Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 8 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 25 years, 8 months ago by
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I have a co-worker in his mid 20s who listens to nothing but rap to the exclusion of all other forms of music. I was quite surprised to learn that he has never heard of any of the ’70s and ’80s rock groups referred to as ‘classic rock’ groups. Even groups like the Rolling Stones, Van Halen and Aerosmith who are still recording and performing today. I find it amazing that someone of that age is so sheltered musically that he has never heard of some of the biggest, in terms of sales and sheer amount of airplay, musical groups ever.
Is this common among rap listeners? I know when I was coming up in the ’70s, I and my associates had heard of most of the really big ’50s and ’60s groups like the Beach Boys, et al. My co-worker happens to be Caucasion.
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Name : Steve B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Warrensburg, State : MO, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Well, first of all, I should point out that not all rap fans are ignorant of classic rock. Indeed, many of the best known rappers have sampled ‘classic’ rock and heavy metal hits. Tone Loc sampled Foreigner’s ‘Hot Blooded’ on ‘Funky Cold Medina,’ and Van Halen’s ‘Jamie’s Cryin’ on ‘Wild THing.’ And of course, Vanilla ICe sampled Queen’s ‘Under PRessure.’ Early rappers like Run DMC were influenced by Aerosmith and AC/DC (you may recall Run DMC’s breakthrough hit was a cover of Aerosmith’s ‘Walk this Way’). But… as a 38 year old white guy, I hate saying this, but… we classic rock fans are getting OLD! Led Zeppelin didn’t come around a FEW years ago, they were formed THIRTY years ago and broke up TWENTY years ago. Twenty years is an eternity in pop music. Face it, a modern teenager wasn’t even BORN yet when Led Zeppelin broke up! THink about this: ‘classic’ bands like Led Zeppelin are as ancient to a modern 20 year old as Patti Page, Pat Boone and Mitch Miller were to me, when I was in college.
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Name : astorian23528, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 38, City : austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,Back in the old days, hip hop (a.k.a. rap) was primarily an urban thing. It was brought about and adhered to by black and Latino youth. The thing is, as small youngsters this generation of youths were probably exposed to a lot more Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Diana Ross, James Brown and the Temptations than to Led Zepplin and Aerosmith. With the exception of acts such as Santana, War, Bob Marley, and Jimi Hendrix, they grew up with music that was different from the guitar solos and multi-layered riffs of what was then modern rock and roll.
Today, hip hop is one of the biggest genres around. Officially, it has been in existence for over 20 years, ever since Cool Herc was attributed with the invention of it (though it’s roots go back to the mid ’60s). And today, about 80 percent of its audience are your proverbial “suburban white kids,” which explains what is shown on MTV. So this young person you speak of could have very well completely grown up in hip hop and by complete accident not have been exposed to anything else. Ask him if he’s ever heard of Cool Herc, Funkmaster Flex, The Furious 5, Grandmaster Flash or the Sugar Hill Gang.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class,I love hip hop, but I also love old music from the Rolling Stones. My boyfriend (age 22)loves hip hop at least as much as I do, but also owns every old Rolling Stones album on vinyl (in addition to lots of other classic rock like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, etc). So I think it’s just your co-worker. Some people grow such strong loyalties to things that they aren’t aware of the existence of other things. Or maybe he just doesn’t like the way classic rock sounds and turns it off every time he hears it. It’s just a matter of taste. How many of the older hip hop artists can you name? After all, the Sugar Hill Gang is still performing!
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Name : SR28442, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 21, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : student,Are you familiar with DMX, Li’l Kim, Big Pun or Nase? If you are sitting there scratching your head, unfamiliar with any of those names, you should know that they are some of the biggest names in music (not just rap) today. Does that make you sheltered?
Everyone has different tastes in music. I couldn’t tell you the name of five New Age artists, but I don’t think that makes me sheltered. I just don’t have a real interest in it. Hence, I don’t pay attention to the goings on in that field of music. Your young co-worker isn’t interested in the rock bands you described. But he is only 20 and young people tend to have a more myopic view of the world (I know I did). Give him some time, and while you’re at it, ask him to let you listen to some of his music. You might pick up a few things as well.
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Name : Ken, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 32, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : marketing, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I think some are missing the point of Steve’s question. What he is asking(correct if I am wrong) is how could someone not have ever heard of The Rolling Stones or Van Halen –the institutions? I don’t think the fact that his friend listens to rap, plays into the equation that much. We are talking about being oblivious to a societal institution that virtually everyone is guaranteed of coming in contact with at some point in their life — assuming no cave dwelling is involved. It’s akin to not having ever heard of James Dean or Martin Luther King. They are icons. It’s not like Steve couldn’t understand why his friend didn’t know the name of Superchunk’s last album.
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Name : David S., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,KennyG mentions a variety of modern music artists. I have tried to approach all genre of music with an open mind but have real difficulty with the so-called Gangsta Rap. The rather brutal physical and sexual nature of it, combined with the incessant use of what are commonly called vulgarities, mytifies me. How about some insight into the aesthetic of the aforementioned music?
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Name : Tillman E., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 58, City : Orlando, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Business/Medical, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I used to get that question often in college, when someone would ask me how I could listen to that kind of music without being disgusted. Well, my reply was always to turn the question around. How would you explain the meaning of Irish folk music to a black teen in the inner city? Unless you have an insight into the context of the music, it’s hard to ‘get it’. I am hardly intimate with the inner city life, but having lived close to large cities all my life, and having visited friends in these areas, I get the general feeling behind the music. Now, to be honest, I find most of the modern ‘gangsta rap’ to be derivative and uninspired, but give artists like Ice T, Ice Cube, or Public Enemy a try. The older gangsta rap is far more political and clever, in my opinion.
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Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 27, City : Cranford, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The whole gangsta thing you speak of started in the Watts/Compton area around 1989, with the advent of NWA (N*ggaz With Attitudes, comprised of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy E, and MC Ren). It got big on the west coast, and then somehow it caught on. About 80% of it’s listeners are/were ‘suburban white kids’, who also happen to make up the primary viewing demographic of Mtv. Saying that hip hop is nothing but ‘gangstaism’ is like saying that rock & roll is nothing but drugs and sex. Hip hop has been around in some form or another since the mid-60s. Hip hop is supposed to be about culture (usually black or Latino, primarily urban), politics, and even love. Check out artists such as The Roots, Outkast, Lauryn Hill, Grits, Q-tip, Tribe Called Quest, and others for a more accurate portrayal.
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Name : Dan27274, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : L.A. area, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : student/dishwasher, Social class : Lower middle class,
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