Post by X factor on Feb 16, 2014 3:46:07 GMT -5
As someone who has a broad music listening pedigree I feel I can write the following in a honest non bias manner, and that would be the subtle or sometimes radical difference between modern rock and modern rap.
As I'm scrolling through radio dial tonight from station to station I'm noticing that each style of music projects different energy, different thought, and a different lifestyle.
I notice rap lyrics tend to project more of a 'I'm coming up' type of vibe.
So if you're 'coming up', that applies you've been down, that's an interesting note or premise I'll come back to.
Rock lyrics, on the other hand, tend to project more of a middle class 'Hey, I'm already up, so since I'm up, lets party'.
Rock musicians usually don't come from torn homes or single parents living in projects, many rock musicians, for whatever reason, usually come from well funded school systems, with band, the arts, and other outlets.
Many of these groups form while in high school or college, band class ect.
Many come from normal two parent house holds, live in 'normal' neighborhoods with homes, where everyone in community works, blue collar work, white collar work, doesn't matter.
Rock musicians usually arise from a more stable socio, economic background and thus over all feel better about 'self'...and this 'feeling better about self' is projected through the tempo and lyrics of many rock songs and is why rock music usually makes you feel better about yourself and life.
Rap, on the other hand, tends to project more of a darker view of life, of self, this need to 'prove I'm as good or better than you'...(not that anyone said you weren't).
And this style of lyrics reveals the low self esteem most raised in 'the hood' or inner city communities, have about self, kind of the old 'chip on the solder' mentality.
It's why most rappers 'brag' about 'I got this, I got that, I got this many women, this many cars, sold this many albums' and so forth.
As if the artist is trying to validate self through physical attainment of 'stuff'.
As such, rap lyrics often carry a more negative childish tone, like 'na na na na, look what I got, and you don't', type of immature mindset.
It's really suggesting how mentally or socially damaged many are in communities most rap artist arise from.
Rap artist tend to have a smaller view of the world, and a bigger view of self.
And basically reflects mentality of the hood or project life, this 'every person for them self' mindset.
Then add societal racism on top of that, learning from early age 'your not apart of the privileged class', anger, hostility, and damaged self esteems that come from that environment, and you have your typical hostile angry rapper with profanity laced lyrics.
And oddly enough that damaged, 'I'm hurting on the inside' sound is what sells, and what you must have, as a rapper, in order to have 'street cred'.
Where as rock musicians, sure, they to can be damaged, but they start from a different point, a different emotional point, and the emphasis with rock musicians is on letting their instruments do the talking for them.
A rock musician will curse, swear, and cry with his guitar, rather than profanity laced lyrics...
With rockers, the emotions come out through the instruments...that's where the emphasis is.
We'll continue this comparison of Rock and Rap in the future.
As I'm scrolling through radio dial tonight from station to station I'm noticing that each style of music projects different energy, different thought, and a different lifestyle.
I notice rap lyrics tend to project more of a 'I'm coming up' type of vibe.
So if you're 'coming up', that applies you've been down, that's an interesting note or premise I'll come back to.
Rock lyrics, on the other hand, tend to project more of a middle class 'Hey, I'm already up, so since I'm up, lets party'.
Rock musicians usually don't come from torn homes or single parents living in projects, many rock musicians, for whatever reason, usually come from well funded school systems, with band, the arts, and other outlets.
Many of these groups form while in high school or college, band class ect.
Many come from normal two parent house holds, live in 'normal' neighborhoods with homes, where everyone in community works, blue collar work, white collar work, doesn't matter.
Rock musicians usually arise from a more stable socio, economic background and thus over all feel better about 'self'...and this 'feeling better about self' is projected through the tempo and lyrics of many rock songs and is why rock music usually makes you feel better about yourself and life.
Rap, on the other hand, tends to project more of a darker view of life, of self, this need to 'prove I'm as good or better than you'...(not that anyone said you weren't).
And this style of lyrics reveals the low self esteem most raised in 'the hood' or inner city communities, have about self, kind of the old 'chip on the solder' mentality.
It's why most rappers 'brag' about 'I got this, I got that, I got this many women, this many cars, sold this many albums' and so forth.
As if the artist is trying to validate self through physical attainment of 'stuff'.
As such, rap lyrics often carry a more negative childish tone, like 'na na na na, look what I got, and you don't', type of immature mindset.
It's really suggesting how mentally or socially damaged many are in communities most rap artist arise from.
Rap artist tend to have a smaller view of the world, and a bigger view of self.
And basically reflects mentality of the hood or project life, this 'every person for them self' mindset.
Then add societal racism on top of that, learning from early age 'your not apart of the privileged class', anger, hostility, and damaged self esteems that come from that environment, and you have your typical hostile angry rapper with profanity laced lyrics.
And oddly enough that damaged, 'I'm hurting on the inside' sound is what sells, and what you must have, as a rapper, in order to have 'street cred'.
Where as rock musicians, sure, they to can be damaged, but they start from a different point, a different emotional point, and the emphasis with rock musicians is on letting their instruments do the talking for them.
A rock musician will curse, swear, and cry with his guitar, rather than profanity laced lyrics...
With rockers, the emotions come out through the instruments...that's where the emphasis is.
We'll continue this comparison of Rock and Rap in the future.