36Holla 2009-08-25 00:36:16

Awesome. I'll check this stuff out in a bit. Gonna go and get my copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum now though.

36Holla 2009-08-25 03:51:11

Haha, c'mon man, you gotta come in with something better than that. I mean you don't even give a good reason for why you don't like it. If you don't like it then that's your opinion on it, which is fine, but if you can't even give a reason then your argument is shot down from the get go.

36Holla 2009-08-25 15:39:58

I'm wondering what rap/hip hop artists you've listened to to come to that conclusion. In it's more basic form, rap is poetry, as it uses measures, and poetry elements such as metaphors, similies, symbolism, hyperbole, etc. and both are spoken to a rhythm. Saying it's made by talentless people is by extension calling poets in general talentless which I think you'll find most people disagree with.

It also goes beyond just rhyming words. You have to match lyrical flow to the song beat, and tell a story at the same time. At times it is impossible to match certain words up with a specific situation using a rhyme book. If you're thinking of a general rhyme word like cat and bat then yeah you'll obviously get a result like that but there's way more complexity to it. To settle my own curiosity on it I used one of the songs in my first post (Beautiful by Eminem) and opened up an online rhyme dictionary. I went through the song and noted the words used to rhyme with each other to see if the rhyme dictionary matched them up as well. I found multiple cases where the rhymed words in the song weren't matched in the rhyme dictionary meaning he's using his own material and not a crutch. You'll find this with other artists as well.

As for synthesizing, beat makers put in a lot of work to make the BG music and the artists often have a lot of input on what the beat sounds like to help them get a feel for the flow of the song. In some cases, the rappers even make the beats themselves. Now you imply that because instruments are not being played by the artist that it lessens the talent needed to perform the song. Something to realize is that just like rock bands practice to get better at playing instruments, rappers practice their flow to get better at doing their songs. A rocker couldn't do what a rapper does as well as a rapper, and vice versa with a rapper doing what a rocker does. The reason why is because both things require a ton of practice to get good at and each genre is different and requires different training. Calling rap talentless because it rarely uses instruments is like saying metal is a talentless genre because all they do is scream into a mic. Each has their own areas where a lot of skill is required to be good at it.

And Kanye has a big head, but he makes some damn good music.

36Holla 2009-08-26 01:31:42

Don't be a stranger, stranger.

36Holla 2009-08-26 03:58:12 (Updated 2009-08-27 03:01:40)

The content itself doesn't dictate what is and isn't poetry because again it's using poetic elements. Just because you don't like the message, doesn't change that. And in the first paragraph of my original post, I wrote a bit about the difference between mainstream rap which is the type of stuff that you're giving as examples and rap that has positive messages. It's like you don't want to admit that it's out there, but it is. What I see in your argument on the content in the lyrics is generalizations of the rap/hip hop genres based on what is presented in the mainstream media, which again I emphasize is shitty rap music. Stepping outside the mainstream is where you'll find the most quality.

Rhyming dictionary part...the quality of the lyrics is based on opinion and you can't judge a whole genre based on one line you remember from a rap. Said rapper may not be good, but that doesn't mean the others are all automatically bad. As long as you know that those dictionaries are rarely, if ever, used, mission accomplished.

"A synthesis machine is by far one of the easiest instruments (I use that term loosely) to use."

You'd be surprised at how complex the beats created can get. It's not as simple as making one loop in most cases. Sampling and turntable techniques are also added in if needed.

"Did you know that most "big time" rappers actually have professional writers white their songs?"

That's a very broad statement. Can you prove that it's over 50%? I'm not denying that quite a few performers in the rap industry don't write their own material, but this can also be said for many rock bands, and bands from almost every other type of genre. You can't single out rap for doing it if every other genre has this issue as well.

36Holla 2009-08-27 02:06:54

1. No
2. It's ok
3. Maybe another time.

36Holla 2009-08-28 13:31:25 (Updated 2009-09-03 21:30:09)

Thanks for the support. I still have yet to fully explore JMT and the Relapse album but I'm slowly working on it in my free time.

36Holla 2009-09-01 14:08:07

Soulja Boy hasn't made anything of substance. He's an example of a mainstream artist who gets exposure for making songs that talk about sex, are catchy, and can be played in a club setting. That about sums him up. :l

36Holla 2009-09-02 14:07:50

The mainstream rappers you listed all have some merit to them, which is why I've put some of them on this list. Jay Z isn't a bad choice either and I know a few songs of his that I might consider for when I update this again.

36Holla 2009-09-03 17:37:24

What artists and groups are you listening to that got you more into it?

36Holla 2009-09-03 21:30:49

tl;dr

36Holla 2009-09-04 00:24:36

Sup dickneck.

36Holla 2009-09-05 21:38:25

I used to be really into that style of rap, but I started growing off of it a year ago. It just doesn't feel the same anymore.