The defense calls its first witness

I'm going to respond to some comments from my last post. Mostly because it's midnight and my originality quotient is low at the moment.

I'm in agreement with the fact that many people are turned off by rap/hip-hop because of the musical style. Some people don't enjoy quirky sounds effects, staccato drum lines, and many of the other features of "beats". And I am willing to accept that as a perfectly reasonable argument. In this case, you're not degrading the message or simply projecting stereotypes of the artists onto the art.

I would like to point out that many of these beats have become much more musical. Compare rap/hip-hop from the eighties, nineties, and today. There is a higher prevalence of different instruments as well as different genres (including beats that contain strong country overtones). There are complete and well constructed guitar, bass, and orchestra pieces. Many groups even have full time musicians that travel with them. Also, I'll point out that many of the musical elements of rap (e.g. scratching, beat-boxing, drum-machines, etc.) have ended up in the music of groups ranging from Incubus to Beyonce. So while I accept the argument that rap may be unlikeable for its music style, I also think it important to acknowledge that many of the songs and music people enjoy in other genres borrow heavily from rap.

I'd like to address one other point. I've had several people mention to me that rap is hard to understand. While I agree that it's often difficult to catch the words, I don't think this is a fair argument for not liking an entire genre. Heavy metal, hard rock, and just about anything decently loud is sometimes very difficult to understand. The inclusion of awful sound effects (a la Radiohead and Third Eye Blind) makes it nearly impossible to know what the hell is being said. But the more you listen, the more you learn to discern the words from the music. And, like any music, you have to understand the words in the first place. If you don't know what "crunk" or "skeet" means, then you'll have a much harder time catching the words, let alone understanding what is being said.

That's all I've got. Everyone has their own preferences and no one likes everything that comes their way. But I want people to think about WHY they do/don't like something. Examining our own assumptions is the only way to really understand ourselves and the world around us. It's like Janelle. She loves dance movies. I've never been a big fan of dance. I never felt that the movements followed the music and I've never understood how dance tells a story. But it resonates with her and she does understand it. It's an expression of art and emotion and just because I don't understand it doesn't mean it has no merit. Of course, I'm still going to make fun of it, but only with the understanding that I'm not dismissing it as something that should be removed from public consumption. I don't have that kind of time or vindictiveness.