Ray Charles - "Rap is not music"

The actual quote is: "“You have to remember I’m a musician,” said the singer-keyboardist who back in the ‘50s did as much as anyone to pry open the body of American pop and inject it with soul. “So rap doesn’t do anything for me; I can’t learn anything from it. Rap is like reciting poetry--I could do that when I was 7. All you have to do is match (the words) with the rhythm. That’s nothing. That’s [expletive]." 

Who gives a crap what Ray Charles thinks or says? He was one musician who's prime was 25 years before the advent of rap. And he was an old fart when he gave that interview. You go ahead and shake your fist at the changing world. 

And no, you couldn't "recite poetry" when you were 7. You could say the words but you need a lot of experience to know how to really recite a poem.

@simao - Your rant against Ray Charles makes me think you've been listening to too much rap.  Try something else for a while and your mood should improve.

It's cool to see that you're passionate about music, and everyone has their own opinion on what they consider to be music. Ray Charles was a legendary musician and his opinion on rap is totally valid. However, I do think it's important to recognize that music is subjective and means different things to different people. Rap has become a hugely popular genre over the years and has had a major impact on music and culture. So while it might not be Ray Charles' cup of tea, there are plenty of people who love it and consider it to be music.

I LOVE Ray Charles…well, some of his music except for the shameless, over orchestrated covers but hey, he had to make a living.

I don’t take financial advice from Ray Charles.

I don’t take marital advice from Ray Charles.

I don’t take advice from Mr. Charles on virtually any topic other than “here is how I kicked heroin”.

Mr. Charles, if he was alive today, would be begging Kendrick Lamar or Anderson .Pak to record with them. Heck, for the last 20 years of his career, Sinatra could have been classified as a rapper. Leonard Cohen had a quarter-octave vocal range on a good day so he could be classified as a rapper.

Some people here need to add the following phrase to their tombstones “Get off my lawn”

There seems to be an awful lot of energy on this site devoted to criticizing rap. Ray is entitled to his opinion and is a fabulous musician. It doesn't make him right. Howzabout we lay off rap for a while guys?