If You Rap, You Probably Suck – Think About it Mondays
Posted under: 
“Baby girl we gon need some protection
Because I am about to blast you with this here errection”
There has never been a time in my life where I wished more for the ability to blast people with projectile vomit on command. It was not just the lyrics of this performance that disturbed me, it was the fact that they thought it would be a real crowd winner to have a boy under 10 join them onstage to dance to this foolishness. And also it was also the audacity of this group to begin this ditty with the following introduction:
This next song is for the ladies…
Really? The ladies who swing from poles and have fruit for a last names perhaps but this damn well is not for me or any lady I know. I hosted a show last night and though there were many bright spots of the night, majority of the performers in this showcase were rappers and I must say that 90 percent of them offended me as a woman and as a person with functioning ears.
You guys sucked, and I do not care if that is rude because I am only returning the favour. Of all the fun and clever lines of the night (like rhyming yo with hydro OR penis and You-gotta-see-this) the only punchline that I walked out reciting was: Rap is freakin crap!
Please drink… and then do suicides across the highway
Do not get up on a soap box unless you have assessed if there is any point to what is going to come out of your mouth. A lot of rap that I have been exposed to of late at clubs, on the radio and in showcases is POINTLESS. If you ask my personal opinion rapping is not freakin difficult people, it is not a God-given gift like singing or playing an instrument, it is something that anybody who can rub two pennies together can practice and do well reasonably well at. For this reason rappers need to be the most educated, thought-provoking and interesting musical artists out there in order to be labelled as talented in my eyes. Your words are what define you because you can not fall back on your incredible voice or out-of-this-world instrument solo. Rapping to me is almost equivalent to public speaking; unlike singing the art is not in how you say it, it is in what you have to say.
A singer/ musician can go through life without reading a book or going to school. Why not? As a singer/ musician you do not even have to write your own material, all you have to do is fine-tune your instrument. A rapper on the other hand, should be immediately dismissed as a waste of attention if he or she does neither of the two. If you spend more time smoking weed than you do working on your vocabulary and broadening your literary perspective than you friggin suck. If your idea of working on your craft is hanging out in the studio with your friends rather than taking opportunities to meet new people and ask what is important to them, then you have nothing friggin interesting to offer me.
Isn’t it ironic that in rap, higher education and spending time in the books is frowned upon? I understand that at it’s root rap is supposed to be the voice of the streets but instead of trying to make sense of it all with shackles on – break free, rise above the concrete, elevate into a library and emerge again with the ability to make an intellectual reflective of the place where you came.
If you rap you should look at yourself as a spokesperson for life, thus you should be a dedicated student of life: reading, watching movies, taking in documentaries, interviewing people, engaging in challenging conversations and spending a lot of time alone reflecting on what these activities have taught you about yourself and the world around you. THEN you write…
I will always be the first to tell you when I am out of line and perhaps on this topic I am treading in waters I do not belong. Truthfully I am not a genuine fan of rap and there are under 10 artists of this genre that I would voluntarily play in my spare time. So if you are a rapper and you are offended by this post than please feel free to dismiss everything that I have said based on these grounds, but if you are focusing on what is being said and not who is saying it, than please award me with a little more of your attention.
Dear rappers,
Teach me something new dammit, tell me a story that would help me see my world clearer, make me smile because what you just said is so true, impress me with the depths of your puns, move me with the power of your trained tongue (see there’s a freakin pun for you) – make music that satisfies ONE meaningful purpose other than “I make music for the clubs.” And one last thing, if the beat is more entertaining and interesting than what comes out of your mouth during the song, please be honest with yourself and get down from the soapbox to regroup.
Now this is not one of those posts that is an ode to the true rappers like Outkast, Common, Little Brother, etc… You do not have to be rapping about Africa or fighting the power to be poignant; at the very least, you just have to keep my attention for longer than the hook and in the best case scenario you serve as my escape to a place that I actually wouldn’t mind going to (again this desired destination is probably not your bedroom. Yeah I know that you will “have me cumming quick with your space shuttle dick” ….still, thanks but NO THANKS).
These three songs are not my top three fav rap songs but off the top of my head they represent what I think rap should be: illustrative, heart felt and witty.
What three songs define what rap is to you?
Related Posts via Categories
- I am in Love with Girls
- Come Winter Love, All or Nothing
- Gratitude is Everything
- 2011 a Year in Review
- What happens in my bed, stays in my bed
- Question: Do you Feel Me Like I Feel You?
- My Struggle with Being Nice
- When a sweet new friendships makes the old seem sour
- Warning: If your butt isn’t big, you may not be Black
- Read This Everyday
35 Comments + Add Comment
WILD UNITED!
Find Your It!
Find a Fav
R U WILD?
Our Logo
Work it!
I have never seen a great unsigned Rapper. It is a hard skill to master. I do like “Hit Me With a Text” by Mann. The lyrics are very…simple. But It is fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml5RhkyKXyc
An AMAZZZING UNSIGNED RAPPER!!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andrea Lewis and Zenobia Simmons, Joel Simpson. Joel Simpson said: RT @missandrealewis: NEW Blog: If You Rap, You Probably Suck – Think About it Mondays http://bit.ly/8ZdenX [...]
I totally agree with you Shannon,”Teach me something new dammit, tell me a story that would help me see my world clearer, make me smile because what you just said is so true, impress me with the depths of your puns, move me with the power of your trained tongue.” Music is such an outlet for expression and creativity….Why are people making songs for the moment?Instead using their minds and make songs that will last a lifetime(generations).
Excellent rant. I think a lot of guys fail to realize that wit is the most important tool to rapping (or poetry, or public speaking, or writing…). If you don’t have it, you’re wasting everybody’s time. Wit allows you to rhyme about the same thing for 10 albums (Jay-Z) or even typical rap hobbies (Dilla) and STILL be interesting.
Fresh Prince’s verse from the He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper title track seems appropriate here. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1f2b1BAIek
(and yeah, I rate Jeff & Will as the greatest rap duo of all time, and can defend that thesis if need be)
LOVED this on reply all day, thanks Mike
I agree..
I completely think that many rappers today cannot rap outside of single-syllable words that are strung together to talk about the topics of sex, drugs, and violence. and not that these topics aren’t important in our society. but many rappers’ oversimplification of these topics are, well, dull (at best).
However, I won’t even front. I definitely bump these songs before I go to a party or a club. Not to be moved by the lyrics, but really just to get hype and dance to the beats.I know, that is the most cliche excuse used. But honestly, it is true for me. The beats are live.
What today’s hip hop music is missing is the “hip hop ARTIST”. not the “rapper”. Anyone can rap. Not everyone can create verbal and lyrical masterpieces. Sadly, it seems the musical culture of today is more fascinated by the grimy beats and badass simple lyrics many rappers today use. Why? I don’t know. I had this conversation with a guy once, and he thought that ppl today can relate to the bluntness and rawness of the lyrics. I guess..
I still listen to Common, De La Soul, Blackstar, Talib, Mos Def, Tribe, all that stuff. But I listen to that when I wanna actually listen and sympathize with the music. Or when I just wanna hear intelligence mixed with urban rawness lol. But for the hype music. Cut on Lil Wayne. I guess it’s all in what you are looking for in your musical experience…
I love you.
My Top 3 is
Common- Used To Love Her
Brook Yung – Love Of My Life (must hear!)
Tupac- Changes OR Keep Ya Head Up
and and extra one has to be
Cool Like That (Rebirth Of Slick) by Digable Planets
I am not CRAZY about Brook Yung’s flow but I will try a few more of his tracks. The rest of your list incredible classics
i can hold up hip hop all by myself as i put on my jeans, shirt and belt if u r spiritually then u will never go broke so i dont worry about my wealth still this dude is stackin funds flow is so sweet like a pack of gum and im a leader of the new school busta rhyme and i dont pack a gun been nice since i was dating this girl named kimara back in the days when that queen wore tiaras i see your an ignorer so i have to spit just like a llama then make niggas pause [paws] just like animal feet and commas….
Yea that’s about right. I understand some people don’t like to think so Gucci Maine and Waka Flocka are appealing because that’s what I call retarded rap. Forbid any methaphors or play on words it doesn’t sell anymore unless you’re drake.
Too many Toronto rappers talking about bland concepts. Money in your pocket or that you come from the hood. OR that you have Jordans on your feet. Shad is next up out of Toronto he spits real shit none of this bootleg Jim Jones nonsense.
Um Shannon… I think I was in the same boat yesterday…. the hook of the song was … “i don’t wear skinny jeans cuz my d**k too big” … though i was shocked.. 0_o i was no where amused… and i forgot the other song… that’s how pointless it was… but idk what is wrong withyoung men and young girls now a days?! <<<though everyone at one point and time has been the victim of dancing to pointless music… there was a group… of girls.. dancing (mighty hard might i add) to a song that was obviously calling woman just hoes and only there for just p***y… yell'n "that's my song girl!" now that is some messed up stuff… <<>>because you let them.. idk .. i love this think about it monday.. because young men and ladies really do need fah tink about it… lol..
Whitney that is TERRIBLE LOL (but funny b/c it is just that terrible!)
J. Cole- lights please i get up, show me something, Kanye West- Hear Em Say, All Falls Down, Through the Wire They are my favorite rappers but I do listen to others like tupac and lauryn hill because they actually rap about something relevant and I completely feel the same way shannon.
i was just about to mention him
I agree 1,000%. So many people get blinded by a danceable beat but don’t listen to the words. Rap, in my opinion, is like poetry and poetry is meant to teach or inspire something. Or, more than anything else, reveal things that people can relate to, be it family issues, jobs, relationships, etc. and personally, I understand that rappers can rap in their own way, but I cannot fully respect any rapper who is just so vulgar and crass that i turn off the song halfway through.
Wow, it’s so crazy that I’m reading this now, and I’ve been talking about this all this past weekend. I got so tired of hearing tha same ignorant sh!t on the radio while I was getting ready to go to a house party, then I ride to the party with my friend and she’s playing the same b.s in the car…..then finally get to the party and (you guessed it) there it is again.
I’m BEYOND tired of Waka Flocka, Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, Dirty Money, Gucci Mane, and so many other of todays popular rappers and their “creative” rhymes LoL I feel like everybody’s using the same damn punchlines in there songs and everybody’s doing the same damn thing in their videos for their wack ass song.
I know Rap music is in a really bad place, when I’m constantly only listening to R&B and old school Hip Hop on my iPod.
Since I’ve played out my #TML album, J Cole has been about the only rapper (with new material)getting play in my car.
i agree. and it’s not even just the unsigned rappers, Its the untalented mofos getting play time in the radio too. I dont understand how all this untalented-ness is still around if a good percetage of us don’t even listen to this shit anymore.
my top 3 emcees: Slick Rick. Rakim. Nas. (bonus: 2Pac, Blu, and Notorious b.i.g.)
AND there is Good new (rap) music still being made. But you have to do your research to find these dope underground artist. sad.
If you only have 10 artists you like, then you haven`t been looking close enough. There are tons of rappers who are crafty and intelligent but they don`t usually get spins on the radio. Second, please don`t tell me that the bubblegum pop and Disney soundtracks you listen to are full of truth, wit, and education.
Rap bashing is annoying. Honestly, I hate a lot of mainstream music. Most of it is garbage and saying nothing. So to bash one genre of popular music in favor of other ones that are just as ludicrous (i.e. how many reggae/soca songs have I heard that talk about sex and pointless shit?– not ALL of them, and clearly there are great WI artists out there, you just have to dig a little deeper).
I can list about 800 feel-good, truthful, catchy, insightful rap songs off the top of my head as we speak.
If you don`t favor the genre, then fine. Don`t listen to it. But don`t try and generalize the music based on the very limited and superficial knowledge you have of it. I don`t know if you realize it, but this is the same thing people do to justify their prejudice ideals about races, ethnicities, and people.
WICKED! I am coming back for you 2moro but for now sleep. Thanks for the rebuttal
Every genre of music could be subject to criticism like this but to me most other genres have remained pretty consistent with their original purpose. Pop music has always been about little substance, great harmonies and repetitive beats. Disney music has always been fantastical, instrumental and hopeful… as a matter of fact I can absolutely say those songs are filled with truth, wit, and education!
Apparently you have not watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Lion King – some of those joints move me to tears.
Anyway I digress, rap to me is the only genre that has strayed so far from its purpose that I don’t even know what to call it anymore. Yes of course there are some who do still get it but to be honest I do not hear those artists frequently enough at live shows, on the radio nor do I see their videos – majority of the rap that the general population is exposed to nowadays is what I am criticizing in this post.
When I say 10 artists I mean contemporary artists with hits on the charts today.
I do not even consider this post “rap bashing” to me it’s more a challenge to those who do rap to reassess their skill set and it is also a challenge to rap fans to raise their standards on what good rap is.
I should not have to do my research in order to find good acts, cream is supposed to rise to the top and grease is supposed to sink to the bottom. How does a genre get to a place where the opposite is true? I do not know but I believe conversations like this do help.
> I should not have to do my research in order to find good acts, cream is supposed to rise to the top and > grease is supposed to sink to the bottom. How does a genre get to a place where the opposite is true? I > do not know but I believe conversations like this do help.
I really have to challenge you here. Quite often what rises to the top is stuff that easily satisfies the lowest common denominator and can be easily converted to profit. Within 10 minutes minutes of my crib I can find at least 5 different fast food joints, but if I want a fine dining experience I have to do my research to find good spots. I can buy art at any Ikea, Walmart or Zellers, but if I want to a really fine and unique piece, I will have to do my research and locate a good art gallery.
I suppose the cream can and does rise to the top, but the fact that we’re saturated with so much grease makes things difficult for those that don’t do a little digging, especially when there are monied interests doing their best to convince you that their grease is actually cream.
With regards to the points raised in your original post, I agree with a lot of what you said. I think a lot of people are getting into the rap game right now because they think it’s easy to rap and they’re enticed by the amount of money they think they can make. I suspect that a lot of them stick with because they probably think they don’t have a whole lot of prospects outside of rap.
I rap, I’m working on my first mixtape, I get what your saying, Hip Hop as we “knew it” is dead. now we have rappers like Waka Flocka Flame, And soulja boy, who don’t say much of anything. Rap used to be Stories, and a form of art, it still is but now Its more focused on Punchlines.
I watched a video of yours a with you guys trying to rap – not to bad lol, but if you guys liked Nicki when she first came out. (like when she first came out) then you guys cant complain about rappers that say stuff like “Girl you gon need protection cuz i’m bout to blast yah with this here here erection” i mean nicki usually talks about sex, only now do i hear her actually rap without sex i mean come on “Flow Tighter than a D**k in a Butt, thats no better than wat i just stated. Don’t get me wrong I love Nicki’s music, i’m just sayin she doesn’t really have anything deep or art like to say. Just sayin
I really and truly think you missed the point here. And there is a difference between making a spoof video on a popular artist vs taking them in on my free time.
Punchlines are fine but the real question is are they even witty, do they have substance, is it even something interesting?
As a rapper, you should take offense when someone says: I like this song for the beat… a phrase that is used all too often.
The moral of this story is: rappers get your head in the books and out of the clubs. Like I said you can skip the point and choose to focus in on my credibility as a listener, it’s really up to you
[...] Shannon T. Boodram ?????: Your words are what define you because you can not fall back on your incredible voice or out-of-this-world instrument solo. Rapping to me is almost equivalent to public speaking; unlike singing the art is not in how you say it, …. I think I was in the same boat yesterday…. the hook of the song was … “i don’t wear skinny jeans cuz my d**k too big” … though i was shocked.. 0_o i was no where amused… and i forgot the other song… that’s how pointless it was… but idk what is … [...]
Thanks for taking the challenge, Shannon.
“I should not have to do my research in order to find good acts, cream is supposed to rise to the top and > grease is supposed to sink to the bottom. How does a genre get to a place where the opposite is true?”
Its exactly what Femi @ Work said – “what rises to the top is stuff that easily satisfies the lowest common denominator and can be easily converted to profit.”
The same way pop music has little substance and repetitive beats (as you acknowledge) and continues to be popular is the same reason trashy rap music sells. Its the same formula, and you’re refusing to acknowledge that. Little substance, intense, smooth beats. That sells, and that`s what keeps artists like Soulja Boy paid, so that`s what corporate executives are buying into. The music industry is very gimmicky. There`s not a lot of mainstream artists that have tons of talent to offer, and if they do, they`re probably watering down their talent in favor of a larger profit margin.
“Anyway I digress, rap to me is the only genre that has strayed so far from its purpose that I don’t even know what to call it anymore.”
Do you know where rap began? Gangster rap arose out of a need to vocalize pain, anger, frustration and a perpetuate a lifestyle not often seen in popular media. When white mainstream media began paying attention to rap and execs realized how many non-black people fetishized the lifestyle of being a gangster rapper, they realized how much they could profit from this new movement. Rap still serves the same purposes. There are always going to be dissenters. Your Commons, your Kwelis, your Blu & Exile, Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, The Roots (these names should be familiar to you) who refuse to conform to the machine.
“When I say 10 artists I mean contemporary artists with hits on the charts today.”
OK fine. Popular artists. But then you have to change your generalization to address the lack of creativity in other genres in order to be fair. You explicitly state that you don`t listen to much rap. You also state that you don`t look for rap with substance. Two strikes. You`re basing these generalizations off a very narrow perspective in a biased way.
“I do not even consider this post “rap bashing” to me it’s more a challenge to those who do rap to reassess their skill set and it is also a challenge to rap fans to raise their standards on what good rap is.”
I totally buy it. That`s good, you should push artists to go harder. But making a post that says (in a nutshell) “I don`t listen to rap, but most of what I hear is trash, so if this is your craft, you probably suck at life – do better” isn`t really doing the job. You`re being more critical than uplifting. Also, how are you telling rap fans to raise their standards when you don`t have any? You don`t listen to rap, so where`s your measuring stick? How can you even compare good rap to trash if you don`t have any good rap to juxtapose the bad against? I think you should take some time to explore the genre before telling someone else how to be a consumer of a market that YOU have little knowledge of.
“Disney music has always been fantastical, instrumental and hopeful… as a matter of fact I can absolutely say those songs are filled with truth, wit, and education”
Let`s not go there. The only thing great about Disney movies was the classical music. Everything else was an intolerant microcosm of old school American culture – not to mention historically inaccurate in the WORST ways. From a sociological lens, Disney is so backward and sad that it`s amusing at times. I`m glad that you were too young to catch a lot of the stereotyping and unhealthy images in those movies, and only got the fantastical out of it. But now that you`re older, you should be able to look at those images more critically.
First off respect to Shad!! I hadn’t seen that vid and it looks like dude is just on some sneaky reminiscent vibe. Even with Rose garden, taking a wonderful page/paying homage to the Pharcyde drop video and then telling his story…I couldn’t help but smile first time I saw it.
Its a relief to know people feel like I do in that real talent and real artistry is supposed come out on top. HOW do these wack mawfuggas keep getting play? Most live just as long as newborn sea turtles hatched from the sand, but it seems like more and more idiots get their hands on some good azz production then have a field day on the genre I will always rep for and always get down on.
It’s like I don’t even know where to look and so I just keep traveling back into Tribe, De La Soul, Gangstarr, Busta Rhymes and even LL, Kane, . and I KNOW everyone here has heard a song they knew was sampled into something present day, but there’s nothing more fascinating then following those breadcrumbs til you find the whole loaf, and falling in love with that original issh.
I just don’t feel the love for many cats right now. But there’s always a few embers here and there. It’s good initiatives like these that’ll keep it moving.
Anyway my top three songs that represent rap to me…
1. Common – the Light
2. De La Soul – Me myself and I
3. Gangstarr – Moment of truth
Peace and love to all, bout to jump in my apple Tardis and pay a visit to some choice cuts throughout musical history.
I am also an upcoming rapper, but I just began, see I;ve been writing clever lines and what I believe to be deep words. Let me put it like this. Wale-is the epitome of poetry in a rapper. Lupe has bars and lines as deep and cultured as they come and Jcole, though he uses profanity a little to much always has a good messege and represents substance in rap. There’s more but I can’t shout out all my influences. They have helped me produce lyrics like:
Lyrics kinda crazy, guess you could call em Lupe.
Bars are hard to chew on, known to give a tooth ache.
In this cole. world i shot J’s and put haters to Z,
others choose lenses over what they can see.
I’ll stop there but If your deep enough you’ll notice I shouted out (lupe,j cole, and jay z) That is all
I would like to exchange links with your site thosegirlsarewild.com
Is this possible?
Hey Shannon and Andrea, I myself have been inspired to be a rapper!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gSRYcvVyg
Salut! checkonetwo
I don’t always agree with your posts, but this was dead on, way to go!