What's worse -- emo "rock" or rap?

If you like Jazzy Hip Hop, I highly recommend the Blue Scholars.

Rap... I like the political lyrics but the rhythm bord me after 30 seconds... Emo rock is awful too but at least has some creativity...

^^^  The Blue Note is a great instrumental Jazzy Hip-hop album. It's great to chill out to.

They seem pretty emo to me, specially on their latest album. But in their debut album it isn't too noticeable except for Leto's vocal style.

30 Seconds To Mars is a good Emo band and so far its the one that made me interested in the genre (at least the modern one). Their debut album does have some prog influences particularly from Tool, Pink Floyd and King Crimson to a lesser extent. There's a bit of Post-Rock thrown in there too.

Highly recommended if you're a fan of bands like Oceansize, Dredg, The Amber Light, Pure Reason Revolution, Muse and others like that.


I heard that their follow-up is less creative than their debut so try to avoid it.

I love Jedi Mind Tricks, Army of the Pharaohs, some Mobb Deep, some Nas, Immortal Technique, Necro, Non Phixion, but I've never heard any emo I like. So my vote goes to emo.

Drakk wrote: I have a hard time stomaching a lot of these comments, especially when we have a lot of people totally baffled why a lot of people think that all prog is pretentious, arrogant drivel that pseudo intellectuals listen to make themeselves seem smarter.   Again, both have good and bad in their midsts.  I'm not familiar with Emo, but I'm fairly certain what we call Emo now, and what was originally coined are very different things.   As for Rap/Hip Hop, that's just a ignorant blanket statement.  50 Cent, and all those "Gangsta" rappers, are not good representations of what Rap is, and stands for.  There are artists in Hip Hop experiment with everything from Metal, to Country, to experimental music.  I know of several artists using unconvential instruments within their music.  As for lyrics, some of those MCs are the most intelligent, giftend and clever lyricists that have ever been in music, so please, don't disregard an entire genre because what you hear on the Radio is bad.    I love Progressive Rock, but I also love other genres as well, and just like Prog, you may have to dig past what other's find good, to find what you may really like.  I understand personal preference, but calling them bad, stupid or in essence, what they are not isn't right.  I love music in general, so I won't limit myself to any one genre.

I like your comment, and agree with what you say about "Rap". As a commercial musical style "Rap" or Hip Hop has been around since at least the early 80's. It has a great divergence of styles (although not as crazy as what they try to lump under the dreaded Prog umbrella) and many different takes. What most people associate Hip Hop to is Gangsta Rap which is very unfair. Hip Hop has its roots in Jazz and strangely enough Country and Irish/Scottish Traditional music. It is mainly vocal (Prog has a mainly instrumental focus) and relates personal reflections of not only street life but any way of life the artist is or has lived. Lyrics are considered poetry and has a strong resemblance to beat poetry of the 1950's. Some Hip Hop is very intelligent (and moving) some is just plain...you know. I really like early 80's old school east coast stuff, you cant beat Grand Master Flash and Mele Mel, just listen to "The Message" and you will see what I mean.

Very hard pick. It's always a great irony that "Emo" tends to a bit less emotive music than most of the stuff i like (prog, metal, Instrumental Virtuoso guitar, jazz fusion). The image itself i find absolutely appalling , i mean come on, males in black nail polish and eye liner, yuk. And the fact "emo' has made depression seem cool, i cannot stand, as depression is far from cool and many of the depressed people i know dont even like punk, let alone emo pop punk. As for Rap, no better IMO. Musically never great, but ill admit there was some fun 80s rap. As for the modern "gansta' rubbish, ARGH, gloriying violence, guns, promiscuos sex, drugs, excess materialism (aka 'bling and my 'ride). its all too silly for me.

I largely dislike both, and both combined. Emo/ Rap Fusion, ughh.  Emo is the one that provokes more of a yuck reaction in me; whereas, I've found some rap music interesting, as well as great fun.  Emo it is.

If the poll had said "post-hardcore" instead of "emo", my choice would have been rap, because you can find unique mathcore bands within post-hardcore. But it's extremely difficult to find any original "emo" (bands like Fall Out Boy and Dashboard Confessional...they all have similar vocals and subject-matter), whereas there's been interesting rap since the 90s (neo-soul, underground, etc.) Artists like Aesop Rock, MFDoom, and Nujabes make some really beautiful music.