Ray Charles - "Rap is not music"

So in the 80’s, Blondie did a tune called Rapture where she goes into a rap.  What would you call that??

What can I say? Sure, let a thousand flowers bloom, but it is genuinely rare when I enjoy hip-hop or rap. To me it's mostly just Boom Boom Thud, Boom Boom Thud. Maybe on the car radio...

There is one song on Lucinda Williams’ West album that I consider Rap: the just-over nine minute "Wrap (ha ;-) My Head Around That". Melody-free, but it still works for me. Hey, I'm a poet ;-) .

Tell 'Em - Ray.

Happy Listening!

Music does not have to have melody. A melody is just a part of it that isn't critical at all. Maybe for some listeners melody is critical, but for many isn't.

Rap whether it's music or not is a form of art. Opinion of Ray Charles is just an opinion and even sometimes cigar is just a cigar.

@acman3: Harmony? Hell, there's not even any melody!

I don't agree with Ray Charles. Why people feel the need to insult music they don't happen to care for and the people who like it is beyond me. 

Rap to me is poetry to rhythms with little if any harmony, so IMO, I agree with Ray, but does it matter what category it's in?