Melody is not the only element in music, though, and those who would say that rap isn't music should remember that. Technically speaking, there are at least four main elements to music, and they are pitch, dynamics, timbre, and duration aka rhythm. I mention this because, while music is literally impossible without rhythm (at least in the sense of rhythm as divisions within the general passage of time) it's quite possible to have music without melody.

Moving on to the main dish in rap, the lyrics, I want to observe the way rap allows for what seems like a 360-degree freedom of language and concept that is quite hard to achieve within traditional song form. Raps can go anywhere, and they do, from references to the most ephemeral cultural wisps like Perez Hilton or Michael Jordan's baseball career directly into a deep commentary on the systemic injustices of our economy, connecting them and playing off of them.

Also, good rap lyrics are full of the kind of ultra-rich sense information that songwriters cultivate and that animates all the best writing. The good stuff is very, very good writing.

As for the embodiment of aggression, which is often present in raps and is a focus of much criticism, I think there's something we could all learn from there as well. Yes, there are expressions of anger in some rap music which are reprehensible and probably carry little or no real cultural value, but the presence of anger in the genre has other things to offer. Those feelings are a part of our human nature, and one of the great attractions of rap music is that it allows for a healthy, constructive and artistic expression of anger. A healthy relationship to anger can lead to positive things both in terms of society and also in one's personal makeup; and the creative, uninhibited expression of personal pride and inner confidence is a great gift to lots of listeners who need to be reminded of their worth.

I will agree that rap hasn't done itself any favors by also bringing out some of the most crass, violent, nihilistic, vapid, and just simply dull productions one can possibly imagine. In its defense (without defending bad rap), I'd just observe that rap music has been by far the most popular music in the world for let's say the last ten or fifteen years, maybe longer. It's been the main global popular music force, and there's been a lot of it, for better and for worse.

And because of that very fact, I think all music lovers should see rap's global popularity as a signal of its fundamental importance and worth; and therefore as an opportunity to learn something, to expand their tastes, and to connect with others out there in the larger world.

Essays and books have been written by better writers and thinkers that me on the subject, so here's where I bail, but as I said before, let's please keep this civil, and let's post some examples of great rap that might help new listeners come to hear the power, vitality, and the beauty in the music.

it takes a nation of millions...

Wow, great post! Thought-provoking and well-argued.

Saying rap isn't music is pretty silly. The same thing was said about Schoenberg, Stockhausen, and Coltrane. 'Course, some people still say Schoenberg's music isn't music, 100 years later, so I guess there's not much point in arguing about it.

BUT... I've heard very little rap that I like, and none that I love. The problem is not the lack of melody; it's the lack of other aspects to make it interesting. Rap is very rhythmic and often has harmony, but the rhythms and harmonies always seem to be very simple. Where are the polyrhythms, the shifting, irregular time signatures, the completely unexpected rhythmic formations? Why are the bass lines so repetitive? Of course: it's part of the style. Most rap artists would never think of changing these aspects, and for those who are more imaginative and/or familiar with other genres, it might seem impossible to add these features without losing the essence of rap. But I think it can happen, and it probably has to happen. What happened to rock and roll in the 1960s will happen to today's popular music too. And with the impending death of the big record companies, maybe the interesting stuff won't get completely buried under the heavily promoted, mass-produced pop.

Hell, it's probably happening already, and I just haven't heard it. Who can recommend me some INTERESTING rap?

I should mention that I find the rhythmic style of some rappers pretty interesting. The way a good rapper can hang just barely behind the beat, sounding really loose but also being perfectly in time, is pretty cool. They also have ways of smoothly fitting in extra syllables that probably count as polyrhythms. It's more the lack of interest in the 4/4 backing tracks that I'm missing.

And yes, rap's words can be interesting, but for me, good lyrics are not enough. Lyrics are almost irrelevant to me in whether I like a pop song or not. If I just want good words, I can read poetry.

Examples of great rap: Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dogg, and even Linkin Park. Great stuf there.

I would suggest the old school 80s rap/hip hop for new listeners. Try Public Enemy and The Last Poets. Their lyrics represent the best of politically-bent hip hop.

To paraphrase and re-apply Nietzsche: define music to include everything that is music and excludes everything that isn't.

That said, I listen to a lot of industrial, which I wouldn't consider music either. Not that I like rap, though.

Great article!!! I must say sometimes I'm embarassed to tell people I listen to hip hop because of all the generic, masogonistic crap out there that is commonly associated with the genre. However, there are a lot of good hip hop artists out there making creative, intelligent music, but you won't find many in the mainstream media. Check out Quannum artists: Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Lifesavas, Maroons, Latyrx, etc... Also Jurassic 5, Ugly Duckling, Binary Star, KRS-One, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Atmosphere, Ozomatli, Spearhead, just to name a few.

Great post, Michael! Growing up, I was a very serious jazz player, and I couldn't for the life of me understand what was appealing about Rap, or any sample-based music. It was harsh, abrasive, and offensive to my ears.

Over time, I've learned that there is something 'magic' in all genres of music, and that you, as the listener, have to participate to find that something special by putting on new ears and listening for different things.

With Rap and Hip-Hop, the lyrics are infinitely more important than the melody. Word-play takes the focus and even when a higher meaning might be lost, the listener can still be wowed by intricate rhymes and speedy pronunciation. Even when lyrics are sub-par, sometimes the forward-thinking production can carry the song, as evidenced by Dr Dre's classic, The Chronic.

Rap and Hip-Hop get a bad name because of the mainstream music that has bubbled up to the surface. For every Kanye West there is a Percee P, for ever Eminem there is a Big L.

Rap and hip-hop have certainly changed; as Maddy S observed, a good introduction to rap would be from the old school 80s where much of it began from guys sampling records and rapping over that. What has changed seems to be a certain amount of laziness in *producers* who tend to lean more and more heavily toward faking what little instrumentation there is with electronic *imitations* of real instruments. When I hear something that has actual instrumentation in it, I'm more inclined to give it a chance. And if there isn't real instrumentation, those lyrics had better be more interesting than "baby, let me take your order, we can supersize it" <--real lyrics, I'm completely serious.

Just like when I hear something that's meant to be rock, which has the guitar SO fuzzed as to have no tonal quality at all and the singer sounds like Cookie Monster on speed, I'm pretty turned off from what they're trying to do, same thing happens if the rap is more about electronic handclaps and presenting the same old same old lyrics-wise, than about originality and artistry. There's a lot of rap that is just *tired* and *done* and unoriginal. But again, the big studios are interested in promoting what's going to sell the most records (as they probably should be) not in some interesting new angle that's taking chances.

Interesting article you have here. I have to say the problem a lot of people have with Rap today is what it's degraded into. Last year in the spring time when Rap was thrown into the public spotlight and forced under the microscope so to speak Russell Simmons himself said the lyrics in Rap music reflect what is going on in today's urban culture. I find it hard to believe that young men in places like Chicago's Cabrini Green and Compton in Los Angeles are driving around in the Hummers and Cadillac Escalades that are portrayed in all the videos. I find it very hard to believe that they're running around with duffel bags full of money and thick chains and medallions covered in diamonds. The message of Rap music has changed so much in the last eighteen years that it's scary that the images these artists portray are what they think goes on in the poorest of neighborhoods in America's large urban cities.

Rap music of the early 80s to the early 90s used to be more about who you were, what you liked, and how you and your crew spent your Saturday night. It was full of electronic beats, fun rhymes, and lyrics you could understand. It was more about making a sound with your mouth than it was about trying to have the most cars and the biggest custom made medallions in the world. Beat boxing is all but a lost art in the rap world now-a-days. When rap was like do wop and kids would sit on the stoop busting out beats and rhymes for fun beat boxing was the only way those kids could get a tempo for their raps.

Now everything is run by empires and it's this coast against that coast and sex, drugs, money, cars, and women who'll do anything for money. Rap may be music but it's not the music it once was. It's no longer the innocent street corner sure fire Theo Huxtable way to an A kind of music of the 80s and early 90s.

The fact that rap doesn't have melodies isn't a problem in itself. It simply means that hip hop has to be really, really good in its other elements - especially backing, lyrics and rhythm - to be compelling.

It's the vocal equivalent of untuned percussion. To those who think it isn't music - would you say a drum solo or percussion group isn't music?

northern state is FUN - white chick rappers who are SMart!
also like Princess Superstar. She is hilarious and quite the turntable artiste

Rap is way better than poetry.

Very good article. I used to think of Rap as poetry with a beat, not music. I have new respect for the genre. I do think, though, that we tend to consider Rap and Hip Hop as one and the same. Each is due their own consideration and respect.

Great post Michael. Thanks for sticking up for the rap-heads out here.

As a long-time hip hop enthusiast, I enjoyed this article for it's breakdown of the music for just that, the music. It's a subject not commonly approached due to the focus on the lyrics and the so-called "artists" who rap them.

From my own observations, it has become very clearly apparent that the mainstream hip hop industry has taken full control of everything produced and played for the masses. The art of hip hop has clearly been commercialized, used and abused, as far as what's being presented to the people. When hip hop originated, before the industry took it over for the profit, there were artists who were producing music with intelligent messages, humor, and proclaimations of their skills and styles.

If you're looking for ones who kept real back in the day, the names you need to know are as follows:
KRS-One
Brand Nubians
Nice and Smooth
Gangstarr (dont let the name fool you)
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Digable Planets
Special Ed
Skee-Lo
Eric B. and Rakim
Biz Markie
Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff (Yes, Will Smith and "Jazz" from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were real pioneers on the mic and turntables. This was before Will Smith himself succumbed to the industry with his recent releases in the late 90's to the present)
These are just to get you started. The appreciation of hip hop may start out rocky for some, but once you've picked up and followed the lyrics and beats of real artists, it becomes addicting.

When the "gangster" vibes began to sell in the late 80's and early 90's, the media took it's focus entire on it for the sake of the money. Real hip-hop didn't die off however. Instead the "underground" scene is where artists slipped into the shadows and continued to create for the sake of the true hip-hop scene. The garbage on the radio you'll find presently is an ugly coat over the soul of something truly beautiful that you'll find the more you listen.

In the 2000 decade hip hop's as alive as ever, however you'll have to dig deeper than ever to find what's real. The hip-"pop" scene is a disgrace to those who are true fans of hip hop.

Hip hop is a relatively young form of music which is still being refined, refer to the following list of artists for more current works from the mid-90's to the present:
Heiroglyphics
Dilated Peoples
Visionaries
Lyrics Born
People Under the Stairs
Blue Scholars
Funkdoobiest
Murs
Crown City Rockers
Sound Providers
to name again just a few. These can all be found here on pandora.

There's one artist I'd to mention in particular, my personal favorite, who's been recognized by Rolling Stones magazines and numerous press yet isn't found here on pandora. Call this a shameless plug, but in my opinion, he's one of the most original artists out to this day.

His name is Kero One, a Bay Area resident. He does his own instrumentation, and his lyrics are melodic, clean, and delivered with harmony. If anyone's looking for a reason to enjoy Hip Hop today, there he is.

The problem with rap isn't the lack of good rap out there, but the lack of good rap played on the radio. I'm just going to use rappers that people most likely already know and have heard some of their music, so people can easily find their music and listen to what I'm saying.

Lyrics wise, if you've listened to rappers such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli, i can guarantee that you will not say that rap has no depth in its lyrics. Take the line in Mos Def's song, Mathematics, where he says "Streets too loud to ever hear freedom ring, so evacuate your sleep 'cause it's dangerous to dream." Mos Def offers lyrics that aren't about shootings and girls, but political problems and social anxiety. And chances are you know him from some movies, most recently Be Kind Rewind, with Jack Black.

If you're going to complain that rap lacks melodic changes and has overly repetitive baselines, once again you're most likely not listening to the right music. The most obvious example of this is Kanye West's "experimental" rap. He takes a song from electronic geniuses Daft Punk, raps over it and adds crashing drums in the backgrounds; thus creating the depth in his music that people say rap lacks. There is a lot of music in the Chicago area that takes this route, as many people have most likely heard Lupe Fiasco and Common as well.

Remember that rap isn't supposed to be based on instruments, and is centered around the artists voice. I do admit that there is tons of garbage under the rap and hip hop genres, but those who hear this and rule it all out are missing the point. Chances are that if you look for good rap, you'll find it.

p.s. If you take my advice and listen to Mos Def, you may need to look around to find the music you like, because he ranges from straight, almost solely vocal rap, to rap metal, including his band Black Jack Johnson. Usually his music differs by his CD's. The New Danger is very experimental with hard rock music behind it.

I must admit, I made a comment on here before saying that I do not like rap. I did not, however, say that rap is not music. I can appreciate that it takes skill to rap, and talent. I know there are some really cool rhythms out there. Rap just isn't for me. I do get into some rap/metal fusion, though not quite as much as I used to. As far as hip-hop kind of stuff I just haven't found any I personally like. I have said before in another post that there is music out there, even whole genres, that I just do not enjoy, but I can appreciate the amount of talent and skill it takes to perform in them. One example I gave was opera. I don't enjoy opera, but I appreciate that the performers are incredibly skilled and talented. Any opera singer worth their salt has a highly developed singing voice. They can control their dynamics and make it sound easy. They can sing fast or slow with equal ease, changing tempo at a moment's notice. All these things they are capable of and more, and I can totally appreciate all of that. But I don't enjoy listening to it. It is the same with rap. There are some complex things going on in a lot of rap songs. Any really good rapper can do fast or slow, and lots of other things. It always does amaze me how fast some of them can go without missing a word or a beat. I know I could never do that, ever. I just don't enjoy it. I would not be surprised if a lot of people who say they don't think rap is music feel that way because of people that have cars with thumping bass that you can hear from a block away. I can appreciate rap, but I do not appreciate that. Enjoy your music, but don't try to show off how awesome your car stereo is and how many thousands of dollars you have poured into it, causing my car to vibrate, and forcing to listen to music I do not like. I realize that not everyone that listens to rap does this. But I do believe there are many more rap listeners that do this than listeners of say, country, or metal, or classical music. When is the last time you were out driving and heard Mozart's La Nozze de Figaro blaring out of someone's car? Besides, the thumping bass and blasting rap won't cause me to enjoy rap.

I appreciate someone with a high level of intellectual substance coming out and explaining the value of all forms of music (including Rap!). I don't think it will change certain people's minds (I don't think it meant to) but I hope those certain people could at least keep their hateful and purely negative opinions to themselves. If they don't enjoy rap thats ok, but there is no need to harass and abuse people who do.

Great article!!!
I heared this rap informations. I think that lyrics are infinitely more important than the melody. I like it.

Michael's argument for rap's aggression is relevant because many other forms of music (whether you call it that or not) tap into that as release. I grew up a child of the 80's and loved Rap for its ability to speak truthfully about my angst growing up in this world, it related to me. I still gravitate to aggressive music but mainstream rap no longer speaks to me. It is the ultimate advertising media selling unattainable products & morally lacking lifestyles to our young and justifying the means of acquiring these things by whatever means gets you there. This version of rap is marketed because it speaks to our children now whether it is the son of a rich socialite or the daughter of the working class pauper. That is why it is called "Pop-ular" music and played to the masses on the radio.

We call "music" what speaks to our souls regardless if it is the beat that grooves you or the lyrics that move you. It is not necessarily the genre that makes it music or not but rather what led to its creation and what that means to us.

My point is you can find fault in any kind of music. There will always be extremes to what we all listen to. Music holds it place in time for us all and is filtered based on your maturity. We all discard the garbage in time. Search through your musical taste and somewhere you will find yourself saying, "I listened to that!" and applaud that your filter worked.

Michael provides fresh insight to the same theory that I believe-tastes in music are as varied, eclectic and unique as the individual that subscribes to them. One man's ceiling is another man's floor. Well said,Michael!!

First off great article, concise and well worded.
But, I would like to add that discussing rap as a musical genre is extremely difficult. To me, rap is rythmic spoken word over ANY type of musical arangement, from the sparsest beats to dense noise, or even ambient jazz with street noise effects added. One could argue that Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day" is rap. I AM a huge fan of the spectrum of the genre and here are some picks of the people I feel are still pushing the envelope (both lyrically and musically) today: Aesop Rock, Themselves, Sole, Kool Keith, Murs, Odd Nosdam (production wise, his murky beats are incredible), Alias (also a big fan of his production, his lyrics could be a bit more focused).

I dont mind rap if it's someone like KRS-One or the beastie boys or Run-Dmc, I don't like it when it talks about shooting someone or lewd sex, or when the swear just to swear.

I just found the site, so fogrive the lateness of my comment.

If I understand the argument correctly, what makes rap "music" are the lyrics.

Except that's not music. That's poetry.

What makes music "music" is melody and harmony, beat and rhythm. Little of that exists in measurable for in rap music. The most you can say about most rap songs is that they are poetry spoken above a melange of music that had been borrowed from other recordings and stitched together to accent the recitation of the poetry.

That may be art, but it's not actually music. It's better described, I think, as "spoken word".

I don't see why people arent't allowed to dislike rap. Aren't we all allowed to have different tastes?

to address the last two comments in reverse order - by all means, it's fine to dislike rap or any other kind of music :-) ! I was just commenting on the particular species of dislike that says that rap "is not music."

and along those lines, jimmie, to say that rap is just poetry is to ignore two pretty significant things.

first of all, there are myriad harmonic and melodic elements in rap and hip hop so it's impossible to generalize, and so it's not true to say that in all cases "little of that exists in measurable form in rap." but the more important point is that, even if every rap song used the same exact beat and bassline, or even if there were no pitches at all, it would still be music, due to the fact that rhythm, by itself, is music.

you are also overlooking the rather obvious fact that poetry is read without other sonic accompaniment. poems are made of words, and words only. words read aloud or written on a page. adding sound changes it to something like the "spoken word" form, as you said.

But spoken word must clearly be different from rap, even if you make that case by simply comparing their relative popularity. if they were really indistinguishable, then surely some pure spoken word music would be mixed in with the rap and hip hop that has dominated commercial music for the last ten or fifteen years, right?

in any case, my only point was and is that, whatever your personal tastes might be, rap and hip hop are music. they are not poetry (poetry is poetry) or spoken word.

it sounds like everyone needs to to take a ride to the pharcyde.

Music is music. I don't like most rap, but my son introduced me to a few songs that I love. I don't like country for the most part, but some Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, is to die for. It's that way with any genre. if you listen to enough of it you will find some that you like, but most are not patient enough and allow themselves to make decisions without adquate research. How many people who don't like rap would say the same thing about "Rapture?" by Blondie. There is such variety in rap that only people who don't want to like it cannot find something nice to say or appreciate about some portion of rap. I have never found anyone of anything that I agree with 100%, but I know that there is some redeeming quality in almost everthing I have ever experienced. I am 55 years old and have travelled all over this country and trust me I have experienced a lot.

I don't like 100% of anything. And, I don't agree with anyone 100%. I wonder how many people who don't think rap is music and don't like it, feel the same way about "Rapture," by Blondie. Debbie Harry rapped that song. I am not a fan of much rap, but my son introduced me to some that I really liked. I don't like most country, but some Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson is to die for. The point is this. A limited perspective and a rush to judgement will always prevail when patience and respect are discarded. So unless you have listened to rap extensively, you cannot and should not make jusdements. Doing so only shows your limited awareness and lack of information gathering on the topic of discussion. If you want to make such a broad and pervasive statement as saying rap is not music, take the time to study it first. That way you won't show your ignorance when you comment. I know from experience that you should look well into what you are going to say before you say it.

I recently had my musical horizons widened (never been rap fan).
I stumbled onto MC Frontalot and nerdcore rising (check his web site or youtube). Since his subject matter spoke to me, it helped me see the appeal of rap to others. I haven't changed my general musical taste, but I have found something new, fun, and different that spoke to my inner geek. Just because the music that assults our ears from the air waves is often not appealing does not mean there are no redeemable aspects of the genre. It also helped me to be a little more accepting of my grandson's musical interests (and his mother's).

very well put.

To say that rap is music is one thing, to say that rap is musical is another. Not to diminish rap as a cultural phenom is to discount a whole generation and to diminish its impact. To a musician who has spent a lifetime of learning akin to thoroughly understanding a whole other language, as it is, is to diminish that persons life endeavor. Rap has its place but as with all other forms of music it has taken bits from all types and genres and made it its own, on the surface no different from any other form of music. The obvious lack here is that there is a very limited amount of learning of musical knowledge, only the voice in a very simplistic verse pattern, which in and of itself does not require very much knowledge of music or should I say any musicianship as in playing any kind of instrument. Do I sound slightly pissed, yes I do . I take my hat off to the Rappers for being able to tap into a money makin deal, but dont dare to call yourselves true musicians because ya all cant play anything. Dont get me wrong, theres some stuff I really like out there, Funky Cold madina comes to mind, but if you want to be called a musician, learn to play an instrument eh!!! MRG2U.

Rap isn't music, rap isn't poetry. It's a form of social protest, wrapped in combination of disharmonized sounds and texts of dubious artistic quality and grammar. What completely escapes me, is what is the protest against.

The problem is that the overall quality of music deteriorates anyways; D. Adams wrote once: "I feel betrayed by rock music due to gangsta rap."

I have often viewed rap as a form of poetry rather than a form of music. Clearly the determination of whether rap is music is left to the individual. By Michael's definition those barking Jingle Bell dogs could be considered music, but most people don't consider that music, so it's not. Rap is music because most of us agree to define it that way.

I would suspect that when paper money came out there were those who didn't view it as money. However, once the scales tipped, even the most staunch hold-outs decided to accept it as legal tender.

For me the *most* important take-away is that, as a non-fan of rap, I'm intrigued enough by this article and the subsequent comments to give it a listen anew. Thanks for all the recommended artists.

Re: F.E.'s "learn to play an instrument, eh!"
I'd argue a couple of things:

Are you suggesting turntables and mixers are not instruments? If you're looking for more traditional instrumentation, please listen to The Pharcyde, The Roots, Jigmastas, Jurassic 5 and NorthEast Shore (NES) - all of whom play instruments. The list goes on and on... ('til the break of dawn...)

Finally, it tickles me that the whole genre receives such a bad rap- pun intended!

Although the merits of most rap/hip hop content is debatable, as an English Major and avid reader, I find the intentional juxtaposition of wordplay, alliteration and grammar used to define emotion incredibly powerful- let alone, bass bumpin' and booty shakin'.

Respectfully,

Miles Carroll
www.milescarroll.com

Just a little anecdote to put this in an interesting context.
The French Daily Le Monde recently ran a feature on the rise of English songs in French Rock. The readers comments contained many French readers claiming that rock was not "real" music, or was a "barbarian" music.
Essentially, exactly the same argument as here. Except, of course, that the idea that rock could be classified as "not music" is laughable. As is the idea that Rap, possibly the most influential form of music of the past few decades, culturally transcendent (French Rap, British Rap (with its roots in garage) and the rapid spread of rap in South America), could be "not music".

For some reason it rarely occurs to me what "kind" of "music" I'm listening to at any point. If it's yummy I keep it.

Re: Miles
Yes, an English major (sorry, english is my third language, so I am not as qualified), especially liberally-minded and diversion-oriented, may find breaking the language 'powerful'. Sorry for being conservative, and with Shakespeare and Byron, and with Simon and Garfunkel, for that matter.

As of other things, what is rap's "influence"? What message does it send to its listeners, and how does it affect their behaviour, through the artists' appearance and behaviour, through the lyrics, and the mood the sequence of its sounds sets?

Very good post. I am thirty-five years old, so my reference for hip-hop started in the 80's with Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, Afika Bambatta, etc. I was also a performing rapper for many years. While Michael is correct that they lyrics replace the melody, one aspect he forgot is the improvisational nature. Free-styling, where the rapper creates lyrics from the top of his head, tends to be overlooked nowadays, probably because most mainstream rappers aren't good at it. Another key difference in rap is the unwritten rule for originality--of your lyrics. A rapper instantly loses credibility for using someone else's lyrics, biting. When I performed, all of lyrics were freestyled, and I always enjoyed the amazement of the crowd when I would point to someone and lyrically add them into the song without missing a beat.

My favorites: Gangstarr, KRS-one, K-Rino, The Terrorists, Scarface, and many others.

Some thoughts to keep the discussion moving:

1. If a conductor or composer doesn't play an instrument is he/she a musician too?

2. There are plenty of rap songs with absolutely no samples in them.

3. Hip Hop is a cultural movement that encompasses, among other things, graffiti art, breakdancing, and rapping. Rap is the musical expression of hip hop culture, tho it is commonplace for people to use the term hip-hop to refer to rap music. However, differentiating between hip hop and rap as musical genres relies purely on the semantical leaning of the speaker and conveys little to no culturally agreed difference.

Not a big rap listener to say the least but you do offer some very well argues points and I think it was best to keep everything civil and just call the critics shit heads. Great post dude.
Sean

As a music lover with myriad tastes- perhaps because I was raised on the island of Maui by my father, a country-western/southern rock musician; dated thrash drummers and grooved to Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" and Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" throughout several years of heroin addicted haziness; have a tattoo of Jimi Hendrix; and although I *adore* the genres of reggae and quality classic rock, I occasionally find myself going through what my husband calls "another one of my rap phases"... where I am irrepressibly drawn like a moth to the flame towards that thumping bass and alliterative soliloquy of syllogistic serendipity that truly good rap offers... but, eventually, the allure fades again for me and I switch back to more Sublime-ish stuff, or perhaps some contemporary Christian if I want the itch in my soul scratched.
But Mr. Zapruder, I loved your post and find your defense ever so much greater than my "Applejacks" explanation:
"Why do you like that RAP, Kendra?"
/shrugs
"...I just do sometimes, that's all..."

Let's put some more questions:

"Music" is an entity without lyrics. Lyrics added to music make a "Song". Nowadays, the visual part (live act, video clip) is also a big part of a "performance", let's call it so.

How much rap without lyrics exist? Would you consider Paul Mauriat arranging a rap sound sequence? How important is the visual part of a rap "performance", compared to let's say, a typical Drifters' or GK & Pips' "performance"?

I started liking Rap Music when Eminem hit the scene. Eminem's music was in my opinion similar to the protest music of the 60's and 70's. It was anti-establishment. I was a researcher and writer for our underground newspaper. I also wrote speeches for our local cell's leader. Finally, I negotiated friendly relationships with groups such as The Black Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society(SDS), The Weathermen/Weather Underground,etc. We were anti-establishment. I share my background with you to confirm myself as someone who understands the anti-establishment movement. Rap is not anti-establishment nor does it represent the poor and working class black/Latino youth of the inner cities. It is pro establishment and represents the rich and wealthy white men who control the federal government, the large corporations especially the large music companies, main street media especially the ones that control the music magazines,and the military and it's military contractors that make and sell the military weapons that are killing people of color here and all over the world. They are a bad example for today's inner city youth. They portray successful Black and Latino Men as Men who believe that only money, jewelry , guns,luxury cars and luxury mansions and other material possessions are the only important things in life. I'm not going to tell you to change your music. However; I am going to ask you to stop portraying yourself as anti-establishment. The Truth is that you are part of the establishment. The Establishment that oppresses the poor people of color here and in places such as Africa and Latin America. Ivan,Sr.

There ya go painting with that broad brush again.

True, most of the rap you hear on the radio is establishment rap. But it isn't definitive rap. The same could be said for any genre of music or probably any other art form for that matter. Unless you hunt for it, all your gonna experience is the corporate crap that get's blasted at you. Great artistic innovation requires risk. Corporations are risk averse.

Rap originated as an anti-establishment art form. Some are still doing it that way.

As to whether or not rap is music, remember that art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

What's in a name? Would not a rose called by any other name smell as sweet? I think that Mr. Arcaya said it best. It's all in the eye of the beholder, or in this case eyes and ears. Rap is simply another form of expression. One that is not necessarily acceptable to some yet embraced by others. If one wishes to denounce it and hold the position that it is not music, so be it. To each his own. However, the facts suggest otherwise. Major labels have invested heavily in Hip-Hop and the figures support the premise that this "art form" is real and real appealing to many. Rap evolved from poetry. Is poetry not art? But then, exactly what is art? Who can say?

I discovered pandora through a friend. I absolutely love it. I am not the kind of person who can build my own libraries, and I love that Pandora has done for me. I hope you guys make a lot of money but please just try to keep your service to us the way it is, free and open. I love that in a day like today where everyone is out there to make a $$$ there are entrepreneurs who are building business by helping out regular people like me and still innovative enough to make money. If i had a business I would definitely advertise with you because I love you and am a fan and would like to support you on behalf of my fellow listeners.... but please keep your shit free.

thanks and love,

raj from nyc

Excellent post.

Music sampling, more so than the rapping itself, is what really got my interested in rap music. It's an art form in itself. Especially if done well. I know a lot of the sampling heard on the radio or TV is rather boring or just over-used and uncreative. But, if you do some digging, you can find some of the most amazing pieces out there. In a way, sampling is like taking a bunch of different pieces of scrap metal and manipulating them until you come out with something amazing. Places like myspace and the like are just a breeding ground for projects like that.