50 years of Hip Hop- How Come?


Having been a music fan for over 50 years, it’s been fun to see all the different musical genres that have come and gone in popular music.

In the the 50s it was Rock n Roll. Then in the 60s we had Psychedelia, in the 70s Punk, in the 80s New Wave, in the 90s Grunge. It was always interesting to see how music changed into the next new thing.

At the latest Grammy awards, which I did not see, there was a segment called 50 years of hip hop.

I’ve personally never been a big fan of the genre, there are some songs I have liked, but that’s ok. Everyone has their tastes. What I am surprised about is Hip Hops longevity. It just seems like for the last 25 years a lot of music hasn’t really changed much. There has been no " next new thing"as far as I can tell.

How Come? Anyone feel the same way or care to comment. Am I just getting old??

 

128x128alvinnir2

@unreceivedogma Nice list. The most recent died in 1996, so you're missing out on the last 30 years or so of the genre. 

And while a lot of hip hop indeed promotes and glorifies violence and misogyny, much of it does not. Furthermore, a lot of rock also does so across the spectrum. This isn't a case of "whataboutism"; iI'm simply pointing out that using such a general and vague criterion for disliking something is incredibly myopic.

I mean, many rock artists seem to love singing about under-18 girls in their lyrics. But am I going to write off the entire genre? 

as for the ones who seem to think that not liking "hip hop" or its contents is somehow "racist" or whatever...   Why?  Is the music a race thing?  Actually, even in the little "hip hop" and related "rap" I've heard, I've heard some of the nastiest racial crap and misogynistic crap and anti-social crap on record.  Maybe just maybe it's the content of the character that's disliked, not any particular "race."

@simao

I live in/next to … we call them “depressed areas” these days, a soft phrase in the manner of George Carlin.

The … noise … blasting out of apartment windows and car audio systems on a daily basis is predominantly full of hate, anger, violence, and abuse. I find it to be oppressive. The generalization applies and I stand by it. No, I’m not missing out on anything. I do have one Spank Rock 12” single, “Bootay”, because my step-daughter performed with him for a year. In spite of his lyrics and stage presence, he’s an oddly quiet, shy, retiring gay guy in person.

Yes, there are problems with rock lyrics but they are few and far between. And some artists have removed them from their playlists. The Rolling Stones, for example, do not perform Brown Sugar anymore because African American women object to the lyrics about raping black slave women. As Keith Richards acknowledged “I dunno what the sisters are upset about. It’s supposed to be a song about how horrible slavery is. But whatever”. Mick said “God knows what I was thinking when I wrote that. It’s a mish-mash of every offensive thing. I would never write that today.”

@unreceivedogma 

I must say, your post initially caught me by surprise. Thus, this only reassures my flawed stance ... never judge a book by its cover.

This community likely feels that this creature does not attend Symphony's, quite the contrary. 

@dabel 

 

Huh? Symphonies? I thought we were talking about hip hop and rap. 
 

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