<< it has finally achieved the legitimacy and commercial viability it always wanted, but now it's losing touch with what it REALLY is supposed to be-the voices of the the oppressed/repressed/average people, telling a story that can be FELT as easily as it can be understood or heard. Now it's mainly a means to "bling" or "floss" and show how much you have versus the average guy, or even another rapper/group...which makes the lyrics meaningless (read: P. Diddy/majority of Bad Boy, Nelly, Ja Rule, et al.)
Do you see the inherent flaw of this goal?
For something to be commercially viable, it must offer that which the masses want to consume. Not many people, at least for sure, the monied masses, will consume a product about the plight and suffering of a marginalized group. What is there for suburban white boy to relate to?
As a result, rap music has trumped up the "I don't give a damn 'bout noone" aspect of the ghetto street culture - it is this "empowerment" (which may be seem liberating on the surface, but in reality the most defeatist of mentalities), that sells the music. As I said before, people (and especially white kids) by this music because it makes them feel tough - it masks their adolescent insecurity behind a wall of gruff. While initially an act, a mask worn too long doth become the face (or whatever Shakespeare said), and society's youth slowly erode and devolve.
You can argue on and on about breath control (and other "techniques of rap") but the reality is, that 99% of rap music listeners do not listen to rap on that level. Proof? Do a survey.
But no, you say. Mainstream guitar music is filled with garbage too. And indeed you are correct. However, this is where the relative difficulties of creation come in. Assuming that quality is not a factor (as you and I both agree that pop music blows), the fact is, putting together a band and putting out a tune (not to mention the vocals) is more difficult than spouting spoken poetry over a drumtrack. IT JUST IS - AND THIS IS WHY RAP MUSIC IS FULL OF BULLSH$T ARTISTS.
I could decide to be a rap star in the morning, book studio time for the evening, and come out with a rap tune by nighttime. You cannot do that with guitar-based music. You would need to learn the guitar, gather a session group, and write up a tune, and sing properly, or find someone who could.
EXAMPLE: Shaquille O'neal had a few rap tracks. Could he have come out with a rock CD? Could he sing? Most probably not. Could he speak words, yes, along with anyone else in America.
See, while both music - rap and guitar based - have produced incredible artists in their respective categories, the fact the rap music harbors no base talent for creation allows anyone and everyone to jump in and do their thing.
Here's a nice analogy to chew on:
If I draw a line across a canvas, and sell it for $50,000...does that make it art? Does that make me talented? >>
I am willing to bet my LIFE that you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT come up with a proper rap track. Because you subscribe to the foolish notion that rap is mostly "spouting spoken poetry over a drumtrack". It IS NOT. It has been tried, and failed too often to just "spout spoken poetry". You can't be a rapper without some measure of talent-NO ONE CAN. Even the worse rappers ever have more rhythm and breath control and wordplay talents than a non-rapper...they actually PRACTICE these things. I might not be able to tune a guitar like Dave Matthews can, but I definitely stand a chance rapping against him.
You seem to think that you don't have to learn how to rap, as if there aren't "Lyricist's Lounges" in NYC where rappers battle, exchange tips, practice and LEARN new techniques. Like they never have to learn how to maintain a fresh breath in order to maintain the time of the track's beat. Like you don't need to MAKE YOUR TRACK, put the beats and effects together, decide if you're going to use a sample, and which sample you might use, and of course, have to learn to "SPIT PROPERLY". That's right-a rapper has to sound good as well, so that his points are clear, and his song is understood. Rappers generally don't produce music for non-rap fans, so if YOU aren't "good enough" to understand the words, you shouldn't think the music is bad, you just haven't exposed yourself enough to understand it.
That Shaq example...you think he PRODUCED his tracks/records? HA! He had to get someone to do that for him, like the MAJORITY of hip-hop artists. Since we generally don't have bands per se, the track producer acts as a "roving band member" of sorts, able to mix and play the instruments, drum loops, amples and sounds that the track will be composed of. Shaq MAY have written his own songs, but he certainly did not make his tracks.
As for the difficulty issue, it's going to be JUST AS HARD for Joe Sixpack from Bumblefvck, WI to learn how to and create a rap song that is good (considering all you have to do to get something to rap OVER) as it is for Mr. Sixpack to gather some of his boys from Bumblefvck, learn how to sing/play instruments, and create a rock song that's good. Note the use of good as LEGITIMATE here, as this is the inherent problem with popular music: Good is an OPINION unless it's given a tangible meaning, like "legit".
What then, is legitimate? Respected by enough people to be both commercially viable and/or enjoyed by a "decent amount" (I say decent amount because this allows for underground artists of both rap or rock to be considered legitimate based on response of "educated underground crowds"...whatever
) And the MAJORITY of rap fans are fans of GOOD RAPPERS, especially where I live...New York City, the birthplace of rap music, is the LAST PLACE ON EARTH that praises bad rappers...in fact, they get um..."hurt" So I won't do a survey here, as you'd stand absolutely no chance. And if you made an art piece featuring a line across a canvas:
Is it art? Well, was it made in a particular style, say MINIMALIST?!?! If you made it to be true to that style, then yeah, it's art.
Can you sell it for $50,000? If someone who like minimalist art want's to pay that much, you'd be dumb not to take it...
Are you talented? You are talented if you are legitimate to the style you made your piece in, and it is generally liked by the (minimalist) art-loving public.
Anyway, I've been typing so long, I forgot what other stuff I was gonna post...Flame away boys...
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