Has Rap Music Really Changed?

Just Clauz

Just Clauz

New member
Whatup folks.

Let me get right to it.

So in this day n age people like to claim that rap has lost it's value, and has changed into music about objectification of women, drug dealing and crime activity. But hasn't rap always been like that? I'm listening to old legends right now like Nas Illmatic, Outkast and Wu-Tang, and all of them are about that sex, drugs and thug-life. We are quick to judge new things, but we forget that we grew up listening to rappers who was like that way before the Chief Keefs, the Gucci Manes, the Young Thugs ect.

So besides technologial improvements in recording and producing, is there really a big difference between now and then?
 
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When we say rap has changed it's about the vibe of the music, the way it made you feel. It's a zeitgeist thing.

N.Y. state of mind, I can't even explain how that shit made me feel when my homie came thru with the cassette tape and now when I listen to that it makes me feel the same way, it's like a door to a different time. Like those bio-shock games man.
Think of organic food. You can't quite put your finger on it but the organic is much better. And you can feel the authenticity from those old records. It's overcomputerized nowadays. It ain't real. It's about marketing and money. The culture has faded.
What the fk is a Iggy Azalea? She should be a model.
 
Although the topics have remained similar, I think some of the class has been lost. It's a little more blunt, now. Some earlier artist put a little bit of reasoning or story behind the topics they spoke about.
 
Just Clauz said:
Whatup folks.

Let me get right to it.

So in this day n age people like to claim that rap has lost it's value, and has changed into music about objectification of women, drug dealing and crime activity. But hasn't rap always been like that? I'm listening to old legends right now like Nas Illmatic, Outkast and Wu-Tang, and all of them are about that sex, drugs and thug-life. We are quick to judge new things, but we forget that we grew up listening to rappers who was like that way before the Chief Keefs, the Gucci Manes, the Young Thugs ect.

So besides technologial improvements in recording and producing, is there really a big difference between now and then?
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That's what I've been saying for a while now. The topics haven't changed much. We just get older.
 
DjPolair said:
When we say rap has changed it's about the vibe of the music, the way it made you feel. It's a zeitgeist thing.

N.Y. state of mind, I can't even explain how that shit made me feel when my homie came thru with the cassette tape and now when I listen to that it makes me feel the same way, it's like a door to a different time. Like those bio-shock games man.
Think of organic food. You can't quite put your finger on it but the organic is much better. And you can feel the authenticity from those old records. It's overcomputerized nowadays. It ain't real. It's about marketing and money. The culture has faded.
What the fk is a Iggy Azalea? She should be a model.
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You know Ive feel kinda like this for some time now. What you sid about the vibe and authenticity is what I think is missing. The themes and topics are still the same, but the feel of the music is wrong. What they say about rap now is that it's the Mcdonalds of music, but there used to be a time where it wasn't like that. It used to have more value.

Damn, I'm in my mid-twenties starting to sound like old haha
 
A five year old describing his day isn't going to sound the same as Henry David Thoreau describing his day. Both are talking about the same exact thing, but sound completely different. But wait - you can't talk about Thoreau anymore because these new 5 year old writers are running the game.

Too many phony Hip Hop heads lack an important trait called 'critical thinking' and will tell you that Andre 3000 describing women is the same as Young Thug describing women since they're talking about the same topic. If you disagree, then you're an old man hater who needs to accept it smh.

Too many pop-tart rappers and fans trying to hang out with the cool kids. Stay in your lane.
 
Just Clauz said:
You know Ive feel kinda like this for some time now. What you sid about the vibe and authenticity is what I think is missing. The themes and topics are still the same, but the feel of the music is wrong. What they say about rap now is that it's the Mcdonalds of music, but there used to be a time where it wasn't like that. It used to have more value.

Damn, I'm in my mid-twenties starting to sound like old haha
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It's not connectable to you at that level anymore. It's a little difficult to put into words, but I know with myself I have memories and moods attached with a song. My age, life, what I was doing at the time matters just as much as the song in my determination of whether the song is good or not. When you hear the song is just as important as the song. You ever heard a song you didn't like when it originally came out, but years later you love it? Music can sometimes be like a drug. you may hear a song that gave you a certain high. so you search for new songs to give you that same high and you fail. That gives the whole New music sucks phrase to be tossed around. Don't look for a the same high. Look for a different one. The moment you realize that new music won't give you that exact same feeling as what it did before and you decide to look for other feelings you get from new music is when you're able to see things a little more clearly.
 
KelevraOne said:
The moment you realize that new music won't give you that exact same feeling as what it did before and you decide to look for other feelings you get from new music is when you're able to see things a little more clearly.
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What other feelings? Most popular new music is devoid of emotions, its job is to get you "turnt up" from hearing a catchy melody and that's it. It's too instant and it gets boring real quickly. There's a real difference between Bill Evans and Big Fruit Beatz and it has nothing to do with listener being old...
 
stokeI said:
What other feelings? Most popular new music is devoid of emotions, its job is to get you "turnt up" from hearing a catchy melody and that's it. It's too instant and it gets boring real quickly. There's a real difference between Bill Evans and Big Fruit Beatz and it has nothing to do with listener being old...
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Not all current Hip Hop is turn up music.If I want to get hype I'll listen to someone like Young Thug, If I want to think about something, Wale. I wanna hear about relationship issues, Drake. I want to hear about depression Childish Gambino. So we really can't pigeonhole popular artist into one category. so find someone you're interested in and you can still find what you like.
 
I get it. Despite how terrible rap is now (with a few exceptions) I don't mind listening to Thug, 2 Chainz ect. Its the vibe I miss. Like the atmosphere of rap/hiphop. Not just the music, but the culture.
 
Idk, I think hip hop is the same as it was back then. Mainly because, even then you had that alternative music, and also the hype music, the gangsta music, and so forth. Today, you have the same, difference? alternative music doesn't generate AS MUCH as it did when that type of music was more appreciated. The most popular form of hip hop music is the hype music that has the lyrics of your average elementary school student. So in my opinion, the styles and various content of hip hop has not changed, but the shift in what's widely accepted has, there isn't much of a balance as there used to be, but I could be wrong. To put it in analogy, over a decade ago and beyond, people ate junk food and whole food equally, decades later, people are consuming junk food more, the production of whole food didn't stop, it's just not being consumed by the masses as it used to be, it's still there though, just in "lesser known" areas...come to think of it no, the lyricism in hip hop has greatly changed, there's less craftsmanship in a lot of mainstream hip hop now, again I could be wrong idk I listen to more metal than I do hip hop now.
 
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KelevraOne said:
It's not connectable to you at that level anymore. It's a little difficult to put into words, but I know with myself I have memories and moods attached with a song. My age, life, what I was doing at the time matters just as much as the song in my determination of whether the song is good or not. When you hear the song is just as important as the song. You ever heard a song you didn't like when it originally came out, but years later you love it? Music can sometimes be like a drug. you may hear a song that gave you a certain high. so you search for new songs to give you that same high and you fail. That gives the whole New music sucks phrase to be tossed around. Don't look for a the same high. Look for a different one. The moment you realize that new music won't give you that exact same feeling as what it did before and you decide to look for other feelings you get from new music is when you're able to see things a little more clearly.
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I completely agree with this.
I think that as you are getting older and wiser, the music will affect you a lot less, because you have already experienced most human feelings, thoughts, events and what not while listening to other songs from your younger days. Like KelevraOne said in his post, that is something that can't be duplicated. That's the reason why we don't FEEL the new music the same way. Nowadays there's not a lot of new music that makes me get that "special" feeling, but i have learned to still appreciate it. It may not have that much of an impact on my thoughts and feelings, but i can still enjoy it somehow.
 
Snapy Dee said:
I completely agree with this.
I think that as you are getting older and wiser, the music will affect you a lot less, because you have already experienced most human feelings, thoughts, events and what not while listening to other songs from your younger days. Like KelevraOne said in his post, that is something that can't be duplicated. That's the reason why we don't FEEL the new music the same way. Nowadays there's not a lot of new music that makes me get that "special" feeling, but i have learned to still appreciate it. It may not have that much of an impact on my thoughts and feelings, but i can still enjoy it somehow.
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A lot of this seems to be getting over-analyzed.

Has nothing to do with your feelings as a teenager being less mature than they are now.

Good music is good music.
 
ALL these albums had songs on rotation on the radio and all had their own styles.

Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life Vol. 2
Outkast - Aquemeni
Black Star
Lauryn Hill - Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Big Pun - Capital Punishment
Juvenile - 400 Degreez
Redman - Docs Da Name
Method Man - Tical 2000
A Tribe Called Quest - Love Movement
Def Squad - El Nino
RZA - Bobby Digital
Gangstarr - Moment of Truth
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
Black Eyed Peas - Behind the Front
Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event
Lyricist Lounge
2Pac - Greatest Hits
DMX - Flesh of My Flesh
Jermaine Dupri - Life in 1472
Onyx - Shut Em Down
Xzibit - 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz
Ice Cube - War and Peace
Nore - N.O.R.E
Flipmode - The Imperial
Silkk Da Shocker - Charge It to Da Game

And that's just in 1998. Compare that to the rappers of today who all sound like they get their beats from the same producer and talk about the same topics.

But, apparently the quality of music hasn't changed - just the listeners are senile and bitter??
 
wildinout8 said:
ALL these albums had songs on rotation on the radio and all had their own styles.

Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life Vol. 2
Outkast - Aquemeni
Black Star
Lauryn Hill - Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Big Pun - Capital Punishment
Juvenile - 400 Degreez
Redman - Docs Da Name
Method Man - Tical 2000
A Tribe Called Quest - Love Movement
Def Squad - El Nino
RZA - Bobby Digital
Gangstarr - Moment of Truth
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
Black Eyed Peas - Behind the Front
Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event
Lyricist Lounge
2Pac - Greatest Hits
DMX - Flesh of My Flesh
Jermaine Dupri - Life in 1472
Onyx - Shut Em Down
Xzibit - 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz
Ice Cube - War and Peace
Nore - N.O.R.E
Flipmode - The Imperial
Silkk Da Shocker - Charge It to Da Game

And that's just in 1998. Compare that to the rappers of today who all sound like they get their beats from the same producer and talk about the same topics.

But, apparently the quality of music hasn't changed - just the listeners are senile and bitter??
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winnah!

but that's not just hip hop, that's r&b and pop radio too. i was kinda disappointed when i heard auto-tune
had infiltrated country music.

music like all things goes through cycles.

we are leaving disco. think early 2006 to like the height of skrillex and deadmau5, tiesto and house in that vein.
dubstep is like a branch of disco in that sense, and trap can kinda be compared to that too.

we've been at the extremes of everyone wanting to go fast, and then we've got the people who are going super slow leaned out.
we need balance and now we're due for another turn soon.

there were wars that sparked major shifts in music. there was tension and then a musical release. the war that's going on is the war of
those with too much controlling and oppressing those without. which is a war of spirit. people want to streamline and cut costs to maximize profits.
the winners right now are those that get there faster, but eventually they'll burn out. technology is a tool that makes things faster and is supposed to
make things easier. but it can kill feeling as well.

it's the thousand dollars versus the penny. big money versus the slow grind. both have their trade offs, pros and cons. but things can change if someone
woulda told you that the Lakers would win less than forty games and the Clippers would be legit finals contenders you would swear they were on drugs.
art imitates life. some people use music to ball. music is like ball for some people.
 
We have to understand the "music business". It's always been about making money. Whatever is generating the most "noise", it is going to be pushed (heavily) so that revenue can be created from it. Believe it or not, the new generation of listeners do feel a vibe and authenticity from the music that's out now. That's why it's out. There are so many varieties of artist that deliver different types of music. Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug are not the only artists that exist. In today's age, yes, anyone can put out a mixtape but it's about what happens after it's put out. People will gravitate towards what they like.
 
It's like sports, the same superstars can't do it for forever. It will come a time where they will have to move a side because it's a new generation with a new twist. And that new twist happens to be something that the majority flows with.
 
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