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| Blogs > rm_debluvz2fck > Another Whisper In The Dark |
First Thing's First (or Definition of a Rapper)
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First Thing's First (or Definition of a Rapper) To start this lecture on what does and does not make a rapper, I will put myself in perspective. I am not now nor have I ever been a rapper. My talents do not lie in that area, and I have no particular interest in making a fool of myself in attempting anything such. My background in music, music appreciation, and linguistics do, though, lead me to believe that I have a duty to point out things that irk me in their lack of artistic integrity. I will start with saying that art comes in many forms, that the creative spark sometimes finds itself unveiled in peculiar media. I once saw a box, one color on the inside and another on the outside, and pondered whether it was an exhibit or meant to contain an exhibit. I don't pretend to understand all art, but there are some basic guidelines to what is and is not art. Intention is often the most difficult aspect behind determining whether something is or is not art. Simply taking a crushed car and putting it on a platform at the Met might not qualify it as art, but it also might qualify if there was some context. The same thing goes with . Can rapping someone else's words truly be ? is one of those art forms that is more personal than many others. Someone can sing a song that was written, composed, mastered, and edited by someone else, but bring a piece of themselves to the music through their vocal adaptation and range. Rapping is more a performing art where self-expression is key and using another person's words is artificial. Fake, if you will. I fall in line with Nikki Menaj with regards to rappers using other people's words. You aren't a rapper if you do. Or, at least, not a real one. And if, atop of “rapping” someone else's words, you with an accent from a different country for the duration of your rapping, like say, from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, when you are from Australia, how do you start your with, “First thing's first, I'm the realist” ??? “Who Dat?” is quintessential New Orleans. The rapper in question brought back thoughts of Milli Vanilli. If it isn't your accent, your words, or your music or lyrics, is it really any more yours than the two models performing fronting for those vocalists who weren't photogenic enough for the public? Or perhaps it was more like Biden's stealing the story of a Labor Party leader's life? Someone else's words, but played off as his own. Similar, to be sure. Of course, I will entirely defer to Snoop Dogg as to whether the offending party (my opinion) is in any way a rapper or artist of any variety. Not my favorite rapper, though we don't need to get into that, but he has the years of experience to be an authority on the subject, raw talent, and the intellect to divine the truth in the matter. If he says “The Realist” is, in fact, real, I will defer. Of course, maybe it would be better to poll all of the established rappers to get a consensus instead of cutting the baby in half? But, I'm all for division in this matter. |
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