by Louisa Cadwell

Created on: July 07, 2008

Regardless of personal taste, rap is most definitly a form of music. Looking at the facts & paying close attention to widely accepted dictionary definitions, it becomes abundantly apparent that to deny rap as a musical genre is to apply a strictly judgmental opinion that has little-to-no evidential support. Let's first take a look at the dictionary's defintion of what music is.

Music is defined as an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental OR vocal tones (or reproductions of such sounds) in a structured, unified, evocotive, and continuous manner; Elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, structure, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.
Now, taking into account the many elements that make up music, let's decipher what is classified as RAP music. Over the years rap has been broken down into several sub-categories & this is where I believe a great deal of dispute arises from. Many individuals say RAP is not music because of it's derogatory messages about violence & the darkest side of human nature.
"Music should be pleasing & agreeable." This a very common yet distorted assumption. True, most people induldge in the pleasure of music to be uplifted or comforted, but there are just as many others who listen to music in order to be exposed to & learn about other worlds (no matter how disturbing). I have rarely enjoyed heavy-metal, but I'm not about to denounce all heavy metal & say that it's not music just because I don't understand a majority of the lyrics that are being screamed out. Anger, fear, & truth should be just as explored as happy, fuzzy feelings. Most art mediums explore the sadness in humanity. It is necessary to recognize that there are other elements present that make music aside from lyrical quality.
The type of RAP that this argument is referring to would most commonly be referred to as "Gangsta Rap". This sub-genre is "characterized by violent, tough-talking, often misogynistic lyrics". Just as love ballads can be considered a sub-genre of easy-listening/ soft rock due to the main focus of the lyrics being about the state of being in love, so "Gangsta Rap" is deciphered by the messages that many people mistakenly despise the entire genre of RAP for.
Hip hop is another form of RAP. Hip Hop is defined more by the cultural trends that accompany it. ARTISTIC graffiti meant to emphasize an individual's talent vs. gang connections

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