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

@jasonbourne52 cool. Please post a vid of you mc'ing with a boombox and a mic. I mean, if it's that easy, any idiot can do it, right?

@ghasley - yes, I especially smiled thinking of all the people who will have gotten bent out of shape by it. I quite enjoyed it, though being unfamiliar with most of her stuff, not as much as I should have, but that's on me. 

Not a fan at all.

But my dislike is based purely on the music itself.

I tend to only like music that has most or all of the following attributes:

Very high levels of musicianship, musical complexity, deep and broad range of emotional and/or intellectual content, sophisticated compositions and arrangements, avoidance of verse>chorus>bridge>repeat song structure.

Hip hop has none of the above. But neither does most pop or country, which I dislike about as much.

Early on, rap was much more political in nature. It was one of the only outlets repressed people had to make their reality known. From that perspective, I can respect it. 

But musically, it sucks, IMO.

@ghasley 

You want to hear an almost perfect belnding of all of these genres (soul, r&b, jazz, blues, funk, rap, hip-hop) then listen to Robert Glasper’s “Black Radio” albums. His latest “Black Radio III” is brilliant. The musicianship is exceptional. To those who haven’t ever heard someone rap melodically, it exists on this album. To those who swear those creating hip-hop or rap aren’t musicians, this album dispels the stupidity of that myth.

But the parts of Glsaper's recordings that display musicianship, is the jazz influenced portions. 

Steve Coleman, Andrew Milne, and others in the M-Base subgenre of jazz have been utilizing rap vocals for decades. Yet, they are not hip hop or rap recordings.

Steve Coleman is a near genius of contemporary jazz, and I own almost all of his 20+ recordings. Quite a few have hip hop type vocals, yet, I would argue that none of them are hip hop.

 

Old white guys discussing rap and hip hop.

Hilarious.

What’s the problem with that?

Just because I am white, does not mean I can not criticize music based on the things I don’t like about it, musically. I dislike country about as much as rap and hip hop.

You do all realize, it was born out of jazz?

So what? Doesn’t make it any where near as good. That is what is known as a ’genetic fallacy’.

By the way, I have a large collection of jazz, from the late 50's up through the contemporary era. You do understand that a very high percentage is made by black musicians, right? 

So, when this 'old white guy' discusses rap and hip hop, I am a racist. But when I discuss jazz, I am not? Please explain how that works.

 

It is the urban music of our time and is a reflection of the disenfranchised of large groups of people.

I can completely respect it for that aspect. Some of the early, more politically oriented rap had a lot of truth in it. I have zero problems with that aspect.