hal9OOO's Journal

"Modern Rap:A Cultural Trainwreck"
For the purposes of my argument I will categorize rap into three different eras, in order to trace the progression and to define the revolutions within rap.
(Disclaimer: These divisions could be classified by time periods, places or styles but I'd rather not get into the specifics, these groups are approximate so please don't become too preoccupied with the legitimacy of each group. I'm also obviously speaking on a macro-level and in majority cases)
-Old School i.e. Big Daddy Kane, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang.
-Goldenage i.e. A Tribe called Quest, De la Soul, Public Enemy, Beastie Boyz, The Roots.
-Modern Rap i.e.50 Cent and G-Unit, Snoopdogg, Jay Z, Nelly, Puff Daddy, Master P, DMX and Ruffridaz.
My argument will focus on the two latter groups and could be interpreted as Goldenage vs. Modern but I intend to portray modern rap as the cultural trainwreck that it is.
Goldenage rap is defined by real MCs whose lyrical contents were concerned with social issues such as poverty, the establishment, racial injustice, positive messages of pride in one’s identity and of course their ability as an MC to rhyme ‘tight’. This I believe is when rap was at its greatest, when rap was truly an inspiring genre of music which could be appreciated by any music fans. The goldenage could be represented by landmark albums such as ‘The Low End Theory’, ‘It takes a Nation of millions to hold us Back’ or ‘Three feet high and rising’ which have all earned their place in music history as some of the greatest records of all time.
Contrast this with the farce that is modern rap today. Rap has evolved from its humble and dignified roots to become the most popular music genre in the world today (IMO) and what has become of rap? Absolute rubbish; a travesty. The once so socially insightful and influential lyrics of the goldenage have been replaced by materialism.
Modern rap songs could be summed up by “Look at me, I’ve got more money than you, more bitches, more bling bling and I’m better than you. You want to be me don’t you”. I mean, the album title ‘Get rich or die trying’, it says it all, and this is the leading artist in the industry! Modern rap promotes the ideas of a viscously competitive society, the love of money, the degradation of women and extreme celebrity. The reality behind this is desire, greed, vanity and jealousy which all give rise to these fevered egos aggrandizing the capitalist rat-race to the top, advocating that it’s ok to have a culture where a minority possess the majority of the wealth and we are the crème de la crème so succumb to our greatness. This is all bewildering, considering the goldenage of rap represented the opposite of this and sought instead to motivate, to teach and to inspire.
So far I’ve argued against modern rap on fundamental grounds but one could easily argue against it on musical merit. One need not look too closely to realise the universes of ability, vision and talent that separate goldenage and modern rap. Plain and simple they are much better songs. Goldenage consisted of fat beats, driving basslines, ingenious raps and typically samples from every music genre including jazz, funk, soul, rock, dub, reggae etc. A DJ who knew what he was doing
What does modern rap have to offer us? Well there’s 50 cent who’s limited by the fact that he can only pronounce the letters a, e, d and n which leaves the sum total of his contribution as denna nenna den de den a denna den. There’s snoopdogg who teaches us all how to spell whilst he writes the same lyrics over and over. There’s Jay Z, but he’s too busy ‘Big Pimpin’ and reminding us all that he’s got so much more money than us. There’s Nelly who makes the same song again and again, it kind of loses its flare (Insert editorial laugh here) after a while. There’s Puff Daddy, wow he’s such a party animal, I wish I was him. There are also the countless rappers who grunt their lyrics instead of actually rapping with the beat i.e. DMX, Lil Jon or Mystikal.
Most of rap songs today are done by the neptunes or some imitators of this style which I believe is ridiculous. They usually replace the drumbeat with shakers and have the main beat as someone humming or breathing.
In summary I think modern rap is helping to create this asymmetrical culture which promotes the idea that the rich and famous are the elite who should be worshiped and who represent the apex of society which everyone should be seeking to ascend to.

Current Mood: pensive

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