Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

LOVE the old-school hip-hop stuff; contemporary thug/gangsta-rap...not at all.

Same here, I think the only rap album I ever owned was from Run DMC back in the 80's. I guess I grew up.

"The Art of Rap" is an oxymoron.

Probably not as much as "Rap Music", though.

This is an idiotic comment

You say tah-may-to, I say tah-mah-to...

Also an idiotic comment

The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight. The music was a rip-off of, Good Times by Chic, and probably one of the reasons I liked the song so much. Much of the early stuff copied a lot of the disco beat at the time.



Also liked: Freaks Come Out at Night - Whodini

Tribe Called Quest.

Ripping-off and copying...yes, a real creative endeavor there...

Perfect for Generation Remix.

Cool trailer. I'm not a huge rap fan in any regard, but the preview made me step back and respect these guys.

ooh this reminds me - I wanted to see that doc Michael Rappaport made.

I'm not delusional. I think there is art in Rap. Anybody seen Beats Rhymes & Life? So awesome.

But "ripping off" other artists is often associated with plagiarism. Here it's simply a few seconds sampled as is and mixed with a few catchy loops... I think we can assume rap is not very rich musically to say the least. But yes, I admit it has evolved too.

(I actually like quite a few songs, but while I do think there's some good material in rap, I also think there's far too much crap......wait....it rhymes!! let's call Diddy and book a studio I have a hit!)

While I don't own any of their music, I respect the fr@k out of The Roots. Percussion and woodwinds are all live, all the time; none of that oversampled, drum machine, synthesizer crap. If you don't know who they are, watch Jimmy Fallon late nights.

Sowe are defining art now huh lol

No argument there. Same for rock music.

Not the same as ripping off, by using the beats as inspiration or even directly using it, to form a new genre of music.

There's a cool documentary called Scratch that shows how the hip hop dj's would use the breaks and beats from old records to "create" new music. The turntable became an instrument. But that's just one piece. Rap still uses live tracks, beatboxing, etc.

To say rap isn't art is just an old fart's attempt at trolling.

To say that rap is art can also be considered an attempt to elevate it above the other forms of (popular) music. Music is art, period. And rap is one form of music. Rap is not a 'superior' form of music.

Hearing Rapper's Delight caused me to get my Chic album out and play it for the first time in years. The RD music was lifted from Good Times, not what I previously posted.

Considering the writers of the song, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic threatened legal action, which resulted in a settlement with their being credited as co-writers, I’d say it was a rip-off. Obviously, they were not too happy about it but got over it and actually liked The Sugarhill Gangs version and considered it innovative. But I know what you’re saying.

My problem is not the rise of rap and hip-hop, but rather the decline of melody.

...also...

I have no problem with the title "The Art of Rap".

I DO have a problem with the "Something From Nothing" part of the title, especially since most rap and hip-hop use samples and beats that someone else created, so obviously did not come from "nothing". To say "something from nothing" is an insult to the creators of the original, and most certainly not an homage.

That just adds to my problem with it. It seems that rappers:

Can't come up with their own rhythms;
Don't have to bother with creating a melody, since they can't sing anyway.

So we're left with something with no creative rhythmic or melodic content. What's left? "creative" prose that talks about "bitches and hos"?

Only The Arcade Fire can save us now.