Why do people say that rappers don't have any skill?

When I talk to some metalheads I know, all I hear about is how they hate rap because "It isn't music" and "rappers don't have any skill". I listen to nearly every genre of music except death metal, jazz and country and It really pisses me off when people say that.

I know there's heaps of people on gamespot who share the same view point, I really want to know as to why they can be so close minded.

Watch this video and you can get an indication of how much skill there is in not only writing rap but also creating the beat. Obviously this doesn't apply to every rapper.

It's because they base an entire genre on what they hear on the radio.

i never heard ppl say they have no skill, but i do hear ppl say that it isnt music or its stupid, etc.

Depends on the rapper. The ones on the radio and are mainstream are most of the time bad

Because most of them suck.

When half your song consists of swearing, muttering, yelling "CHEYEAHHHH" and "WHAT", using the N word, saying "yo" and "yeah", I'm going to say you're an idiot and should abandon "music".

And when, on top of that, 98% of your stuff is autotuned and is about b****es, alcohol, drugs, abuse, and the ghetto, aaaaaaand anything that's actually an intelligible set of lyrics was written by somebody else, I'm going to just go ahead and say the only skill you have is not choking on your own spit.

There are some rappers who are good. There are far more that are not.

EDIT: I shouldn't have to say this, but when I say "you", I mean the rappers. Not you, as in you, the guy who's reading my post.

Agreed. Most of the rappers today are pretty bad though (besides Wiz Khalifa). They need to listen to some Tupac, Biggie, Nas, etc.

It's because they base an entire genre on what they hear on the radio.

barcx17

Because they aren't familiar with rap music.SmittyPeppers

Agreed. Most of the rappers today are pretty bad though (besides Wiz Khalifa). They need to listen to some TUPAC, BIGGIE, NAS, etc.

butteman12

Agreed. Most of the rappers today are pretty bad though (besides Wiz Khalifa). They need to listen to some Tupac, Biggie, Nas, etc.

butteman12

Wiz is overrated and way to repetitive.

He talks about weed and champaign in like very other verse.

What's wrong with country?

I like rap, but it doesn't take skill. Writing lyrics, coming up with a beat, all of this isn't exclusive to rap. F1_2004

I think it takes skill. Not everyone can sing to a beat quickly for long periods of time with extensive lyrical content that rhymes and makes sense. Mind you, many rap songs have more lyrical content than your average solo artist. I'm not defending mainstream bc that stuff is annoying. However, not every mainstream song is bad. You know, there are usually 30 different sings that they play on the radio most of the time with usually a variation of 10-15 artists. Hence, why they radio sucks with no variety.

Those who say rapping doesn't take skill are those who cant do it to begin with

Depends on the rapper. The ones on the radio and are mainstream are most of the time bad

shadow13702

not all mainstream rappers are that bad......kanye and lupe come to mind and have skill.

First off, you don't listen to every genre except "death metal, jazz and country". Secondly, rappers do not play instrumentsRobboElRobbo

Before I get into the OP's topic. This is my music "cred": I was classically trained at singing in grade school. I took guitar lessons in middle and high school. I was the vocalist for a band from the age of 20-27. In which time I not only did vocals and write lyrics but also help write the songs behind said lyrics and was in the studio to record several time where I was able to see and help in the recording and mixing process.

Now I will not go so far as to say rappers have no skill. But I will tell you, playing an instrument is easily TEN TIME HARDER THAN SINGING. Full bands have to make beats as well, which honestly isn't very hard to make one. What's hard is fine tuning it to work with 5 different people playing 5 different instruments. Where rappers have a (usually pretty simple) beat, and their vocals.

Some rappers use guitars and drums or even orchestral support in their music. More importantly some actually have something important to say in their lyrics. I say more power to them for doing so. But it seems for every one that does this, their are half a dozen that use excessive sound samples, a large number of pointless vocal tracks to "fill out" the sound, and the worst offender would be abusive use of an auto tuner. All this together makes a horribly over produced sound that just feels soulless and it almost impossible to replicate live. This is a problem in more genres than just rap, but it seems most prominent in rap and hip hop music.

I'm no rap expert. I couldn't name more than a handful of rappers/hip hop artists. Where as I could name off dozens of rock/metal bands off the top of my head. But the OP asked how anyone could had that sort of opinion. This was just the view point of a guy who's done more than a few laps in the music scene, nothing more, and I hope it gives the OP and anyone else who took the time to read this a new perspective.

Also, don't worry about your supposed metal head friends OP. I would be willing to bet money the "metal" bands they think so highly of are terrible, and that any true metal head would laugh at them. :)

First off, you don't listen to every genre except "death metal, jazz and country". Secondly, rappers do not play instrumentsRobboElRobbo

keech's post*

keech