Honest question from an uninformed old person.
 

What do rappers DO? I THINK they say things that rhyme to a certain beat. Do they make them up as they go along or do they make them up before they perform?

Is there ANY music involved? Do they sell recordings of it? Is it always ummmmm racy?

Why do you think two rappers were killed in the last few days?

Thumbs down for rap.
 

Rap performers compose their "songs" in advance and then perform them or record them.

Most are counter-culture and anti-police. They sometimes call for the murder of police officers.

Much of it is beyond racy. It is obscene.

Successful rappers can become quite wealthy. Some die from overdoses of drugs. Others from shooting each other.

I have no use for them.

That's a rather broad brush, Carl. I disagree that "most" are counter-culture and anti-police. I also think deaths from overdose and shooting are not as common as you imply.

And then there are those like Will Smith, Ice T (Law and Order SUV), Vanilla Ice (DIY Network), Snoop Dog (venture capitalist) , LL Cool J (CSI Los Angeles), and P Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Will i am and others who made their start in rap and have built careers in other fields. Rappers send a message, as did Heavy Metal music, and folk music (to go the other extreme). Music is cultural, emotional, and can impact the moods of the individual and a society. My parents generation was scared to death of what Rock and Roll would do to us, mostly because they didn't understand it. There were some bad rock and roll influences (sex and drugs) but for the most part we got through it. There are some bad rap influences but hopefully that generation will get through it also.

My Grandparents asked the same questions about Rock n Roll.

:1rotfl:

"My Rappers Rap," by SFSkol
 

Rap has many poetry elements,
Most rappers cannot sing, like elephants.
Folk songwriters with attitudes,
Who think their words are platitudes.
Some are written, others not.
Often listeners say, "What?"
Are they songs without a beat?
Because, wouldn't that be neat?
Most rhyming skills are capable,
But never one to be memorable.

"Peace and Love, Man," frowning with arms crossed.

Just think: in 40 years, there will be rappers on the squares!

This is an excellent post. It points to the damage profiling can do.

Absolutely!

:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

I refer to it as crap.

With lots of tattoos, piercings and baggy pants worn so low all that really covers their parts is their underwear.

Hip Hop artists' contributions include inventing the "mic drop", adding millions to the coffers of sneaker manufacturers, and causing parents to actually give their children the gender neutral name, "Lil"

:BigApplause::BigApplause:

I refuse to acknowledge rap as music because it isnt. I guess it is related to what medieval jesters did to entertain the court; a long rambling recitation that served as oral history and entertainment. Maybe rhyming, maybe not. Not music. I suppose Beowulf was rap

Rap/hip hop has been around since at least the 1920’s. It was frequently used to give news that affected black communities but would not be covered by local media.

Some is made up on the spot, especially if a battle. Some is carefully crafted. If you can’t understand the words, find and read the lyrics. Not all is obscene, sexist and violent. Some speak to loving their family, their children, how they’ve changed, social issues, past history. Some advocate violence and spew nothing but obscenities. Enimem started with rap of childhood abuse and dreams of revenge to his mother. Now, his rap waxes poetic about his daughter and his hopes and dreams for her. 50 Cent started as a thug, tats and bullet holes. Today, he is a successful businessman, has had tats removed, raps about non-violent ways to be a man. The 20 YO murdered in Miami was a complete and total punk. Yet, his rap was a message of hope that he was changing, that he would grow into a man proud of his actions.

It may not be music to your ears, but it is to many. Elvis was not music to your parents’ ears. Swing was once considered obscene. The waltz was risqué. And so on and so forth. Like it or not, rap is here to stay and, like most art forms, evolves as time goes on.

My dad must of been ahead of his time, he was a huge Elvis fan. He was no youngster, he born in 1928. When he was filming 'Follow that Dream' in Yankeetown, Elvis made an appearance at Weeki Wachee Springs and we drove 60 miles to see him.

No worse than the music piped into the Town Squares.

Is that profiling?

No. Just bad, outdated music

:boom: :agree: totally! They are the scum of the music entertainment world. I'm not a prude that listens to classical music or piano (I like all kinds of rock); just can't stand rap.

True that!

Many things said here remind me of what was said about The Beatles, Elvis, and others. "That's not music". "They're all on drugs". "They have dirty, greasy long hair". "Kids should not be allowed to listen to that stuff". "The words are obscene" (Remember Louis, Louis?).

One generation need not enjoy or understand the music of the next generation. It has always, It will always be.

You can find real music if you look hard enough

Isn't profiling when you group all together and judge against ? Wouldn't it be profiling to summarily dismiss the kind of music played on our Villages radio station as old and outdated?

Maybe profiling is sometimes good and beneficial? As a way of categorizing what we like and don't like? I don't like dirty looking houses and unkempt lawns. I don't think well of the inhabitants. It makes me think they are lazy, but they could be sick. We all sometimes come to conclusions based on appearances. It is human. It probably helps keep us safe and alive. It is sometimes intuitive and protects us against harmful situations.

Rap is crap. It is not music in any sense.

Taking out the emotion is the bottom line. Is it music, yes. Do you have like it, no. Is it different from other forms of music, yes. Do the people who like rap music care what others think of rap, no. Will it destroy our society, no. Will this also pass, yes.



“Rapping is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular", which is performed or chanted in a variety of ways, usually over a backbeat or musical accompaniment. “


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My kids used a Hip-Hop barberShop in Elizabeth N.J. I decided to take them there one day. They seemed to be happy that I was interested in what goes on in their lives. Once inside the Barbershop the rules of the road were posted and enforced. One of the rules was no cursing. The place was neat and clean. I'll be honest even though I didn't understand one word they were singing my foot was tapping because whatever was on was a catchy tune. My kids interpreted some things for me and they liked that I was cool in front of their friends. Just like on here my opinion wasn't going to change anything so I kept it to myself.

Rap is a thing. Our like or dislike isn't going to change it being there or will our dislike change the opinion of those who listen to it. It is here to stay.

I have turned into someone like my dad, 640 AM and some talk radio suite me just fine as long as the talk radio isn't set to the enemy station. I know 80% of you know what I mean. Was up wit dat Homey! Lol. :1rotfl:

They even had a guy who watches your car for you while you are getting a shape up. They don't call it a haircut. How nice!

IMHO best line in this discussion - Just like on here my opinion wasn't going to change anything so I kept it to myself.

Check out this site -- if you don't consider it hysterical, you lost a few years somewhere:


You've been Rick-Rolled - YouTube


LOL -- Just yesterday had to explain this to my sister.

I love musicals and I am sure that this song isn't politically correct, but I love it. And the men look handsome to me.


there is nothing like a dame - Bing video

Very good answer Red. :clap2: Rapping - Wikipedia

I don't get the appeal of Rap/Hip-Hop, but then I don't get the appeal of Polka or Country, for that matter. That doesn't mean that they aren't all legitimate music or that I don't like music. A lot of what I like to listen to doesn't appeal to many other people, including some industrial metal (like Rammstein), some techno/electronic dance music (like Crystal Method), some electronic (like Tangerine Dream), some Avent Garde (like Talking Heads), some experimental (like Frank Zappa), some classical, some jazz and some rock & roll. And there are artists in each of those types of music that have met horrible ends and artists that led wonderful and inspiring lives.

A friend of mine who was an artist define art as "Whatever you can get away with." I think a definition of music would be much the same.

Red...how did the highlighted part, above work? Where did they gather back then? In church? What kind of news, exactly? I don't understand that part at all?

I like your post. :ho:

Excellent!

Uh,... could you explain it to me? I don't get what's so funny.

Thank you!

I was beginning to wonder if anyone here appreciated sarcasm. I tried to show that anyone, even a senior citizen, can rap. But, that doesn't make it music.

(I also don't get the Rick-Rolled video.)

Can't understand the words? Also true of a great many songs from the 50's and 60's. It doesn't have a melody so it's not music. Then toss away Gene Krupa. As a bastion of my community I find it offense. That is exactly what art often should do. It should annoy you, challenge your assumptions, speak truth to power, show your least attractive attributes, A glamour shot is not art. Art can celebrate beauty but in its most powerful form it does not. Think Guernica.

:22yikes:


Ohhh the horror! :1rotfl:


AWESOME (and very accurate) point! :thumbup:

YEP! :thumbup: