Your view on Rap Music!

[lord_of_darkness]

What is your view on rap music.. ill try and debate it.. and who ever wants to help me can

[masterblaster]

I used to be a big fan of rap music a while ago. I suppose it was a part of growing up for me. From about the age of 13-15 I was a fan of it.

Since then, rap music in my eyes has been nothing but substandard. My tastes in the last 3/4 years have developed from rap, to rock (ie. Matchbox 20, Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Peppers etc.)

Rap music - why is it so mediocre?
(Sorry Reuben)

1. The artists themselves are the worst role models for kids growing up. A young teenage boy hears someone like Eminem swearing and cursing and being derogitory at women will pick up the idea that somehow this is culturally acceptable. IT IS NOT. People deserve to be treated with respect, and rap music is not a good source of inspiration for young kids. I found that out myself. Its an age, when your sort of immature, I was a little bit too and I found myself attracted to the extreme lyrics of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Doggy Dogg. But as father time passed by, I realised that this is not what i want, and as a religious person with some sort of moral decency, that i dont want to listen to this garbage.
Someone like 50 Cent (and Tupac) for that matter, who are known felons, known crooks, known drug dealers, known criminals, how can they be possibly a role model for our younger generation??

2. The Lyrics - Its just the same old crap, commercial/redigested crap. About guns, women as sex objects (ho's and bitches), money, fancy cars, fancy clothes, clubs, alcohol, drugs, with fully explicit langauge etc. etc. etc. Is there anything deep and meaningful which comes out of this sort of garbage? Now before any of you get on my case, I agree that some rap tracks I've heard of are quite meaningful. But the vast majority (50 cent, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, P Diddy, XZibit) all talk about things which aren't too inspiring. Compared to a band like U2, who deserve to be called "artists" and inspiring songwriters with a message.

3. The music - one little riff (sp?) of music of about 10 seconds plays throughout an entire song. This is not music. The beat doesnt change, the tempo doesnt change. Its just too predictable and boring.

4. The cliche factor - rap music and its videos are extremely cliched. The beautiful women, the fast, fast cars. Big, fat guys and crooks who get these beautiful ladies, the happening club, the porsche or the bmw, the big mansion - where is the reality? People who believe that this is life should get a bit of a reality check and go out on the streets. You will either find common suburbia or the homeless and needy.

I think I got my point across there, but ill sum up. Rap music is extremely shallow. The artists and lyrical content have little to no integrity whatsoever and lacks any inspiration or beauty which music is supposed to bring out.

Thanks,

Sangrah

[Simon]

MOST rap music is crap. its all the same really, boring, unimaginative and tuneless. Its not even really music.

[luckyeddie]

Back in the 80's, I suppose Anthrax were the first rock band to use rap influences in their music (a bit like the Beastie Boys but with talent).

Nowadays - well, I've got a couple of Eminem albums (and I think I like about 2 songs - nuff said).

The Linkin Park/Static X/X-ecutioners project stuff sounded pretty fresh (but I would argue that's because I quite like Mike Shinoda and Wayne Static).

Not a lot else to say, really.

[Andre]

Originally posted by masterblaster
Rap music - why is it so mediocre?
(Sorry Reuben)

1. The artists themselves are the worst role models for kids growing up. A young teenage boy hears someone like Eminem swearing and cursing and being derogitory at women will pick up the idea that somehow this is culturally acceptable. IT IS NOT. People deserve to be treated with respect, and rap music is not a good source of inspiration for young kids. I found that out myself. Its an age, when your sort of immature, I was a little bit too and I found myself attracted to the extreme lyrics of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Doggy Dogg. But as father time passed by, I realised that this is not what i want, and as a religious person with some sort of moral decency, that i dont want to listen to this garbage.
Someone like 50 Cent (and Tupac) for that matter, who are known felons, known crooks, known drug dealers, known criminals, how can they be possibly a role model for our younger generation??

2. The Lyrics - Its just the same old crap, commercial/redigested crap. About guns, women as sex objects (ho's and bitches), money, fancy cars, fancy clothes, clubs, alcohol, drugs, with fully explicit langauge etc. etc. etc. Is there anything deep and meaningful which comes out of this sort of garbage? Now before any of you get on my case, I agree that some rap tracks I've heard of are quite meaningful. But the vast majority (50 cent, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, P Diddy, XZibit) all talk about things which aren't too inspiring. Compared to a band like U2, who deserve to be called "artists" and inspiring songwriters with a message.

3. The music - one little riff (sp?) of music of about 10 seconds plays throughout an entire song. This is not music. The beat doesnt change, the tempo doesnt change. Its just too predictable and boring.

4. The cliche factor - rap music and its videos are extremely cliched. The beautiful women, the fast, fast cars. Big, fat guys and crooks who get these beautiful ladies, the happening club, the porsche or the bmw, the big mansion - where is the reality? People who believe that this is life should get a bit of a reality check and go out on the streets. You will either find common suburbia or the homeless and needy.

I think I got my point across there, but ill sum up. Rap music is extremely shallow. The artists and lyrical content have little to no integrity whatsoever and lacks any inspiration or beauty which music is supposed to bring out.

Thanks,

Sangrah

Wow. Never have I heard anything so profound (well, not today anyway). Hits the nail on the head for me.

[Kimbo]

I am not a fan of rap myself. I dont like the whole bling bling scene. Gold chains, dollar signs and all that stuff make me cringe.

[Langeveldt]

Its OK i guess, but i prefer stuff like Coldplay, Stereophonics, Chilli peppers etc. Stuff that is actually music instead of talking with a beat in the background

[Neil Pickup]

Saves me from writing anything much, then.

One thing that I will add, however, is that the whole thing (although it doesn't differ from nu-metal/kiddy pop in this respect) is entirely fuelled by media exposure. Take the Tupac/7 years/13 September thing for example.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by Jacques Rudolph
Stuff that is actually music instead of talking with a beat in the background

The definition of music is very subjective.

[PY]

Originally posted by masterblaster
Rap music - why is it so mediocre?
(Sorry Reuben)

1. The artists themselves are the worst role models for kids growing up. A young teenage boy hears someone like Eminem swearing and cursing and being derogitory at women will pick up the idea that somehow this is culturally acceptable. IT IS NOT. People deserve to be treated with respect, and rap music is not a good source of inspiration for young kids. I found that out myself. Its an age, when your sort of immature, I was a little bit too and I found myself attracted to the extreme lyrics of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Doggy Dogg. But as father time passed by, I realised that this is not what i want, and as a religious person with some sort of moral decency, that i dont want to listen to this garbage.
Someone like 50 Cent (and Tupac) for that matter, who are known felons, known crooks, known drug dealers, known criminals, how can they be possibly a role model for our younger generation??

2. The Lyrics - Its just the same old crap, commercial/redigested crap. About guns, women as sex objects (ho's and bitches), money, fancy cars, fancy clothes, clubs, alcohol, drugs, with fully explicit langauge etc. etc. etc. Is there anything deep and meaningful which comes out of this sort of garbage? Now before any of you get on my case, I agree that some rap tracks I've heard of are quite meaningful. But the vast majority (50 cent, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, P Diddy, XZibit) all talk about things which aren't too inspiring. Compared to a band like U2, who deserve to be called "artists" and inspiring songwriters with a message.

3. The music - one little riff (sp?) of music of about 10 seconds plays throughout an entire song. This is not music. The beat doesnt change, the tempo doesnt change. Its just too predictable and boring.

4. The cliche factor - rap music and its videos are extremely cliched. The beautiful women, the fast, fast cars. Big, fat guys and crooks who get these beautiful ladies, the happening club, the porsche or the bmw, the big mansion - where is the reality? People who believe that this is life should get a bit of a reality check and go out on the streets. You will either find common suburbia or the homeless and needy.

I think I got my point across there, but ill sum up. Rap music is extremely shallow. The artists and lyrical content have little to no integrity whatsoever and lacks any inspiration or beauty which music is supposed to bring out.

Thanks,

Sangrah

I'm with you Andre......wow. That is a particularly well written opinion. :wow:

Wish I could write what's in my head like that

[Mr. P]

im not really the sorta person who's into rap. like others have said, im more into rock, you know, Red Hot Chili Peppers and so on.

[Anil]

It's just noise purporting to be music, plain and simple.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by anilramavarma
It's just noise purporting to be music, plain and simple.

That's stereotpical. Don't label the whole genre.

[Mr. P]

why not?

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Because it's wrong. When discussing a topic such as this it's important to have an open mind. Music is very dependent on taste, but that doesn't mean that one has the right to blatantly talk down another genre just because he or she doesn't have a taste for it.