Hip Hop: My Definition of the genre

Music | March 21, 2009

Hip Hop, to me, must be poetic in the sense that the words roll off the singer's tongue; this effect is done by manipulating the song with assonance, alliteration, rhyme and much more. Rap and Hip Hop are together whenever you see them in stores because they evolved from each other.

Do I consider Hip Hop to be a sub-genre of Rap just like Gangsta Rap and Old School Rap? Sure. That doesn't mean that that it can't have other elements of music in it. But I also consider songs which are hipper and funkier in style as hip hop.

Some songs I consider Hip Hop, as opposed to Gangsta Rap, are 8 mile by Eminem and 8 Miles and Runnin' (actual song starts at 0:20) by Freeway. However, I also consider funkier types of Hip Hop as, well, Hip hop: Shut up by the Black Eyed Peas and Love Lockdown by Kanye West.

Kyle, a guy I used to work with at Cafe Crepes, played in a band who's style couldn't be classified as one genre or another. He'd ask people personally what they thought of his music; although they liked it, they couldn't place the music in a specific music. That's a principal I agree with: music shouldn't necessarily fall under a certain genre.

Hip Hop is not necessarily a different genre than Rap just like Metal isn't necessarily a different genre than Rock. Some people may consider or maybe even confuse Hip Hop with R&B; some may even consider it a whole different genre.

Country music, Blues and especially Rap have come under fire when it comes to labeling them as music. The argument is that these genres are just talking over a beat or simple tune. This is why many people don't "consider" country and rap as music. The irony is that the same people consider Hip Hop to be music.

According to many people, music must follow some strict guidelines: the singing must be a fluctuation of the pitch and voice (as opposed to talking) and the sound must have a variety of notes which make a tune (as opposed to a simple beat). If one of those two things fails in a song, then the "song" is not music.

I have to disagree. Music is a melody and it can be as simple as using simple beats (such as clapping, finger snapping or beatboxing) along with poetic verses. Not only is this the basics of music, it is praticed everywhere around the world.

At the end of the movie Tigerland, a couple of army recruits are gathered around an American Flag. The sunset was shining golden rays on their poetic song about war; simple clapping and singing about going off to war. This is not any different from Hip Hop, Rap and Country music.

Some of my favourite artists are Eminem and Dr. Dre because they showcase my definition of hip hop. I like almost all the songs they put, regardless of wether they are satire, serious, dirty or stupid.