What is the point of RAP?

UnclePsychosis

Rocker;683809" said:

Rap could be music or poetry or whatever you are having yourself. At least that is my understanding of what it is from the replies here. Suppose it is poetry for example. What is the point of reciting a poem in such a manner that people hearing the performance cannot make out a single word that is spoken? Any Rap I have listened to sounds 100% gibberish. Rap may well be clever and carefully constructed but if you cannot hear it or understand what is being said, the plot has been lost.

Clearly your magic cables aren't giving you as much clarity as the marketing gurus promised.

100% gibberish pretty much sums up this thread though, so good work there.

monquixote

Rocker said:

Rap could be music or poetry or whatever you are having yourself. At least that is my understanding of what it is from the replies here. Suppose it is poetry for example. What is the point of reciting a poem in such a manner that people hearing the performance cannot make out a single word that is spoken? Any Rap I have listened to sounds 100% gibberish. Rap may well be clever and carefully constructed but if you cannot hear it or understand what is being said, the plot has been lost.

Have a listen to this song by "Father of hip hop" Gil Scott Heron and tell me if you can understand the words

If you can't the issue might be with your hearing rather than with the music.

EricTheWeary

Some of Gil's work was just with percussion and vocals and he seemed to have a little debate with himself if it was poetry or music. He also made songs with top jazz musicians and all sorts of points inbetween. Amazing artist.

Drew_TNBD

Rocker said:

Rap could be music or poetry or whatever you are having yourself. At least that is my understanding of what it is from the replies here. Suppose it is poetry for example. What is the point of reciting a poem in such a manner that people hearing the performance cannot make out a single word that is spoken? Any Rap I have listened to sounds 100% gibberish. Rap may well be clever and carefully constructed but if you cannot hear it or understand what is being said, the plot has been lost.

Maybe you've got pigshit in your ears, because I can understand rap perfectly fine.

Phil_aka_Pip

Some of the recent posts appear to be using rap and hip hop interchangeably - is this correct? My comment about poetry spoken to a beat was about rap. Now, hip hop, is, IMO music. It's not music that I like, but I do recognise it as music of some kind. I still can't class poetry spoken to a beat as music, but it is certainly art (of a kind), and to some, it is entertainment.

Drew's comment about having pigshit in the ears is unnecessary and symptomatic of intolerance of the kind that he himself criticises. To be equally intolerant I'd have to find a style of music that he neither likes nor "gets", and make the same accusation against him for it. Relax, man. Don't get so angry!

Rocker

EricTheWeary said:

Some of Gil's work was just with percussion and vocals and he seemed to have a little debate with himself if it was poetry or music. He also made songs with top jazz musicians and all sorts of points inbetween. Amazing artist.

I have "Ghetto Style" by Gil Scott-Heron on CD and also ripped to my PC hard drive.  Squeezebox or Sonos often play a track [when in random selection mode].  TBH I listen to the track but have never saved that track to 'Favorites' or included any of his music on my playlists.  AFAIAC his music is not RAP.  Interesting but not gripping is my opinion of that album [which I got in a charity shop]

Rocker

UnclePsychosis said:

Clearly your magic cables aren't giving you as much clarity as the marketing gurus promised.  

100% gibberish pretty much sums up this thread though, so good work there. 

Cheap shot old boy.  And so unworthy of you.

monquixote

Rocker said:

EricTheWeary said:

Some of Gil's work was just with percussion and vocals and he seemed to have a little debate with himself if it was poetry or music. He also made songs with top jazz musicians and all sorts of points inbetween. Amazing artist.

I have "Ghetto Style" by Gil Scott-Heron on CD and also ripped to my PC hard drive.  Squeezebox or Sonos often play a track [when in random selection mode].  TBH I listen to the track but have never saved that track to 'Favorites' or included any of his music on my playlists.  AFAIAC his music is not RAP.  Interesting but not gripping is my opinion of that album [which I got in a charity shop]

So are we just moving the goalposts to say anything you can understand isn't rap?

How about this one:

Drew_TNBD

Phil... seriously.... get over yourself man. The term pigshit is no more indicative of anger than the term LOL is indicative of genuine laugh out loud happiness.

And there aren't any musical styles that I don't "get" - because I make the effort to understand things I don't immediately grasp.

Plenty of stuff I don't like though. Dad-rock is a primary example - I don't like AC/DC or Dire Straits particularly... now go and find the 4 page thread where I refuse to accept them as being "music" or "musical"

I'm not the one here who is acting intolerant.

Phil_aka_Pip

You are. Of my point of view.

Drew_TNBD

It's not a point of view. It's bigotry.

Drew_TNBD

Maybe this shows you what I mean Phil...

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CIDkRqSUMAAqAC_.mp4

UnclePsychosis

Rocker;684292" said:

UnclePsychosis said:

Clearly your magic cables aren't giving you as much clarity as the marketing gurus promised.  

100% gibberish pretty much sums up this thread though, so good work there. 



Cheap shot old boy.  And so unworthy of you.

Perhaps, but you're being rude and dismissive of an entire genre purely on the basis of your ill-informed opinion of it whilst I'm being rude and dismissive of your magic cables on the back of the collective efforts of hundreds of thousands of scientists over decades and centuries. Which of those is cheapest shot?

http://i.imgur.com/Y5UoRTg.jpg

Rocker

@unclePsychosis, no you misunderstood my posts. When I listen to music, I want to hear what is being said or what is going on. I listen and am open to liking any piece of music. I heard a guy rapping on a Dublin street and have no idea what he was saying. The words were completely lost in the sound. For all I know he could have been rapping about busses being late. Is it unreasonable to wonder why he bothers if nobody can understand a word he is saying? If you are in Dublin check him out, he operates at the O'Connell street / Talbot street junction.

monquixote

Rocker said:

@unclePsychosis, no you misunderstood my posts. When I listen to music, I want to hear what is being said or what is going on. I listen and am open to liking any piece of music. I heard a guy rapping on a Dublin street and have no idea what he was saying. The words were completely lost in the sound. For all I know he could have been rapping about busses being late. Is it unreasonable to wonder why he bothers if nobody can understand a word he is saying? If you are in Dublin check him out, he operates at the O'Connell street / Talbot street junction.

Writing off a whole genre on the basis of a crap busker seems a bit premature surely?

chrispy108

It's really disappointing that "musicians" are writing off a genre of music because they don't "get" it.

I suppose you complain about modern art too?

UnclePsychosis

Rocker;684573" said:

@unclePsychosis, no you misunderstood my posts. When I listen to music, I want to hear what is being said or what is going on. I listen and am open to liking any piece of music. I heard a guy rapping on a Dublin street and have no idea what he was saying. The words were completely lost in the sound. For all I know he could have been rapping about busses being late. Is it unreasonable to wonder why he bothers if nobody can understand a word he is saying? If you are in Dublin check him out, he operates at the O'Connell street / Talbot street junction.

I heard a busker murdering a Beatles song last week.

As a result I now think the Beatles are crap and pop music is a waste of time.

Danny1969

What a lot of bollocks ....  people jumping to have a pop at Rocker just because he said what's the point of Rap if you can't understand the lyrics. That's all he said and it's a perfectly valid point of view. He didn't say it was crap, just that he thought you should be able to understand what was being said. Now everyone's just taking cheap shots .... same old cable jokes yawn yawn ........  

chrispy108

People have been complaining "I can't understand the lyrics" about every form of "new" music ever.

Drew_TNBD

Rocker;684573" said:

@unclePsychosis, no you misunderstood my posts. When I listen to music, I want to hear what is being said or what is going on. I listen and am open to liking any piece of music. I heard a guy rapping on a Dublin street and have no idea what he was saying. The words were completely lost in the sound. For all I know he could have been rapping about busses being late. Is it unreasonable to wonder why he bothers if nobody can understand a word he is saying? If you are in Dublin check him out, he operates at the O'Connell street / Talbot street junction.

You keep saying this idiotic stuff.... things like "why bother if nobobdy can understand a word he is saying" ... don't you understand how ignorant and solipsistic that sounds? Let me spell it out for you - NOT EVERYONE IS HARD OF HEARING