January 12, 2004

The Future of Rap (Foretold by National Review)

National Review offers this baffling paragraph in their review of the year in music:

As the social wheel spins, so goes music. Trends come and go. Today, emotional intensity appears to be the most important thing, but even so, some waves are receding as audiences show a preference for more positive emotions. Rap, once all but ubiquitous, seems to be waning, slowly but surely; the broader category of hip-hop, though, with its rather more positive social aura, is still going strong.

Questions abound. What led them to the conclusion that what they call rap is falling and what they call hip-hop is rising? The biggest selling album this year was 50 Cent, and it's hard for me to imagine them IDing that as hip-hop rather than rap.. certainly if "positive social aura" is their litmus test.

And how in the world do they differentiate between "rap" and "hip-hop" in the first place? Are they applying the same bizarro-world logic used by MTV when they make separate awards for Best Rap and Best Hip-Hop, and then give the latter to people like Sisqo? I am intrigued.

Posted by jsmooth995 at January 12, 2004 2:47 AM

Comments

There are so many things wrong with that byte that a list of them would outweigh the length of the actual article. The person that wrote clearly doesn't listen to music at all.

Posted by: nOva at January 12, 2004 5:45 AM

Again... more funny than offensive...

"2003 was hard for music, but there were some winners."

This is the first paragraph of the article...

"It has been said, quite correctly, that whereas the objective of an industry is to generate a product, the object of a business is to produce money. That has certainly proven true in the arts. In music, commercial concerns have been important since the rise of a middle class created an increasing market for songcraft in the 19th century, displacing to the margins the most important former patrons, most notably the wealthy and the churches. Commercial concerns have risen to a peak since the 1970s and '80s, when the world's most important music companies were acquired by large conglomerates, which cemented their transition into being strictly businesses."

This kid just got out of college and he thinks he has his finger on the pulse of our national culture. Very amusing. If anyone has questions about the journalistic merits of the National Review... this should answer them.

Posted by: eric at January 12, 2004 11:23 AM

Dude, your site is the shit. You should be on TV (not cable since you couldn't watch yourself...)

Posted by: prince c. at January 12, 2004 3:59 PM

This seems to be the hot thing, to talk about hip hop and rap and get yourself read up on. I just posted a couple things which, strangely enough, would seem to say otherwise about what is happening to culture and its adoption of rap and hip hop.

The Times has an article today and so does MSNBC about how culture has been infused with some changes to rappers' attitudes and public personas.

But what do I know, I'm not NRO.

Posted by: djspicerack at January 12, 2004 4:15 PM

One word: aHAhaHAhaHAAAAAAAAAAhahaHAha. He. Hehe.

Posted by: David at January 12, 2004 5:23 PM

i was djing this friday in queens when i was approached by a fiftysomething woman with bleach-blonde hair. "are you going to play some of the hip-hop?" she asked. as i was mixing tribe into digable planets at the time, i told her, "this is hip-hop," at which point she said, "really?" she listened for a moment and then nodded. "i hear it now," she said, and went back to the bar. i'm not sure what she thought it was, but she sure enough had a clear definition of hip-hop, doubtlessly stitched together from whatever sources the National Review uses...i'm guessing that the prevailing wisdom of the day equates rap with "scary" and hip-hop with "party". hence sisqo gets the hip hop award because, you know, he's kind of singing, and not very scary at all.

Posted by: gsqual at January 12, 2004 7:37 PM

Usually it works like "rap is that ignant stuff that I don't like, but hip hop is the good, real stuff that I do like". Most people who separate the two do it that way. It is fun to make 'em try to define the difference though.

Posted by: justme at January 13, 2004 2:22 PM

Rap and hiphop are the same thing. Rap does not necesarily embody all other elements of hiphop culture, like b-boying, graf, djing, beatboxing, writing, but if you talk about hiphop music, you're talkin about rap. I don't personally condone the bastardization of hiphop music. Meaning, I think it's cool if rap incorporates other music forms, but when other genres incorporate rap styles, I don't think it makes it hiphop.

Posted by: mic at January 13, 2004 2:59 PM

Hey, someone ask Kool Herc what his definition is?

Buckley is the only one on National Review that makes any valid point.

qsqual-- That's crazy! You should have followed the mix with M.o.p. and said "This is for that ignorant old bitch.....

Posted by: pexdiggy at January 14, 2004 7:32 PM

Don't people realize that rap and hip-hop are one in the same. Without rap there's no hip-hop and without hip-hop there's no rap. Let me explain to the ignorant that hip-hop is the culture and rap is the way of life. Don't let corperate america fool you into believing that hip-hop and rap are different. Rap music is still the main force behind hip-hop culture don't get twisted. I understand that hip-hop culture is bridging gaps between the races around the world. But corperate americas' music outlets like MTV and Vh-1 are making kids believe that hip-hop is good and rap is bad when in reality corperate america is far from the truth. Rap whether positive or negative always has talked about the social issues in the culture from the beginning of its inception. Now that whites who control the media have finally embraced the hip-hop culture are trying to differentiate hip-hop and rap as seperate entities have started to exceed its mission. Cooperate america and the media are succeeding so far in their mission to make children of other races including the black and hispanic races who created this cultural phenomenon that has fascinated other races with its street language, music, and dancing are undermining the very fabric of what hip-hop culture and rap music really is. Cooperate america and the media are reconstructing the meaning of the hip-hop culture and what rap music is. They same cultural phenomenon and music we as blacks and hispanics have built over the years is now being deconstructed and rebuilt to appeal to audiences as being quote on quote a safe influence for children as they claim. But in reality they only want to control and make a profit of the hip-hop culture and rap music as a whole. I believe this injustice can be stopped and rectified if we mobilize our forces to teach our children and future generations the real meanings of the hip-hop culture and rap music as such. I'll do Nas one better. Don't just save the rap music, save the culture of hip-hop as well.

Posted by: Tony Stylz at January 25, 2004 8:34 AM

It's bloody stupid really.
I mean the whole West Coast-East Coast shitt which then simplifies into Rap and Hip-Hop.
I mean why the fuck you have to try and diffrentiate the names of the types of music which sound the same in the first place anyway?
I mean it's not as if we're actually comparing rock and rap which can be diffrentiated (well actually, come to think of it it's all utterly nonsensical cuz you DO have rock artists that are actually rapping-say Linkin Park)and hey even poppy Maddonna has taken up rapping after Missy helped her arse-so who is who and what is what.
Fuck it. It's the East Coast West Coast war which has segregated music and given it 2 names.
Hispanic or RAP-they're both the same.
2pac, 50 and Coolio do Hip Hop but they're rappers aren't they? Or is there a new term to be created for them too---ummm...Hispanics.Hey! There's a thought. Dumb Fucks do something better with your time 'stead of dwelling on this rapshitt.

"If you're not ready to die for it, put the word freedom out of your vocabulary"

Posted by: Aisha at February 5, 2004 12:49 PM

i give a fuck less about the east coast west coast war , its just hip hop , but why doesnt anybody pay attention to the real hip hop , all these fake ass mc's like 50 cent , pit bull , lil jon , neptunes , all these faggit ass rappers are in the biz for the cheddar , shit why dont ya'll listen to the real stuff like , cali agents , zioni , the roots , beatnuts , dead prez , a tribe called quest , shit even mike shindoa is a good rapper ' the guy from linkin park' and lots more of underground hip hop , so why dont ya'll slip in the best of hip hoppy into your cd player crank up da volume on the mothafuckin system an jam to da real shit

PEACE!

pitbull is gay!! hahaha!

Posted by: horodrig at August 20, 2004 1:57 AM

^^^^

lol @ the guy from linkin park
if he could rap then so can fred from limp bizkit
and kid rock your an idiot if you or anyone else thinks beatnuts are any good, dead prez aint even that good they just sum overrated racist fucks, zioni sounds techno dats why i never heard of it, a tribe called quest doesnt even exist anymore dats like sayin you still listen to the fugees and i think Q tip is gay hahaha

at least the south has sumthin to say and eminem and the all of g unit all have good albums , ja rule is gay fat joe is gay jada is... gay too
fab. is steppin it up and i wanna hear more joe buddens

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