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Steve James wrote:Aw, people said the same thing about Elvis. Fwiw, some of Beethoven's contemporaries called.his music vulgar. Alas, de gustibus non est disputandum. I.e., different strokes for different folks.
My father who was an avid listener of Opera thought Elvis voice where made for that musical format
I remember seeing the early hip hop in the late 70's , it and its attendant rap was innovative and exciting, since then the genre expanded but IMHO did not get better. Like country and western it evolved into a commercialized not particularly interesting form, much like the vibrant music of Cash et al devolved into manufactured pap of modern C & W, there is a curious notion that wearing a black Stetson substitutes for life experience. Incidentally because people disapprove of it doesn't make it good. The 'people who matter' as in previous times go where the dollar signs lead them, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber are my pet dislikes , the highest paid singers in the nation, I can think of dozens of singers who have more talent but a generation has been persuaded they are the top dogs.
Well, growing up in the South Bronx, "Rap" didn't really exist in the 70s at all. There were "emcees" (masters of ceremonies) at parties, and that's the part that few seem to get. It was all about the party. There were no "rap" records. Guys would talk while records were being played and people were dancing. The emcee wasn't even the one playing the records. And, all this was happening on the streets at block parties.
It was the 80s when the "Rapper" became the primary feature, but the function was the same. "Rapper's Delight" wasn't the first "rap" song, but it was the first to get national attention. It simply repeated a few bars of a popular dance song while four guys talked about themselves --using the term "hip hop."
That type of rap was garbage in terms of meaningful lyrics.
I said a hip hop Hippie to the hippie The hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it out Bubba to the bang bang boogie, boobie to the boogie To the rhythm of the boogie the beat
These rappers talked about themselves, how successful they were with the girls, how fly they were, etc. I.e., they were boasting. By the mid 80s, however, the best rappers (not always the most successful) were talking about their living conditions. By the 90s, west coast rappers (like Ice Cube and Tupac) were doing the same. But, there was also a return to boasting, this time about how "gansta" they were.
Today, there are still "conscious" rappers around whose lyrics, articulation, and rhythmic sophistication are miles ahead of the 70s rappers. Now, there were spoken word artists around in the 60s and early 70s, but they weren't rappers --and they weren't featured at parties. It was revolution time. Go to Youtube and look up The Last Poets, "When the revolution comes." Sorry if some parts are offensive. Gil Scott Heron is a bit tamer:
Much of the "Rap" that one will hear is only what's commercial. Nothing wrong with that: it's the American way. Otoh, however, there are plenty of "conscious" rappers who don't get played. Conscious rappers have a message --like it or agree with it or not. In fact, the content is why it isn't played, whereas raps about drugs, guns, bitches and hos do.
Anyway, I'm old skool. If I can't understand the words, it ain't good rap.