about rap "music" by Kenny Drew Jr.

[gilad]

my teacher gave me an email to read that he recieved from a hennie Bekker( ever heard of him, i hadn't, anyway)
the email contained an excerpt from the website of a Kenny Drew Jr.
The name of it is " What the F**k happened to black popular music?"
it's quite provocative and an interesting read.
here's the link.

https://www.jayweb.com/kennydrew/kennyskorner1.html

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

I find it very insulting that that ingrate claims that Classical and jazz musicians are wasting their time. As a classical pianist student I can't be more insulted. Then he states about the vapid rap. Rap is of course a course of stupidity and only dumbens the population. What is you opinion on this matter?

[gilad]

well he's a well known jazz musician himself, so he isnt implying much except for the fact that he believes that current pop culture doesnt know what good music should sound like or contain and therefore good musicians are at a loss because good music is not saught after.
i do not enjoy rap music, it's messages, or the way that rappers behave.
that sh*t aint dope with me, and i hate the fact that when i go out or switch on the tv all i hear and see is a bunch of convict wanna bes.
they set a real bad example for kids, it's true,
every kid wants to be like 50cent and snoop dog.
and the music sucks.
imho.

[rimv2]

Rap is of course a course of stupidity and only dumbens the population.

Ah hope that's sarcasm

Please say it's sarcasm



Why another rap topic?

The only thing you will see is:

Rap is degrading to women

Sends bad messages.

Useless muck.

Rap and America are alike in this sense.

No one wants to look at more than just what they are shown.

[Kassaa]

Greetings.

I find it very insulting that that ingrate claims that Classical and jazz musicians are wasting their time. As a classical pianist student I can't be more insulted. Then he states about the vapid rap. Rap is of course a course of stupidity and only dumbens the population. What is you opinion on this matter?

I think you didn't get the point. He says that why people like us are practicing 8 hours a day to become a well known and good (more important ) pianist, while you get much more rewarded if you grab a microphone and a drum machine and sing about ho's and bitches. He didn't insult classical or jazz musicians.

[johnny-boy]

It's known as free enterprise. If you create a product that a lot of people want, you make big bucks.

Classical and jazz are for a more selective audience. There's not as much money in the kitty.

Supply and demand, man!

John

[Siberian Husky]

He uses examples from the commercialized rap industry, how can you evaluate something if you do not extract it for evaluation in its more authentic form..just as you wouldnt judge chinese cuisine from the food you eat at your local fast food chinese shop in America

Heres an example of commercial rap..in this case i'll take the commonly known 50 cent

50 Cent
Song: That Aint Gangsta

How you gonna take this? like a Man or a pregnant dog?
you gon' get it on *** or you gon' snitch?
I represent *** in the hood gettin' rich
man, I stack chips and I unload clips
after 3 Summers in the joint I thought life was hard
some *** started fightin', some *** found God
you know me, started sellin' leek in the yard
yo, I ran into *** who used to have Hummers
big as Hell in the joint wearin' '86 numbers
damm Dog, you been in here that long?
you could think that, but say that and yo' ass is dead wrong
a convo is only three words, "yo whattup"
you ain't gotta work out to leave this pregnant dog cut up
let a *** find out you on some goin' home ***
and you tryin' to bounce without payin' a loan, ***

see?..even a 5 year old with the intelligence on a 2 year could take jabs at that..its obviously lacking in basic humanitarian elements..just like its easy to push someone off a  cliff when they have already begun to fall..

now here is REAL HIP HOP..REAL RAP..this is what came from the early 80's hip hop movement..and still lives today..you just dont see it on the TV or radio because it doesnt have the sex drugs and violence in it to sell..and of course most elitist musical snobs like the guy in the article arent going to reach past what is spoon fed to them by the media to use as an example..
Eyedea
Song: Future

species evolving so slowly
Genetically infantile, violent and holy
We think we're so smart but there's not much to know
Caveman is still alive behind those robot eyes
Fully controlled by ten thousand year old instincts
Hands on the war button, flinch and your world's extinct
This is technology for the barbarian
I see the future: the past, we'll be there again


Another Example?

Artist:Common
Song: The Light

It's important, we communicate
and tune the fate of this union, to the right pitch
I never call you my pregnant dog or even my boo
There's so much in a name and so much more in you
Few understand the union of woman and man
And sex and a tingle is where they assume that it land
But that's fly by night for you and the sky I write
For in these cold Chi night's moon, you my light
If heaven had a height, you would be that tall
Ghetto to coffee shop, through you I see that all
Let's stick to understandin and we won't fall
For better or worse times, I hope to me you call
So I pray everyday more than anything
friends will stay as we begin to lay
this foundation for a family - love ain't simple
Why can't it be anything worth having you work at annually
Granted we known each other for some time
It don't take a whole day to recognize sunshine



i rest my case so please stop the *** hating because your only depriving yourself of growth..this doesnt go out to anyone in particular but i know there are people on this board who insist hip hop music is for  intellectually deficient..

and of course its easy to bash rap in a classical music forum where everyone prides themselves in their musically cultured depth..give me a break..you can easily cut up blacks in a room of whites..and cut up whites in a room of blacks...if you want an HONEST opinion about this take it to a hip hop forum and get some perspective from that side that is being criticized...you know you werent going to get any pro-hip hop answers here so cut it out with the instigative BS..

here lemme try n turn this around


whats better

Christianity or Catholicism?..who is right?..and why?

pianistimo?..
lagin?..
Janice you wanna chime in randomly?
stevie come tell us about your in depth philosophies on breasts


AKA lets get pianostreet back on track here

[debussy symbolism]

Yes I took it irascible in getting to conclusions concerning the article. I definately agree though that most of the population cannot discern quality music from degradating lyrics with a beat.

Ah hope that's sarcasm

Please say it's sarcasm
 
No, I am being serious. I read many articles that talk about the effects of rap. Apparently the beat has an effect on the brainwaves and the lyric information becomes etched, therefore the listeners or rap are more likely to act out what they hear. Since the lyrics are in touch with the illegal activities, due to my knowledge those cannot be atributed to smart behavior. Baroque music on the other hand alters the brainwaves in a positive direction, increasing information retention. Plus it is great and wonderfull music.

[Siberian Husky]

debussy symbolism please read my entir reply..then edit yours..thank you

[debussy symbolism]

debussy symbolism please read my entir reply..then edit yours..thank you

You misunderstand my point. I am saying that rap with violent lyrics is more likely to cause unwanted activity.

[Siberian Husky]

thats interesting and might be true...and links on this research?..i know the brain is pattern oriented so im interested

[gilad]

nice twist on it siberian husky.
i had forgotten that there was productive rap music out there, i havent had much exposure to it. it doesnt have nearly the same sort of following as the thug stuff though,
those lyrics by common and eyedea were sweet. very poetic. will see if i can get round to finding some of their tracks.
btw, i knew i would get some pro hip hop answers here, you're one, im sure there are a number of peeps here that are into it.

[prometheus]

Rap is literature, not music.

[debussy symbolism]

thats interesting and might be true...and links on this research?..i know the brain is pattern oriented so im interested

I don't have the direct links per se, but just google in rap and effects, or rap on teens, etc, etc. Hope this helps.

[musik_man]

Rap is literature, not music.

You listen to rap; therefore, rap is music.

[musik_man]

I don't have the direct links per se, but just google in rap and effects, or rap on teens, etc, etc. Hope this helps.

I don't trust this sort of science.  I play plenty of violent video games, but I've never shot anyone.  I listen to Yes, but that doesn't mean that I "call seasoned witches from the depths of their disgrace and rearrange their livers to the solid mental grace."  It's possible to listen to lyrics about drug use and not do drugs.  Rather than causing drug use, the lyrics probably are caused by an inner-city culture that tolerates drug use.

[debussy symbolism]

  I play plenty of violent video games, but I've never shot anyone.  I listen to Yes, but that doesn't mean that I "call seasoned witches from the depths of their disgrace and rearrange their livers to the solid mental grace."  It's possible to listen to lyrics about drug use and not do drugs.  Rather than causing drug use, the lyrics probably are caused by an inner-city culture that tolerates drug use.

I never meant that you will commit to the lyrics. What I meant is that one is more susceptible to them, especially teenagers who are already unstable and have tough lives. Concerning violent games, it is proven that they encourage violence. I am talking about the teenagers that from young age are exposed to violent lyric rap, perhaps violent video games, and perhaps an aquaintance with drugs. Concerning the hidden meaning of the twisted lyrics, it is evident that they portray the inner revolt against the unfairness of the society, but does the average teenage listener going to understand that. The spurious information that rap relinquishes may of course seem puerile to us, but added with a beat, the lyrics are induced upon the average teenage listener in an unhealthy way. Hope this helps.

[prometheus]

You listen to rap; therefore, rap is music.

Epic poems are music?


Surely rap has musical elements. Depending on the actual rap it often fits the definition of music altogether. But it will always be primarily about the lyrics and not about the three elements of music.

[arensky]

Rap is literature, not music.

Wrong.

[musik_man]

Epic poems are music?


Surely rap has musical elements. Depending on the actual rap it often fits the definition of music altogether. But it will always be primarily about the lyrics and not about the three elements of music.

People listen to rap as music.  It is music.  And it's not about lyrics.  If anything it's purely about rhythmn.

[musik_man]

I never meant that you will commit to the lyrics. What I meant is that one is more susceptible to them, especially teenagers who are already unstable and have tough lives. Concerning violent games, it is proven that they encourage violence. I am talking about the teenagers that from young age are exposed to violent lyric rap, perhaps violent video games, and perhaps an aquaintance with drugs. Concerning the hidden meaning of the twisted lyrics, it is evident that they portray the inner revolt against the unfairness of the society, but does the average teenage listener going to understand that. The spurious information that rap relinquishes may of course seem puerile to us, but added with a beat, the lyrics are induced upon the average teenage listener in an unhealthy way. Hope this helps.

There is no such proof that video games cause violence.  In fact video games were developed at the same time that the nation's crime rate was falling(though I doubt video games were repsonsible for that either.) 

Professor Jonathan Freedman of the University of Toronto in an extensive review (2001) of the psychological evidence about video games and violence, notes that while there is evidence that people who like and play video games tend to be more aggressive than those who play and like them less, like addiction, this finding is merely an association that says nothing about the direction of causation. Indeed, more aggressive individuals might be attracted to video games as opposed to influenced by them. Some researchers have suggested that rather than promoting aggression, video games might actually release it.

As for the effects, both short and long term, of playing certain violent video games, Freedman concludes that there is minimal evidence that there is a short term increase in aggressiveness and "not the slightest evidence that playing violent video games causes any long-term or lasting increase in aggressiveness or violence." This echoes the conclusions of a five year study by the Australian government which found that there was "at best only weak and ambiguous evidence that violent games bring violent behavior."
https://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=120105D

[bearzinthehood]

Rap "music" in its current, most popular form, is fit for chimps.  The genre is not to blame, it's the people that produce and consume it.

[Siberian Husky]

Rap "music" in its current, most popular form, is fit for chimps.  The genre is not to blame, it's the people that produce and consume it.

hmm..that was a very good attempt..really it was..but its not quite there yet...be more concise..because "current" labels time frame..and under that circumstance you are dead wrong...nice try though

[Siberian Husky]

also..heres a very good explanation to what hip hop [music] is..

From "One Be Lo"..he is founder of Subterreneous records and works with youth

What is Hip Hop? Here we go again, another persons opinion of what Hip Hop is and/or is not. Well you may not agree with My Definition, but at least take the time to see where we are coming from and why. Beats, Rhymes, DJs, Graffiti, Poppin and lockinthese are not Hip Hopmore like elements of Hip Hop. Originally, Hip Hop was a movementnot merely just beats, rhymes, record deals and videos etc, etc

Even though djs and emcees were the Founders and voices of this movement, the original theme was positivityits goal, to create a more positive atmosphere for the youth, get the kids out of the gangs and off the street. Hip Hop was an atmosphere, the music was a tool for communication, education, and overall positive upliftment of the community. Moving back to the present, this community/society is definitely in need of a more positive atmosphere, especially for our youth. In my opinion, the true essence of Hip Hop has been corrupted by greedy capitalist, who only views Hip Hop as a business venture. In most cases, these capitalists could care less about the essence, the atmosphere, the culture, let alone the youth, unless it is profitable. Subterraneous means: One who lives Underground. We live underground in attempts to avoid the snares, and the ulterior motives of the venture capitalists. By no means am I suggesting artists or fans remain underground as far as musical taste or contracts, etc, etc We live underground in the sense that we do not allow the capitalists to define what Hip Hop is, what should be played on the radio, who we should or should not support. WE are Hip Hop, which means that WE should define Hip Hop, and WE should control it.

In order to be the most effective, everybody in this community must get involved. By understanding our individual roles and taking responsibility, the Hip Hop community can continue to thrive, grow, and ultimately expand. We all know the emcees, djs, producers and their roles in this community, but these are a small percentage of the Hip Hop community. What about everyone else, the Fans. Fans have the biggest role because we fans are the majority, and with the majority lies the most power if we learn how to network and utilize this force.

Hip Hop is the People, not the Music. The music is the common denominator. The music is what assembles college students, emcees, djs, businessmen, etc, etcunder the same roof for a Hip Hop show. Therefore, that brings us to the Ultimate Question:

Anybody can be Subterraneous. No credit checks, no applications, no membership fees If You support Hip Hop, You are Subterraneous. If you support Hip Hop then you already support Subterraneous. You dont have to rock mics, own a million cds, or know the complete history of Hip Hop to be Subterraneous. If you have read this Subterraneous introduction and you agree with what has been stated, then you are already part of the movement.

forgive the typos

[pianowolfi]

https://www.jayweb.com/kennydrew/kennyskorner1.html

very interesting for me because I've met Kenny Drew jr. a few years ago. He's not only an excellent jazz pianist but also an awesome classical pianist, really amazing!

[bearzinthehood]

hmm..that was a very good attempt..really it was..but its not quite there yet...be more concise..because "current" labels time frame..and under that circumstance you are dead wrong...nice try though

Note that I said current, most popular form, which I believe is dead on.