Friday, January 16, 2009
W hat’s good, ladies and gents? This is the first installment of the opinion column that provides you with thoughts straight from the mind of a hip-hop head. I’ll be speaking my mind about anything and everything hip-hop, putting you on to new and forgotten artists and letting you know the deal on local ill shows.
For now, I would like to begin by addressing an issue that has spurred plenty of debate among heads in the past: the differences, and there are many, between hip-hop and rap music. To those unfamiliar with either hip-hop or rap, the two are typically perceived as being one and the same. Amazon.com, iTunes and most record stores list their version of the genre as “hip-hop/rap,” and there are never separate “rap” and “hip-hop” CD sections.
There is no doubt that hip-hop is the father of rap, and as a result everything rap could be considered hip-hop as well. Still, there are major differences between the two styles, not only in practice and influence, and especially with respect to their elements. The difference between rap and hip-hop lies mainly in the distinctive elements comprising each genre. Hip-hop has four essential elements: break dancing, graffiti, emceeing (rapping) and DJ-ing. These elements have been the cornerstones of the hip-hop movement since its inception in the late 1970s, and they are absolutely immovable. They represent an ultimate desire to be creative, showcase one’s skills and have a good time, and as a result that message is generally communicated to its audience.
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Throughout hip-hop’s evolution into what it has become today (which will be debated in a future column), it has for the most part stayed true to its original roots. Rap also has identifiable elements that are ever evident in any rap music, but while hip-hop and rap do share common elements in DJ-ing and the obvious emceeing, rap adopted new elements of its own. Crime, violence and extravagance became consistent staples of rap videos as well as rap songs. Rather than emulating elements that revolve around having a good time and showing off talent, rap artists generally strive to intimidate and convey an impression of wealth and success. This has not necessarily been a disservice to the hip-hop community, as many of the sickest rappers in hip-hop history touch heavily on crime and money. The point is there are two completely different messages being communicated by rap and hip-hop, and as a consequence they are two separate entities. Now, of course there are known rap artists who produce hip-hop songs and vice-versa; there is frequently significant overlap in the messages communicated through an artist’s songs. Then there are the select few artists who transcend all specific classification as either rap or hip-hop, like the Notorious B.I.G., 2pac and Jay-Z. But, for the most part, rap and hip-hop keep to themselves and continue to evolve in their own respective ways. That, my friends, is the difference between rap and hip-hop. Peace.
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Comments
Coldham: Hip-hop versus rap
I have never heard of rap being characterized in such a way. Rap is the act of rhyming, and in the case of HIP HOP CULTURE, rhyming over a looped sample.
All I'm saying that you've made an argument by comparing two things in the wrong way.
Hip-hop is the movement and rap is what you do on a track.
Coldham: Hip-hop versus rap
Jhunt: Whether you call the message the difference between rap and hip-hop, or just the difference between rap/hip-hop with a positive message and rap/hip-hop with a bad message (excessively materialistic, misogynistic, violent), we get the picture. This difference that the columnist writes about is, in most cases, easy to distinguish.
Group 1 Jurassic 5 Kanye West
Group 2 50 Cent Techn9ne
While I do like some rap music (1), I mostly like hip-hop (2). Rap is popular today, so most of the current hip-hop I like is underground.
Coldham: Hip-hop versus rap
Whoops. hip-hop is 1 and rap is 2.
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