Article: The Music In Me: Rap of History Backwards The

[wwaldmanfan]

2 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Grammy - Album of the Year

Grammy - Best Rap Album

Grammy - Best Urban /Alternative Performance

 

#1 - US Billboard 200

#1 - UK Albums Chart

#1 - US Billboard R&B / Hip-Hop

 

Over 11,000,000 sold in the US (Diamond)

 

246,000,000 views on YouTube

 

I'll stop here because I don't think it will matter to you, but this is straight factual evidence going against what many are saying. Rap is real, rap is music, rap takes talent, etc...

 

Grammys and Billboard rankings do not represent talent, artistic merit, or quality. They are marketing tools and indexes which were created and exist only to self-serve the music industry (not that there is anything wrong with that). Oscars, Emmys, Tonys--same thing.

 

Rap is real, and probably here to stay. Whether it has any redeeming value is subjective, and cannot be argued. Whether it qualifies as music is a semantic argument which must be considered within a social context.

Does it take talent? I look at it like graffiti. That was once nothing more than an affront to society. Eventually, it became socially acceptable at a certain level, and was even elevated to an art form by the likes of Keith Haring. On the other hand, many people find it offensive and ugly, and wish it away, ignoring it as best they can.

 

Why is rap and hip-hop so popular and successful? Kids like what they are taught to like by their friends and by what they are fed by the media. It has always been this way.

My young nephew first exposed me to rap when he played for me a tape of a new group called Two Live Crew. He said he loved it. I realized then that this might be the beginning of the end of a civilized culture, and it was at that moment that I chose not to have children.

 

[wwaldmanfan]

15 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

This would have more resonance if you spelled "Juilliard" right.

 

Come on, there's no point in fighting about this. It's good that we all have freedom to choose what we want to listen to. Some folks say they hate bluegrass, and blues all sounds the same. Personally, those two musical genres are a huge part of my life. But who cares what I think? No one, and that's fine with me.

 

[wwaldmanfan]

2 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I don't disagree, but I find it strange how much dislike the rap genre bring out. 

 

I don't like ranchero music, but I'd never disparage it to a bunch of fans or even on a public forum. 

 

I think the biggest gripe about rap is not the lack of traditional musical content, but the anti-social messages in the lyrics. But, as has been pointed, much of the genre has evolved beyond that. Those of us that don't listen to it are not aware, or maybe can't appreciate that some artists just put this stuff out deliberately to challenge social norms.

[wwaldmanfan]

7 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

As anyone who grew up Jewish like me can tell you (and as it's easy enough to understand even if you didn't), using those sorts of terms "in the group" is a whole different ballgame in terms of intent and effect from some outsider using them.  Same as "White men can't dance" is funny and a little defiant when used by the minority, but "Black people sure can dance!" isn't when used by the majority.

 

If blacks want to call each other n_ _ _ ers in the privacy of their own homes, who cares? But, putting it out all over the media and the airwaves ad nauseum as a badge of honor, and then going apoplectic if one non-black utters the word is hypocritical and counter-productive. What is a parent supposed to teach their kids about this issue?

[wwaldmanfan]

14 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

Wait, you mean non-blacks are listening to this stuff?

 

Re parents:  When I was 5, other kids at school taught me "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe."  But instead of "Catch a tiger by the toe," it was "Catch a n___er by the toe."  Of course I had no idea what the word meant.  My mom heard me repeating this at home, and she very calmly told me that word was a bad word and I should never say it again.  That's the one and only time she ever said anything to me about bad language, so it's stuck in my memory all this time.  So I never have said it again.  What other folks want to say is up to them.

 

I think it's not very complicated to explain there are words some people can say to each other but you shouldn't say to them, and not even very complicated to talk a little about why, if you want to do that.

 

It's more complicated now. When we were children, blacks did not refer to each other that way, at least not in public. Everyone else that used that term were genuine racists.

Today, a confusing double-standard exists. It is so pervasive in popular culture that kids hear it everywhere, especially in music and films. I'd hate to be a white kid who "accidently" says that word within earshot of blacks.

[wwaldmanfan]

1 hour ago, Jud said:

Now is it really that hard to explain why the same language used by or toward different people has completely different implications and results?

 

Good story. Reminds me of when I rode a train through East Germany on my honeymoon in 1984. Stormtroopers with submachine guns boarded the stopped train that night and asked me for my papers. Fortunately, my passport was not stamped, "Juden". I felt like I was in the Twlilght Zone, since, if you remember, I had relatives on Schindler's List.

 

However, your analogy is not convincing. I'd like to see you explain to your 12-year-old, after he watches a couple of Quentin Tarantino films starring Samuel L. Jackson, then listens to some Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, why he better never utter that word. Confused much?

[wwaldmanfan]

24 minutes ago, firedog said:

If there is a large population in the US that is unable to use standard English when needed, that's a failure of the greater social system and the educational system. It's not BECAUSE of the language in hip hop songs.

 

Well, it sure isn't helping. These rich, successful rap stars are looked up to by kids who want to emulate them, including their speech patterns. While 'Lil Wayne may be able to read Shakespeare aloud with perfect elocution, I've never heard him do it, and neither have the impressionable kids who idolize him.

 

I'm not advocating censorship, but I am not sure that some young minds have the intellectual capacity to embrace the hip-hip culture for entertainment, then dismiss any influence on their real life.

[wwaldmanfan]

I'm amazed that some of you guys think that parents can control how their kids think (if they even have two parents), or that young, unsophisticated minds are immune to the cutural barrage that they are constantly exposed to. 

I don't know many teenagers who listen to their parents when they are told, "don't experiment with drugs, don't drink, don't have sex, don't listen to that degenerate music, etc." I say that based on my own experience growing up, even though I turned out OK.

[wwaldmanfan]

2 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

Well, that's the thing, isn't it?  We human animals really want to find out for ourselves about all that stuff people who've already done it know is stupid or bad or dangerous.  But we somehow manage to survive and gain wisdom that will then be ignored by the next generation.

 

Look, I have a stepson, but he was 14 when I met his mom, and I had very little to do with forming his personality.  So take whatever I say with a pound of salt, because I haven't done it from the beginning.  I have this feeling our example and how we teach our kids in general - the "tool set" we give them - may be more important than specific pieces of advice, especially of the "thou shalt not" variety.

 

Right. Your kids will learn by observing your behavior, not what you tell them, especially if you are yelling. I see my parents in myself as an adult, but emulating how they lived, not what they told me to do.

That is why I think kids are like sponges absorbing cultural stimuli, including films, music, and social media. Rap and other styles of music can potentially influence kids in a negative way. Remember the outcry over heavy metal and satanic themes, how some stupid teenagers commited suicide, etc? Nowadays, all this bad lyrical contents seems socially acceptable, even celebrated. I don't get it.

[wwaldmanfan]

I watched an excellent documentary on Netfilx called, "Take Me To The River". It focused on the Memphis music scene during the heydey of Stax/Volt and Hi Records. The producers were the sons of legendary producer Jim Dickinson.

 

They rounded up some of the old guard for a modern recording session, including music icons Bobby "Blue" Bland, Otis Clay, and William Bell. The idea was to rework some of the old classic songs, but overdub rappers for a modern twist. They got Snoop Dogg, and Cedric Coleman, who won the songwriting Academy Award for his unforgettable, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp".

 

When they told Bobby Bland that they were going to overlay rapping on his vocal performance, you should have seen his face. He was... disturbed. Having dragged himself into the studio in his wheelchair, he tried to feign some enthusiasm, but to me he seemed insulted. He passed away shortly after the film was completed. I'm not saying that this incident contributed to his death, but it probably didn't help.

[wwaldmanfan]

52 minutes ago, DRB100 said:

I tried to explain what R&B meant and the history of popular music of the US stemming back in the days when blues began and how it also created and is the basis for many of other forms of contemporary music including Jazz, R&B, Rock, influenced Gospel, etc.  But this person simply didn't care.  He just cared about his Rap music and acted like it's the best and ONLY type of music to learn.   It's amazing how much the music industry has conditioned and brainwashed these kids.   It's all some of these kids want to know about.  It's just sad.

 

 

Whattya gonna do, different strokes for different folks. I know a lot of people who never listen to music at all. I gave one of my friends a few CD-R's to listen to, not realizing that he had no way to play them, except for the CD player on his motorcycle.

Then there's one of my brothers-in-law, who is big into music, although he is content to stream it to a Bluetooth speaker. Nevertheless, he goes to JazzFest in New Orleans every year, and lots of local concerts, too. However, he can't sit through a movie--any movie. Too boring.

[wwaldmanfan]

2 hours ago, LarryMagoo said:

Rap is still not music....

 

It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under our feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going