That's the truth...but pretty soon it'll be truly dead like jazz, blues, rock n roll, disco, punk, electronic, alternative, and depressed emo kids. The real question is: What music is alive right now?
Well, Rappers kill eachother, Rockers overdose on drugs, Emos kill themselves, and jazz/blues players die from old age and heartattacks. What does that leave??? COUNTRY??? Spoiler
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Not that you care...... "Hip Hop" is the term used in attempt to define the culture, the elements, the beginnings and the lifestyle of rap. To of course make it a more authentic, credible form of music and way of being. "Rap" is considered the verb describing the action. No one says "go hip hopping on the mic", you say "rapping on the mic". Its used in negative context sometimes when describing the simplified process of just getting on the mic, and uttering crap to rhymes for personal gain with total disregard for "artistry". So yeah, hip hop and rap is basically the same thing. "Emcee-ing" is another word used for people who take it even more serious but please we like using an economy of words and "rap" is just simpler to say. Just like trance, drum n bass and ambient is all "Techno" to me no matter what they think
DEFINITELY that (and I AM going on and on with this stuff... ) SERIOUSLY, how is it a rapper's credentials are that they're from deep in the street, they've been in the in drug game, they've robbed, they shot at people, they've done time behind bars...(?) How does that make them a GOOD RAPPER? Dropping out of school in 10th grade and resorting to hustling to get by, being a negative product of your environment somehow gets your rap skills polished? If thats their life, whatever. I guess it provides some interesting things to rap about... But street cred and rapping talent is 2 different things in my book. The two got merged together and got things confused - is rapping about life of crime cool for entertainment purposes, or do you need "real" people who geniunely lived that life so you dont have fakers on the mic? reminds me of this http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=074646797426&track=17&disc=1
Yeah, love Chamillionaire's stuff...and agree with you that Sound of Revenge was better than Ultimate Victory. Just hope he doesn't turn into Mike Jones... My favorite tracks from his last two albums (not in any order) Ultimate Victory - Thanking his fans and others Think I'm Crazy - Tells a story about a girl and a friend Void in My Life - One of my favorite tracks from him, talking about God and throws his Muslim/Christian upbringing Evening News - Political issues
I wonder, does Sean Paul count as rap? I don't think anybody understands what he's saying. But his stuff is real good.
Ummm... You might wanna re-listen to that song... He tells a story, but not in the sense you described...
Some would, but I don't have a problem having the hip hop subgenres be more clear cut and defined. Hardcore rap, conscious rap, East/West/Southern rap, gangsta rap, booty bass, battle rap, chopped n screwed, crunk/snap (<- the current rap devil), etc... Why should Soulja Boy and Lil Jon kill off all of rap, having Nas, Immortal Technique and Lupe Fiasco go down with them? They're not trying to accomplish the same thing, and they would never work with Soulja Boy even if asked.
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What killed rap is also it's strength. "rapping" is just a style of vocals. You can rap over any type of music. People are doing just that but the downfall is that it is lumped under one label as either "hiphop" or "rap" when it should be broken down to its correct sub-genre. Imagine if there were radio stations which only played one sub-genre of rap, you'd notice a heavy increase in quality depending on your likes and dislikes. for example: (Radio Station name / Artists that will be played ) KCRK 105.9 "Crunk Radio": Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy, Youngbloodz, Ying Yang Twins, Soulja Boy, Three 6 Mafia KDTY 98.5 "DIRTY SOUTH": 8ball & MJG, T.I., Field Mob, Outkast, UGK, Ludacris, David Banner, KCNS 91.1 "Concious": Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Talib Kweli, Common, Nas, Mos Def, The Roots, Lupe Fiasco, K-rino KSUK 97.9 "Mainstream Rap": (What's currently on every "rap" station presently) It could also be broken down further. At the very least there should at least be an "alternative hiphop" station, can you imagine a playlist with acts such as: atmosphere, gorillaz, kanye west, pharoah monche, linkin park, talib kweli, little brother, gym class heroes, etc... Rap is huge. Spanning globally. It is powerful yet the media chooses to weaken that power by merely poking holes in the dam of the river instead of letting the river flow and break off into streams. God bless internet radio!
