The rise and fall of musical genres

Micco · 08-09-2015, 08:54 PM

A lot of fans consider Hip-Hop and Rap to be two similar but different types of music, notice how in my previous posts I differentiate between a rapper and an emcee, as a rapper belongs to rap music and the later respective to Hip-Hop. So when speaking on the birth and death of Hip-Hop I'd say it's history is able to be cataloged from start to finish with exceptions as I had said before of the music still coming out in much smaller waves.

As for Rap music I'd say it's currently in it's own golden era or at least it hasn't died yet, to distinguish them in terms of genres it is fairly easy.

Hip-Hop:
-more focused on including many more cultural element's of Hip-Hop within' the music (Emcees, B-Boys, Deejays, Street Artists, Beat Boxing, etc)
-more focused on spreading a message or showing off emceeing prowess

Rap:
-more commercial
-more focused on the common stereotypes put forth in Hip-Hop (Money, Women, Drugs, less lyricism, etc.)

There is also a heavy difference in production and overall style but I find that much harder to describe as it is easier to have an ear for it.

That's why it becomes much easier to discuss the genre when you divide it into two genres, as the world of music containing rapping has become to diverse and expansive it's hard to tell whether a song is Rap or Pop these days, but when categorizing Hip-Hop there is enough substance needed that you can take a song with rapping in it and divide it into whether or not it is Hip-Hop music vs. anything else ranging from Rap, Pop, Trap, etc. I myself can discuss the history of Hip-Hop for hours but I'm hardly varied in knowledge of Rap music. I hate to sound pretentious but I consider myself an expert in Hip-Hop music and history from roughly 79-98 and it's a huge passion of mine and has been for quite some time.

To give examples of how many have split the genre I can use artists.
Hip-Hop vs Rap is:
Rakim vs. Drake
Gang Starr vs. Childish Gambino
De La Soul vs. Tyga
Del The Funky Homosapien vs. Fetty Wap

of course the lines can become increasingly blurred when it comes to Gangsta Rap but the history there is so expansive and the style so unique I could go as far to consider it a genre on it's own.

That's what people who don't listen to don't understand is how wildly different the music can be when the only similarity is rhyming words together. How someone can listen to a group like EPMD and then attempt to categorize them within' the same genre as an artist like Lil' Jon is beyond me.

Keep in mind this isn't me trying to split Hip-Hop and Rap into two genres between music I think is good and music I don't like it's rather how I view the music truly is categorized, there are plenty of acts I love I'd put into the rap genre (i.e. 2 Live Crew) and vice versa. Although there is an argument for every artist for both categories I suppose, but generally one fits better than the other.

08-09-2015, 08:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Micco Karaoke Crooner Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 170	A lot of fans consider Hip-Hop and Rap to be two similar but different types of music, notice how in my previous posts I differentiate between a rapper and an emcee, as a rapper belongs to rap music and the later respective to Hip-Hop. So when speaking on the birth and death of Hip-Hop I'd say it's history is able to be cataloged from start to finish with exceptions as I had said before of the music still coming out in much smaller waves. As for Rap music I'd say it's currently in it's own golden era or at least it hasn't died yet, to distinguish them in terms of genres it is fairly easy. Hip-Hop: -more focused on including many more cultural element's of Hip-Hop within' the music (Emcees, B-Boys, Deejays, Street Artists, Beat Boxing, etc) -more focused on spreading a message or showing off emceeing prowess Rap: -more commercial -more focused on the common stereotypes put forth in Hip-Hop (Money, Women, Drugs, less lyricism, etc.) There is also a heavy difference in production and overall style but I find that much harder to describe as it is easier to have an ear for it. That's why it becomes much easier to discuss the genre when you divide it into two genres, as the world of music containing rapping has become to diverse and expansive it's hard to tell whether a song is Rap or Pop these days, but when categorizing Hip-Hop there is enough substance needed that you can take a song with rapping in it and divide it into whether or not it is Hip-Hop music vs. anything else ranging from Rap, Pop, Trap, etc. I myself can discuss the history of Hip-Hop for hours but I'm hardly varied in knowledge of Rap music. I hate to sound pretentious but I consider myself an expert in Hip-Hop music and history from roughly 79-98 and it's a huge passion of mine and has been for quite some time. To give examples of how many have split the genre I can use artists. Hip-Hop vs Rap is: Rakim vs. Drake Gang Starr vs. Childish Gambino De La Soul vs. Tyga Del The Funky Homosapien vs. Fetty Wap of course the lines can become increasingly blurred when it comes to Gangsta Rap but the history there is so expansive and the style so unique I could go as far to consider it a genre on it's own. That's what people who don't listen to don't understand is how wildly different the music can be when the only similarity is rhyming words together. How someone can listen to a group like EPMD and then attempt to categorize them within' the same genre as an artist like Lil' Jon is beyond me. Keep in mind this isn't me trying to split Hip-Hop and Rap into two genres between music I think is good and music I don't like it's rather how I view the music truly is categorized, there are plenty of acts I love I'd put into the rap genre (i.e. 2 Live Crew) and vice versa. Although there is an argument for every artist for both categories I suppose, but generally one fits better than the other. __________________ Follow me on instagram @HipHopLand, #salute!