My understanding of hiphop
Their's a difference between rock and hiphop. rock includes a band, multiple members using different instruments to relay the message to their audience. hiphop really only NEEDS two members, and sometimes its only one, with two instruments, the beat and the mic. where this doesnt HAVE to be true, rappers can go out and make a band and have a rapper cut some stuff over the instrumentals, it hasnt really been done to the point where you could say the rap group was really a band, and if it was done all the attention would be channeled to the rapper, not what the band would be painting for its audience (which is prolly the reason it hasnt been done really).
So, unlike rock, almost ALL of the artists time and dedication is put into the lyrics (and generally he has a partner working on the beats, making it a collaborative piece of work and often making the piece more complex in nature). This is the fundamental reason why rock is a completely different ball park (atleast at this point in the history of music). All the attention of the listener is directly channeled then to the flow, lyricism, charisma and whatnot of the rapper. Thats why hiphop is directly connected in art form with martial arts (and why martial arts is referenced quite a bit in rap). whereas rock is more like a portrait of a groups soul, with technicalities coming from play style, the different lines and curves making a whole picture for their audience, rap (while it can creat a story/painting in your brain) is a technical art form. Oftentimes the beat is underplayed by the skill of the emcee, something that has plagued hiphop's since its first insurgence. every kick and punch in a line is designed to intrigue the listener and keep them guessing where you will go next, much like in a martial art competition you arent fighting the other person, your fighting your own limitations to how you can trick your opponent into defeat, in hiphops case - the "wow" factor given to the audience.
This i have found has been the cause of more debate then the beats cut over an artists rhymes, though i believe the beat is where an emcee has the chance to also paint a portrait while kicking someone's a$$ with their lyrics as well. Take a song like Ressurection by common, you have Common's great lyrics, giving the narrative and funneling his emotions into the listener while sending a message, at the same time he's using his flow over the beat like he's attacking the listener's mind with kick and punches, something to keep the beat mixed up and interesting for the listener while showcasing his talent,(another reason why free flowing songs arent used in hiphop, the artist cant change the shape without the music already changing it for him, thus any number of possibilities become unlocked and all the skill and artistry is taken out of lyrics flow). then the beat track itself is often the color palette of the song, in this case Resurrection has a jazzy piano track, giving his lyrics a brighter more soulful feeling in comparison to something like a gravediggaz track.
Now take a song like Soulja Boy. the songs lyrics and flow are FAR from complex...so all that is left is the portrait, something the listener can find a certain emotion they want to spike at a moment....
THIS.....is why Soulja Boy is so popular to mainstream listeners. To be honest, you have to be a pretty musically intelligent person to understand and enjoy hiphop, but most people nowadays get home after a long days work and just want to be stimulated. why do you think so many people are alcoholics or fiend's nowadays? life is stressful and a good way to smooth stuff over is to give your mind a stimulation that will calm it down, or pep it up and make it feel happier. thus why SO MANY people fall for the trap that is new school hiphop. all talent and narrative is takent away, leaving only the stimulus to give mainstream listeners something to enjoy on their way home from school or work, at a party, anytime where they just want to relax and not have to think about anything but still get a feeling out of something.
The way rock works is not nearly as complex, which is the reason why rock artists funnel either all of their creativity into the portrait (example - Madonna, other pop artists and one hit wonders) or they funnel it into the technical instrument playing and music theory (example - mathcore, some hiphop, most underground music genre's)....but, the most succesful rock artist balances both of these facets and have a good mix of colors for their portrait while giving their listeners a complex song to keep them intrigued to come back for more.
Present time's hiphop's biggest problem is that it cannot find this balance between the technical artistry and the creative artistry. most hiphop artists downplay the technical side and have spawned an enourmous number of one hit wonder tracks, all of which give the mainstream listener a stimulus but leave the technical listners wanting after the first 20 seconds, while many underground hiphop artists dont focus enough on their own creative license and create songs that have crappy beats with lyrics that have no creative flows, (but without a doubt good lyrics).
Not only does the hiphop community have to be more willing to take people in, but we also have to let hiphop expand. we cant keep ourselves stuck to one kind of portrait, one type of flow, one style of lyrical poetry. The artists need to take their creativity further, push the boundaries on their portraits, on their technical art, on their stories and lyrcism, and most of all, all us hiphop heads need to start supporting these accets that make what we love about hiphop and start educating people on the history and artistry of hiphop.
Hiphop may be a form of artistry that few can appreciate, especially with the potential that hiphop gives to the listener, and it may always have a smaller community, but atleast we may be able to bring justice to hiphops name and let the world know that hiphop isnt a joke afterall.
So, unlike rock, almost ALL of the artists time and dedication is put into the lyrics (and generally he has a partner working on the beats, making it a collaborative piece of work and often making the piece more complex in nature). This is the fundamental reason why rock is a completely different ball park (atleast at this point in the history of music). All the attention of the listener is directly channeled then to the flow, lyricism, charisma and whatnot of the rapper. Thats why hiphop is directly connected in art form with martial arts (and why martial arts is referenced quite a bit in rap). whereas rock is more like a portrait of a groups soul, with technicalities coming from play style, the different lines and curves making a whole picture for their audience, rap (while it can creat a story/painting in your brain) is a technical art form. Oftentimes the beat is underplayed by the skill of the emcee, something that has plagued hiphop's since its first insurgence. every kick and punch in a line is designed to intrigue the listener and keep them guessing where you will go next, much like in a martial art competition you arent fighting the other person, your fighting your own limitations to how you can trick your opponent into defeat, in hiphops case - the "wow" factor given to the audience.
This i have found has been the cause of more debate then the beats cut over an artists rhymes, though i believe the beat is where an emcee has the chance to also paint a portrait while kicking someone's a$$ with their lyrics as well. Take a song like Ressurection by common, you have Common's great lyrics, giving the narrative and funneling his emotions into the listener while sending a message, at the same time he's using his flow over the beat like he's attacking the listener's mind with kick and punches, something to keep the beat mixed up and interesting for the listener while showcasing his talent,(another reason why free flowing songs arent used in hiphop, the artist cant change the shape without the music already changing it for him, thus any number of possibilities become unlocked and all the skill and artistry is taken out of lyrics flow). then the beat track itself is often the color palette of the song, in this case Resurrection has a jazzy piano track, giving his lyrics a brighter more soulful feeling in comparison to something like a gravediggaz track.
Now take a song like Soulja Boy. the songs lyrics and flow are FAR from complex...so all that is left is the portrait, something the listener can find a certain emotion they want to spike at a moment....
THIS.....is why Soulja Boy is so popular to mainstream listeners. To be honest, you have to be a pretty musically intelligent person to understand and enjoy hiphop, but most people nowadays get home after a long days work and just want to be stimulated. why do you think so many people are alcoholics or fiend's nowadays? life is stressful and a good way to smooth stuff over is to give your mind a stimulation that will calm it down, or pep it up and make it feel happier. thus why SO MANY people fall for the trap that is new school hiphop. all talent and narrative is takent away, leaving only the stimulus to give mainstream listeners something to enjoy on their way home from school or work, at a party, anytime where they just want to relax and not have to think about anything but still get a feeling out of something.
The way rock works is not nearly as complex, which is the reason why rock artists funnel either all of their creativity into the portrait (example - Madonna, other pop artists and one hit wonders) or they funnel it into the technical instrument playing and music theory (example - mathcore, some hiphop, most underground music genre's)....but, the most succesful rock artist balances both of these facets and have a good mix of colors for their portrait while giving their listeners a complex song to keep them intrigued to come back for more.
Present time's hiphop's biggest problem is that it cannot find this balance between the technical artistry and the creative artistry. most hiphop artists downplay the technical side and have spawned an enourmous number of one hit wonder tracks, all of which give the mainstream listener a stimulus but leave the technical listners wanting after the first 20 seconds, while many underground hiphop artists dont focus enough on their own creative license and create songs that have crappy beats with lyrics that have no creative flows, (but without a doubt good lyrics).
Not only does the hiphop community have to be more willing to take people in, but we also have to let hiphop expand. we cant keep ourselves stuck to one kind of portrait, one type of flow, one style of lyrical poetry. The artists need to take their creativity further, push the boundaries on their portraits, on their technical art, on their stories and lyrcism, and most of all, all us hiphop heads need to start supporting these accets that make what we love about hiphop and start educating people on the history and artistry of hiphop.
Hiphop may be a form of artistry that few can appreciate, especially with the potential that hiphop gives to the listener, and it may always have a smaller community, but atleast we may be able to bring justice to hiphops name and let the world know that hiphop isnt a joke afterall.