Is Rap Really Dying?
 

Though music sales are down overall, rap sales slid a whopping 21 percent from 2005 to 2006, and for the first time in 12 years no rap album was among the top 10 sellers of the year.

A recent study by the Black Youth Project showed a majority of youth think rap has too many violent images. In a poll of black Americans by The Associated Press and AOL-Black Voices last year, 50 percent of respondents said hip-hop was a negative force in American society.

Nicole Duncan-Smith grew up on rap, worked in the rap industry for years and is married to a hip-hop producer. She still listens to rap, but says it no longer speaks to or for her. She wrote the children's book "I Am Hip-Hop" partly to create something positive about rap for young children, including her 4-year-old daughter.

"I'm not removed from it, but I can't really tell the difference between Young Jeezy and Yung Joc. It's the same dumb stuff to me," says Duncan-Smith, 33. "I can't listen to that nonsense ... I can't listen to another black man talk about you don't come to the 'hood anymore and ghetto revivals ... I'm from the 'hood. How can you tell me you want to revive it? How about you want to change it? Rejuvenate it?"

Hip-hop also seems to be increasingly blamed for a variety of social ills. Studies have attempted to link it to everything from teen drug use to increased sexual activity among young girls.

Even the mayhem that broke out in Las Vegas during last week's NBA All-Star Game was blamed on hip-hoppers. "(NBA Commissioner) David Stern seriously needs to consider moving the event out of the country for the next couple of years in hopes that young, hip-hop hoodlums would find another event to terrorize," columnist Jason Whitlock, who is black, wrote on AOL.

While rap has been in essence pop music for years, and most rap consumers are white, some worry that the black community is suffering from hip-hop -- from the way America perceives blacks to the attitudes and images being adopted by black youth.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/....ap/index.html

------

Two things I find very interesting in this that doesn't surprise me

1) rap music in the past year has dropped 21% and for the first time in 12 years no rap album was among the top 10 sellers of the year.
2) most rap music is bought by white kids

Amazing when I go to the malls and see a bunch of white teenagers walking around as though they are from a 'hood'. Standing in line once as these annoying wannabee's were harassing a white girl I said to the small crowd of white idiots dressed in rapper outfits, "you know your white right? and you grew up in the suburbs?" The crowd laughed their asses off as the guys sulked realizing how ridiculous they looked making a total mockery of what real rap artists were.

Face it, you can't fake a "hard life" and in doing so only makes you look ridiculous - maybe the white youth is starting to wake up to that fact.

http://singingfool.com/photos/217/009154_19.jpg

All the best rappers move on to become producers in search of the next big talent... and leave the talent pool rather shallow in their attempts to move on to bigger things.

And then they wonder why it's dying when they are all producing and no one is recording.

rap has sucked for about the past 10 years. ithe only difference between some marketed made up pop princess like britney spears or whoever is the color of their skin and the subject matter of the songs.

I think that it's like every other music niche, over time it gets too saturated and people get sick of it.

Maybe this will be the time for hard rock/heavy metal to make a full comeback :)

rap is dead since about 2000...I don't really have new albums since than. Now I collect 90s and 80s albums again...much better in music and lyrics too...

God, I hope rap is dying.

Of course Rap is dying, like every other style of music... It's natural that people got sick of rap after listening to it for so long.

i have nothing against rap, but i am not a fan. Some songs i am fond of and have in my playlist.

It was about time it died. Music might get a real comeback from the good old 60's and 70's

music tastes change like search engine algorithms.
shane diesel

i hardly can call it music, but its stylish in its way. Fashion world is liquid, so nothing goes away its being transformed.

Ohhh nooooooo, how could we live without skilled apes...err artists like:

http://anthonybradley.worldmagblog.c...ng%20Twins.jpg

And

http://www.logiclaboratory.com/lil-john.jpg

God, I hope so.

Rap sucks. ADL Eddie only likes disco

im on sirius 43 backspin so rap will never die for me :thumbsup

I listen to a bit of everything include rap, but it's certainly all starting to sound like the same old shit. I guess it has for a while, but you notice it more and more with each new song. I'd certainly agree that it is a negative influence on society as well, not just black American's but globally on all people (black, Lebanese youth here, whites, etc).

Looking at the Sudanese refugees that have started to arrive in Australia over the last few years it's obvious that people like 50 cent are their role models just by the way they dress. And after talking to a number of friends Police Force that I know it seems they are already starting to become a very large problem, and are quite violent and prone to crime, etc. Whilst it probably isn't the only contributing factor (after all they are refugees from a shithole) it certainly doesn't help encourage them to stay on the straight and narrow when they idolise the people they do.

So even though a few songs I like musically, hopefully it is dieing.

Rap is just not as relevant as it was 10-15 years ago. I think the subject matter that is discussed in most of the popular songs alienates much of the audience. In general, pop Rap over the past 10 years has mostly glorified violence and the American dream while totally ignoring all other subject matter that pertains to kids. Further, Rap is a Youthful pursuit; you can't expect to see a 45 year old 50 cent take the stage at Madison square. There is a reason that a band like Green Day can still act like 20 year olds and get away with it (and sell a lot of albums in the process)...because they are relevant and write about issues that the youth are interested in. Busting Caps and being a Baller are all feelings that pass with time. The older people get the more they start to care about what is actually going on in the world around them and in some case want to contribute to making it a better place. Rap for the most part has failed to cross that line, and that is why Rap as a genre is beginning to slowly fall in my opinion.

Having said that there are many artists that are trying to transcend these boundaries and will probably bring Rap back a decade or so from now. Rap remains and will continue to be an important outlet for youth in the decades to come as regardless of message it is music you can move to and dance to and has that aggressive feeling that many kids gravitate towards when they are first getting into music.

Rap will never die
 

Dirty Franck that was out of line i hope in my time this race thing comes to a spilling point and we settle it:thumbsup thats all ill say:disgust

Yes.

It used to be about something more than money. The better part of the last decade has kept pushing the violence envelope to the point there is not much further you can go with it.

The early days of rap I still have on my playlists. But from around roughly the mid 90's on, most of it's shit.

Wtf are you talking about you fucking racist? What fucking race thing? What are you gonna settle exactly? You sound like...whats his name again...oh yeah, Hitler.

And i call them apes because they behave like apes. If they were Indian, white or Chinese and would behave like apes i would also call them apes.

Funny how people like you are just looking for excuses to scream racism and start fights. Fucking racist punk. Whatever you are waiting for...i hope the first one to settle something will settle something in your racist face. Like a big fist.

enough said... if he was still around half the rappers that came out in the late 90's ever 00's would never even survive.

he was one of the few true gangsta rappers, no matter what style he came out with, whether it was a club jam, a hardcore beef track or politcal hits like changes he always came raw and hard...

IMO all the south garbage rap that has come out the past few years killed hip hop... guys like lil jon and them... useless stuff...

Not surprising really. Have you seen the stuff that gets regular play on BET? If that's the best hiphop has to offer today, then it's high time for its death. The music buying public is just excercising quality control.

you people sound like the KKK if you dont like it why you listening sound like you in the closet on rap and maybe something else know what i mean? :)

????????what does that even mean? I tried reading it three times and can't extract a point in there. this is a discussion about rap not about racisim or being gay.

You are just like that fucking racist interracialtoons. He has a problem with everything thats white but in the meantime calls everyone else a racist. Looks like we have another case here.

Listen racist, there is one person here who sounds like the KKK and its the person who just said this:

"i hope in my time this race thing comes to a spilling point and we settle it"

Fucking imbecile.

Its yet another black racist who thinks he is being discriminated all the time while ignoring he is a big fucking racist himself.

there is no originality in any rapper today. the last big thing was eminem because he was something different. but today everyone wants to be a tattooed up gangsta with a million dollars of jewely on, riding in a escalade on 24 inch rims, and talking about how they shut down clubs everytime they roll through.

its played out and boring. so until someone original comes out not talking about his jewelry, 24 inch rims, grill, or hookers it's going to keep falling into the bottomless pit rap has started its descent into.

I actually used to listen to rap music alot. I admit I still listen to some of the older stuff (90's). But I hate almost all of the new music. Im positive person and it just too negative.

Its a bad influence on anyone it comes across. We have alot of "wannabe's" in my town that are constantly robbing stores and shooting people trying to live "thug life". These rappers who say its cool to do shit like this and try to promote it should be able to be sued with a valid case.

I concider rappers and "wiggers" our local terrorist. I don't know if thats a bad thing or not, lol

At the end of the day, the people who loved rap have all grown up. They don't bang anymore, they got a two bedroom in the burbs and are worried about getting their kids into the good school.

It has also become clearer in the last few years that there is a break between the mythical "thug life" and the reality of street gangs and their members.

Essentially, rap (especially the more more hardcore "gangsta" and "pimpin" rap) has almost become a parody of itself, and that scares people away. When people don't relate, they don't buy.

Funny how that racist punk dissapeared.

Long live rap.....

Jurassic 5 still fucking rocks

Well if it's not dying, I hope at least it's in intensive care:2 cents:

http://www.diverseimages.com/gallery...iggie+5001.jpg

Fuck yeah

Rap died for me when Biggy, Pac were killed, WU-Tang called it quits etc.

NAS is the only one left. Hip Hop is DEAD.

Ghey

......

interesting thread . . for all the people saying rap music is not the same like back in the days . . or now it is too violent .. you need to do some more research .. why did Scott LaRock get killeD? ? exactly ? WHO ? huh ? what are you talking about . . KRS ONE drops criminal minded . scott gets killeD . . and that happened way back when . .


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_La_Rock

dont believe the hype

why homie nas be makin efforts to sell his cd ? ? why aint it free? for me ?



that being said . the Jay Z album that dropped around the same time OBVIOUSLY was waaayyyyyy better . . . its that next level hip hop shit . .

you speak as of you were actually already listening back then ? ? what were you listening to ? Snow with his 'informer' ? dude ? really .. Dr Dre's 'the chronic' dropped in '93 . . what was that all about ?

give me one example of the music you are talking about that should be soooo different then the shit dropping now ?



Yes and No . . on that note . . Sean Price "mess you made" interesting new song / album . coming our way . . rap music is evolving right now . . more people are sick and tired of the same agressive shit over and over again . we need more positive vibes ...

exactly . . could not have said it better ! one thing though ... I dont think it will take ten years !!

hahhaahah . . now thats funny .. even though I love rap :upsidedow

Dr. Dre supposedly will be releasing his long awaited 3rd album soon. Will be interesting to see what it sounds like.

"... just give me one more platinum plaque, then fuck rap, you can have it back" - Dr. Dre on Forgot about Dre released in 2000.

hahhaahah . . now thats funny .. even though I love rap :upsidedow

there is no room for racism in this thread - thats not what it was about.

keep in mind the article did say that the majority of those who purchase rap music are white youth.

What bothers me about white youths is that they use the difficult life of the black community as a fashion statement or ego boost. They know nothing of what it means to be black, outside of they think its cool and you get laid. Sure white youth have problems,any race does. Just don't use someone elses troubled life to benefit your own or dress like you know or can relate. I can only imagine how much of an insult it is for the black community to see white youth dress/act and speak like they are from the hood when in fact they are only doing it for appearances and develop some sort of attitude/ego and fashion statement.

You guys are right,rap is slowly but surely dying,it isn`t what it used to be in the 80 - mid 90. Maybe it will strike back in 10-15 years...

Good riddance...

Good rap died a long time ago...it's time for something new.

not really - the next 10 years will see rap music being played in elevators throughout the big city :1orglaugh

http://blog.209software.com/uploaded...sic-719328.jpg

is it coincidence that rap rhymes with crap?


think about it. it does.

it died a long time ago... same thing happened to the grunge, disco, garage rock ect.. Public Enemy was wrong.. hardcore did die!

Interesting.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh