how hard it is to communicate the dopeness of rap music

[roaches]

i've noticed this while trying to contribute my critical thoughts on more than one occasion. a motherfucker like sasha frere jones can break down the prehiphopstoric genres, describe them, and put out an opinion on them that makes sense and gives you a sense of where he's coming from, no problem, through the written word, but you can't really do that with 1/5th (or 1/4th, whatever krs thinks nowadays) of the elements.

there's definitely a standard of what's good and what isn't, and a consensus on what would qualify in the canon, but it seems hard to communicate. a quality critical ear has been passed down through the generations, as brief as they might be, but no one can really make it tangible (or tangible enough to be documented beyond binary banging/softly-knuckle-grazing).

a lot of people complain about the preservation of what hip-hop's really about and what's really good and a significant amount of the problem to me seems to be communication as much as the ignorance of the young nahright-surfing youth. how do we accurately and intelligently portray what we really feel about this shit and why we like it?

this belongs in a random:, i suppose.

 

[ibnycsteez]

what he said...

word bond!

lol

 

[Preach]

the problem is that the emotion music evokes is individual, so it's hard to find a universal language that fully incorporates everything you feel when you listen to a dope track. those things are, at least to me, a part of why the track is dope in the first place. i was interested in reading what you said in another thread about judging flow from a technical point of view. i've been having similar thoughts that everybody who listens to rap all talk about what they like and don't like, it all sounds like some bullshit.

music is music, so my suggestion would be to determine what makes hip-hop stand out. we already know the way you go about performing lyrics makes it stand out, so judging flow and lyrical complexity is a good start. when it comes to beats, it's all up to the individual ear really.

 

[Bender]

Rap music is dope ... that wasn't so hard.

There are so many elements that are involved in music to create the perfect recipe for a dope track. Making beats is easy if you have a good ear and understanding of music. Writing lyrics is easy if you are exceptionally literate. It is rare you for an artists to be both exceptional at writing lyrics and writing beats, they are two different types of language, and can be criticized differently.

Music back in the time when classical music was predominant, people listened to music purely for the emotion portrayed through the melody.

Then afterwards, words were added on top of music, in different/other genres, to give music a different edge. Something else to listen to.

Musicians can teach forever how to use the voice as a musical instrument. But they will not teach how words work, in and out of grammatical form. This is a problem for the poet-wanting-to-be-a-musician, and is exactly why lyricists and producers collaborate. A good lyricist is exceptional at language, not music. Hence why rap music is dope, it brings poets and musicians together. Some are better than others, but you cannot beat originality when it comes to any art form. Criticism only invites criticism.

I have expressed my critical thoughts on Tupac's lyrics in life, but people are still too caught up on his thug image, he portrayed through his lyrics, to believe other than any other interpretation of his lyrics. I listen to Pac now, and all I hear is him rapping about his rapping. That is the definition of dope lyrics.