Is Rap a valid musical form?

It's fascinating to see how your perspective on rap and hip-hop music has evolved over time. "To Pimp a Butterfly" by Kendrick Lamar is indeed a critically acclaimed album that has pushed the boundaries of the genre and is often regarded as a masterpiece. Your description of the album's complexity, the interplay between music and lyrics, and the depth of emotion it conveys is a testament to its artistic significance.

Rap and hip-hop, like any genre of music, encompass a wide range of styles and artists, each with their own unique approach and message. It's great that you're open to exploring more of this genre to discover the depth and diversity it offers. Drake, for example, has been known for blending elements of rap, R&B, and unconventional musical forms in his work, which can be quite innovative.

As you continue to explore rap and hip-hop, you may find artists and albums that resonate with you in different ways. Some artists focus more on storytelling, social commentary, or personal experiences, while others emphasize wordplay, rhythm, and flow. It's a genre that constantly evolves and incorporates elements from various musical traditions, making it a rich and dynamic form of expression.

Your willingness to give it a chance and your recognition of the musical and emotional depth within these works are signs of an open-minded approach to music appreciation. Keep exploring, and you might discover more gems within the world of rap and hip-hop that resonate with you on a profound level. It's a genre that has touched the lives of millions and continues to be a powerful voice for self-expression and cultural commentary.

As long as this zombie thread has been revived 8 months after it's demise, I might as well post again, also.

As my previous posts have made clear, I dislike rap and hip-hop, based purely on what I perceive, musically speaking, as simplistic, lack of instrumental sophistication.

But let me make this clear. From a political point of view, as one of the only outlets African Americans, had to get their word out about how they are mistreated, I support that aspect 100%.

Also, not being knowledgeable, nor a fan of spoken word art forms, I will not judge it from that standpoint.

I would guess lots of us have read the writings and seen the footage of people from the ‘50s referring to rock n’ roll as “not a valid form of music,” “lacking in musical merit,” “lacking deep and broad emotional content,” “obscene, vulgar,” “a byproduct of societal decline,” “a contributing factor to juvenile delinquency,” “something that degrades the moral values of our youth,” etc. etc.

Do you see and hear that stuff and feel a combination of pity and delight at the unintentional hilarity of it?

Do those people sound laughably ignorant, petty, and miserable, to a comical degree?

Are you glad that your parents or grandparents were not the people captured on camera saying those things, ultimately used as documentary fodder to be laughed at and mocked by later generations for their preposterous, hateful blather?

Don’t be the 2040 documentary versions of the turds wearing crew cuts and browline glasses embarrassing themselves saying unintentionally hilarious blather like rap is “not a valid form of music…lacks musical merit…lacks deep and broad emotional content, blah, blah blah…”
thusly embarrassing yourself and your grandkids.

You sound exactly like those turds from the ‘50s.

Finally, it’s just f***ing music, man.
You either like it, or you don’t.
It’s not a sociopolitical movement, it’s not a political platform, it’s not a religion, it’s just art. A person is not some demon worthy of chastisement and slander if they don’t like it, and a person does not deserve a pat on the back if they like it, or “gave it a try.”

@tylermunns + 1