Is There Nothing That Hip Hop Can't Do?

"Inspiring the transformation of America" Boy, I'll say! If we're talking about the dumbing down of American black entertainment, the exploitation of black women and children, the lowering of moral standards and obscenity thresholds in black culture - hip hop is your agent of change. Hope and change, homies.

It should be interesting to see what Mr. everything can do. From afar, Australia, the media perception is about the same as home but the guy on the street is one hell of a lot more skeptical and realistic, transplant the CBC down here and no one would know.

Has Obama yet said anything [recently] definitively on warrantless wiretaps? I heard one fellow said that he would keep them in place but read another report that he would not.

Where do things now stand?

Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit, was dubbed 'The Hip-hop Mayor'. We know how that story turned out.

I wonder if Obabma is “gonna get down” with some of his people rappan at the inauguration ceremony.

It would be cool to see him jamming with Snoop Dog and 50 Cent even if they’ve been banned in Canada, and they don’t sing too much about “kill’n cops” or “busten caps in crackers”.

Otherwise it’ll be quite the eye opening spectacle, to be sure.

Subculture fox paws from an true outsider.

Hey, it's not all bad, look at the sponsor HEINEKEN BEER!

That could be reason to launch an invasion!

Hip hop didn't always have the connection to violence and drugs; but started out as a form of social commentary/alienation from traditional forms of expression.

See for instance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music

As for the dance type elements, it probably beats being a couch potatoe. Some of the moves require quite a considerable degree of skill and coordination in the same way skateboarders develop routines.

As with any music culture taste and selection are reflective of alienation and or values. Discriminate carefully.

Personally, I don't relate to the cheap gangsta videos with the ubiquitous babes around some gold chain laden hood flogging drugs.

It is too stereotypical and doesn't say anything particularly inspiring. In some ways hip hop has been commoditized or morphed over to a factory for selling pulp cutouts of common culture. Its roots however didn't start out that way.

..."City teenagers, after years of gang violence, were looking for new ways to express themselves. [16] These outdoor parties, hosted in parks, became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where “Instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy.” [16]

Cheers

Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief

Frankenstein Battalion
2nd Squadron: Ulanen-(Lancers) Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden(Rheinisches) Nr.7(Saarbrucken)
Knecht Rupprecht Division
Hans Corps
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North"

Priceless -- 'hope and change' includes giving hip hop misogynists and thugs free reign.

Im waiting for the next Obamessiah proclaimation

All Change is the Same
All Change is the Same.

How thrilling that there's a place for everyone in the New Camelot. Still, it'll be interesting to see where they fit in Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks. Maybe they could bookend the Black Eyed Peas.

I for one am very glad to see that it is only the Hip Hop 'A' List. Thank God. We wouldn't want any gun-totin', crack dealin', gang-bangers now would we? Oh wait, that is the friggin A list....

There's a differences between hip-hop and glamour rap. Rap is what most of the "damn-achy-breaky-heart-was-a-good-tune!" yocals above are incorrectly associating with hip hop (e.g. snoop dog, 50 cent, are both considered rap music)

Shouldn't that be "hype-hope"?

If this thread gets any whiter, no one will be able to read the comments. The push-pull about hip hop vs. rap is funny to read in an awkward, "honky" sort of way. I remember hearing that the origin of this "music" was due to public education cutbacks which eliminated music classes from many US schools.

When young kids grow up without music education, hip hop and rap are the end result.

Enjoy.

(snicker)

You know, Obama isn't the first ever black leader of a country.

Isn't the President elect too old for hip hop? He is 45, and the father of two young girls...a nice waltz would be more appropriate, IMO.

I want to see Obamba with some of those hip-pop lines in his due! Some lightning bolts maybe, or a sketch of his crib, you know the Whitehouse on the back of his head when he turns around. I think that would be crack.

What is Obama anyway? Some kind of showman? A magician? A televangelist? Rock star? Stand-up comic? Singer? Hypnotic-illusionist?

This is ridiculous!

The guy's the President; he's supposed to be addressing the serious problems and crises of America, not basking in the multimilliondollar spotlight...

Leave the spotlight to Gene Simmons and folks like him, and demand that the new President get right to work already and stow the silly B.S.

just another form of bread and circuses.

I'm so inspired. I wrote this song. Maybe it could be sung in hip-hop, but to the tune of "La Cucaracha" a little "Spanish lingo" w/ English in ()

Barack Obama, Barack Obama
ya no tengo trabahar (now I don't have to work)
porque no quiero, porque no quiero (because I don't want to, because I don't want to)
ya no tengo trabahar!

Back to bed for me. All will be taken care of from now on.

I would really like to know, from Kevin F. or anybody! Is hip - hop, and/or rap supposed to be elevating? inspiring? uplifting? Is anybody actually proud of this music, or just defensive? And where was the Dogg and his ilk during the election? Is that not a sign that rap/hip - hop is somewhat less than respectable? At least they let Biden out once and awhile until his next screwup. Now if Condaleezza Rice where in this mix somehow, at least I would have some Hope. She at least has her head in the right place musically. But, like Palin, she is just supposed to go away now. Their purpose served, now thrown away.

cottus:

I've never been a huge rap/hip-hop fan but do have some in my music collection. Never been a fan of the current, gangster rap like Eminem, 50 cent, or any of the new garbage coming out recently like Soulja Boy. 90% of the rap/hip-hop they play on the radio is unoriginal crap catered to white suburban kids.

If you want to hear some good hip-hop, here are some artists that get regular play on my iTunes:

The Roots
Mos Def
Del the Funkee Homosapien (and his other groups: Hieroglyphics, and Deltron 3030)
Blackalicious
Talib Kweli
Common
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Jurassic 5

These artists don't do the typical violent, gang-banger tripe that's constantly idolized by youth.

"Isn't the President elect too old for hip hop? He is 45, and the father of two young girls...a nice waltz would be more appropriate, IMO."

Not true Jema. Hip Hop goes back to the late seventies. Hip Hop fans are getting into their 50's now in some of the older markets(ie NY). Will Smith, Chuck D, Dr.Dre and Ice Cube are all well into their 40's or close enough. These are some of the people I grew up listening to with friends and older siblings. I find in markets like Saskatchewan and other smaller places, music and trends take up to a decade or more to break mainstream. This is why people in small centers are under the impression the Hip Hop crowd is under 30.

cottus

I have been inspired my whole life by Hip Hop music. I enjoy the backpack rappers that Kaga listed, I enjoy gangsta rap, and the more traditional "fun" Hip Hop like Doug E Fresh.

I recommend Lupe Fiasco for anyone who would like to sample one of Hip Hop's greatest writers.

"Struggle... yeah yeah, another sign that God love you
Cause on the low, bein po', make you humble
Keep they names in my rhymes to try and keep them out of trouble
Cause bein po', also teach you how to hustle
All they want is some shoes or some rims for they bubble
Now that I got my own, I can hit them with a couple
Couple, my homies so they ain't got no reason to cuff you
That's my plan, if I can, on the man, up above you"

Lupe Fiasco

Kaga

More backpack rappers: Gang Starr, and Kanye West, Dilated Peoples, Slum Village

Many considered "gangsta" are just as conscious as the backpack rappers you named ie.. Geto Boys, NWA, Tu-Pac, the Diplomats, the Clipse...

Del was in S'toon in 08', I missed the show;-(

I keep hearing and reading about how angry we are supposed to be on the conservative blogsphere over Obama; since when is being skeptical considered being angry? Oh, wait, that's right, see "Global Warming/Climate Change".

I just heard this morning that Obama collects comics books and of course everyone thinks that is wonderful. If you want to have some fun tell you left-wing family members that Bush collects comic books, let them rant about how that just proves how childish Bush is, them tell them that it is actually Obama who collects comic books; it is a lot of fun to watch them take back everything they just said.

Thanks Indiana. Forgot about Gang Starr and Dilated Peoples. I have mixed feelings about Kanye, however, but that's just a personal opinion.

The newer "gangsta" stuff I'm not into, same as much of the stuff coming out of the South. I do, however, like to break out the NWA every once in a while.

Kaga

I don't think it's "new" gangsta that't the problem. I think the problem with all Hip Hop today is the forgotten history. Nas addresses this in the song "Where are they now".

One of the most insightfull comments on this is from Nas:

"Cause if you ask'n why Hip Hop's dead, it's a pretty good chance you the reason it died. It's a pretty good chance your lame ass, corney ass is the reason it died. You don't give a F**k about it, you don't know anything about it."

With apologies to all the fans of this type of entertainment, I have never been able to consider hip hop or rap as being genuine styles of music. I'm not saying this to be incendiary or to start a flame war. It's simply a fact that there is so little substance and so little effort into "sampling" a song and then speaking rhyme overtop, or simply yammering on tunelessly over a canned beat box, that I personally, as a semi-professional musician take offence to the terminology. There is nothing more oxymoronic than the term "rap music", which is right up there with jumbo shrimp or military intelligence.

It took me years to learn how to make a decent sound from a trombone; I had to learn how to read music and the theory of how music is written, tones and semitones, scales and excercises, etc. I didn't pick one up and start playing it without having to put some effort into it. I'm sorry but this is simply not the case with rap or hip hop, which nearly anyone can do with little to no training.

To address the question cottus posed, I think that hip hop and rap evolved from individuals who were striving to express themselves within their limitations. They were not given access to the usual training or traditional instruments, and instead they creatively sought out a way to express themselves. Whether rap or hip hop is to be uplifting or joyous is not for me to decide, but these forms do seem to resonate with people for different reasons, like social frustration which inspires gangsta rap.

As a teen in the seventies, I gravitated to bands who had horn sections, and jazz and jazz fusion, because that's what I was exposed to at school. I find this music inspirational and exciting because much more effort went into creating it than is going into what we're hearing now. An ad lib soloist is really on the edge of creativity, as they plot a solo through chord changes with nothing else pre-arranged. That takes real musicianship.

The music industry compartmentalizes any new talent, and puts them into a rigid box of expectation. This stymies the creative process and produces the disposable product we are witnessing today. There is interesting music still being made, but Vitruvius' late night show is a veritable gold mine of the past. If you haven't already done so, check out some of those links. Great enduring classics stand the test of time.

Kevin F:

Fair enough. Sampling is something that sometimes turns me off as well. It kind of depends on how much and when it is used. It's the reason why I gravitated to the Roots which fuses jazz and hip hop. Very talented band. You might enjoy them.

"It took me years to learn how to make a decent sound from a trombone; I had to learn how to read music and the theory of how music is written, tones and semitones, scales and excercises, etc. I didn't pick one up and start playing it without having to put some effort into it. I'm sorry but this is simply not the case with rap or hip hop, which nearly anyone can do with little to no training."

Sorry Kevin this doesn't cut it. Neither the Beetles nor Green Day could read music in the beginning, yet they were making hits. Many Guitar players can not read a note. It is also presumptuous to say that rap artists can not do these things, and they don't put years into their craft. You are speaking from an ignorant knowledge base.

Unfortunately for most boomers, their own arrogance has excluded them from enjoying Hip Hop. The belief that "they" know what "music" "is" has closed them off from the following generations, and worst of all has turned your generation into "the man" you were protesting about at Woodstock, a bunch of old-timers who "just don't get it man". Ironic isn't it? Most hip Hop fans love other music's and don't find it necessary to compare measurables. We understand that it is different, period.

If you require sheet music for a song to be considered music then you win your argument, but consider that many rap songs are preformed by live bands at events anyway, hence sheet music. The creative process is the same, just the tools are different and that is changing. Most Hip Hop producers sample live music from their own studios. Kanye West and Dr.Dre(for example) record with symphonies, choirs and musicians, so what is the difference?

If criticizing how rap is made is fair game, then I only think it is fair to counter criticize. Why is rock so great considering the "poppy-cock" your greatest artists spew? All of that "give peace a chance" stuff was BS; yet your generation runs around acting like your artists were so enlightened, when in fact they were simply "left-wing loons"!

*sigh*
Okay Indiana Homez, let me try to elaborate a little more.

If hip hop and rap actually put you into a happy place, then it has done its job. If you are entertained and engaged by the people who make this and sell it to you, then they have succeeded in marketing their product to you.

If having hits is all that is important, then music is simply a popularity contest which is decided by the top forty. Most of what I find interesting has probably never been very popular, but I used to enjoy the radio many years ago.

I like bands with a horn section, big bands, or even some of the pop bands which used a horn section like Earth Wind and Fire, Blood Sweat and Tears, and early to mid-seventies Chicago. Maynard Ferguson had a killer band, as did Rob Mc Connell with the Boss Brass. The last two were Canadian big bands.

You also make some good points in your post. Why is rock so great - the peaceniks like John Lennon weren't my heroes. Left wing loons for sure. There have been big changes in the music industry, but I wouldn't say they have been for the better. For example when synthesizers went mainstream in the 1980's, with infinite sound possiblities, the result was that all bands sounded nearly identical. That was hugely disappointing for me.

The music industry executives and managers are killing the industry with their imposed demands, restrictions and conditions they are putting on the artists. Years ago the business people tended to the business, but now they think they can tell the artists what type of songs to write and what genre their album will fit into. In days gone by, the artists were free to do what they wanted in the studio, which resulted in some amazing music from artists like Genesis, Yes, Rush, the Eagles, and so on. Many of these artists wrote theme albums which told stories and engaged your imagination. Jazz is even more intricate, and much of it exists independent of any sheet music. Most great musicians have got a very solid foundation in how to read and write music, though. There are always exceptions, but I can't think of one.

To be a great public speaker you need to know how to read and write. You need to understand basic sentence structure, the meaning of words, and how to spell them. Syntax and grammar are also important. Similarly in music, you cannot be a concert pianist or a symponic Cellist unless you have studied and practiced your instrument. Many of todays artists would not be qualified to enter a first year University Music program.

Dr. Dre and Kanye West have hordes of trained musicians, conductors and writers who put these massive shows together. Your point is ridiculous. If these choirs and musicians were as unschooled as the stars, these shows would be a laughing stock.

Funny you should randomly pick Green Day and the Beatles. I suppose drummer Tre Cool is the Ringo of our time, but people will still be talking about the Beatles long after anyone remembers Green Day. People's teenaged kids are now discovering their parents records/CDs and finding that their parents were way cooler than they ever thought. They wouldn't be doing this if they were happy with what is being marketed to them in the rap and hip hop genres.

But to each his own, including all the rap and hip hop fans who are waay cooler than I ever was. It's a good choice for the new changily hopeful Obamanation which enjoyed a disaster-free day one.

Oh wait.... there was that little incident with the oath....

It stands to reason that the MSM continue their quest to become the Contemporary School of Partisan Hagiography. The MSM are so used to penning miles of gaseous spin that gaseous spin is all they can hear anymore. It's a "mirroring" phenomenon well documented in mass communications theory, but its practice has heretofore been limited to communist, dictatorial and fascist regimes.

Expect to be "elevated" by the MSM in the same manner that the MSM claims that Obama's speeches do not inform so much as "elevate" the many millions who listen to his words.

Excuse me - I have to retire to my brand new en-suite vomitorium for one of the many little puke-breaks that seem to pepper my days of late. I'm among the first to fall victim to chronic "Omamanosis", a disorder characterized by a violent gastrointestinal reactions to bullsh!t and expressions thereof. BTW, a small vomitorium for two costs about $10,000 Cdn. For those with foresight, a vomitorium is a smart investment in a clean future!