I'd say where I live, it's easier to find country than rap. Where I live you can pick up 4 different country music stations, one has always been country, one is a new-ish station, one actually recently switched from pop to country, and I'm not certain where the other one came from, I think it might be a station in another nearby market that boosted their power. We have 2 stations with rock, one alternative, a couple oldies stations, and NPR. I think I might have heard one station that was playing rap recently, and another that did pop, but I'm not completely certain.
There are lots of different kinds of music for a reason. We all have different tastes so we need rap as much as anything else
But the other genres aren't dying. There are loads of artists of every genre and style imaginable out there, just because a genre isn't perceived as mainstream anymore doesn't mean that it's dying. All it means is that you'll have to look a bit harder to find artists of that genre. If something not being mainstream meant it was dying or dead then my genre of choice (Shoegaze, of course) would never have even existed...
We need to address something here, first. You have Rap... but you also have Hip-Hop and R&B. Of the three, R&B is the easiest to recognize, because it tends to be an urban power ballad. Usually, it's about having feelings for somebody, or making love. Hip-Hop is the "radio friendly" stuff, while Rap tends to be, raw and gritty, the uncensored reality of life. But the problem here is, the two are beginning to mix together, and it is becoming harder to tell the difference. Some performers are mixing raw lyrics with catchy beats. That established, here's my two cents: Rap was considered the enemy in the 1980s. In the 1990s, it was considered the counter culture, the anti-mainstream... despite it beginning to become mainstream. I enjoy Mobb Deep, N.W.A., Tupac and Biggie, as well as Bone Thugs 'N Harmony. I remember gettin' crunk to Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz, throwin' them 'bows with Ludacris, and ridin' rims with Three 6 Mafia... ... but I'm not blinded by nostalgia. While I do think a lot of mainstream rap, is fucking terrible nowadays, it isn't as bad as folks claim. If you look back in the 1990s, you had two major rap labels competing, near the end of the decade: Ca$h Money Records and No Limit Records. Ca$h Money produced such acts as Juvenile, Big Tymers, and, yes, even Lil' Wayne. No Limit produced such acts as Master P, Mystikal, and Silkk The Shocker. None of these individuals, were all that spectacular. Master P is a terrible lyricist, and Juvenile throws "uh" at the end of every sentence, or did, to rhyme. But between these two record labels, the quality of rap started to drop. It became more bragging, less insight, more dissing, less support, and so on and so forth. It was profitable to have a rivalry. In the mid-2000s, rap was starting to get a little better. But then... Lil' Wayne showed up. Lil' Wayne and all of Young Money, in my opinion, have ruined rap. I'll admit, Lil' Wayne has his moments with lyrical content, but it doesn't excuse the rest of the package. And Drake, the man can create decent beats, but he is one of the worst lyricists. How many songs are you going to write, where you put everybody else down, and praise yourself? "Fun history lesson, there, Kaiser. But what does this have to do with rap killing other genres?" I'm glad you asked! Rap isn't killing anything. At least, not intentionally. It just so happens, rap is very easy to produce, with machines, when it comes to beats. Lyrics have become wrapped in auto-tune and lazy lyrics. 2Chainz is notorious for this, the lazy lyrics. Rap is just: Easy to create beats + acceptable to write lazy lyrics + able to churn out faster = more profit, quicker. Sadly, the bulk of rap fans, accept this. And because they accept it, they will continue to get just that -- and I cannot stand it. For every 1 decent song, I'm slammed with 10 or more horrible ones. Ideally, music is the universal language we all speak. Realistically, music is the universal language we all pay for.
To say rap is killing other genres is absolutely moronic. You are confusing pop with rap. Rap is one of the most diverse genres out there, you can create any sound you want. Its way more diverse than basically every genre besides others that include electronic instruments. Metal is a very narrow genre, only a specific set of instruments allowed, specific sound and feeling. Who wants to listen to guitar and drums over and over again? Rap music can borrow sounds from any genre, can use any instrument, talk about ANY topic, and still work. Please find me a genre that can do that. Again you are confusing mainstream, with rap music, real rap is the epitome of art. Poetry and music fused together.
I think it's important to remember that everyone's perception of 'good' music is totally different, and what some of us feel in relation to metal other may feel in relationship to rap, hip-hop or pop music etc. I think diverse genres are very much alive and well, but because the media neglects them it's easy for people to 'forget' or not really know it exists, which doesn't necessarily make them ignorant, just poorly informed. Everyone has their jam.
Sorry I just have to defend rap More profound than any metal sound you'll hear. [youtube]45X0N8HbFOU[/youtube] [youtube]pVjLA52jFkw[/youtube] [youtube]ofBBIySlDDU[/youtube] [youtube]46hZEYD_NQc[/youtube] [youtube]P5-2-jD-42Q[/youtube] [youtube]xvugcOOUdJc[/youtube] ya this genre really is killing music......:roflmao: As you can see if you bother listening to this, rap is much harder than Metal, it's also sweeter, it's also more profound, it's also more uplifting. Don't let Kanye West and Eminem fool you, to me they're no different than Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers. Also metal would not EXIST if it weren't for the same roots that created hip-hop, it's rock music, from African-Americans. T Here is some Real Rock, oh and what they're rapping? What? Black people playing instruments? What? This is the ROOTS OF METAL. [youtube]ojC0mg2hJCc[/youtube]
Rap obviously isn't causing the downfall of music. It seems what they are more talking about is the pop/rap crap you hear on the radio 24/7 that's overcommecialized as hell which is hurting music because it's insanely cheap to produce so talented musicians are really getting the chance to have their music produced. Metal isn't better than Rap but Rap isn't better than metal either. No genre is inherently better than another. That doesn't mean no music is better than others(ie Led Zeppelin is better than Nickelback or whoever), but over generalizing a genre and saying it's better or worse than another genre is ridiculous
Some rap is absolutely amazing....just like every other genre of music. I like to try out different sounds, widen my horizons. I've even found country music that's good ;D
Nah guys. The media is putting too much focus on these plastic genres. Other genres are alive and well and you will discover a treasure-field of great music if you know where to look and listen.
*Blinks a few times* Well Rammstein use synth extensivly and babymetal have pop vocals, so metal isn't a completley limited. Sorry to any die hard metal fans saying babymetal is metal... I like it. I guess that both of these bands don't really live in any genre though... I have really odd music tastes. From 8bit to folk to classical to metal, so what I have say is probably kind of off, but I'll say it anyways. I think that Rammstein as a band are truly incredible, not just for their music, but for their innovation. They could easily pull of a song such as frühlig in paris, even though it is traditional french music (partly), they can pull off rost sand and liese, though it is nothing like their normal stuff. My faviroute song by them is Spieluhr and compare it to one of the previously mentioned songs they are totally differant, so the genre of Rammstein (whatever it's called) is one of the most innovative genres out there with songs that could appeal to anyone. Also, J-pop is another very diverse genre, as it's roots are rock, jazz and pop, so it may appeal to alot of people. Sorry alot of these bands a foreign, they're the best examples I have that some genres are so diverse.
Yo, I'm really happy for you, and I'mma let you finish, but Kanye is one of the greatest, currently active, creative geniuses. (of all time) Yeezus is amazing, a brilliant counterpoint to MBDTF. I'll reverse everything I said. Actually, all genres are dying, and we are moving towards an era where those who focus on just one style are the real niche. Jazz-rap? Electronic folk-trip hop? Soul-shoegaze? These will happen. /prophecy
I don't think rap is killing other genres. Honestly, I think all the genres are good and strong. Maybe even safe to say, stronger than ever. I'm a metalhead as well. And it's very difficult to listen to metal or find someone who listens to metal where I live. Everyone here listens to rap and country.
No? You can't kill a music genre, are you kidding? Just because a Genre is popular doesn't mean the others fall to the way side and die off. So long as there are still bands out there playing rock, jazz, punk, metal, blues, country, techno.... and companies cranking out pop singers.... Then none of these genres are going to die! You can't kill music baby, music is the language of the soul~ Also personally really love rap mixed in with rock and metal, that's what I loved about Linkin Park before! I'm honestly not a big rap fan, but some of it is pretty awesome~! (Love the Beastie Boys, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are just awesome, otherwise I have very sparse knowledge of the genre at best...)
Just a reminder that regardless of how you rate other types of music for quality, genre shaming is still a no-no. Whether it's rap, pop, metal, country, or otherwise, everyone is allowed to have a preference :3 Play nice, everyone.
I actually didn't know rap was that popular. OK, maybe I did, but most of the people I'm around don't listen to it. Rap was very popular when I was in middle school, but it wasn't a genre my parents liked so I never got into it. I actually prefer country. I find even the more commercialized pop country is better than the Top 40 that is played. However, when it comes to music, I'm a bit of a snob even when it comes to country music. This is one of the best songs I've heard in years. [YOUTUBE]uTYq66Tx1GY[/YOUTUBE]
You're just paying too much attention to the people who like rap. Seriously. If you tune them out, you will start to notice different music genres popping up in people's interests. I stopped giving a shit about people's music tastes a long time ago and I'm very open about my music tastes, and that just seems to attract really cool people who like the same music as I. Believe me, other genres are still just as alive. Look at Arcade Fire, Eric Satie, Islands, Little Boots, Portishead, Fleet Foxes, etc.....look at the followers they have on Spotify (notorious for being geared towards unique music tastes) and compare them to any rap star. As long as you listen to what YOU like, you shouldn't worry.
Short answer, not at all. Genres are not people or a living thing. They don't die at all and certainly they don't "kill" other genres. AAASAS is right, Metal started from its Hip Hop roots and that's the beauty of music because they also change or evolve but not only that but these genres share each others aesthetic. As what mentioned above. Death Grips is a very experimental band and you wouldn't know if it was actual Metal or Hiphop because they are both of the genres.
