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Do you consider rap to actually be music?

Dark Star

Member
1. A great deal of what we would otherwise call music is made electronically today. However, the keyboard is most certainly a musical instrument and many producers, like the Alchemist, got their start making beats on one. I would absolutely consider the MPC 500 drum machine a musical instrument, because there is still live timing and rhythm that goes into it:



2. A rapping voice is not the same as a talking voice. There is still a lot of rhythm that goes into riding a beat.

Regarding sampling, I think all music is fundamentally taking something that has already happened and putting your own spin on it. I think the video with Havoc above really demonstrates the artistry that goes into it. He's one of the best beatmakers in my book for how he can take things that sound like they have no place in a rap song but add his own melodic and dark style to it, regardless of how lighthearted the source might seem.


Legendary, genius.

Producing is an art. Sampling is an art. It's the foundation of the history of rap music.







 
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MastAndo

Member
Since when is singing a requirement for something to qualify as music? Just because you think it's shitty, doesn't mean it's not music. I will say the current state of pop rap is pretty nauseating, but to label the entire genre as drivel is pretty narrow-minded.
 

bucyou

Member
Don't get me wrong, man. And Murphy Lee ain't dumb, man, cause if the shoe is on the shelf, you should have some, man.

You can not sit up and tell me that you have none, man. You may not have three or four, but you got one, man.
 
And it also sounds really bad live for the most part. Even some of the supposed greats just sound like people trying to yell louder than the track that's playing behind them when they perform live.

It's definitely not the same as a rock/pop concert but the good acts bring so much energy. As long as the crowd is vibing too it's always a good time.

I really wish I was old enough to see Pac live. Imagine being in the crowd to see raw emotion like this.

 

Scotty W

Gold Member
Rap is trash, which is harmful to those who listen to it, especially those it purports to represent, young black men. It is an insult to black people to say rap is the best music they are capable of. They have and continue to make amazing music- music which is forgotten and ignored by the attention given to rap.

People sometimes say rap represents them and their struggles. What this really means is that their language, values and patterns of thought have been shaped by rap music; so it is obvious that they feel it represents them. It made you who you are, and you are wretched and you don’t even know it.

It is absurd to conflate traditional African music with rap. Homer also performed poetry using a lute. Was he a rapper? I have yet to hear rap that is not simply ego masturbation doggerel. The best you find is a half related collection of amusing observations. Traditional African music is not rap, rather, rap is a debased form of traditional rap music.
 

Werewolf Jones

Gold Member
What a retarded thread. If this is music then so is rap.

Entry level Merzbow. lmfao. Dig deeper.

I remember too having 14 years old and being the hardest metalhead in town claiming that rap isn't real music.

Then I listened to Rage Against The Machine and my perspective (if should be called that) changed.
Rap metal can either be cringe or fire and in the case of RATM it's fire.

I mean Denzel Curry straight covered Bulls on Parade.




I fuck with 6ix9ine and I fuck with KRS-One. Sure modern day hip-hop is here and now garbage that usually ages like milk but there's still quality present. Also it's real music, most people who say this think they have 200 IQ cuz they like Tool or something.
 
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Old Retro

Member
Rap and electronica are 2 of my favorite music genres. Lots of 70s-90s reggae relies on riddims, which are the same exact instrumentals for each track. Some Deejays sound monotone just like rap...



EDM isn't spontaneously created from AI, even though it doesn't have instruments. It does have feeling and can move you (unless you're a soulless piece of shit).
 

mekes

Member




Nas has performed with a full orchestra. Pharrell re-released his album with Questlove and a full backing band. Countless live covers with full bands. By this point any music can have rap, so why can’t rap itself be music?
 
This is the worst thread since that Jeffrey Epstein/Super Mario Galaxy thread, smh
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teezzy

Banned
I listened to a fair amount of harsh noise in high school. It was a natural progression from KoRn to Sonic Youth to guys like Massona and Merzbow. I just loved weird sounds, they were 'heavy' in a sense.

Even saw a local Detroit noise band, Wolf Eyes, a few times live and got to smoke weed with them and stuff. These days that shit just sorta pisses me off. It's so overindulgent and up its own ass.

Kinda like people who pretend as though they actually enjoy listening to Captain Beefheart or the The Residents. Give me a break, you're full of shit. No way anyone puts that on after a hard day of work or some shit unless they have down syndrome.
 

highrider

Banned
Most genres of music consist of a harmony of melodic and rhythmic sounds that are produced via instruments - or instruments and a singing human voice. Genres that meet this criteria are classical, rock n' roll, rhythm and blues, pop, and country.

However, rap doesn't meet this criteria as it doesn't rely on instruments to produce the non-verbal portions of songs but instead relies on wholly electronic equipment, and the verbal portions of its songs are produced by a speaking voice rather than a singing one.

In light of this, do you consider rap to be actual music? Also, while we're at it, how about techno?

Learn more about hip hop, then pose this question.
 

deafmedal

Member
I actually like some rap, and one of my favorite musicians is a rapper (Eminem).
It's like To Pimp a Butterfly doesn't even exist in OP's closed world.
SSLP and MMLP are good albums- classics even. While Eminem is a rapper he really makes pop music. TPaB is an entire album of deep cuts in comparison, especially if you are a typical white guy. Some of the tracks are straight bangers and there is excellent emotion in key areas but these aren't pop songs even if there is some pop sensibility sprinkled about. Hell, I'd even argue Swimming Pools isn't a pop song but it has all the criteria, it's self aware without being too pretentious. Kendrick is nowhere near as accessible as Eminem.
Now that's what I call white privilege 20 ;)
 
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SSLP and MMLP are good albums- classics even. While Eminem is a rapper he really makes pop music. TPaB is an entire album of deep cuts in comparison, especially if you are a typical white guy. Some of the tracks are straight bangers and there is excellent emotion in key areas but these aren't pop songs even if there is some pop sensibility sprinkled about. Hell, I'd even argue Swimming Pools isn't a pop song but it has all the criteria, it's self aware without being too pretentious. Kendrick is nowhere near as accessible as Eminem.
Now that's what I call white privilege 20 ;)
Dude is the ultimate Boomer for making this thread.

Acts like Outkast and Kanye West don't exist in this world.

Ayo, BluRayHiDef BluRayHiDef , if rap isn't actually music, then explain this:
 

kretos

Banned
Not anymore it's been dead for years, what people call music today is just shit specially those mumble idiots
 
Kinda like people who pretend as though they actually enjoy listening to Captain Beefheart or the The Residents. Give me a break, you're full of shit. No way anyone puts that on after a hard day of work or some shit unless they have down syndrome.

Holy shit I haven't laughed this hard in ages. Because I had to Google and put these artists on and skip through some songs, while continuing to read your comment. :messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_grinning_sweat:💀💀
 
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Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
You know how certain topics can make you feel old?

Well instead this thread made me feel like a kid again because I swear it’s been like 30 years since I last heard the “rap isn’t real music” argument.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
You should implement a poll.

Of course rap is music. It's audible, has a rhythm, and expresses emotion. Quit making up your own definitions according to your own personal whims.
 
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