Is rap music?

Is rap music?

21 answers , last was 16 years ago

What is rap? Is it music? Many people who dislike say that it is not... but it seems to be a biased opinion.

The delivery of rap is not really musical. It's basically talking with a rhythm, and much of spoken word poetry is the same. The only truly musical thing about rap is the beats in the background. For that reason, I would say that rap is more like poetry SET to music. What do you say?

Asked by Rachel Golden in Arts & Humanities at 8:57am on February 17th, 2008
Robert Thacker-Dey 1187
Answered at 7:38pm on April 30th, 2008
Music is defined as organized sound with an artistic intent.
John Supp 2272
Answered at 1:26pm on April 10th, 2008
It depends how you define music. It the strictest sense, music consists of rhythm, and melody. That's the basis for most classical pieces, and you'd have a hard time saying that classical music isn't music. Now, rap, almost by definition, has no melody. So whatever it is, it's logically defensible to say it isn't music.
Robert Thacker-Dey 1187
Answered at 5:56pm on February 28th, 2008
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
Unknown Brain 1182
Answered at 5:25pm on February 28th, 2008
Isn't singing just talking rhythmically?

Of course rap is music. It's self-evident.
Jonathan Shannon 2382
Answered at 4:14pm on February 26th, 2008
While the rapping itself could be just considered just spoken word, many rappers not only rap but produce their own music (Dr. Dre, Kanye West). I believe these guys cannot be argued as non-musicians. Singspeaking on the other hand, is a different beast altogether. It is just a style. Many people do not consider screamo music real music, as in some cases there is no real melody, just harsh screaming set to music. Such opinions on what is and isn't music can only be left up to preference.
Michael DiBacco 1687
Answered at 7:52pm on February 24th, 2008
rap is crap when all it is, is words and one beat.
Brandon Barta 1631
Answered at 8:18am on February 24th, 2008
I am not trying to negate anything as an art form or by proxy anyone as an artist; however, I would tend to agree that rap is for all intents and purposes spoken word poetry. I would hate to say it but the only reason that rap is called music is that those who write rap "music" would rather be called musicians.
Unknown Brain 1871
Answered at 5:51am on February 23rd, 2008
Rap is music the same way any cultural musical form is, like bluegrass or the Kodo drummers of Japan, Just because someone doesn't appreciate it doesn't negate it as an art form.
Sarah Barber 2158
Answered at 12:51am on February 23rd, 2008
It's a genre. We listen to it as music. Some view it as poetry.
You wouldn't ask if folk music is a music. And that's really just people singing a story.....
Rap seems to be more about a lifestyle than music...but that would unfortunately bring me back to Rockabilly.
Yes it's a music, it's also a lifestyle for some....
Jody Mena 2396
Answered at 1:33pm on February 21st, 2008
Music is defined as ordering sounds in a successive combination into a composition of unity and/or continuity that contains rhythm, melody and/or harmony.

So YES, rap is music by definition: It is sounds set to a rhythm in a lyrical pattern that creates a cohesive composition.

ALL songs are poetry set to music. Singing is nothing but changing the pitch of your voice and talking with elongated vowel sounds. Rap is just a different kind of singing that employs more alliteration and successive rhyming.
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