Hip Hop culture
Pages
- 1
- 2
| Author | Topic: Hip Hop culture |
|---|---|
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 59
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 04:53
Profile
What's so fascinating about a jailbird bum jumping, twisting and babbling stuff like "yo man when I wuz a broke ass niggah no chicks looked at me, now they're all after my big mofo car yeeeaaah wooow"? Is that music? More refined cultures have come up with lyrics for people who are not 12 year old boys (intellectually), and they also created something truly fascinating: melody. When you listen to a remake of an older song, the newer version often hacks the original melody into pieces, replacing it with monotonous drum banging and jungle howls and grunts like "AAAuuuOoUuAah". What do you think? :) Posts: 950 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 05:10
Profile
Homepage
A century ago, people were saying the same things about jazz that you're saying about hip hop. Half a century ago, they were saying the same about rock and roll. Sure, most hip hop is crap, but so was most older music. If old songs seem better, it's only because the bad ones have been deservedly forgotten. -------------------- My BoE Page Bandwagons are fun! Roots Hunted! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
Guardian
Member # 2238
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 05:27
Profile
Homepage
I actually like some (read: definitly not most) hip hop. Some "rappers" do convey postive messages, or at least messages that I can relate to. But of course, I'm one of those people that says "do what you want, as long as it makes you happy". I just let other people do their stuff as long as it doesn't bother me. I'm not sure where down the line that the 'gangster lifestyle' became cool. I always thought it was rather ridiculous, and that money and fame is far from everything. What every happened to wholesome relationships with a single individual? God only knows... and I'm not even Christian... -------------------- The critics agree! Demonslayer is "a five star hit!" raves TIMES Weekly! "I've never heard such thoughtful comments. This man is a genious!" says two-time Nobel Prize winning physicist Erwin Rasputin! Posts: 1582 | Registered: Wednesday, November 13 2002 08:00 |
|
By Committee
Member # 4233
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 05:59
Profile
This discussion seems to be coming about a decade late. Hip hop is mainstream, and has as much value (if not more) than country music, in my opinion. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 06:01: Message edited by: am ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 4682
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 06:34
Profile
I hate rap, but I'll let them play it as long as I don't have to listen to it. -------------------- If anyone ever asks you why you did something, say "Because I could". Posts: 834 | Registered: Thursday, July 8 2004 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 4023
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 07:00
Profile
I agree with you all the way alex. The new "hip hop" is nothin but trash!!! blue grass ROCKS!!! -------------------- go to www.cc-game.net Posts: 88 | Registered: Monday, February 23 2004 08:00 |
|
BANNED
Member # 4623
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 08:25
Profile
Homepage
Rap (including gangsta rap, emo rap and political rap here) pretty much sucks. Finnish hip-hop is the way, you hear me! Finnish hip-hop! [ Monday, August 09, 2004 08:25: Message edited by: Sir Great of the Misterhood ] -------------------- The Great Mister kommari@gmail.com[/url] Posts: 417 | Registered: Sunday, June 27 2004 07:00 |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 09:39
Profile
Homepage
If you want to know from where the gangster life originated, look no further than the Godfather movies and their like. Some rappers go so far as to emulate the behavior in their Italian gangster counterparts in music videos. If you need evidence of this, then merely ask somebody immersed in that culture if they enjoyed the movies. Should they have seen them, their answer will be inevitably positive. -------------------- 私のバラドですそしてころしたいいらればころす Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 10:40
Profile
Homepage
Rap borrows from an ancient tradition of spoken verse which existed in virtually every culture even in prehistorical times. The idea of using the inherent music of language rather than forcing melody on language is an ancient one, indeed. As for gangsta rap culture, it comes substantially from the trend that arose in the early '90s. Artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg pioneered it. Try listening to some rap from right before that, from 1990 or earlier: you'll find MC Hammer and (slightly more palatable) LL Cool J, or the Beastie Boys, or Run DMC -- old school Run DMC is good listening for just about anyone, as they were the ones who brought rap to the mainstream. Gangsta rap (I suspect, and I'm not alone in this) was a direct response to the prevalent trend in rap that immediately preceded it, as best evidenced by MC Hammer. Hammer was glam to the extreme. "Hammer pants" is still a phrase that anyone who was alive at that time will find amusing even today. Hammer was all about dancing and looking flashy and things that not very many people who listened to rap (namely, black people) could relate to. Gangsta rap was a much more raw and much more real response to that. Statistically, black people earn less money than white people. Black neighborhoods are frequently slums -- it's far more common to find mixtures of black and white people in pricey areas than it is to find an area that is predominantly black. Thus, the main audience of hip-hop (regardless of the strides made by, say, the Beastie Boys to bring rap to white people) could identify much more with the utter disaffection and stark reality of gangsta rap. It was true to its listeners; it was reality. That's why they liked it: saying F--- Tha Police was something that every listener wanted to do, but until NWA said it in a song, it was a suppressed urge. Rap became the outlet for the black community to express what was wrong, and there was a great deal wrong. If rap glorifies violence, drugs, disrespect for women, or anything else like that, rap only does this because inner-city culture virtually forces it on them. The easiest way to make money if you're a kid from the slums is by selling drugs. You can start with marijuana and work your way up to cocaine. It's dangerous and illegal, but it makes you more money in a day than you would make in a week working at a legitimate job. That's a pretty damn hopeless situation, and it's that sort of reality that rap has reflected for the past twelve or thirteen years. And as for people for whom this is not a reality (that is, middle-class white kids), generally those people like the energy and strength in rap and hip-hop. Rap is a emotional form: listen to an Eminem song, and whether you like the lyrics or not, you cannot deny that there is passion in his voice. There is a kind of humor, too, which brings together the mix of exactly what rap thrives on: passion, humor, and the ancient tradition of using the inherent music of language. Oh, and I shouldn't omit that hip-hop of all kinds is great for dancing, which is one of the major reasons that it has survived over the past twenty-five years or so. EDIT: Also, Eminem himself said that there was a positive message in his lyrics, and it was "F*** you." I think this is very true. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 10:42: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 10:40
Profile
TM, that's not exactly evidence. Very many people like gangster movies. Personally, I don't like much rap or hip-hop. It just tends to make my head hurt. But other people like it, so it's here to stay. And yes, lyrics such as those that Alex suggested are facile. However, music doesn't spread a positive message shouldn't be condemned automatically. And to be honest, most song lyrics are less than profound. I'd also like the record to show that I hate country music too. EDIT: Kelandon said almost exactly what I wanted to say far better than I could have. Run DMC are still responsible for one of the worst tracks ever created, however. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 10:44: Message edited by: Your Unborn Child ] -------------------- Voice of Reasonable Morality Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
|
By Committee
Member # 4233
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 10:51
Profile
Personal Most Favorite Rap Lyric EVAH: "Word to your moms, I came to drop bombs, I got more rhymes than the Bible's got psalms." - from "Jump Around," by House of Pain Eminem is also a favorite of mine. His command of consonance is unmatched. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 10:53: Message edited by: am ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 1993
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 11:11
Profile
A pity - most of Hip Hop sucks. There is an excessive supply of mediocre Hip Hop groups nowadays -and it's mainstreamed as Andrew mentioned. The genre would be interesting: assertion and contradiction, pros and cons in chopped up, angry lyrics - danceable slam poetry. It's not enough to be just black, fat and to drive a limousine. A good rapper must be a poet. Like Mc Solaar e.g. -------------------- ^ö^ I was a cannibal for twenty-five years. For the rest I have been a vegetarian. George Bernard Shaw Posts: 1420 | Registered: Wednesday, October 2 2002 07:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 2820
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 11:30
Profile
I say nothing bad about music in general. To each there own, but I pity the rappers and hip hop artists that just make up gangster slum lyrics for the sake of doing it. It's like the Gothic wannabes that always talk about sadism and death, though they're too unprepared mentally to cast aside the facade. Popular rap and hip hop is, in my opinion, the foremost way of spreading around new 'black' trends and new ******* phrases. It seems all the same to me sometimes, but I like Rock (not extreme heavy metal, though) much more than rap and I can still find constant similarities and cliches in different songs. Since when has talking like trash that crawled out of the South Side been a good thing? I guess it does well for your aura of toughness, but if it is a true of expression of yourself, why not. Oh, and what is with the "Check it out?"? -------------------- What do I put here? -Garrison Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
|
Infiltrator
Member # 4389
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 11:40
Profile
Homepage
Heh. I had just changed my profile picture. Then I saw this thread. While I agree that hip-hop culture can be obnoxious, with the afore-mentioned middle-class white kids swaggering around in colour-co-ordinated visors and basketball jerseys and talking about how fly their rides are, aren't all music culture extremists obnoxious? I also have to say some rap can be great. If you can ignore the actual content and concentrate on the sounds of the words and the rythms, it's good to relax to. Then sometimes the content is actually good in an utterly nonsensical way... mad propz to Deltron, managing to be positive and hilarious. This thread has reminded me of what rap mp3s I have. Time for some Wu-Tang, yo. -------------------- fame fame fatal fame it can play hideous tricks on the brain Posts: 407 | Registered: Friday, May 14 2004 07:00 |
|
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 12:04
Profile
Homepage
I happen to like rap as a genre and find the continual whining by middle-aged and upper-class whites about the uncouthness of rap culture to be a symptom of a thriving social reaction. As Thuryl said, it's the same sort of whining there was a century ago about jazz and half a century ago about rock; it's because people can't understand something as 'good' unless they like it themselves, so naturally they're going to assume it's wrong if they don't. It's easier on their dignity than the idea that they don't know everything. Rap is pop culture. The rap culture is here to stay and you might as well get used to it, whether or not you like the music. I'm sure that all of my contemporaries ending every other sentence with "yo", regardless of general interests, came from listening to Mozart or Lennon or some other Aryan musical superhero... BTW, Alex, nice form with the ethnic slurs. 'More refined cultures' as a synonym for Anglo-Americans, eh? You kiss your mother with that mouth? EDIT: Also, 'hip hop' and 'rap' are two entirely different things. I don't think you could easily call Wyclef Jean rap or Lil Jon hip hop, even if it's easy to muddle the two up. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 12:06: Message edited by: 2xCuster = Stug x Stug ] -------------------- The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest. Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
|
Master
Member # 4614
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 12:46
Profile
Homepage
I've heard this before and agree: "Rap music is grown men standing on the stage complaining." The way I figure, if you want to be a singer, but you can't sing, be a rapper. However, I believe rap music can be a bad influence. So many rap song are so bad-languaged that it makes kids cuss every other word they say. And that's not good. I only listen to rap music because somebody else has the radio tuned to it. As for my liking of rap music, or any music, I'll just say this: I don't own any music CDs or cassette tapes, especially rap. And that's the way I like it. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 12:47: Message edited by: ben* ] -------------------- -ben4808 For those who love to spam: CSM Forums RIFQ Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 13:27
Profile
Homepage
quote:I'd like to see you get on stage and try to rap. Then we'd see how much or how little talent it requires, wouldn't we? quote:Why not? No, really. For what logical reason is a particular choice of words inherently bad? [ Monday, August 09, 2004 13:29: Message edited by: Thuryl ] -------------------- My BoE Page Bandwagons are fun! Roots Hunted! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
By Committee
Member # 4233
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 13:52
Profile
<shakes head in wonder at ben*> Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
|
Guardian
Member # 3521
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 15:52
Profile
Disliking a particular genre of music due to qualms with its lyrics or "message" is very foolish. I'll quite willingly label any individual that judges a piece of music by the quality of its lyrics to be a downright idiot. If words are the most important part of a song to you, go read a goddamn poem. Or listen to Bob Dylan. I judge songs by their musical quality and the extent to which they satisfy my tastes. I despise garish artificiality in music, along with headache-inducing pounding bass, banal cookie-cutter vocals, and emphasis on rhythm over melody. As such, I abhor rap and hip-hop, although modern pop is even worse and electronic music is the poorest of all. I like rock- namely, rock from the sixties and seventies. There's practically nothing of merit from the eighties, and only very little from the nineties. Modern rock is in general so formulaic and uncreative that hardly any of it is worth listening to at all. I can deal with classical music and jazz, but they tend to bore me with time. -------------------- Stughalf "Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down when reasoning is destroyed."- The Bhagavad Gita. Posts: 1798 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00 |
|
Shock Trooper
Member # 3719
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 16:08
Profile
Homepage
I try to find something to like in all music. I might not agree with metal's long hair, country's pickup trucks or rap's bling, or I might, I try to listen to the music and decide. -------------------- Scandalous Stories, fishing,and great photos Posts: 294 | Registered: Monday, November 24 2003 08:00 |
|
Master
Member # 4614
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 16:39
Profile
Homepage
I try to find a liking in all music, too, because I have to (for reasons already explained). As for lyrics, I say if they are offensive to some people, why don't they just play the music and don't even have lyrics. Besides, in some songs you can't even hear the lyrics and/or the singer has to scream to get over the music. On those songs, I can generally just drown them out. However, in rap music, you can't, as the lyrics practically make the song (except for the ever-repeating string of percussion rythym). -------------------- -ben4808 For those who love to spam: CSM Forums RIFQ Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 27
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 18:36
Profile
I don't like any music that does not feature at least a minute long guitar solo and synthesisers in every song. Actual singing is a nice touch too. Edit: Post #600. [ Monday, August 09, 2004 20:29: Message edited by: Degarne Htils ] Posts: 1233 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 3310
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 22:25
Profile
quote:See, that's what I call being narrow-minded. A piece of music consists of four components: rhythm, melody, harmony and lyrics. Of these, melody is most important, closely followed by lyrics and harmony (this is how I think, some would place harmony above lyrics and perhaps above all). Lyrics are what define a piece of music, and add the meaningful dimension. Songs are indeed messages, not just some sweet notes arranged in a row for your amusement. A piece of music without words can never convey such thoughts and feeling as a song with really good lyrics. One can indeed judge music by the lyrics. I don't listen to rap or hip hop, since they don't give me any kicks. I'm not familiar with their world and the values they preach are silly. In conclusion, I cannot listen to a good piece of music if the words and the message are pathetic. I can bring myself to listen to a crappy melody if the words are intriguing (including Bob Dylan, as you mentioned). Music is not made just to satisfy my sense for beauty, it is much more. I don't listen to it only in order to get cheap satisfaction. -------------------- ahhahaha i rule u droool Posts: 756 | Registered: Monday, August 4 2003 07:00 |
|
BANNED
Member # 4623
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 22:38
Profile
Homepage
You all damn foreigners miss a big bunch of pleasure for not knowing Finnish, and thus not being able to understand Finnish hip-hop. Word. :P -------------------- The Great Mister kommari@gmail.com[/url] Posts: 417 | Registered: Sunday, June 27 2004 07:00 |
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 3310
|
written Monday, August 9 2004 22:50
Profile
TGM is wrong. You don't miss a thing. :P -------------------- ahhahaha i rule u droool Posts: 756 | Registered: Monday, August 4 2003 07:00 |
Pages
- 1
- 2