I can't stand rap because there is no melody, just words spoken to a beat. It's as simple as that. I find it obnoxious and amusical. An occasional song like that might be an interesting diversion (think: "Shattered" by the Rolling Stones or "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen), but an entire genre of stuff like that is really going to get on my nerves. Plus, the beat is almost always the same (or extremely similar). That adds to the monotony. Yes I know there are a few rap songs with oddball beats and time signatures, but let's face it, those are relative rarities.

And it's not the rhythms themselves I dislike either - some of those can be interesting. But when you've got a guy yelling at me (not singing - talking or yelling) with that rhythm heavily (overly so, IMO) in the background, I'm going to be turned off. I don't like people yelling at me.

:whythis:

Grats on taking one kind of rap and using it to justify your distaste for an entire genre you obviously know nothing about.

I dislike jazz because I once trapped my fingers under the lid of a piano.

Funny you say that, but, like Jazz, I think some rap you kinda have to learn to listen to. I don't mean anything academic, just a familiarization with a very different type of music. Like the man says, there are a ton of different Rap genres, so you can find something you do like and then grow from there. To be dismissive of rap and hip-hop in this day and age is to close yourself off from a ton of really cool and interesting music.

And there is plenty of melody in rap too. I'm always referencing the Wu, but the RZA is a master at taking very spare elements like one piano loop and a grunt from a Shaw Brothers Kung-Fu flick and turning them into very catchy little melodies that perfectly complement the beats. That's just one example of course. Rap is a lot more complex and varied than you give it credit.

I sampled a lot of these and they were all pretty good. Very underground sounding, like rap is suddenly the purview of bedroom artists. The one that really stood out for me was Death Grips. I like that he put an erect penis on one of his album covers - a very transgressive act, but was the fact that it was a white penis the active transgression?

Anyway, Money Store is definitely going on my want list. Thanks so much for the recommendations...

Definitely an inaccurate statement. While it's true that some early hip hop was comprised strictly of beats and vocals, I'd say the overwhelming majority of all the hip hop ever made does indeed have a melody. Whether you like the music or not is a different story, but factually speaking the songs do contain melodies.

There is some hip-hop I don't mind. What I can't stand is stuff like this. This is what comes to mind when someone says the word "rap."



I don't like people yelling at me. It's just flat-out obnoxious.

This is a lot better. I'm not sure what you'd call this, but I don't call it "rap." More like Michael Jackson-eque modern Motown, I suppose.



This is in-between the two. Not really obnoxious - probably because of the absence of an overbearing beat - but it would be nicer if he sang notes instead of just talking.

Are you trying to enjoy the genre but can't find anything appealing or just here to talk sh*t about it?

They aren't just talking, there is rhythm in it. They aren't singing but they certainly are not talking.

Diabolic - 60 Bars Acapella (This dude talking?)



If you have any interest at all check these out:

Emanon - The Words (This guy can sing, he's amazing)


Grieves - Irreversible


Plenty more where this came from. It seems all you know about is mainstream "HipPop" as BinaryStar would say. There is more to it than 90s gangster rap and the current mainstream.

I don't hear any yelling in that track, but that said, what's wrong with yelling? Music is all about expression, and some of the human experience is aggressive or angry or simply extremely enthusiastic. Yelling seems appropriate in those contexts.

I would call that yelling. It's like someone getting in my face and telling me off. I just find it obnoxious, like the musical equivalent of a loud Harley-Davidson riding by your house at 3 in the morning when you're trying to sleep.

If you think Harley-Davidsons are cool, then as they say, to each his own. Just keep 'em out of my neighborhood, especially at 3 in the morning.