
I look down upon hip-hop compared to other genres because of two things.

A lot of it I'VE heard is way, way to basic and could be made in 5 minutes, lacking any creative elements and simply made to make the label money.
Sure the beat is basic.

But i dare you try and to replicate RZA's bizzare production that somehow still manages to sound perfectly fine to the ears.

The subject matter of it is utter crap. Every song I've heard my friends listening too (not every song mind you, but a lot) is just drugs, sex, alcohol, shootings and basically a chance for whoever the artist is too puff out his chest, all neatly contained with a couple hundred uses of fuck.
So you listen to your friends shitty music and you make a conclusion as large as that?

I know that this is a gross generalization, but for every good hip-hop/rap song that you find, you'll find 100 that only serve to further drive humanity into the ground. I can enjoy a lot of old-school hip-hop/rap, such as gangsters paradise, but all this new shit made by t-pain and Lil-wayne is unoriginal and just generally crap, and is only made to pander to 12-15 year olds who think its cool.

/rant
If gangsters paradise is the onl old school thing you know, then i doubt you know anything about hip hop.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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amaranth_dru said:
Hazy992 said:
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.
Alright, I feel the need to address this. It's not sampling that is the enemy; sampling is a tool, just like anything else, and used properly, it can show great artistry. For example, check this out:


That entire song was built with nothing but samples. However, can you say with a straight face that the person who wrote it and put it together wasn't a musician? Recording engineers are artists too.

Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, you get this:


Which is such a direct ripoff of this:


That to this day I don't understand how Vanilla Ice isn't sitting in jail for criminal copyright infringement.
 

Gloomsta

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Oct 27, 2011
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smithy_2045 said:
Hazy992 said:
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.
Poetry, which is essentially what rap is, isn't music. Artistically valid, yes, music, no.
Poetry in a rythm, and rythm is music.
 

Spy_Guy

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Mar 16, 2010
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A good friend of mine once said:

Hip-hop is just words, strung together by an offensive noise."

...and I have never heard a more true statement. It's so bland, boring and samey.

Not to mention the glorifying of things I'd rather people be shot for, but that's for another time.
 

bluepotatosack

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Mar 17, 2011
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Many people's only exposure with rap seems to be just what the major labels choose to promote. Which is mostly crap. Let's take a look at some of the criticisms that have come up in this thread.

Lyrical content:

A lot of people seem to think all rap is either gangster rap or just pure self aggrandizement, but just like any other genre the topics covered are essentially limitless.

From stream of consciousness, to political, to nerd culture, spirituality, you name it.

Here's one about science.


Which brings me to another point. Sample based music. Personally I don't mind it and consider it to be a sort of composition or arranging. But if that's a sticking point there are groups that use a live band. The most obvious example would be The Roots.


And then there's groups that make electronic beats from scratch, like Antipop Consortium.



So basically what I'm saying is it's a diverse genre that deserves some looking into before being written off by anybody.
 

Sammaul

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Nov 25, 2009
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Because of the generation of ''rappers'' that came with 50cent.

Nah, that's a bit too easy. My idea is that most of the popular rappers are first and foremost disliked for their self-promotion, a sentiment I share; Yes you have a very big house and many lustful women around you, I could have guessed from the fact that you are a superstar, please tell me something I don't know.

I love hip-hop, always have, always will. I hate the ''bitches&bling'' (yuck, I really disliked typing that word)
 

Firia

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Sep 17, 2007
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I think it depends on what generation you talk to. I think we've all rubbed up against hip-hop the wrong way in some form growing up. take me for example; the hip-hop I knew was early 90's, and [em]very[/em] Bloods VS Crypts gang violence based. That wasn't for me. But every so often gems would peek through and catch me.

These days, the theme seems to have shifted from gangs to getting out of the ghetto, to making phat stacks, to bankrolling ho's and being on a boat or whatever. I can't relate. But I also don't judge the genre of music. It's very culturally based, and I'm not a part of that culture.
 

Alphonse_Lamperouge

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Oct 19, 2011
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because its, for me, totally unrelatable. there aint' no homies rollin down in my hood, you feel me playa? and because they all feel the need to have stupid names. oh and because all the songs are about *****'s, bling and how badass they are. and the lyrics are generally so deep they could appear on any bathroom stall wall.

and finally, because its not real music :)
 

bluepotatosack

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Alphonse_Lamperouge said:
because its, for me, totally unrelatable. there aint' no homies rollin down in my hood, you feel me playa? and because they all feel the need to have stupid names. oh and because all the songs are about *****'s, bling and how badass they are. and the lyrics are generally so deep they could appear on any bathroom stall wall.

and finally, because its not real music :)
None of this is true.

Except for the part about you having no homies rollin' down in your hood.

What you are talking about is the mainstream rap that gets shoved down our throats.
 

WhoaItsBrett

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Jan 22, 2010
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I love Rap/Hip-Hop. Listen to it ALL the time. I get so pissed when one of my friends will either say something stupid about it. Examples: "Dude, you're white. Why are you listening to black people music?" or "That's just some guy talking with computers. No talent involved" It just pisses me off that people have the audacity to think it doesn't take talent. Also the generalizing is ridiculous. A majority of the arguments I've had, the other person always brings up something about it all being offensive to women and promoting violence and all the same. IT'S NOT ALL THE SAME. Lupe Fiasco, Aesop Rock, Chiddy Bang, Jedi-Mind-Tricks, Mos Def, Blue Scholars. All AMAZING rappers. To say they don't have talent is ignorant. Granted, there are a lot of generic "Fuck all dem hoes" rappers, the same can be said of any genre. I've lost track of all the popular Country songs about getting drunk and having sex. I've lost track of all the Rock songs about getting high and having sex. The point being, you shouldn't generalize. It's not fair to the Artists who DO stand for something and DO have talent.
 

FernandoV

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Dec 12, 2010
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I like my Aesop Rock as much as I like my Drake. Sorry but I don't subscribe to that whole "You can only like Rap/Hip-Hop if it's deep".
 

TehCookie

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Sep 16, 2008
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It's way too repetitive and rarely has any tonal variation. Not to mention I don't listen to the lyrics, I listen to the music, and rap/hip-hop is based on the lyrics. Which are never appealing to me when I do listen.

I also have a personal grudge against the drums and hate that instrument, but for some reason people keep telling me that I can't have that opinion.