<p>Okay, this is for people who listen to rap and all that jazz...</p>
<p>Because last night, I so happen to be up late and watch the sucker free countdown on MTV..</p>
<p>I was sooo disgusted! Rap is horrible. I mean, I love rap, but rapping about your money, cars, clothes, and h oes gets soooo old!</p>
<p>Like really I'm happy for them because they"got out the hood", but how many songs do you have to make about money!</p>
<p>Have some real rap! Rap about something relevant!</p>
<p>I swear they make Black people look ignorant. Especially when they wear all that LV and Gucci clothes! You do not see country and white stars doing all that. They just look normal! And they richer than you!! lol.</p>
<p>Gosh! I had to get that out. Me and my friend were just sooo annoyed...I think its time for the Renaissance of Rap.</p>
<p>I love Lupe Fiasco though. lol</p>
<p>I totally agree with you xD</p>
<p>We need more meaningful rap.</p>
<p>Lupe’s the man!</p>
<p>I agree, but disagree at the same time. I only listen to rap now because of the beats and the rhythm of the music. The words are pointless and are irrelevant. Lupe is a great rapper. I actually listen to the lyrics in his music, whereas artists like Rick Ross, Wayne and other rappers, I mainly listen to the music and not the lyrics.</p>
<p>I’m with Entertainer on this one. I think in order to love anything you love what goes along with it. While people like Rick Ross don’t equal rap for me, I recognize that they bring something to the table that people want to hear. I don’t like everything that Wayne says either, but appreciate the fact that he wrote and sung it without the help of a computer, like some pop artists do. Personally, I like Kanye West, Common, Lupe, Andre, and Drake, and a lot of other similar rappers. I also like Lil Wayne, Nicki, and Waka Flocka’s few songs. </p>
<p>I think, that when seen collectively, the stuff that sells and the stuff that may not encompass a movement that everyone can relate to, just like country, rock, jazz, and R&B. Hip Hop/Rap is still young, and I feel that while some big whigs have taken advantage of it, it never goes too far from its roots.</p>
<p>Also the setting where the music is played matters as well. I wouldn’t want to hear Lupe, Common, J. Cole or other lyrical rappers in a club as opposed to Wayne, Rick Ross, Drake, etc. I definitely agree with what has been said above. Rap is young and times will change. I like listening to Eminem as well and old school music as opposed to current rap songs.</p>
<p>There are songs for dancing, and then there’s rap. I don’t consider Waka Flocka and his ilk to be rappers; to be a rapper requires a foremost concern for lyrical content and an artist’s finely tuned ear for precision, which that group lacks. Now, let’s be realistic - you can’t twerk to “Sunshine” by Mos Def or “Let Me See” by Kweli (I actually love the version with Morcheeba, though). You need music of the Travis Porter variety. </p>
<p>Personally, I actually like Waka Flocka, Master P, Yo Gotti, DJ Unk, Roscoe Dash, and others who are in that same group, but I understand that some may find their music appalling. To me, the artists are simply giving the market what it wants, and I think their music can be seen as a reflection, however warped, of the listeners, and that fact fascinates me.</p>
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<p>Yep, that’s definitely true. We’ve changed quite a bit since the heyday of Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul. Now, it’s all about that Chalie Boy nonsense.</p>
<p>And Entertainer, Lupe is a great rapper, but he killed me with his latest album. It was awful. Kanye 4 evarrrrr</p>
<p>b.o.b. - meaningful rap right there. he raps about how stupid rap is.</p>
<p>Oh, and this thread reminded me of something we discussed in one of my classes. Music is poetry set to a melody, and rap is self-expression set to a rawer beat. Not everything that rhymes is a poem. Not all poems must rhyme. But [url=<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube]this[/url</a>] is pure, melodic poetry, though it might not necessarily be called rap. Let’s not be overzealous to categorize things - good music is good music. </p>
<p>By the way, y’all should check out Gil Scott-Heron. His work can be described in one word: fiyah! All of his albums are as good as [url=<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube]this[/url</a>].</p>
<p>^^Chesterbelly, I’ve got to disagree. Real music is more than a commentary on the artist’s actions, and I’ve found b.o.b.'s music to be a tad too self indulgent for me to call him a great lyricist. His rhymes do not transcend thoughts of himself, and therein lies his failure.</p>
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<p>There’s plenty of it out there. I urge y’all to listen to some international music if you’re tired of American rappers. Although they are from earlier times, they’re still good. </p>
<p>If you couldn’t tell, I am a MC Solaar fangirl.</p>
<p>1st, I’m a Kanye fan FOR LIFE!!!</p>
<p>Lmao, now that that’s off my chest, I must say I prefer rappers like Lupe, Common, and even Drake (though he’s not really the type of artist they are) to listen to on a daily basis (though the whole Wale-J. Cole-B.o.B.-Big Sean movement has rapidly taken its place) than say, Roscoe or Yo Gotti. BUT that doesn’t mean my iPod doesn’t have Travyyy ; ) … or that I won’t say the lines to “Make It Rain/Bring It Back”…‘cause THAT IS MY JAM, lol. And sometimes Lil’ Wayne says some of the most brilliant and witty stuff. It’s all in what we as a people choose to endorse or embrace, depending on how you look at it. Unfortunately, the Black people as a whole is seen as listening to the meaningless music. I just think that it’s okay to have favorites and even though people are constantly in a debate about rap vs. hip-hop and the state of the music and lyrical content, I listen to both types of artists. </p>
<p>PLUS, I live in Atlanta so there is no way I won’t hear the new music movement on a daily (mostly hourly and minutely) basis. :D</p>
<p>ksarmand, EXACTLY like that! And some people here will really take offense to it…which is understandable but at this point, all I can do is laugh :D</p>
<p>Are you from Atlanta?!</p>
<p>'Cause that last link had me ROLLING. The word “ratchet” has become alllll too common over this way, lmao.</p>
<p>MC Solaar Is amazing!!</p>
<p>Even though Lasers was better than a lot of the stuff out, I expected sooo much more from Lupe.</p>
<p>Was Lasers really trash?! Based off of “I’m Beamin’” and “The Show Goes On,” I was gonna buy!</p>
<p>I agree that some music has its time and place, but I like more rappers than I dislike. Like everyone I love Kanye to death! He is so creative and talented as a musician and a writer, which is funny because the people who love Taylor Swift and got so mad at Kanye and called him a fake artist, love her for the same reason lol. Kanye is just a hot mess sometimes though. @successful, have you heard about Donnis? He’s from Atlanta and he reminds me a little of Kanye. I love his songs Pop Them Thangs (more clubbish), Gone, Country Cool, and Underdog. I also love Kid Cudi too, Maui Wowi is the best song EVER, even though he’s kind of a pothead.</p>
<p>I think I have heard Pop Them Thangs. It wasn’t too bad either! I’ll have to check out the other 3. & I am IN UNCONDITIONAL LOVE with Kid Cudi, lmao. He is sooooo underrated. And I don’t even smoke but Maui Wowie will make you want to pick up one :D</p>
<p>It’s great to see this thread going so well. :)</p>
<p>@SuccessfulAtAll, I’m not from Atlanta, but I do listen to a lot of Atlanta/Dallas music. That’s the only vice I allow myself in college. (3,000 songs and counting, baby!) Trust me, I have a lot more where that came from!</p>
<p>Anyone have any good recommendations for Spanish rappers? I listened to Immortal Technique and tried to get into Veneno, but aside from that, my experience is rather shallow; I know more Spanish crooners than rappers, and that balance is upsetting my music collection.</p>
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<p>Haha, that and anything by Mac Miller will do the trick.</p>
<p>But let’s not forget the all-time classic: Knuck if You Buck. Everyone, you know that’s your jam - don’t play yourselves.</p>
<p>But to answer the original post that began this thread:</p>
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<p>Although I don’t have an answer myself, your statement itself raises some important questions. Does a real musician make music for him or herself, with making art their sole raison d’etre, or do they make it for their listeners? Is the musician ever synonymous with the listener? If musicians produce music for the market, then is that not merely a reflection of our desires? If they rap about what we want to listen to, then what does that say about what is relevant to us?</p>
<p>And if musicians are not producing the music that we want to hear, why is that?</p>
<p>Note: Illuminati theories not welcome.</p>
<p>I think that the majority of the rap songs that are popular, are popular because they are rammed into our faces and down our throats on the radio. Someone is buying these terrible songs so they keep making them. As long as people decide that all they want to hear about is “ghetto tales” then that’s all we’ll hear. </p>
<p>On another note, this thread had me going through all of these old rap jams. It’s Going Down, Throw Some D’s, Ridin Dirty, anything by Dem Franchize Boyz was always a summer hit. White Tee, Lil Jon, 50 cent, 3 6 mafia= good times. And Crime Mob Knuck if You Buck was an amazing song. I like Asher Roth too and J cole’s song, but I haven’t really listened to any of their other stuff.</p>
<p>LOL at the Illuminati theories, you watch one of those movies and you start to see craziness everywhere.</p>