Mainstream Rap: Yay or Nay?

[guitarded_chuck]

Do you like it or what? Somebody out there must.

[Kaden]

I like mainstream rap about as often as I like everything else: Sometimes.

[Pale-Folklore]

it all sucks balls

exceptions:

Outkast

ok, you know what?

i'm finding it hard to decide whats mainstream and whats not

SCREW IT!

[Daniel!]

Occasionally I'll hear something that I like, but the crap songs outweigh the good songs by a ton.

[Kaden]

This thread should have been about the song Shake Dat LAffy Taffy.

[randomthought9]

I like it, I listen to Three 6 Mafia, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Chamillionaire, etc.

[morrissey]

Like some, dislike some. Kanye West, Common, Gorillaz, the Streets, Dizzee Rascal etc. are all good in my books.

[Spectrum]

There's the occasional song/artist that I enjoy and can appreciate... but those are too few and far between for me to salvage it as a whole. Most of it is pure crap marketed to a target audience.

I just usually tend to prefer a bit more in the music I listen to than what Rap offers, which is typically a beat, a vague musical hook, and rhythmic talking, usually with thinly veiled sexual everything and loads of expletives. I prefer my music to be evocative instead of provocative.

[CommieCanada]

I'm digging Kanye West right now, but for the most part i don't like mainstream rap

[Kirk's Puppet]

I dislike mainstream rap, even the underground rap songs many people suggest.

Yes, I also hate Kanye West.

[Happymeal]

I like Outkast, some NERD and others I forget. And maybe I just dislike the mainstream hip-hop culture more than the music itself.

[Spectrum]

I like Outkast, some NERD and others I forget. And maybe I just dislike the mainstream hip-hop culture more than the music itself.
Yeah, the whole "gangsta" thing has never had a single shred of appeal to me, as well as the self-glorification that exists so rampantly. How many times will I hear the same artists inform me that their rhymes are best, or that their beats can't be beat? GOD! You're not special. You sound like everyone else. Get over yourself.

And I'd like to hear rappers put some thought into their lyrics these days (as a generality). If I hear 50 Cent rhyme "nympho" with "nympho" again, I'll snap and kill everyone.

[Pale-Folklore]

Gorillaz

damn, i would never just call Gorillaz 'rap'.

they're better than that!

[Kurtz]

Some is good.

Kanye, Gorillaz, Outkast, ect.

Paul Wall and the entire Houston scene sucks.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I like what I like, but mainly I don't. I guess it's not something I pay much attention to, except for what pitchfork tells me suits my image.

[morrissey]

damn, i would never just call Gorillaz 'rap'.

they're better than that!
I didn't call them "just rap", but of their many genres, one of them could definitely be classifed as pop rap, or mainstream rap.

I like what I like, but mainly I don't. I guess it's not something I pay much attention to, except for what pitchfork tells me suits my image.
I guess you're a big Game fan then.

[Amit]

yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay

[Dave de Sylvia]

I guess you're a big Game fan then.
Yeah, I can't believe there was a time when I didn't love utter mediocrity. I'm so embarassed.

I didn't call them "just rap", but of their many genres, one of them could definitely be classifed as pop rap, or mainstream rap.
I call it hip-pop, because I spend my time thinking about things like that.

[Ganondorf]

I like some mainstream rap, such as Kanye West, Eminem, The Game, Jay-Z, Pharell and Nas, but alot of it is horrible, like 50 Cent, pretty much anyone with the pre-fix '''Lil'' and other predictable, faux-gangster stuff.

[EightMilesHigh]

Like some, dislike some. Kanye West, Common, Gorillaz, the Streets, Dizzee Rascal etc. are all good in my books.

^^^^Pretty much my response

[JonM]

Every once in a while, I'll really love a single by someone other than Kanye, Outkast, or Common (or The Streets and Dizzee Diz, if they count as mainstream, which they don't in a discussion of American music, even though they SHOULD be), but usually I don't tell anyone about it because it's embarrassing.

[morrissey]

Every once in a while, I'll really love a single by someone other than Kanye, Outkast, or Common (or The Streets and Dizzee Diz, if they count as mainstream, which they don't in a discussion of American music, even though they SHOULD be), but usually I don't tell anyone about it because it's embarrassing.
Yeah I live in Canada and I've never heard a Streets or Dizzee Rascal song on the radio... maybe a remix during one of those Saturday night club nights but their songs have certainly never charted on local radio stations. I'd still consider them to be mainstream - they certainly aren't underground. But not on a level with Kanye or even a British group like Gorillaz.

[skavid]

I'm gonna be like everyone else: Likes some mainstream, but doesn't like most of it.

[SantaDuJuan]

Common, and some others are unbelieveable.
But then some terrible.

[Illmatic]

I like some, dislike some.

The Houston scene is embarrassing (except Scarface, of course, but he's been in the game for well over a decade now), but I'd much rather listen to, say, Ludacris than most of the underground stuff everyone raves about here.

And I don't think 50 is THAT bad. His singles have all been half-decent, if only because of the beats.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I'm convinced some people like underground rap because it's underground, missing the possibility that perhaps they're underground because they suck. I'm pretty much unaware of most hip-hop, so I don't know how popular the groups I listen to are.

[Zmev]

Grillz is a damn funny song, and even funnier video.

[plaidbassbilly]

I found myself enjoying a 50 Cent song the other day. Is that mainstream rap?

[charolastra]

snoop dogg is all right, i guess.

[Illmatic]

I found myself enjoying a 50 Cent song the other day. Is that mainstream rap?

About as mainstream as you can get, the guy's the top-selling rapper of the decade so far.

[Luxor]

Kanye and Jurassic 5.

[PepsiMetal]

"No way. Absolute crap."

Eminem's music was good when I was 12 and he just released slim shady LP, and even marshal mathers LP was decent, but everything went down hill after that. All other mainstream rap has been junk.

[Robert Crumb]

I agree with what's been said about the Houston rappers/producers that have caught some momentum in the past year. The best most of these regional albums can boast is some interesting beats. But even then, it's nothing really that compelling or even all that unique, except to people interested in the club hits. And I guess that's what gives these guys the reputation and acclaim that they've received. If you're not dancing to this ****, I don't know why you'd bother. But none of them sound capable of a classic album, let alone capable of a good album. Lyrically, it's just as vapid as anything else. Having a good flow doesn't mean anything if you've got nothing to say.

And that's pretty much the same opinion I have of mainstream hip hop. It's ok at best if you're interested in club hits. But what's a club hit? That which wears thin quite quick. But there are the exceptions. And I think that's why I'm always a little optimistic when it comes to mainstream hip hop. Just like all other popular genres, the mainstream goes for the most watered down tripe if it can sell the most. But sometimes something interesting transcends the crap.

It just isn't in Houston.

[Kaden]

Do The Books count as mainstream rap?

[pedro durruti]

Some of the hip hop I listen to is Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots but I don't if they are necessarily mainstream

Artists like Eminem, 50 Cent and the likes are crap though.

[Kayetan]

This thread should have been about the song Shake Dat LAffy Taffy.Yeah, that song makes me sick with disgust. I truly don't understand how people can like songs like those. They're awful. I'm pretty nay on the mainstream rap.

[DemBonez]

I like mainstream rap, much more than underground stuff. Most of my rap collection is old mainstream rap, so I can't say I don't dig it.

Having a good flow doesn't mean anything if you've got nothing to say.


I'm the exact opposite. I don't care what people have to say. I listen for the music, not for some message. The sound of the person's voice combined with the flow is all I really care about. If I wanted to hear something, I'd just get out a book and read it. KRS-One puts me to sleep everytime because while he says alot, his flow is so out of place. Rakim largely says nothing, a lot, and he's damn good. Some do both well, but I find most rappers either do one or the other.

[morrissey]

About as mainstream as you can get, the guy's the top-selling rapper of the decade so far.
He's probably inching toward being the top-selling artist of the decade, regardless of genre, if he keeps up at his current pace. Unlikely (those country fans go through records like hotcakes), but possible.

[TheGrasshopper]

i am a rocker... i can listen to all music, i appreciate all music...
but i dislike rap even though i guess i can kinda, ever so tiny... almost invinsibly, appriciate the almost non existing music aspects of it...

yeh rap bites... BRING BACK REAL ROCK...
BRING BACK ZEPPELIN...
BREATHE FLOYD...
LIVE THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS...

eva:)

[Illmatic]

Having a good flow doesn't mean anything if you've got nothing to say.

I wouldn't go that far.

Sage Francis is supposedly a great lyricist, but because he has the mic presence of Terri Schiavo, he is borderline unlistenable, while a lot of MCs who rap about 'nothing' (like DMC, Rakim, I guess even guys like Jay-Z if you want to pick hairs) can carry songs and entire albums simply because their flow is so damn good.

i am a rocker... i can listen to all music, i appreciate all music...
but i dislike rap even though i guess i can kinda, ever so tiny... almost invinsibly, appriciate the almost non existing music aspects of it...

yeh rap bites... BRING BACK REAL ROCK...
BRING BACK ZEPPELIN...
BREATHE FLOYD...
LIVE THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS...

You are retarded.

[JonM]

i am a rocker... i can listen to all music, i appreciate all music...
but i dislike rap even though i guess i can kinda, ever so tiny... almost invinsibly, appriciate the almost non existing music aspects of it...

yeh rap bites... BRING BACK REAL ROCK...
BRING BACK ZEPPELIN...
BREATHE FLOYD...
LIVE THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS...

eva:)You are either a walking stereotype or a fake user.

[Robert Crumb]

I wouldn't go that far.

I probably should have worded that, "A good flow doesn't mean anything if you can still manage to annoy me," since for the most part, I agree with you and DemBonez.

[Kaden]

I wouldn't go that far.

Sage Francis is supposedly a great lyricist, but because he has the mic presence of Terri Schiavo, he is borderline unlistenable, while a lot of MCs who rap about 'nothing' (like DMC, Rakim, I guess even guys like Jay-Z if you want to pick hairs) can carry songs and entire albums simply because their flow is so damn good.
I like both aspects of it. I can see how people wouldn't like Sage Francis, but I love him for his poetic lyrics. I also love guys who just have good flow, I guess I'm an all-around kinda guy.

[Brewer14]

I rarely find a "mainstream rap" artist I like, most of it's just crap.

But there's definitly some good "underground" rap

[allthegoodnamesweregone]

i think 50 has some good beats and rhymes... some of his songs do annoy me eg: candy shop but some of his duets i thought were really good

[Jacaranda]

I like mainstream rap, my favorite very mainstream song is "Hate it or Love it" I like Fidy' and his crew. One artist I can't stand is Nelly I went to a concert like 2 years ago and he was backstage watching a movie and didn't want to come out till it was over. So everyone had to watch this funny technoy white band play for 2 hours needless to say the wiggers (and I) were about to riot.

[Jonny Greenwood]

There are some groups that I like and some I don't but I don't really care for rap much, its getting boring kinda.

[just_a_girl]

I like mainstream music in that its horridness encourages underground music. The underground hip hop scene today is so huge it can hardly be termed such (but don't tell the backpackers that).

That said, hip hop has a unique quality of being able to "redeem" itself as it's being judged almost separately on lyrical skill, lyrical content, and beat. So I listen to a lot of mainstream songs purely for the beat (kanye, anything neptunes produced) or for the lyrical adeptness of the artist (ludacris, eminem).

I usually listen to underground when I want to hear an artist talk about something valid, or at least something other than jewelry and sex.

[purplefeet]

What can I say? I have a soft spot for rap. I love listening to it. I never really had a choice but to get into it, my brother who is a year older than me is die-hard rap fan, so I've been listening to it for some time now. Some of my favorite rappers that on the airwaves now include Bigge, 50 Cent, G-Unit, Ludacris, Eminem and Snoop Dogg.

[slashjunior]

This thread is stupid. No one can possibly say all mainstream rap is crap. Some of it is of course, but some of it is great. Some talented artists are just lucky enough to be on big labels and write amazingly catchy tunes hence break into the mainstream. Doesn't make them bad.

[just_a_girl]

This thread is stupid. No one can possibly say all mainstream rap is crap. Some of it is of course, but some of it is great. Some talented artists are just lucky enough to be on big labels and write amazingly catchy tunes hence break into the mainstream. Doesn't make them bad.

You could make a pretty good argument that all mainstream hip hop is crap if you don't like ANY rap.

I've heard the argument "who would want to listen to a bunch of uneducated poor people read poetry to them over a stolen tune?" which makes some sense if you don't consider yourself a part of hip hop culture.


P.S.- If this thread is so stupid...why post?

[purplefeet]

You could make a pretty good argument that all mainstream hip hop is crap if you don't like ANY rap.

I've heard the argument "who would want to listen to a bunch of uneducated poor people read poetry to them over a stolen tune?" which makes some sense if you don't consider yourself a part of hip hop culture.


P.S.- If this thread is so stupid...why post?

Hello newbie. Now, STFU and dont try and be cute.

You cant make a good arguement about saynig all rap is garbage. Because regardless of if you do/dont like it, you have to respect the work it takes to complete a song/album regardless of the genre. If you dont like any of the beats, Id say you are deaf.
And a bunch of "un-educated" people does not stereotype rappers, as how many lead vocalists in your favorite bands have dropped out of school and didnt continue their education. Yup, thats right, Im guessing a lot you moron.
So dont try and make a statement if you are completely oblivious to anything that would be considered a valid point.

[Kaden]

This thread is becoming harsh. Let's get some love goin'.

[morrissey]

Hello newbie. Now, STFU and dont try and be cute.

You cant make a good arguement about saynig all rap is garbage. Because regardless of if you do/dont like it, you have to respect the work it takes to complete a song/album regardless of the genre. If you dont like any of the beats, Id say you are deaf.
And a bunch of "un-educated" people does not stereotype rappers, as how many lead vocalists in your favorite bands have dropped out of school and didnt continue their education. Yup, thats right, Im guessing a lot you moron.
So dont try and make a statement if you are completely oblivious to anything that would be considered a valid point.
To be fair, that wasn't her argument but something she had heard other people argue before.

But you'd have to be completely ignorant to believe that all rap, mainstream or otherwise, is garbage. It's important to note the difference between something being subjectively and objectively bad.

[just_a_girl]

Hello newbie. Now, STFU and dont try and be cute.

You cant make a good arguement about saynig all rap is garbage. Because regardless of if you do/dont like it, you have to respect the work it takes to complete a song/album regardless of the genre. If you dont like any of the beats, Id say you are deaf.
And a bunch of "un-educated" people does not stereotype rappers, as how many lead vocalists in your favorite bands have dropped out of school and didnt continue their education. Yup, thats right, Im guessing a lot you moron.
So dont try and make a statement if you are completely oblivious to anything that would be considered a valid point.

If you're not familiar with the cultural movement that created and still motivates hip hop today, it's easy to get confused about what hip hop really is. Hearing a guy with little education attempt to deliver some spiritual/cultural message to you can be off putting. After all, how can these folks plucked out of the ghetto at random assume that they are suddenly some authority on the collective hip hop conscious? I wasn't stereotyping them to the exclusion of uneducated members of other genres, I was just pointing out a fact.

Then you top that off with the fact that it is traditional and accepted in the genre to modify and reuse old beats and that the artists rarely use instruments. There are plenty of people who 1) don't understand the work it takes your average producer to sample a tune and 2) don't view a piece as "music" if it lacks any actual instrument usage.

So YES if you keep an open mind about other people's point of view, it's very possible to view all hip hop as garbage and be making a reasonably valid point. You can't respect something you know nothing about. And you're not "deaf" for not liking a certain beat, some people aren't into soul. I don't expect a die-hard metal fan to like hip hop beats as they are generally quite different from that genre.

I may be new to this forum but I'm not new to music, especially not hip hop. And I guess I'll leave it up to someone else to decide who's the real moron here.


But you'd have to be completely ignorant to believe that all rap, mainstream or otherwise, is garbage.

This is actually exactly what I was trying to say. If you're ignorant of pretty much any genre, it's easy to not like any of it.

[ATM]

Sometimes I get in the mood for it. For the most part, I lean towards the underground stuff.