Hip-hop and hippies

What qualifies as a "real instrument" to you? It takes talent to sample music and reassemble it in a way that's catchy and creative. Also, there are many hip-hop groups that feature live musicians, especially live. The Roots are one such group.

Then you clearly haven't heard much hip-hop if you think it's all like that and promotes those things.

 

"Hippie values" how incredibly stereotypical and narrow minded.

How can you generalize something so massive? It seems like you've only been exposed to the mainstream hip hop...and probably are selective about what you actually listen to because there is PLENTY of COUNTLESS rap/hip hop artists that do not fall under that stereotype if you really pay attention.

That doesn't go to say that there isn't plenty of degrading untalented pieces of work out there, but I do think you're making a mistake by generalizing and assuming.

 

I like hip-hop but I really like instrumentalists as well. Most of the hip-hop artists I like the most are very diverse and multi-talented.

I really like the Roots, K-Os, Saul Williams, mos def, Nas, Lauryn Hill. There's a lot of reggae that's kinda like hip hop as well. I like that stuff.

I'm a very lyric driven person, so those that I mentioned above really vibe with my personal hippie sensibilities.

 

Really though it's all a question of how you define music. I think there's a lot of high quality electronic music out there which isn't played on conventional instruments. I was only quoting or para phrasing Jerry as no doubt he was a hippy, and I think what he said may be representative of a lot of people who grew up in that era.

 

Yes, and the way I define music doesn't include hip hop. I don't care if the instruments are conventional or not, as long as the performer can perform in real time without cheating with pre-recordings.

I realize there may be some hip hop artists whose lyrics will not offend me, but I will probably never hear them, because I strongly dislike the way the "music" sounds.

 

Even I don't really care for much hip hop. But just because I don't care for it doesn't get me the right to sit there and say it isn't music. By doing that I'm cutting off a large portion of art just because I don't like it.

I don't like Picasso, does that make him any less of an artist?

That's not saying all rap/hip hop should be compared to Picasso, but you get the idea.


<3 Bunnie

 

Many conventional artists in classic rock and pop have "cheated" with recording techniques,especially vocals,guitar effects and all sorts of electronic gizmos.I mean a recording is nothing but a pre-recording in a certain sense.

 

Interesting that I once saw Todd Rundgren live doing a one man show where he was relying entirely on pre recorded backing, and playing either guitar or piano over it.
It worked ok because Todd is consumate musician and has/had a highly charged personal presence.

 

I'm not telling anybody else what to listen to and I don't think that anyone else is listening to me lol. The only person who is being cut off from it is me and believe me, I don't feel deprived. When I watch the Grammys, I turn off the sound when hip hop is played.

When my daughter was ten, she complained to me that the bus driver was playing rap on the radio. I informed the school administration of the lyrics in the music and the bus driver was not allowed to do that anymore. I never told my daughter not to listen to it, but I gave her my opinions. This thread is about why hippies often don't like hip hop.

 

I was talking about live performances. Anything goes in the studio.

 

Sure, that's OK, because Rundgren wasn't a faker. You know he wasn't doing that to cover over his inadequacies.

 

Cool. As I said before, I'm not much of a hip hop fan, but I don't like to just diss what other people may like just because it isn't my taste.

I can't stand the sound of Schoenberg, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not music, as some critics did in his day.

 

I would agree with you if it was only a matter of how it sounded. But I get worked up about this, because I think our culture has suffered as a result of not enough people complaining about the violence, sexual aggression, and materialism of the lyrics. I think a lot of people don't say anything about it for fear of being called racist.

 

Well I don't like sexual aggression, violence, materialism or racism, but unfortunately we live in times when those things are pretty widespread. I'm not into hip hop enough to say for certain, but maybe it's just reflecting the times and the lives of the people who do it.
I suppose the argument might be that it's actually propagating those kinds of attitudes, and I see that argument.

 

I don't understand labels like hip hop...Is tht the talking alot and not singing?

Anyway, my tastes in music is so diversified......I don't like violent, angry words....and it seems that much today is violent and angry.

I like positive/insightful; messages, sweet melodies and mostly all kinds of music.

 

Who has the right to define words? How about the dictionary?

If he had only painted stop signs and walls of houses, he wouldn't have been an artist at all, even if he called himself one, and used paint all day every day. You can say that all recorded sounds are music, but that doesn't make it true.

I don't disagree with anything you've said so far.

Their contribution to the culture seems to be mostly negative.

I'm not going to worry about that label, because the percentage of black artists in my CD collection is much higher than the percentage black population of the US. Besides jazz and blues, I have a big rack of Motown classics. If my tastes show any bias, it's against white people.

I think it's true. Teenagers are so easily indoctrinated.

 

I'll check them out (I know about the Roots of course and even catched them live) but please share some of the instrumentalists (instrumental hip hop?) as well if you like :2thumbsup:

 

There is plenty of hip-hop that doesn't feature violent or angry words.

 

Think watching the Grammys is your first mistake. Lol. As well as allowing what's played on mainstream radio determine your view on that genre in general.

I'm a total rock baby and primarily listen to indie pop/rock/folk and definitely have judged hip hop in that way before. It was when i discovered other extensions of hip hop that made me realize that what's played on the radio is waaaaaayyy different than the majority of actual true hip hop (read: people that haven't sold out by allowing their label and the industry mold them). I consider very little on the radio to be true hip hop.

But again, who am I to judge. That's just me speaking from experience.


<3 Bunnie