Rap/Hip-Hop

Alot of people judge rap unfairly because: they don't understand it, they're ignorant about it, they can't relate with the lyrics, it's generally not their style, or some combination of those. I think it pretty much comes down to people being closed minded and judging everything based off what they're exposed to in the mainstream. Well it's not for me to tell people what they can and can't like but I've always thought it's not intelligent to hate or love a whole genre because you'll never hear all of what that genre has to offer in your lifetime but if you did it's certain that you're gonna like and dislike individual parts of it

 

Because people think rap is only for thugs which is really stupid

 

Or if your in the rap business you need to feel like your a thug. As a Hip-Hop artist myself i used to dress like i was in the hood. Dress like a "Gangster". And act and rap like one too. Eventually the strong willed people in the industry will get over it and break free but the cookie cutter rappers will just stay with that persona. Thus, people judge it as they see it.

 

Well I think it's the stereotype of the songs; bro's, ho's, lambo's, alcohol and druugs, money etc.

 

This.

Rap tends to allow more degrading lyrics, especially when it comes to women. It promotes this idea of, if you aren't surrounded by a lot of women or money, you're doing it wrong.

This isn't for all artists or songs that fall into the genre, but it tends to be the most popular type of song content. But when you consider the history of the genre, you can see where it came from. When rap exploded in the 1980s, it was about doing well and being proud of success... and then it turned into what you see today.

 

I was just talking about rap earlier today.

Personally, I put a great deal of emphasis on the lyricism in any song - regardless of genre. I have to agree or identify with what it is saying. Rap is mostly words, and a whole lot of them too. And as previous posters have mentioned, the style, content, and culture of rap has become feral and low in recent times. For this reason I tend to look on it with general distaste.

However.

I firmly believe that every musician should be taken on a case-by-case basis, without bias or judgement beforehand based on mainstream opinions. I refuse to shun a band "just because they are rap."

Many so-called musics in various genres do not deserve the title of an artform. It may be that the "lesser quality" sort is over-represented in the Rap and Hip-Hop genres and that's why lots of people don't view it - on a whole - as worthy "art." But personally I think that rap and hip-hop have a lot of potential, because you can pack a lot into one song, more than other types of music. Some of my favorite artists nowadays are indeed rap (or at least include it): Twenty One Pilots, Macklemore, and Lecrae.

 

I actually like specific artists of rap and hip hop from the underground scene and from Australia too, Australia's Rap/Hip Hop scene is considerably more political rap and hip hop. I honestly think rap and hip hop have gone down in quality, and some artists give the scene a bad name too, for instance Nicki Minaj(she is a woman in the scene who is pretty much just sexualizing herself, imagine if she was actually taking this opportunity to speak for black women).

Just like Queer Hip Hop artists such as Soce, the elemental wizard, QBoy and others rap about some of the journey they've had in the past. Nicki Minaj actually has the same opportunity to do that for black women.

Also the fact that men in the mainstream rap scene basically degrade the women and do rap about sex, drugs and money. It's almost like rap has kind of followed the old Sex, Drugs and Rock'N'Roll saying of the eighties.

I don't judge based off the mainstream indefinitely, I judge the artist after I have listened to the artist and for me I used to like rap just because it kind of helped me maintain my straight persona, despite the only I liked about it was the music behind the rap and the fact I could shake my butt to the songs. I dislike the mainstream, but I always give the underground of any music genre a chance.