Kevin's Watch

I had the misfortune today to overhear my sister listening to an Eminem 'song' called 'git up'.
It lasted 4 minutes and 3 seconds during which he managed to swear 18 times, not including minor swearwords or racial slurs (bitch, nigger etc.)
That's 4 and a half times per minute, almost once every 10 seconds.
Personally I don't care if eminem wants to swear, I don't care if anyone swears, it's up to them. But to call it music?

Rap is not music. It's a guy standing around talking along to an absurdly bass-heavy beat. Anyone could do it.
I don't think it's fair that Eminem gets paid to do the same things I'd have got a spanking for when I was 7 years younger.

Good on him for finding out that people will pay him for doing sod-all, but I think it reflects poorly on society that people are willing to have themselves exploited in such an obvious, non-subtle way.

Hey, you should listen to 'Hot Dog', by Limp Bizkit (note the line: "If I say **** two more times, that's 46 ****'s in this ****ed up rhyme" - and that was only halfway through the track)...

Jay-Z swears a bit as well. I guess it comes with the music. Linkin Park rap and they don't swear though

Rap is not music. It's a guy standing around talking along to an absurdly bass-heavy beat

I'll double that. Though I have to admit that Eminem is not the worst, he at least puts some effort in his "music" - the rest are barely distinguishable from each other.

And many purists still maintain it's not poetry if it doesn't rhyme. And as I understand it, even the novel was originally considered to be too large and clumsy to be of any worth. And let's not forget what they said about rock and even jazz when it first started (something along the lines of "It's all just n***** music" comes to mind).

Don't get me wrong; I'm not a huge fan of rap. I don't even like most of it, but there is some good stuff out there. If you haven't actually sat back and listened to Ice Cube, Tupac, Wu Tang, and yes, Eminem, you've missed out a few gems (and a fair bit of dross). To paraphrase two people - 'It's music, Jim, but not as we know it,' and 'If you have to ask what rap is, you'll never understand.'

If you want to set aside some of your preconceived notions, I'd recommend checking out Wyclef Jean or Busta Rhymes. A lot of people (I'll refrain from naming the group that comes to mind) find Beastie Boys a bit more palatable, but I've never been much of a fan. If you're not prepared to find something fun and enjoyable in it, I wouldn't bother. A lot like country in that respect, I think.

Keep in mind that most of the stuff you see on MTV or hear blasted out of car stereos is chosen not for it's artistic quality but for it's... ostentatiousness. That skews the ninety percent rule significantly.

Murrin wrote:Hey, you should listen to 'Hot Dog', by Limp Bizkit (note the line: "If I say **** two more times, that's 46 ****'s in this ****ed up rhyme" - and that was only halfway through the track)...

I don't care for rap as a rule but my husband is a Limp Bizkit fan (no accounting for taste is there?) so I'm quite familiar with this one and it kind of tickles me!

PM Dawn, 3rd Bass, Beastie Boys, Basehead, Digible Planets, De La Soul. there is great rap out there...Black Eye Peas, T-Bone, Lil Raskull.
don't condemn a whole genre because of the dross. do you hate Rock n Roll because of Bob Seger?
blues because of Robert Cray?
stoner rock because of Dave Matthews?

Linkin Park make some great points in some of their songs, especially Numb, where they look at parents never being satisfied with their children, from the child's point of view. And they don't swear.

The Black Eyed Peas often have very positive messages, one member rapping about what it meant for him to emigrate from the Philippines to the US. Where is the Love is another great song by them.

Even Eminem says some good things, amidst the swearing. Cleaning out my Closet may seem aweful to some, but no everyone loves their parents, and not all parents deserve the love of their children.

And Missy Elliot can be really funny sometimes.

Sum sui generis
Vs

I've found that the only rap I've enjoyed is where it's been part of a non-rap song. Linkin Park for example. Their songs have a mixture, they're not pure rap.

It's probably not the rap itself that I don't like, just theway it is presented most of the time.

I also liked Stan, but only because it had the Dido bit in. I found that bit seemed actually to fit better with Stan than it did with the Dido song it was taken from.

Guns don't kill people, Rappers do.

I can't really get past the advocating of rape, murder of policemen, and drugs...


They tell me there's some good stuff out there, but it's so buried amongst the crap that I've really no desire to dig for it.

I'm with Nathan in the assessment that I'd have got the B-Jezus whapped outta me if I'd said even ONE of those words...

And the prevalence of the N***** word in them sickens me. I don't care if the performer is black, white, or green. Some words should never be said. That's one of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t_LT2qqhRk

[Common Market: Every Last One]

Wow, you did dig up an oldie.
I find a lot of rap abhorrent for the same reason I found a lot of Metal unlistenable - there is a lot of posturing, and getting caught up in the B.S. of image. Who really cares if you're "harder" than this guy?
With that said, there are some especially good stuff out there. One of my favorites was Dr. Octagon with his dystopian future concept album that is about as good and interesting as you get outside of what represents the norm of rap. Of course, there still is a little misogyny, but you can't have everything.

Rap music is an oxymoron.