Bad News for King Crimson Fans

...just to name a few.

Now, you can argue the 'musical worthiness' of these works, since such things are a matter of opinion, but saying that they are not involved would be quite the insult to these artists, and the music critics who have acclaimed the works. 

First of all, Prog Rock isn't as 'involved' as Baroque music, either. So grouping all those other genres together and pitting them against Rap isn't fair, I don't think. Hip-Hop is different from Rock music, the same way Rock is different than Orchestral music. Since these particular genres feature entirely different approaches to making music (the types of instruments used, the primary focus being either melody, complexity, etc.), I don't even think we should be looking at them all in the same light. 

Just because Hip-Hop music may not sound involved to you doesn't mean it isn't involved. It's just that the artists themselves are focusing more on the production side of things than anything else. And while I will grant you the point that most radio-aired Rap is junk, the fact of the matter is that radio-aired Rock music is typically a poor representation of the genre as a whole, also. Being a Rock fan, I think you will realize that. 

Beyond that, all i can really say is this: All Rap typically sounds the same to you because you don't listen to it enough. Just like extreme Metal music all sounds alike to an outsider of that particular style, or just like Jazz all sounded like noise to those unfamiliar with it during its uprising. If you aren't terribly familiar with something, especially when it comes to something as subjective as art, you're not going to understand it. 

 

Anyway, check it out. Devestating lyric (listen all the way through) and imo at least, a fantastic beat.

 

 

Also it's not really hip-hop but in terms of brilliant music through sampling, we're all forgetting this:

 

If this is how you really want to look at music, then nobody else can change that. But if you choose to continue being this narrow-minded, you need to prepare yourself for the plethora of criticisms that will ultimately come your way. On top of all of this, and something I think you have actually admitted to in a way, is that complexity does not equal quality. So the whole classical music comparison once again becomes pointless the moment you include that perspective in the debate. I'm not pissed at you; I just feel a little sorry for you, because you are choosing to shut out anything you think isn't 'worthy' of experiencing. Maybe you'll grow out of that. I hope you will. In the meantime, don't be surprised if we are to butt heads again in the future. All I ask is that you don't take it personally. 

Before I drop it entirely, though, consider this: the point you made about a capable musician being able to emulate what he hears on a Hip-Hop record is a pretty weak one, in my view. Because if a musician is capable of doing that in the first place, he would also be able to emulate what he heard on a rock record, jazz record, disco record, etc. fairly quickly. He may not be able to recreate all of them equally as well, but that's beside the point; a musician with a trained ear can pick out almost anything if he is educated enough in proper music theory. That says nothing about the quality of the music he may have used to demonstrate that ability. And classical music is more than just a band of musicians with rock instruments. It's often comprised of full orchestras with so many  different types of instruments, it's virtually impossible to dissect it all without seeing it on paper. So it's not as much about complexity from a technical standpoint as it is about density and volume. 

Finally, plenty of musicians that play 'real' music listen to and have been inspired by Rap music. Mike Portnoy, Mike Akerfeldt and Steve Wilson being among them. To paint the musical world with the broad brush that you do is only causing you to miss out on a lot of potentially joyous listening experiences. You seem more concerned with upholding a reputation than with finding good music with which to enhance your life. Of those choices, I will always be more concerned with the latter. Maybe one day you will be, too. Until then, your musical enjoyment will always be, to a certain extent, limited. Because the world isn't black and white, and unless you venture out into unknown territory, you'll never completely understand that, I don't think. Now, I'm not trying to sound like some know-it-all who has all the answers. I don't. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let a few sh*tty Pop artists who think they are rappers taint my opinion of an entire genre of music. And neither should you.