Rap Music's Place In Prog

Also checking out the new record from Rob Swift, The Architect. A DJ album but quite a different one, doesn't sound like typical hip-hop beats at all. Once it really gets going on track 5 (the first four are short intro type thingies that sort of set up an atmosphere of spookiness and wierdness with the ocassional old school beat) it becomes more or less a continuous piece of music that segues into different parts almost unnoticeably and makes very unusual use of classical music samples- those are nothing new to hip-hop but the high, creepy, droning way Swift deploys them is. It's almost entirely instrumental but rapper Breez Evahflowin turns up for two tracks, though he may as well not have, the focus here is and should be on Swift's cuts. Some tunes are spread over several tracks- Lower Level has three movements and Rabia has three movements and a prelude. I smell prog!

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Rap's place in Prog is with Daniel Gildenlow

Citizen Erased wrote: If there's one thing that undergroup rap beats "prog rock" artists at everytime, it's the lyrics. Sage Francis is one of my favourites in particular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F4KiuvLo6Y Really simple when you think about it but so poetic. It's not what you'd expect from a rapper.

One band, Pink Floyd. Who beats them in lyric section ? (Dard Side - Final Cut period, 5 albums)

Well I mean at it's purist form, rap is just poetry. And whoever said you cannot put poetry to prog rock? If done right I'm sure it'd sound amazing

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Raff wrote: I know many people here won't agree with me, but I believe that Faith No More (one of the first bands to fuse rock and hip-hop) had more than a few progressive traits, especially on their album Angel Dust.

Add Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys in the list of pioneers.

I just wanted to make sure we are all clear on one thing: When a vocalist doesn't sing the notes like a conventional melody, it could be deemed a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to state they're just rapping.
Although say, the Fall are NOT prog, their singer  vocalist Mark E. Smith can't/won't sing whatever vestige of melodic outline is suggested by the music - (but he doesn't sound remotely like a hip-hop artist.)

There are many examples in Prog where vocalists who can clearly sing brilliantly, choose to exploit techniques like 'talking on pitch' (e.g. Gabriel on The Battle of Epping Forest/Get Em Out By Friday and Arthur Brown on Fire Poem) plus Sprechstimme/Sprechgesang (which I think I can  hear in Demetrio Stratos and also Peter Hamill on occasion)

Such departures from traditional pitched narrative when used appropriately, can enhance the dramatic and emotional content of the music.

However, re the thread starter, perhaps it's the defining cyclic nature of dance music that prohibits Rap's development into Prog ?

I know many people here won't agree with me, but I believe that Faith No More (one of the first bands to fuse rock and hip-hop) had more than a few progressive traits, especially on their album Angel Dust.

There is no prog rap yet - if you think about fusion of 100% full-brown prog and rap.

However, if harpsichord/Mellotron-based song in 11/8 with rap lyrics on the top of it doesn't exist, it will. It's just a matter of time.