Frances

Wow, that worked out alright!

I don't enjoy rap either, but it's still music.
I can bang a wooden spoon on a pot and it's music, my neighbors'll hate me, but it's still music.

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Yup.

gordonman

Eminem.

Now does his own production and writes his own rhymes.

The Roots.

A live band that happens to have a rapper.

Many old-school acts have one member acting as emcee, the other acting as DJ. Examples:

Eric B. & Rakim (Eric B=DJ, Rakim=MC)
Gang Starr (DJ Premier=DJ, Guru=MC)
A Tribe Called Quest (Ali Shaheed Muhammed=DJ, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg=MCs)
Boogie Down Productions (Scott LaRock=DJ, KRS-One=MC)

I could go on, but the point is that the MCs wrote all their own rhymes and the DJs made all their own beats. There was very little to no sampling on their parts. DJ Premier is known for sampling, but the only thing he samples is himself.

Also, if you take a look at Wu-Tang member the RZA, who relies very much so on sampling old kung-fu flicks, you'll notice that he doesn't steal their music, he simply borrows sounds. He'll work a sword clash or the sound of a punch into his beats, and the outcome is something totally his own.

I'm babbling now, but I just wanted to drive my point home.

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"Life is beautiful. Life is a struggle. Life is a beautiful struggle."
-Mos Def

A_Perfect_Sonnet

Can any thread with a title "rap sucks" or "rap isn't really music" be closed immediately? I cannot believe how dumb some people are.