How Can We Make Rap/Hip-Hop Music Better???

[CskaTorpedo]

I think we are arguing definition of genre's rather than a real point about black inspired electronic music (rap/hip hop/R&B). So I will nip this in the bud and say that I know there is a lot of good music out there and that I am just tired of mainstream pop culture (as most everyone on this board seems to be)

I am curious, what is hip hop in Germany? Is it the oral history of angry youth? Or is it a structure for laying experiments over?

I am curious, because I don't see a lot of racially charged music coming out of Europe. At least not in the way that it is in the states.

Or course I am not European, so I don't know if there is any truth to my guess, what do you think?

[xoxos]

i think a lot of white boys who live in boxes like to pretend what they say means anything at all.

[vurt]

how can we make hip hop better?


easy...

with bigger booty!
platinum hubcabs and roof mounted gunracks

tis the way!!!

[ouroboros]

platinum hubcabs and roof mounted gunracks

That sounds like what the 'necks round here are already doing. Add loud nu metal pouring out and the same tribal tattoo and you've got a pretty good description of a lot of fellas these days.

As for hiphop- does anybody here ever swap loops to get the creativity flowing?

[xoxos]

Add loud nu metal pouring out and the same tribal tattoo and you've got a pretty good description of a lot of fellas these days.

and if you lift up their shirts and look at their lower backs, you can clearly see the hasbro/palitoy logo!

[Stupid American Pig]

I am so glad I didnt fall victim to the Tribal Tatoo trend.

[DwarfNebula]

I think we are arguing definition of genre's rather than a real point about black inspired electronic music (rap/hip hop/R&B). So I will nip this in the bud and say that I know there is a lot of good music out there and that I am just tired of mainstream pop culture (as most everyone on this board seems to be)

yep, me too.

I am curious, what is hip hop in Germany? Is it the oral history of angry youth? Or is it a structure for laying experiments over?

its definately not a history of angry youth. for sure you have this angry hh, but most of it i would call mainstream. thats the lyrics.
its worse when it comes to the music. to me most of it is lame/boring and bad copied from the us. i think a reason for that is the not existant jazz culture.
imho most of the outstanding hh (musically) is heavy influenced from jazz.

I am curious, because I don't see a lot of racially charged music coming out of Europe. At least not in the way that it is in the states.

Or course I am not European, so I don't know if there is any truth to my guess, what do you think?

thats true for germany, sadly, but not for uk and france for example. think of the whole dnb/jungle thing.

[crimsontider]

Pull the plug on Rap, it's been played out.

I actually kind of liked it back in the NWA days, maybe even after The Chronic. The stuff now has gone away from the phat analog sounds of early gangster and has been replaced with FM synthesizer whimp sounds, bells and whistles on top of no melody. Not to mention the thin cheap sounding drum samples.

Another punk in your face talking about bling bling and how many many ho's he get. Next........

you dont have a clue what s going on in hh the last few years, right? or do you just generalize the few things you ve heard?
hh has never been more intersting and broad in the range of styles as it is now and has been the last time.
if you wanna talk about musical styles name one that has more improved, has more absorbed than hh.

Comments on Rap and Hip Hop in general, not one particular band or artist who might have a lot of talent.

How could anyone not have a clue about "hh the
last few years" It's everwhere and has saturated every medium. Just like my beloveed metal, hh has for the most part been hijacked by the record companies and others of similar influence. It is pretty much a cookie cutter operation and a good majority of people are ready for it to go back underground.

Too many loops, borrowed samples, lack of originality and stereotypes. Even the black community is tired of the stereotype's that rap n hip hop are portraying. I
read it all the time.

It needs to go back underground in order to improve.
It's in bad shape right now.

I'll agree that I am not a hard core rap fan but I do keep up with it, like all popular forms of music, and
believe that it is in a serious decline right now. Not racial or bias, just a an honest opinion.

[nrenda]

an 18 year old girl, who is studying classical guitar here in istanbul is truly obsessed with this genre of music, which i am not very keen on, and not very fond of, truly speaking.

she came to me, so i can comment on her singing abilites and such. and she believes that if she sings or "makes" this music, she will have some "huge" success here in turkey. which is exactly a fantasy.

can anyone give me a direction on how to work with this girl and turn her talent into something "functional". every comment you make will make her believe that we have people "thinking" all over the world.

this girl is all "white" and 18 years old. she is turkish and a loyal fan of hip-hop, rnb.

please let me know.

oh and by the way, depending on my very recent experience, this genre is all over the world. but the message itself forces some 18 year old kid, who has a decent life to talk about all this "gangsta" stuff. so i believe this genre belongs to some kind of sub-culture which is very hard to reproduce in places except the idea itself was formed. and we know the name of the country. right?

and this girl hardly speaks or writes english...

[xoxos]

can anyone give me a direction on how to work with this girl and turn her talent into something "functional". every comment you make will make her believe that we have people "thinking" all over the world.

easy enuff..

first off, 'talent into function,' i wouldn't bother with.. you seem open minded enuff to realise that your concepts of functionality may not be the be-all end-all.. perhaps the child prepares her ambition for an future unseen by her elders et al. :p

give her options, applications, but it would be barbaric to 'mould' her :p

now afa hiphop=success..

i'm a bit of a world traveller, currently in tucson, az, u.s.a., so hopefully i can offer some objectivity to the medium (lol)

the united states is, among other things, a very vicious situation where merchandising is part and parcel of opinion control.. you want troops in the gulf, jsut prepare the media for a few months before, americans will swallow.

sure, everyone has a chance to make it big in hiphop, but after you've proved your skills with years of practice, gotten your lucky break, then you have to do what they want..

when you're being interviewed as a big star, you cannot just tell them what you want.. you have to say what the corporate world wants to hear.. endorse consumerism, how much you like to shop, say nice things about the americans..

abig star, hiphop, anything else just about does not equal excellence!

which oc i'm sure you know :)

i kinda like to give people a chance to live their false dreams.. crushing disappointment, but the hope they bear can be important.

if that doesn't work, send her out here.. i'll introduce her to some talented hiphop producers who spend every day for decades on their art, to young ladies with voices that would drop you at 10 paces, they got f**k all for money, half a dozen broke hiphop producers sleeping on your couch :lol:

it's an ugly, ugly game with the money. the way people shit all over each other is nothing nice. if she really wants all that, give her a gentle slap on the cheek for her lack of consideration for others ;)

edit: rereading yer post, you did say "big star in turkey" - for all i know, this may be possible!

i think you should show her some free software her or a friend can make some music on! or i'd be happy to provide her with music :p

about the "gangsta" stuff.. unfortunately, we live in a gangsta world. different interpretations of life can only lead to further understanding.

[crimsontider]

and we know the name of the country. right?

Not Turkey, your only decent export is hashish.

[xoxos]

and we know the name of the country. right?

Not Turkey, your only decent export is hashish.

mahir cagri kick ass. she should find him.

[stale bread]

I'd say tell her to speak about what really matters to her, she can make some good hiphop without even rhyming, tell her to read poetry and try to find new ways to use her voice like an instrument exploring vocals rhythmicly, tell her to listen to her favorite music and then herself try to create music that makes her feel the same way but doesn't sound anything like her favorite music (disciplinary action till it becomes natural) tell her to collaborate with some good MCs, people who can hold your attention with their content and vocal skills even when music is not playing, and tell her to get as good as humanly possible with her classical guitar playing, experiment and create new styles for herself this will help her alot in making hiphop.

[pooshka]

i think the 'problem' about hip hop nowadays is that some people find it hard to shake off its root in specific locality/minority culture. I do not really think 'keep it real' means trying to be as 'authentic' about the historical origin of hip hop. I think the point is to focus on Hip Hop's characteristic emphasis on locality and minority subculture, i.e. people do not need to be hung up about the original locality/subculture that hip hop started off focusing on, but rather, people should make more effort to focus on their own locality/subculture through hiphop.

As often said, hiphop is a medium and hence the best use for it is to use it to look at something, to talk about something etc. What this medium should look at/focus on should be up to anyone who uses hip hop. i.e., hip hop is like a TV or a radio or Internet, whatever shows they show on TV and whatever music they play on radio and whatever websites they put on, TV is TV and radio is radio and Internet is Internet.

'Problem' in hip hop nowadays is like one TV broadcaster broadcasting same material as other channels and one DJ playing same music as other DJs on radio and one webdesigner making his websites look same as other websites.

[crimsontider]

and we know the name of the country. right?

Not Turkey, your only decent export is hashish.

mahir cagri kick ass. she should find him.

ROFLMO!
Accordian player from hell