What is the difference between hip-hop and rap?
To put as simply as KRS-One did. . . "Rap is something you do, but hip-hop is something you live." The thing is, hip-hop is so much more than a lifestyle. There is a beauty in hip-hop music that many fail to recognize because they believe that hip-hop and rap are one in the same. They aren't though.
"So what's the difference between rap and hip-hop? It's simple. It's like saying you love somebody and being IN love with somebody. Rap is just a word." -Brown Sugar
Hip-hop actually tells a story.
Hip-hop artist don't care about selling a million units the first week. They aren't about club bangers or radio play. They don't care about fortune and fame.
Hip-hop artists have a message that they want to get across. That's what makes them so respectable. You will NEVER see true hip-hop artists sell out.
Rap on the other hand is completely different. Rap artists are all about the money, the drugs, and the hoes. Most of the time that's what they're talking about in their music. And if they aren't talking about one of those things, guaranteed they're rapping about a ridiculous dance they made up.
Take the beat from your favorite Flocka, Gucci, or OJ Da Juiceman song and I guarantee you that you couldn't read that like a poem. I promise it wouldn't speak to you like Common's Retrospect For Life would.
Earlier as I was tweeting I made the mistake of putting Lil Wayne in the same category as Flocka, Jeezy, and OJ. . . and I admit that I was wrong for that. Lil Wayne does have some decent stuff. Drop The World is a dope hip-hop song, I must admit. However, Lil Wayne falls under the rap category in my book. Try reading a majority of Lil Wayne's lyrics without the beats. Most of them don't make sense. . . and even if they do, are they telling a story? No, they aren't.
Take lyrics from A Milli for example:
"I'm a millionaire, I'm a young money millionaire. Tougher than Nigerian hair. My criteria compared to your career just isn't fair. I'm a venereal disease, like a menstrual bleed. . ."
If that is what you want to call hip-hop after reading this, you must not have been reading close enough.
Hip-hop is not Soulja Boy. It's not Gucci Mane. It's not Lil Wayne.
Hip-hop is Nas. Hip-hop is Common. Lupe. Talib Kweli. Andre 3000. Eminem. KRS-One. Immortal Technique.
Hip-hop is a story. Hip-hop is beauty. Hip-hop is life.
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ReplyDeleteHey Aurora!
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is an old text, I really wanted to write a comment here... I found your blog by accident: I googled 'hiphop' to find some pictures about hiphop, and found the first picture of this blog post and noticed that the original site of that picture was your blog. And I gotta say, now that I have read some of your texts, you write great stuff. I really can relate to many of the feelings you have written here. Maybe that's because I also have been contemplating about the same things.
And especially this text... I couldn't agree with you more. Though I have been wondering, what exactly is the difference between rap and hiphop, I knew that rap is more superficial and hiphop tells you a story about real things.
Btw, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Wale are also my all-time favorite hiphop-artists. They're just awesome.
Keep up the good work! :)