R. A. P
Publication: Women's Era (2004)
Copyright © 2004 Puja Goyal
Ever so often a new style of music emerges and takes that decade/era by storm. In the end that genre summarizes and represents the generation that grows up with it. In the 1950’s we had the Rock ‘n’ Roll, in the 1970’s it was the Disco Beats and in the 1980’s it is Rap. Rap has bridged many differences in the genre of music to represent many cultures.
Rap, also known as the music of the minorities, is not perceived as an art form but rather as a fad, which would be called as that Era’s pet peeves. Everyone expected it to fade away, but the funny thing is that it has lasted for over two decades now. Rap with its roots in African music, is now known as the most popular, controversial and influential form of African- American music of the 1980’s and 1990’s. People who call themselves the guardian of culture and traditional music, have doubted the credibility of Rap even though traces of Rap music has been found in many Genre’s of music like Rock.
One of the stories of origin of Rap states that Rap was a way of telling narrative poems that rhymes. The other story states that when the African slaves were brought to a new place, they mixed their own African beats and songs along with foreign music to create their own style.
To define Rap, we would have to say that it is a mixture of words uttered by a Rapper in rapid succession, of course in a rhythm, as if some kind of jam session were going on, along with some kind of background music being played. The music will be synchronized with the speed of the rapper. If the Rapper went fast then the music was also played fast. Some times though, the Rapper may not even need background music.
Rapping did receive a lot of hostility initially, some thought it to be too harsh, monotonous, and lacking any kind of melody. In the 1980’s many Raps were commentaries on the hardships of ghetto life, they consisted of warnings about drugs and teenage love and lust. Parents feared Rap, as they thought it encouraged the youth to turn to violence, and illegal substance use. They banned certain explicit lyrics that would have any connection to sex, drugs and racism. Performers don’t deny though that Rap does speak about harsh topics, but they feel that the audience would be able to give them freedom to express themselves, at the same time distinguish the right from the wrong.
People from the streets found a connection with the genre, and took to its style. It was known as the poetry of the street and it reflected the daily reality of issues in a very direct and blunt way. You could dance to it, rhyme with it, modify or ‘Rap’ it any way you wanted it.
Rapping was a street art. It began in street corners and schoolyards. Rapping initially started of as full stream Rapping with D.J.’s talking over basic instrumental backing tracks. In the early days, Rap usually composed of slangy, boastful spoken rhymes, over basic grooves. “The Message” released in 1982, by Grandmaster Flash, is one such example. After this hit, people stopped ignoring Rap as some kind of frivolous music; it was now considered as a straight, raw and honest social commentary, on issues that are close to the heart. People took Rap music more seriously than news in the local newspapers because of the impact that it brought forward.
Despite the talk on Rap, many who listen to Rap music for the first few times, will not be able to distinguish the differences between two songs. Well, needless to say that most of them do sound similar, as the Rapper only utters a series of meaningless or meaningful words in fast succession. The market is saturated with Rap music that consists of the same monotonous beats.
Rap will be Rap and people will continue to explore it. It is clearly not for everyone and takes some time in getting used to it. New rappers like Eminem, L.L. Cool., Kid Rock and women Rappers like Salt-n-Pepa, Queen Latifah, and Li'l Kim will ensure its continuance and popularity in the music world. The life span of Rap as a genre is not known, but with the looks of it, the genre is there to stay.
Ever so often a new style of music emerges and takes that decade/era by storm. In the end that genre summarizes and represents the generation that grows up with it. In the 1950’s we had the Rock ‘n’ Roll, in the 1970’s it was the Disco Beats and in the 1980’s it is Rap. Rap has bridged many differences in the genre of music to represent many cultures.
Rap, also known as the music of the minorities, is not perceived as an art form but rather as a fad, which would be called as that Era’s pet peeves. Everyone expected it to fade away, but the funny thing is that it has lasted for over two decades now. Rap with its roots in African music, is now known as the most popular, controversial and influential form of African- American music of the 1980’s and 1990’s. People who call themselves the guardian of culture and traditional music, have doubted the credibility of Rap even though traces of Rap music has been found in many Genre’s of music like Rock.
One of the stories of origin of Rap states that Rap was a way of telling narrative poems that rhymes. The other story states that when the African slaves were brought to a new place, they mixed their own African beats and songs along with foreign music to create their own style.
To define Rap, we would have to say that it is a mixture of words uttered by a Rapper in rapid succession, of course in a rhythm, as if some kind of jam session were going on, along with some kind of background music being played. The music will be synchronized with the speed of the rapper. If the Rapper went fast then the music was also played fast. Some times though, the Rapper may not even need background music.
Rapping did receive a lot of hostility initially, some thought it to be too harsh, monotonous, and lacking any kind of melody. In the 1980’s many Raps were commentaries on the hardships of ghetto life, they consisted of warnings about drugs and teenage love and lust. Parents feared Rap, as they thought it encouraged the youth to turn to violence, and illegal substance use. They banned certain explicit lyrics that would have any connection to sex, drugs and racism. Performers don’t deny though that Rap does speak about harsh topics, but they feel that the audience would be able to give them freedom to express themselves, at the same time distinguish the right from the wrong.
People from the streets found a connection with the genre, and took to its style. It was known as the poetry of the street and it reflected the daily reality of issues in a very direct and blunt way. You could dance to it, rhyme with it, modify or ‘Rap’ it any way you wanted it.
Rapping was a street art. It began in street corners and schoolyards. Rapping initially started of as full stream Rapping with D.J.’s talking over basic instrumental backing tracks. In the early days, Rap usually composed of slangy, boastful spoken rhymes, over basic grooves. “The Message” released in 1982, by Grandmaster Flash, is one such example. After this hit, people stopped ignoring Rap as some kind of frivolous music; it was now considered as a straight, raw and honest social commentary, on issues that are close to the heart. People took Rap music more seriously than news in the local newspapers because of the impact that it brought forward.
Despite the talk on Rap, many who listen to Rap music for the first few times, will not be able to distinguish the differences between two songs. Well, needless to say that most of them do sound similar, as the Rapper only utters a series of meaningless or meaningful words in fast succession. The market is saturated with Rap music that consists of the same monotonous beats.
Rap will be Rap and people will continue to explore it. It is clearly not for everyone and takes some time in getting used to it. New rappers like Eminem, L.L. Cool., Kid Rock and women Rappers like Salt-n-Pepa, Queen Latifah, and Li'l Kim will ensure its continuance and popularity in the music world. The life span of Rap as a genre is not known, but with the looks of it, the genre is there to stay.
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