[Alphonzo]

I enjoy hip hop very much, and that’s why I became a DJ. When I was younger, I used to listen to hip hop for the beats, and not necessarily the lyrics, because I didn’t understand what was being said. But after a while, you begin to mature and listen to the music for more than just what is being said but how they are relaying the message. Being in my mid-20s, I can see how someone wouldn’t want to listen to hip hop, because of what the radio and video saturate the consumer with – 20-inch rims on trucks, $200,000 cars, furs, $50,000 watches, etc. All those material things being shown on videos and rapped about in songs is supposed to be what you can achieve if you work hard at what you do. Instead, the label, along with the promotion staff, push the idea of ‘you need to have this’ in order to boost the sales of artists’ albums, and sell their songs.

It’s the radio tunes that you are referring to that are lacking the melody and beauty you have mentioned. I can also see how you can see how it lacks those two things, because all it is now is recycled hits from the ’80s, manipulated to refresh the listener where the original song came from, and to make it catchy. But in the world of hip hop, there is such a thing as a sample, which is where a section of the record is used, then arranged and reworked, or is repeated, and then extra drum kicks and basslines are added, to create a new beat, so as not to make it sound just like the original song. Listen to Bobby Caldwell’s ‘Open Your Eyes’ and then listen to Common’s ‘The Light.’ The Bobby Caldwell song had a section sampled, then was reworked to make what the Common song sounds like.

Being a DJ, I listen to more than just hip hop, because all the beats originated from old soul from the ’60’s and ’70s, and learning the artists from whom these artists sample gives you a greater appreciation for where the music comes from.

Take this into consideration: there are two types of people in hip hop – the rappers and the emcees. The emcees are the ones who don’t need a gimmick to sell their albums, but just the skill of their vocabulary to move the crowd. Rappers are the ones who need a gimmick to sell their image and music.

User Detail :  

Name : Alphonzo, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Age : 25, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : DJ, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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